2020 Residency
The MITTEN Lab was proud to strengthen our partnership with Parallel 45 Theatre by hosting their inaugural commissioned playwright and MITTEN Lab alumna '17, Jacqueline Goldfinger, in a special residency at the Lab from July 10 – 19, 2020 to develop a new play entitled Margaret Thatcher and the Authorititties with director and MITTEN Lab Co-Founding Artistic Director, Katherine M. Carter.
In light of the coronavirus pandemic, P45’s 2020 Summer Theatre Festival and the usual MITTEN Lab have been canceled, however the two organizations were still committed to creating a safe, creative space to collaborate and support artists this year.
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Throughout the week, MITTEN Lab offered rare insight into Goldfinger’s development process with virtual fireside chats hosted on our Instagram.
The residency culminated in a Workshop Presentation of Margaret Thatcher and the Authorititties featuring a cast of P45 actors streaming live on Parallel 45's Facebook page on Saturday, July 18th at 7 PM EST followed by a talkback with the creative team.
Jacqueline Goldfinger (she/they) is a playwright and librettist who grew up in the rural South and is best known for her work in the Southern Gothic genre. She won the Yale Drama Prize, Smith Prize, Generations Award, Brown Martin Award, Barrymore Award, and Philadelphia Critics Award. Her plays have been on The Kilroy’s List. She's been nominated for the Weissberger Award, Blackburn Prize, and Foote Prize. Her book, Bottle Fly, published by Yale Press, was a finalist at the International Book Awards. Her plays have been developed at theaters including: New Georges/Off-Broadway, The National Theatre/London, The Kennedy Center, La MaMa, Disquiet/Lisbon, McCarter Theater, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, The Barrow Group/Off-Broadway, and Kansas City Rep. Her plays have been produced at theaters including: Perseverance Theatre, The Court Theatre/New Zealand, Contemporary American Theatre Festival (upcoming), Capital Stage Company, Hangar Theatre (upcoming), The Seattle Public, Theatre Exile, Unicorn Theatre, The Vortex, and the NYC International Fringe Festival. Her work is published by Yale Press, Samuel French/Concord Theatricals, Playscripts, and Smith & Krause. Her work has been supported by YADDO, Opera America, National Endowment for the Arts, The Millay Colony, The Lark’s Playwrights Week, Audrey Residency, Drama League, and The Mitten Lab, among others. She is currently working on a new opera with composer Melissa Dunphy which will world premiere at Oberlin Opera in 2023, and is currently commissioned by P45, The Wilma Theatre, The Kennedy Center, and Florida Studio Theater. www.jacquelinegoldfinger.com