The Alliance Theatre presents the four finalists of its 2023 Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition in free, staged readings during Alliance/Kendeda Week celebrating new works.
HOW TO BRUISE GRACEFULLY
By Brittany Fisher, The Juilliard School
Director TBD
A young YouTuber, Vi, is hiding something. What begins as a typical workday at Burger King soon spirals into a deep exploration of fear, trauma, and inner strength through the eyes of women who have both nothing and everything to lose. This is a crash course on survival and how to cope with the reality of not being in control of your own body.
BIOS
Brittany Fisher is an NYC-based playwright from Richmond, VA and a recent graduate of Juilliard's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program. Her play How to Bruise Gracefully was a finalist for the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, won the 2021 Kennedy Center Lorraine Hansberry Award, and was recognized by the Rosa Parks Award and Paula Vogel Award. Her work has been featured at the Great Plains Theatre Conference, the O’Neill National Playwright’s Conference and Cadence Theatre Company.
Melissa Mowry (she/her) is an East Coast based director, performer, and theatremaker. Originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, Melissa holds a MFA in Directing from The Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University. As a theatremaker, she is passionate about uplifting, celebrating and advocating for Black and Brown femmes and their communities. Notable works include: Regional:Padiddle (JAGFest/Vermont), Skeleton Crew (Summit Performance Indianapolis/Indiana), I Have a Dream (Virginia Repertory Theatre/Virginia). International/Other: tango of a crumbling wall (Theater Latea/New York), Party Chat (Kervigo Ensemble Theatre/New York), Manic Pixie Dream Girls Aren't Black (Orignial Idiots/NYC), Your Regularly Scheduled Programming (The Julliard School/NYC), GEN (Kervigo Ensemble Theatre/New York), Trouble in Mind (Rutgers University, New Brunswick), If Women Rose Rooted (The Tank/New York), Film/TV: “5iveSenese Short Films” (Director), “Becoming Electra” (Producer). Melissa is an Associate Member of the SDC and the 2018 Recipient of the Doris Duke Chartiable Foundation Equity Diversity and Inclusion Fellowship at The New Group in New York, as well as a 2018 recipient of an SDCF Observership at the Geffen Playhouse on Light's Out: Nat King Cole, directed by Patricia McGregor. In 2022, Melissa was a finalist for the Drama League's Stage Directors Fellowship.
