TANIA IN THE
GETAWAY VAN
TANIA IN THE GETAWAY VAN It’s 1975 in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Laura’s mom is going back to school. Diane is discovering liberation, openness, possibility! But that doesn’t mean eleven-year-old Laura has to play along, no way. Laura’s in the hall closet, pretending to be Patty Hearst. Fast forward to 2012. Successful Laura looks like a model product of the women’s movement… or is she just the byproduct of Diane’s expectations?
TANIA was produced as part of The Pool: a pop-up theater company, in rotating rep at The Flea Theater in November and December 2017. Portia Krieger directed; Annie McNamara, Caitlin Morris, Madeline Wise and Courtney G. Williams acted; Devin August Peterson, Christina Watanabe, Fan Zhang, David Bengali, and Lilly Prentice and Ilana Breitman designed, and music for the songs was composed by Rachel Peters.
TANIA was read in the Female Protagonist Reading Series at Jimmy's No. 43 in February 2016, directed by Portia Krieger
TANIA was worked on a lil bit at New Georges/The Room with director Portia Krieger and set designer Carolyn Mraz in February 2015
TANIA was read in the Breaking Ground Reading Series at the Huntington Theatre Company, Boston, in February 2014, where it was directed by Portia Krieger
TANIA was workshopped at the 2013 New Harmony Project in New Harmony, IN, where it was directed by Lori Wolter Hudson
prior to that, it was read at Canal Park Playhouse and the Lark Play Development Center
TANIA was a finalist for the 2013 National New Play Network National Showcase of New Plays
and a semi-finalist for the 2013 Bay Area Playwrights' Festival
On The Pool's production of TANIA IN THE GETAWAY VAN:
"Susan Bernfield’s thoughtful and tender look at Laura, an awkward eleven-year-old girl who confusedly witnesses her mother, Diane, struggle to complete a higher education, enter the workplace, and, amid all that, somehow manage to be a good mom.... deftly suggest(s) the perplexities of those changing times. Heading a capable cast, Annie McNamara gradually brightens in face, voice, and attitude to illuminate Diane’s dawning awareness of her potential." -- The Village Voice
"Carries the audience through time seamlessly... definitely a play to see!" -- Reviews Hub
"The theme that Tania in the Getaway Van knocks out of the park is how revolutionary social change can seem so ordinary while living it... a funny and unconventional coming-of-age with memorable female characters and a critical message."
-- Ludus NY
Top: Madeline Wise, Caitlin Morris, Courtney G. Williams; Center: Annie McNamara, Courtney G. Williams, Caitlin Morris. Photos: Marina McClure
Want to read TANIA? Let me know! Or find it on the New Play Exchange.
TANIA was produced as part of The Pool: a pop-up theater company, in rotating rep at The Flea Theater in November and December 2017. Portia Krieger directed; Annie McNamara, Caitlin Morris, Madeline Wise and Courtney G. Williams acted; Devin August Peterson, Christina Watanabe, Fan Zhang, David Bengali, and Lilly Prentice and Ilana Breitman designed, and music for the songs was composed by Rachel Peters.
TANIA was read in the Female Protagonist Reading Series at Jimmy's No. 43 in February 2016, directed by Portia Krieger
TANIA was worked on a lil bit at New Georges/The Room with director Portia Krieger and set designer Carolyn Mraz in February 2015
TANIA was read in the Breaking Ground Reading Series at the Huntington Theatre Company, Boston, in February 2014, where it was directed by Portia Krieger
TANIA was workshopped at the 2013 New Harmony Project in New Harmony, IN, where it was directed by Lori Wolter Hudson
prior to that, it was read at Canal Park Playhouse and the Lark Play Development Center
TANIA was a finalist for the 2013 National New Play Network National Showcase of New Plays
and a semi-finalist for the 2013 Bay Area Playwrights' Festival
On The Pool's production of TANIA IN THE GETAWAY VAN:
"Susan Bernfield’s thoughtful and tender look at Laura, an awkward eleven-year-old girl who confusedly witnesses her mother, Diane, struggle to complete a higher education, enter the workplace, and, amid all that, somehow manage to be a good mom.... deftly suggest(s) the perplexities of those changing times. Heading a capable cast, Annie McNamara gradually brightens in face, voice, and attitude to illuminate Diane’s dawning awareness of her potential." -- The Village Voice
"Carries the audience through time seamlessly... definitely a play to see!" -- Reviews Hub
"The theme that Tania in the Getaway Van knocks out of the park is how revolutionary social change can seem so ordinary while living it... a funny and unconventional coming-of-age with memorable female characters and a critical message."
-- Ludus NY
Top: Madeline Wise, Caitlin Morris, Courtney G. Williams; Center: Annie McNamara, Courtney G. Williams, Caitlin Morris. Photos: Marina McClure
Want to read TANIA? Let me know! Or find it on the New Play Exchange.