THE WISH: A MANUAL FOR A LAST-DITCH EFFORT TO SAVE ABORTION IN THE UNITED STATES THROUGH THEATER
commissioned by Clubbed Thumb. Free downloadable play published by New Georges
WRITTEN BY: DENA IGUSTI, JUSTICE HEHIR, PHANESIA PHAREL, NIA AKILAH ROBINSON, JULIA SPECHT
PRODUCED BY: NEW GEORGES
Welcome to our very disposable/very time sensitive play!
It’s a play meant for right this second.
It’s a play meant for summer 2022.
It’s a participatory ritual and also kind of funny?
We started this piece in the wake of SB8, a Texas law that allows anyone to sue anyone in civil
court for getting an abortion after 6 weeks. (Effectively an abortion ban in sneaky language.)
Several states have followed their lead- there are extreme abortion restrictions or outright bans
set to take effect in Oklahoma, Kentucky, Florida, Arizona, and Arkansas, just to name a few.
And we’re releasing this play a couple of weeks before the Supreme Court is set to rule on
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization- a court case that will determine the
constitutionality of Roe v. Wade. If the Supreme Court votes in favor of Dobbs, Roe v. Wade will
be overturned.
If Roe v. Wade is overturned, 26 states are poised to quickly ban abortion.
Which is to say: this summer we might lose Roe v. Wade.
This summer, we might lose the right to abortion.
WE MIGHT LOSE THE RIGHT TO ABORTION.
and that’s SCARY. Can we all just yell that real quick? IT’S SCARY. And really hard to talk about
without collapsing into a puddle of despair.
And here’s the thing and it’s a really unfair thing: we can’t really be puddles of despair right now.
We just can’t. We have to be nimble and thoughtful and vocal. We have to talk about this
horrible devastating thing to have any chance of stopping it.
So we made a play to make talking about this easier!
We made a play to make you laugh!
We made a play to help you remember how to be angry in a world that has beaten you numb!
(we wrote a ritual for friends)
(we wrote a passion play for protests)
(we wrote spells)
(we wrote a play)
And the play is for right now. The play is for everyone and can be read on couches or done
onstage or in a dorm room or at a protest. It’s free, there are no “rights” to purchase. You can
add to it. You can amend it. You can rearrange it.
There’s plenty of work to be done, more work than any one person or organization can do alone.
So here’s a play to help get the conversation started.
Let us know where it goes.
We mean it: tag #thewishplay on Twitter and Instagram.
FIRST SIGHT: A QUEER INDONESIAN LOVE STORY
Lime Fest @ The Tank – Aug. 15, 2021
WRITTEN BY: DENA IGUSTI
DIRECTED BY: DENA IGUSTI
PRODUCED BY: DEAREST MEAREST
1997 Jakarta, Indonesia. Sari is an aspiring singer hoping to achieve her dreams of stardom through her karaoke performances at her best friend Fina’s parties. One of her song numbers leads to a chance encounter with Lisa, a determined journalist, and the two become a hot item in Jakarta’s lesbian party scene. But when Sari is forced to flee from the after effects of Suharto’s dictatorship, the two must adapt their love to conform to the pressures of survival and migration. Eighteen years later, Sari’s daughter Diah must navigate the residual trauma of Sari’s past as it is projected onto her own relationship with her girlfriend, Melli.
CON DOUGH: Stories of the 1-in-5 Gentrified
commissioned by Center At West Park – Feb. 26-28, 2021
WRITTEN BY: DENA IGUSTI & RAY JORDAN ACHAN
DIRECTED BY: RAY JORDAN ACHAN
PRODUCED BY: EXILED TONGUES AND SHORT LINE REVIEW
CON DOUGH: STORIES OF 1 in 5 GENTRIFIED is a new documentary theater piece that captures the violence gentrification has done to low income communities and communities of color across NYC. It uses a culmination of interviews from residents, students, organizers, and educators that have grown up in the NYC for over a decade as well as project leaders Dena Igusti and Ray Jordan Achan’s personal experiences as born and raised New Yorkers that have been traumatized by gentrification. The production highlights the way the constant fear of displacement affects New York identity, and what it means to call a place that neglects your livelihood “home.” By bringing community awareness around the issues of gentrification and how it is inextricably linked to racial and class politics, writers Achan and Igusti strive to give marginalized communities a voice and motivate individuals to demand accountability from their elected leaders.
CUT WOMAN
commissioned by Prelude Festival – Oct. 22-26, 2020
WRITTEN BY: DENA IGUSTI
DIRECTED BY: RAY JORDAN ACHAN
PRODUCED BY: EXILED TONGUES
CUT WOMAN is a choreopoem based on Dena Igusti’s poetry about an Indonesian Muslim survivor of female genital mutilation navigating the loss of her people, body, and inevitable demise. She uses her body’s ghost, the internet, and webcams to realize what stays in a world shaped by what is and will be lost.
SHARUM
commissioned by Players Theater – Jul. 11-27, 2019
WRITTEN BY: DENA IGUSTI & MURTAZA
DIRECTED BY: RAY JORDAN ACHAN
PRODUCED BY: ESTHERFROMNEWYORK, UNCOMMON;YOU
Sharum (stylized as SHARUM) is a documentary theatre piece that follows a Muslim family based in Queens, New York. The story follows the wedding of the oldest daughter, Mariam. Throughout the events of the wedding, all 4 of the siblings are forced to come face to face with the reality of their identities, battling the stigmas around mental health, arranged marriages, drug addiction, and queerness. In the midst of this ceremony, these secrets get exposed to each other and the community around them. SHARUM recalls true events in these scenarios that capture the responses of their parents, and the ways it permanently affects their family dynamic.
Dena Igusti 