Comedic, Bilingual Ride Through Ancestry, Identity, Storytelling
MONTPELIER – Vermont writer and performer Abby Paige and Lost Nation Theater present her new play “Les Filles du Quoi?” on June 16 to June 26, at Montpelier City Hall Arts Center.
Playwright and actor Paige is a twelfth-generation Vermont settler with French Canadian roots and has created a new autobiographical theater work investigating ancestry, identity, and storytelling. To do this, Paige portrays a host of different characters, from new mom, to journalist, to Jack Kerouac, to Ted Talker, to the ghost of an accused French-Canadian witch.
Lost Nation’s Founding Artistic Director Kim Bent is helming the production, and says, “Abby’s created a miracle with ‘Les Filles Du Quoi?.’ The number of voices conjured in her script makes me
think it could have been co-written by George Carlin, Maya Angelou, Moliere, Lily Tomlin, or David Budbill. And yet, this rigorous exploration of her Franco-American heritage remains, indisputably and entirely, hers”.
With this comedic, bilingual one-woman show, writer and performer Paige, who emigrated to Canada 100 years after her great-grandparents immigrated in the opposite direction, crosses the borders between English and French, the past and the present, the living and the dead, history (L’Histoire) and stories (les histoires), looking for answers.
Bringing “Les Filles” to life with Bent and Paige are many of Lost Nation Theater’s favorite collaborators: scenic designer Claiborne H. Coyle, costume designer Nancy Smith, lighting and projections designer Samuel J. Biondolillo, and stage manager Marissa Mattogno. Textile artist Danielle Hogan comes to the project through Paige, and is making her Lost Nation Theater debut.
The production plays June 16 to June 26. at 7:30 p.m., Wednesdays through Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays. To keep everyone safe, proper mask-wearing, and adherence to other COVID-safety protocols are required for in-person seating. The performance will also be live-streamed for anyone not yet comfortable gathering indoors (or who is unable to meet the industry-standard COVID-safety protocols LNT must follow) Tickets available online or in person at Montpelier City Clerks Office, Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4 p.m. For more information, see lostnationtheater.org, phone: (802) 229-0492, or email info@lostnationtheater.org.
