Special Commendation 2020-21

Kimber Lee

Play: The Water Palace

 Kimber Lee

Synopsis: A twisty exploration of the uses of narrative and the difficulty of holding complexity and contradictory truths, based on the 7-month interrogation of Saddam Hussein in 2004.

 

Cast Breakdown: 4M and 2W

GEORGE PIRO. (M) Assyrian Lebanese-American. mid 30s.

FRANCIA. (F) Assyrian Lebanese-American. late 50s--early 60s.

S. (M) Iraqi. 66 years old.

SUBHA. (F) Iraqi. her age is up for debate. 

BEN GRANT/CHARLES. (M) White American. late 40s--mid 50s.

TUCK/CORDUROY. (M) Black or Afro-Latinx American. 20 years old. 

POLAR BEAR.  a polar bear. 

Notes on Other Casting:

BOY and BADAL can be played by the actor playing TUCK. 

CAROLINE and JOSEPH can be played by the actor playing SUBHA.

AHMED can be played by the actor playing FRANCIA.

 

Set Costume Requirements: The physical space should be fluid but contain islands of "reality" that can anchor us in real moments, maybe we have the impression of rooms, all in a row, maybe stacked on each other......some with doors, some with passageways connecting them, some with no discernable exit....I think there wants to be a sense of reflecting and refracting, shadows replicating themselves in the corners making it seem like there are passageways leading on and on, deeper into a labyrinthine structure.

Locations include: Francia's kitchen in Turlock, CA, the interrogation room in Baghdad, the underground hallway and holding cell where Saddam was imprisoned -- which has been described being made of thick glass, so the MPs guarding him could see in and watch him 24/7.

Also, having real water on stage is not as important as the sound and feeling of water, the way it moves both as a trickle making its way down a window, and as a river cutting through a valley floor. This sensation, in some form, might feel always present throughout the play.

 

Agent: Seth Glewen at Gersh, sglewen@gersh.com

 

Bio: Plays include to the yellow house (upcoming World Premiere at La Jolla Playhouse), untitled f*ck m*ss s**gon play (upcoming World Premiere at Royal Exchange in Manchester UK, 2020 Susan Smith Blackburn Finalist), tokyo fish story (South Coast Rep, TheatreWorks/SV, Old Globe), brownsville song (b-side for tray) (Humana Festival, LCT3, Long Wharf Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Seattle Rep, Moxie Theatre, Shotgun Players), and different words for the same thing directed by Neel Keller (Center Theatre Group). She has developed work with Lark Play Development Center, The Ground Floor/Berkeley Rep, Page 73, Hedgebrook, Ojai Playwrights Conference, O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, ACT Theatre/Seattle, Premiere Stages, and Magic Theatre. Lark Playwrights Workshop Fellow, Dramatists Guild Fellow, member of Ma-Yi Writers Lab, and recipient of the  2020 Helen Merrill Award, 2020-2021 Hodder Fellowship, Ruby Prize, PoNY Fellowship, Hartford Stage New Voices Fellowship, BAU Institute Arts Residency Award, Kilroys List, and inaugural winner of the 2019 Bruntwood Prize International Award. MFA: UT Austin.