ATI invites you to first reading of ‘EXPOSED; A Melting Pot Musical’
Actors Theatre of Indiana (ATI) presents the next in its Lab Series, ATI TheatreLAB No. 1: EXPOSED; A Melting Pot Musical. This musical by Laura Goodenow will be given a staged reading performance at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12 at The Studio Theater at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel.
The synopsis of EXPOSED is this: After being flashed by a Peeping Tom, undocumented Peruvian immigrant Rosa Maria grapples with the desire to be seen in a world where she must hide. But when her American-born son is bullied – and fights back – she must choose between what’s right and what’s safe.
EXPOSED is a musical dramedy that explores the concept of hiding – from each other and ourselves. Set in Queens, N.Y., during the increased ICE raids of 2017-18, it follows two undocumented Peruvian parents and their American-born son, three local police officers, and an Upper East Side-female wisecracker.
The score is varied, the humor, adult, and the takeaway, hopeful. This will be the first staged reading and the first time the score is performed live.
Playwright Laura Goodenow is a Carmel native and a 1995 Carmel High School grad. She is a librettist and lyricist, as well as a film producer and distributor. Before her career focused on theatre and film, she was as an award-winning print journalist and newspaper editor, as well as a corporate editor and pharmaceutical advisory board notetaker. She is a mother of two and a Butler University graduate who splits her time between Indianapolis and Nashville, Tenn.
Goodenow’s company, Real Women Make Waves, developed and produced the award-winning film Year by the Sea, then distributed it to more than 100 theaters nationwide. She is also the producer and librettist of Gold Jade Way, a sung-through operetta of ancient Chinese poetry translations; the co-bookwriter of Cleavage, an over-the-top musical comedy about the origin of breast implants; and the lyricist/librettist for Crost, a musical based upon the lost love letters of 12th-century lovers Heloise and Abelard.
“Real Women Make Waves is a mantra,” Goodenow said. “No matter how large the ocean or how small the pond, no one should stop you – FEAR should not stop you – from diving in. For much of my life, I avoided making waves. But still water becomes stagnant. Gratefully, I found mentors to help me splash heart-first into my creative calling. As a company, Real Women Make Waves is the amalgamation of my creative energies across myriad disciplines: books, movies, plays, musicals, design, photography. I seek to create my own work, as well as support and encourage other artists through development, production, and/or distribution.”
Her goal in writing EXPOSED reflects the same beliefs.
“Our goal as artists is to encourage the world to be more empathetic and understanding,” she said. “To see in each other that which connects us, then lean into that shared humanity to work through challenges. We hope EXPOSED can use the power of humor to open hearts and minds while honoring the gravity of immigration. And, as with all of our pieces, we wish to bring some light into the world by exploring some of its shadows.”
Justin Rayna is the composer and music director for EXPOSED. He is an award-winning musician, composer, producer, performer, coach, husband and father. He graduated from McCaskey High School in Lancaster, Pa., in 2000 with the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award for prolificacy, independently recording and releasing solo piano albums. He marched for Drum Corps International, winning the 2001 Garden State Circuit snare solo competition, and performed in percussion and acrobatic shows at Hershey Park and Dollywood, as well as film stunts. In 2018, he released his debut album Intensify, with a concert featuring dance, circus arts, acting, and live orchestra. He studied Music Theory & Composition at the University of Tennessee and graduated with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in Music and Theatre from East Tennessee State University. He was KCACTF’s 2020 first-alternate recipient of both the David L. Shelton Award and the National Partners of American Theater Playwriting Award, and he was a semifinalist in the 2021 Eugene O’Neill National Music Theater Conference.
Another essential member of Goodenow’s team is dramaturg Sebastian Eddowes-Vargas. He is a Peruvian theater artist and researcher who focuses on queer stories and how these are shaped and informed by the colonial histories of the Americas. His academic and theatrical work has been presented in Perú, Ecuador, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. As a dramaturg, he has worked on Expats Anonymous by Rachel Chin (Yale Cabaret) and Between Two Knees by The 1491s (Yale Repertory Theater). He is an MFA candidate in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, while serving as dramaturg for Yale Repertory Theater production of Mojada.
ATI’s Associate Artistic Director and co-founder Cynthia Collins managed the casting of the play and will also be directing the reading.
“We’re extremely grateful to ATI for hosting this very early developmental step,” Goodenow said. “We look forward to hearing feedback from the Carmel community. Immigration is a hot topic, we know. Our goal is for EXPOSED to be an entertaining and heartfelt way into the conversation.”
ATI launched the Theatre LAB Series program as a commitment to nurturing new plays and playwrights. Playwrights submit their plays to ATI. Those chosen enjoy an intensive weekend of workshopping, discussion, and development with a cast of professional actors and directors in a creative laboratory setting. Each play has a reading and a talk-back session with ATI audiences, staff, cast and the playwright.
Tickets for this next show in ATI’s Lab Series are only $10. Don’t miss the opportunity to take in the original production of EXPOSED; A Melting Pot Musical.
Tickets are available at atistage.org or by calling the Box Office at The Center for the Performing Arts at (317) 843-3800.