Staged Reading: CALVARIA: A PLAY FOR FERAL GIRLS Opens September 6th, 2025 with Babes with Blades Theatre Company!

Excited to announce I'll be a part of Babes with Blades' upcoming Staged Reading series Fighting Words Festival! I've been cast as Ruth in the staged reading of Calvaria: A Play for Feral Girls, and it's a fun part. Ruth is a bit anxiety-ridden and just wanting to do the next right thing as often as possible! When she's in a crew of feral girls who worship some faceless and nameless gods, lead by Marty, who seems to be a tiny bit psychotic, doing the next right thing becomes harder and harder for her to do! I'm very excited to be working with this cast, I've always wanted to work with Brandi Jiminez Lee after seeing her in Idle Muse Theatre Company's Jekyll & Hyde in 2022, and while we've only had a couple virtual rehearsals, I can already tell that this cast is immensely talented. I am also so glad to be working again with Tina-Kim Nguyen after we did the first staged reading of this show for The Babes back in April! And it's a pleasure to be working with Morgan Manasa again, who is directing this staged reading! I had always enjoyed working with her as a fellow actor and as a director and I love the things she asks her actors to think about when bringing a part to life!!

The staged reading series will be taking place September 6th & 7th, 13th & 14th, 2025 and staged readings of Calvaria specifically are on Saturday, September 6th, 2025 at 2:30 pm and Saturday, September 13th, 2025 at 7:30 pm at The Bramble Arts Loft in Chicago!

From The Babes, "Babes With Blades Theatre Company’s (BWBTC) 2025 season opens with an extended run of their new works festival, collectively called Fighting Words, running September 6th – 14th at the Bramble Arts Loft, 5545 N. Clark St, 2nd Floor. All performances start at a $10 suggested price and audiences can provide feedback on the scripts following each reading.

'Audiences underestimate how much they can influence a new play simply by attending a reading,” states Hayley Rice, Artistic Director of BWBTC. “While written notes and critiques are invaluable, just hearing how an audience connects with a story in the moment is pivotal for playwrights. Fighting Words is an opportunity to do exactly that: All three shows bring something very different to the stage,” continues Rice. “Chicago theater, and BWBTC especially, is not afraid to tell new narratives that represent folks from every corner of society and history, and this season’s festival does that.'”

You can check out all the information about the festival here: https://babeswithblades.org/event/2025-fighting-words-festival-3/ and can also get tickets here: https://babeswithbladestheatrecompany.thundertix.com/events/250493 or you can also give a $10 donation at the door!