Sunday, October 11, 2020
4:30 – 5:45pm PT
Who Killed Sylvia Plath?
Written by Lynne Kaufman
Performed by and Developed with Lorri Holt
Original direction and dramaturgy by Jayne Wenger
Additional direction by Warren David Keith
Poet Sylvia Plath returns to her burial place in West Yorkshire, England to view the third replacement of her tombstone. The previous ones have been defaced by feminists who chiseled off her married name, claiming it was Ted Hughes who caused Sylvia’s death. Did he? Was her suicide at 30 a good career move? Would she do it again? And what’s it got to do with us?
About the Artist
Lynne Kaufman (Playwright) is the author of twenty full length plays, three novels and a dozen short stories. Within the last four years, she had had three plays produced at The Marsh SF: “Acid Test”, “Two Minds” and “Who Killed Sylvia Plath”. Unscripted Theatre in S.F. produced her play ”Sex Scandal”. “William Blake in Hollywood,” was produced by the Neil Simon Festival Theatre as the winner of its Best New Comedy Competition. Her play “Daisy in the Dreamtime” was premiered by The Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles , won The Rella Lossy Playwright’s Award, and was published in Women Playwrights: Best New Plays and by Dramatic Publishing. She was the recipient of The Otis Guernsey Outstanding New Voice in American Theatre Award from The William Inge Theatre Festival. “Shooting Simone” premiered at Actors Theatre of Louisville Humana Festival and received six subsequent regional productions. It was published by Dramatic Publishing. Four of her plays premiered at The Magic Theatre including “The Couch”, which won The Glickman Award for Best New Play in San Francisco and “Speaking in Tongues”, which won a Kennedy Center/NEA/ Fund for New American Plays Award. Her play “Our Lady of the Desert” won Theatreworks ‘Best New Play in California Award”
Lorri Holt (Performer) A longtime leading actress in the SF Bay Area, Holt moved to Nevada City last year. A company member for ten years with SF’s groundbreaking Eureka Theatre, she was featured in 20+ productions, and originated the role of Harper Pitt in Tony Kushner’s Angels in America. Ms. Holt’s regional and international theatre credits include featured & leading roles at Berkeley Rep, American Conservatory Theater, The Wilma in Philadelphia, Birmingham Rep (England), London’s Barbican Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Actors Theater of Louisville, San Jose Rep, TheatreWorks, MTC, The Aurora, & long-running commercial productions in San Francisco. Most recently, Ms. Holt played Kathryn in Robin Bradford’s Training Wheels at the RAVE Theatre Festival in New York last August. Lorri originated the title role in the solo show Who Killed Sylvia Plath? by Lynne Kaufman, at The Marsh in S.F. She also stars in her own solo show, Colette Uncensored, about the life & work of the famous French writer, which she co- wrote with poet & translator Zack Rogow. Colette Uncensored has been performed at The Marsh (SF & Berkeley), London’s Canal Café Theatre & Cerimon House in Portland, and was nominated for Best Solo Production and Best Solo Performance by Theater Bay Area & BATCC.
As recommended by the performer
Age recommendation: 13+
Trigger Warnings: suicide, divorce, depression
Run time: 58 minutes