Snatch Adams & Tainty McCracken Present It’s That Time of the Month
written and performed by Becca Blackwell and Amanda Duarte
directed by Jess Barbagallo
in association with The Bushwick Starr
October 25 - December 10
Trigger Warning: There will be fluids!
Snatch Adams is a 6-foot tall vagina who lost her job as a clown at Planned Parenthood in 2016. After knocking on clinic doors across America, only to find them shuttered, she is finally hired to host a talk show with recently Me-Too’ed comic Tainty McCracken! Along with a rotating roster of celebrity guests, Snatch and Tainty fart, flirt, and squirt in order to bring awareness and love to genitals and their human companions everywhere.
Join us at this original queer spectacle featuring puppets, prizes, and perversity, and celebrate the power and autonomy of loudmouthed vagina people while you still can. You’ll laugh so hard you’ll go number three!
Cast
Becca Blackwell
Snatch Adams
Becca Blackwell (they/them) is an NYC-based trans actor, performer and writer. Existing between genders, and preferring the pronoun “they,” Blackwell works collaboratively with playwrights and directors to expand our sense of personhood and the body through performance. Some of their collaborations have been with Young Jean Lee, Half Straddle, Jennifer Miller’s Circus Amok, Richard Maxwell, Erin Markey, Sharon Hayes, Theater of the Two Headed Calf and Lisa D’Amour. Film/TV includes: ”Survival of the Thickest,” “Bros,” “Sort Of,” “High Maintenance,” “Ramy,” “Marriage Story,” “Shameless,” “Deadman’s Barstool,” and “Jack in the Box.” They have toured their solo shows They, Themself and Schmerm and Schmermie’s Choice across the US. They are currently creating a new show, Back to She, that will premiere in 2024. Blackwell was a recipient of the Doris Duke Impact Artist Award, the Franklin Furnace Award, and the Creative Capital Award.
Amanda Duarte
Tainty McCracken
Amanda Duarte (she/her) is a writer-performer who lives in Brooklyn. Recent work includes Staying Alive at Joe’s Pub, the long-running cult favorite Dead Darlings at Judson, and the Nasty Women comedy series at the 14th St. Y. Her writing has appeared in the NYT, The New Yorker, Time Out NY, High Times and the late great HX, among other publications. She is proud to be featured in both the Museum of Hoaxes and her landlady’s art history textbook, and is proudest of all of being an Oxford Word of the Year nominee. Her life and career path have been extremely weird and she is really happy that they have led her to playing a taint next to Becca Blackwell.
Becky Hermenze
Slit Crew
Becky Hermenze (she/they) is a performance artist, comedian, and writer. She has been featured on shows such as Messy Queens, Tits to the Glass, and was recently a semifinalist in the New York Queer Comedy Festival. When not performing, she has helped support the development of new work with companies such as Radiohole, Elevator Repair Service, and Half Straddle/Tina Satter. IG: @beckywtheokhair
Amando Houser
Slit Crew
Amando Houser (they/them) is a trans masculine actor, theatre-maker and clown born and based in NYC. They are thrilled to be making their off-Broadway debut with Soho Rep in Snatch Adams and Tainty McCracken Present It’s That Time of the Month! They have performed in and devised work at New York Theatre Workshop, The Wild Project, JACK, and The Richard B. Fisher Center at Bard College. Amando is a recent graduate of École Philippe Gaulier in France and has trained with Pig Iron Theatre Company in Philadelphia, Julia Masli, and 2023 Britain’s Got Talent Winner Viggo Venn. Currently they are developing their upcoming solo show DELIADELIA made possible by Creatives Rebuild New York.
Creative Team
Becca Blackwell
Creator/Writer/Performer
Becca Blackwell (they/them) is an NYC-based trans actor, performer and writer. Existing between genders, and preferring the pronoun “they,” Blackwell works collaboratively with playwrights and directors to expand our sense of personhood and the body through performance. Some of their collaborations have been with Young Jean Lee, Half Straddle, Jennifer Miller’s Circus Amok, Richard Maxwell, Erin Markey, Sharon Hayes, Theater of the Two Headed Calf and Lisa D’Amour. Film/TV includes: ”Survival of the Thickest,” “Bros,” “Sort Of,” “High Maintenance,” “Ramy,” “Marriage Story,” “Shameless,” “Deadman’s Barstool,” and “Jack in the Box.” They have toured their solo shows They, Themself and Schmerm and Schmermie’s Choice across the US. They are currently creating a new show, Back to She, that will premiere in 2024. Blackwell was a recipient of the Doris Duke Impact Artist Award, the Franklin Furnace Award, and the Creative Capital Award.
Amanda Duarte
Writer/Sound FX and Live Scoring/Performer
Amanda Duarte (she/her) is a writer-performer who lives in Brooklyn. Recent work includes Staying Alive at Joe’s Pub, the long-running cult favorite Dead Darlings at Judson, and the Nasty Women comedy series at the 14th St. Y. Her writing has appeared in the NYT, the New Yorker, Time Out NY, High Times and the late great HX, among other publications. She is proud to be featured in both the Museum of Hoaxes and her landlady’s art history textbook, and is proudest of all of being an Oxford Word of the Year nominee. Her life and career path have been extremely weird and she is really happy that they have led her to playing a taint next to Becca Blackwell.
Jess Barbagallo
Director
Jess Barbagallo (he/him) is an actor, playwright, director, and teacher. His work has been presented at Abrons Arts Center, Dixon Place, La MaMa ETC, New Ohio Theater, Poetry Project, Performance Space New York, Incubator Arts Project, the Experimental Theatre Wing and Provincetown Playhouse at NYU, Andy’s Summer Playhouse (in Wilton, NH), Mechanics’ Hall (in Portland, ME), and The Brick. He has performed with Big Dance Theater, Half Straddle, Theater of a Two-Headed Calf (and its Dyke Division), and The Builders Association. Most recently, Jess appeared in Amanda Horowitz’s Bad Stars True West at STARS Gallery in Los Angeles. His writing has been featured in Artforum, The Brooklyn Rail, Culturebot, and 53rd State Press. Film (Youtube, really): “Christmas on Earth/Joe Ranono’s Yuletide Log and Other Fruitcakes”; “The Puzzlers 1+2”. TV: “Law & Order: SVU.”
Greg Corbino
Production Design
Greg Corbino (he/him) is a transdisciplinary queer artist, puppeteer and educator. His ongoing public performance, MURMURATIONS, draws attention to the environmental impact of plastics with giant puppets crafted of plastic trash collected from New York shorelines. This work has been supported by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and Greenpeace USA. Collaborators include Peter Schumann and The Bread and Puppet Theater, Reverend Billy and The Stop Shopping Choir, Jennifer Miller and Circus Amok, Xaviera Simmons, Cecilia Vicuña, Amy Trompeter and Cathy Weiss. His design work has been seen at The High Line, The Queens Museum, The Leslie Lohman Museum of Art, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, LMCC Arts Center on Governors Island and the Smithsonian Institution. He also builds gay carousel horses. IG: G.Corbino
Kate McGee
Lighting Designer
Kate McGee (she/her) is a trans*designer and new media artist. Off-Broadway: My Lingerie Play (Rattlestick Theater), The Infinite Love Party (Bushwick Starr), while you were partying and Notes on Killing … (Soho Rep), I’m Revolting (Atlantic Theater), Pay no Attention to the Girl (Target Margin Theater), The Hang by Taylor Mac and Matt Ray (HERE/Prototype Festival), Early Plays (New York City Players/Wooster Group). International: protec/attac (D
ien DeNio
Sound Consultant
ien DeNio (they/them) is a two time Drama Desk nominated enby, who, for reasons passing understanding, seems to enjoy leaving their umbrella at home when it is most assuredly going to rain. Usually downpour. This makes their mother make that exasperated noise.. the one you hear in your head when she isn’t around .. the one you grew up with, the one that makes you cringe just a little bit. Awkward. Yep. That one. Bet you just heard it in your head. Sound Designed. They have also designed many shows in many places. That one was a particular favorite. This one too. Also the other one. iendenio.com #HashtagSoundDesigned [Neverbugs… little ones.]
Nicholas Zeig-Owens
Video Designer
Nicholas Zeig-Owens (he/him) is a filmmaker and producer who lives in NYC. You may know his work if you’ve been trolling Becca Blackwell’s Vimeo page or if you’re a die-hard Trixie Mattel fan. He also makes TV shows that have helped millions of people go to sleep on Thursday nights.
Derek Rippe
Animation
Derek Rippe (he/him) is a Brooklyn-based illustrator and toy designer whose collaborative cohorts include Trixie Mattel, Nickelodeon, Dreamworks and FAO Schwarz. When he’s not designing viral dog toys for BarkBox or teaching overseas for the Armenian government, he is also the cute brute behind the queer art series Cute Brute.
Amanda Villalobos
Original Snatch and Tainty Design
Amanda Villalobos (she/her) is a designer and fabricator for both stage and television and has performed on and off-Broadway as an actor and puppeteer. Villalobos’s puppet designs made their Broadway debut in Amélie, A New Musical (Walter Kerr). Other work includes the Broadway production of Is This A Room (Lyceum Theater) and most recently The Wizard of Oz at San Francisco ACT directed by Sam Pinkleton, Space Dogs at MCC Theater, and Wolf Play, directed by Dustin Wills (Soho Rep/MCC Theater) for which she received Drama Desk Award nominations for both productions. She is a MacDowell Colony fellow and Henson Foundation Grant & Residency recipient. Other collaborators include companies Elevator Repair Service, Half Straddle, and 7 Daughters of Eve. avpuppets.com
Victoria Lowell
Costume Design Associate & Wardrobe Supervisor
Victoria Lowell (she/her) is a graduate of the London College of Fashion with her BA in Costume for Performance. She’s absolutely thrilled to be joining the Soho Rep for her 5th show with the company. Past shows include Wolf Play, Notes on Killing Seven Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Board Members, Montag, and Public Obscenities. She can also be found working at New York Theatre Workshop and Second Stage Theater. Practiced in all disciplines within the costume industry Victoria spends her free time restoring antique clothing to further educate others on sustainability.
Maurina Lioce
Production Stage Manager & Associate Director
Maurina Lioce (she/her) In NYC Maurina has worked with: Half Straddle, Adrienne Truscott, Alex Tatarsky, Sibyl Kempson, Jim Findlay, David Byrne, Andrew Ondrejcak, Mike Iveson, Erin Markey, Suzanne Bocanegra and Young Jean Lee. She has been a company member of Elevator Repair Service since 2014.
Barbara Samuels
Creative Producer
Barbara Samuels (she/her) is a queer producer, organizer, and lighting designer. Barbara uses a diversity of approaches to create design-forward live events – aiming to unearth the human condition while destabilizing harmful power structures in and out of the theater. Barbara served as the General Manager of OBIE Award-winning 13P from 2008-2012, and as Producing Director of Morgan Gould and Friends from 2014-2018. In 2016, in addition to being a Target Margin Institute Fellow, The Interval named Barbara a Woman to Watch. Barbara currently runs the Wingspace Mentorship Program. Barbara holds a BA from Fordham University and an MFA in Lighting Design from NYU. Proud member of USA Local 829. 2022-24 WP Producers Lab. New Georges Affiliated Artist. barbarasamuels.com
Kedian Keohan
Community Dramaturg
Kedian Keohan (they/he) is a trans theater director and creator of live performances. Director: Erin Markey’s First Lady (Bard Spiegeltent), Anatomical Hearts (Dartmouth College), Last Gold (Hunter College), Button Lake Band Camp (Winterworks), WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY (Breaking the Binary), BLUSH (Soho Rep Writer Director Lab), A Bone to Pick (Brunch Theatre), Venus in Gemini (Exponential Festival), *Chefs Kiss* (FEAST/Your Uncle Richard). Associate Director: Ryan J. Haddad’s Dark Disabled Stories (The Public Theater/Bushwick Starr). Assistant Director: minor theater’s Pathetic (Abrons Art Center), Singlet (Bushwick Starr), and Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future (Ars Nova). Kedian performed the role of Major in NY Times’ Critic Pick Marie It’s Time (HERE Arts Center) written by Julia Jarcho. Kedian is a former Clubbed Thumb Directing Fellow and Soho Rep Writer Director Lab member, and a New Georges affiliated artist. @justkedian
Chelsea Pace
Intimacy Coordinator
Chelsea Pace (she/her) BROADWAY: A Strange Loop, Leopoldstadt, K-POP. OFF-BROADWAY: The Shed: HELP, INTAR: Bundle of Sticks. REGIONAL: Berkeley Rep: POTUS; La Jolla: SUMO, As You Like It; Aurora: 1984*, Born with Teeth, Signature: Bridges of Madison County, Into the Woods, Passing Strange, Color Purple, Daphne’s Dive, RENT, Detroit ’67; Woolly Mammoth: Incendiary, Strange Loop; Studio Theatre: Fun Home, John Proctor is the Villain, White Noise; Folger: Midsummer Night’s Dream; Arena Stage: Seven Guitars; Philadelphia Theatre Co: Tattooed Lady. Resident Intimacy Consultant at Signature Theatre, Woolly Mammoth. FILM/TV: Select: “A League of Their Own”, “Harlem”, “Best Man: Final Chapters”, “Wu-Tang: An American Saga”, “The Tender Bar”, “MASHED”, “Drive Away Dolls”*, “Dr. Death”*, “Mother’s Instinct”*, “American Sports Story”* (* upcoming). Co-Founder, Theatrical Intimacy Education. AUTHOR: Staging Sex: Best Practices Tools and Techniques for Theatrical Intimacy. AWARDS: Kennedy Center Gold Medallion. NY/CA. chelseapace.com @professorpace
Ann Marie Dorr
Associate Producer
Ann Marie Dorr (they/them) is a theater maker who often works on big-little shows with adventurous and ambitious ideas in downtown and Brooklyn spaces. Most recent projects include Dark Disabled Stories by Ryan J. Haddad, dir. Jordan Fein (The Bushwick Starr) and while you were partying by Julia Mounsey and Peter Mills Weiss (Soho Rep). Soho Rep Writer Director Lab 17/19 with Paul Ketchum on an ever evolving piece, Good and Noble Beings. Associated Artist of Target Margin Theater. Currently they are in the Brooklyn College MFA Playwriting program.
Ann Kreitman
Assistant Director
Ann Kreitman (she/her) is a director and playwright based in New York City. Currently, Ann is a University of Iowa Felton Postgraduate Directing Fellow at The Bushwick Starr and WP Theater and the Drama League’s Beatrice Terry Resident. In 2020, Ann co-founded the LGBTQ Iowa Archives & Library. MFA: University of Iowa. annkreitman.com
Intuitive Production Management
Production Management
Intuitive Production Management is a New York based theatrical production firm specializing in off-Broadway, Opera, Dance and Live Events. Founded in 2017 by Robert Signom III and Scott H. Schneider, its mission is to bring superior production values and personalized support to each performance. Other collaborators include New Georges, American Opera Projects, The Movement Theater Co., Heartbeat Opera, Mint Theater Company, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Aquila Theatre Company, Opera Naples, Waterwell, CAMP Stores, Arts Brookfield, Parity Productions, LaGuardia High School, Tri-Cities Opera, Bronx Opera, New Camerata Opera. intuitiveprodmgmt.com
Partners
The Bushwick Starr is a nonprofit theater that cooperatively nurtures the creative spirit that has defined our neighborhood for decades. In creating close communion with professional and student performing artists to develop original work, we cultivate an electric space for embodied performance that respects and reflects the community that surrounds us. Since 2007, the Starr has served as a destination for bold and engaging performance. Past Seasons have included new work from groundbreaking artists such as Ryan J. Haddad, Whitney White, Jeremy O. Harris, Heather Christian, Diana Oh, The Mad Ones, Haruna Lee, Clare Barron, and Daniel Fish. The Starr will establish its permanent home at 419 Eldert Street in 2024, creating a lasting cultural asset for Bushwick and for artists, students, and audiences across New York City. For more information, please visit thebushwickstarr.org/campaign.
Supporters
This work was made possible, in part, by the Franklin Furnace Fund supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Production fees for playwrights at Soho Rep are generously sponsored by The Dorothy Strelsin Foundation. Production design support provided by the Edith Lutyens and Norman Bel Geddes Design Enhancement Fund, a program of the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York (A.R.T./New York).
