Adelphi's Virtual Theatrical Production Selected for Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival

Garden City, NY (12/15/2020) — Adelphi University's first virtual theatrical production, "This Odd Geometry of Time," has been selected to be performed at the Kennedy Center's American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) for Region 2, running January, 11-14, 2021.

The KCACTF is a national theater program involving students annually from colleges and universities across the country. For the first time, the festival will be conducted entirely virtual.

"This Odd Geometry of Time," which was streamed through Youtube in October 2020, is an exploration of intersectional feminism and climate change through the guise of a nature documentary. The story takes place over the course of 260 years and follows the lives of several historical women and one spirited Russian bowhead whale named Galina. The piece was written by Adelphi alumnae Megan Lohne (04') and directed by Shoshanah Tarkow (06'), assistant by current student Matthew Pezzulich. The piece will be performed alongside competing productions from southwest New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Washington DC, northern Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio, in hopes of advancing to the national level.

"The current moment has proven that technological innovation is not only a viable option for artists, but a necessity," said Tarkow of the production. "This Odd Geometry of Time" innovates by incorporating virtual and augmented reality technologies with live performances, original music and a 12-foot Bowhead whale puppet."

The production also has earned other awards and nominations from KCACTF. Student actors Daynah Richburg, Emma Scholl, Alexis Barros and Madelyn Barkoc were nominated for the prestigious Irene Ryan Award. Additionally, several students who worked behind the scenes were awarded certificates of merit. Awardees included Carson Fergueson and Natalie Piperno for puppetry, Carrie McElroy, Nicole Sponaugle, Brian Donahue and Kimmarie McCrann for stage management, Fiona Gavin for lighting design, and Chloe Yoo for virtual background design.

"When I started writing this experience, I had no idea what it would become," said Lohne. "The piece gently turned into a commentary about society and how though we've made many strides, too much is the same."

Lohne and Tarkow are co-founders of Like Fresh Skin, an immersive theatre company synergizing original text-driven narratives and emerging technologies to champion untold feminist stories. They have worked with the Adelphi community previously on two other productions. In 2018, they brought "Words Like Fresh Skin" to audiences. More recently, in spring 2020, the duo worked with Adelphi students on a virtual Shakespearean cross-pollination, "Too Solid Flesh," performed while many students were displaced from their classrooms to their homes due to the pandemic.

After graduating from Adelphi, Lohne went on to receive her M.F.A. in dramatic writing from The Actor's Studio/New School and Tarkow continued her studies and received an M.A. in Performance Studies from NYU, though both have kept strong to their Adelphi roots.

"It's my hope that students viewing this piece at the festival leave contemplating what is missing from their lives, what they hope for, and ultimately ask the bigger questions of ourselves and each other in this, our only time," said Lohne.

For more information on This Odd Geometry of Time and other works by Like Fresh Skin, visit likefreshskin.org or oddgeometryoftime.com.

To learn more about the 2021 KCACTF, visit kcactf2.org/2021-festival-52-information-page.

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