Phoenix Theatre presents an important one-night-only, free, public reading of Tight End by promising new female playwright Rachel Bykowski on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. Reserve FREE tickets by clicking here!
The program is presented in collaboration with El Tendedero/The Clothesline Indiana, a year-long initiative hosted by Women4Change and the Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault that will increase awareness of violence against women and persuade the Indiana General Assembly to enact legislation that defines consent.
Tight End is the story of a female high school student playing football for her school’s team. Although she becomes “one of the guys” to her teammates, opposing teams have a different view. When an attack at an annual party threatens to take her out of the game, she takes back her life and her body on her own terms to finish what she started.
“Tight End is a powerful story of staying true to oneself even if it breaks the ‘rules’ to which society is accustomed,” said the reading’s director and Phoenix Artistic Manager Chelsea Anderson. “Bykowski has written a compelling play showcasing women’s inherent strength against all odds.”
The reading will be performed by Equity actors Jolene Mentink Moffatt and Phoenix Theatre Artistic Director Bill Simmons, and Indiana University MFA Acting Program students Peter Ruiz and Isabelle Gardo.
Playwright Bykowski, a Chicago native whose plays explore the many facets of womanhood, will attend the reading. Following the reading Bykowski will join Anderson, the cast members, and representatives of Women4Change and the Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault for a discussion of the play and its themes.
Before the reading, attendees are invited to the Phoenix Theatre’s lobby starting at 6 p.m. to view the traveling clothesline exhibit and to add their own stories to the discussion about violence against women.
Tight End is a part of the New Play Exchange, an alliance of non-profit theaters, including Phoenix Theatre, dedicated to the development, production, and continued life of new plays. Tight End was workshopped at the Kennedy Center in 2016 as part of the National New Play Network MFA Playwrights’ Festival.
The reading of Tight End takes place from the Phoenix Theatre’s Livia and Steve Russell Stage located at 705 N. Illinois Street in Indianapolis. Tickets are free but seats should be reserved at PhoenixTheatre.org or by calling the Box Office at 317-635-7529.
Free parking is available at the Phoenix Theatre parking lot on the west side of Illinois Street across from the theatre.
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About El Tendedero/The Clothesline Indiana
This initiative was inspired by an art installation first presented by Mexican artist Monica Mayer in Mexico City in 1978 which transforms a clothesline – a symbol of a traditional feminine role – into a forum for conversations about violence against women. Locally, El Tendedero/The Clothesline Indiana consists of events and activities at cultural institutions, sexual assault and domestic violence survivors shelters and the Indiana Statehouse that will increase awareness of sexual assault against women and persuade the Indiana General Assembly to enact legislation that defines consent. For more information, go to www.women4changeindiana.org/the-clothesline.