My profound thanks to everyone who came out for the world premiere production of my solo show, Les filles du QUOI? It was a tremendous gift, after years of pandemic postponements, to finally share this work with so many warm and responsive audiences, to live inside this show for a few weeks, and to celebrate with my colleagues at Lost Nation Theater their return to full, in-person, mainstage productions.
COVID, in case you haven’t heard, is not over yet, and presenting live theater still presents some extraordinary challenges, but our fantastic team met them with grit, creativity, and, when all else failed, faith. Their vision, as well as the audiences’ laughter and tears, expanded and deepened the world I had imagined and taught me so much about my own work, as collaboration always does. It was also such a welcomed and beautiful experience to revisit the joy of gathering in a room with other humans (masked and protected by a fancy air purification system) to listen to stories and dream together. If you have such a gathering place in your community, I hope you are investing in it right now, with your money or your energy. The present moment demands defiant creativity and vibrant places where we can gather, share stories, and imagine better futures together. Please do what you can to safeguard those spaces where you are. Lost Nation Theater is one of those spaces for me.
I’m grateful for a joyous, successful two-week run, and I look forward to discovering what’s next for this little show and me. Stay tuned!
PS. If you did miss the show, these kind reviews from The Montpelier Bridge and the Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus will give you a sense of what you missed. Hope to see you next time!
ABBY PAIGE 