Agnes Under the Big Top

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

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Concord Theatricals

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Cast Size

3w, 3m
Duration

90 minutes
Subgenre

Not Applicable
Suggested Use
- Cutting Approved for Competition
Target Audience

Adult, Senior, Teen (Age 14 - 18)

Details

Summary

Agnes Under the Big Top: A Tall Tale explores the intersecting lives of several immigrants in a US city. It is a magical tale of hope and disappointment, identity and reinvention, narrated by an itinerant subway busker. Against the subterranean rhythms of a subway train, a Liberian home care worker, a former Bulgarian ringmaster and his wife, an Indian call center escapee, and a bed-ridden American woman, find and redefine themselves in today’s America.

History

Agnes Under the Big Top was commissioned by Mixed Blood Theatre, and selected as a NEA Distinguished New Play Development Project as part of the NEA New Play Development Program. The play was presented in a National New Play Network rolling world premiere at Mixed Blood Theatre (MN), Long Wharf Theatre (CT), and Borderlands Theatre (AZ). The play opened at The Mixed Blood Theatre, under artistic director Jack Reuler, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on February 18, 2011. It was directed by the author. The play opened at Long Wharf Theatre, under artistic director Gordon Edelstein, in New Haven, Connecticut, on March 9, 2011. It was directed by Eric Ting. The play opened at Borderlands Theatre in Tucson, Arizona, on February 9, 2012. It was directed by artistic director Barclay Goldsmith.

Cast Attributes

Keywords

Performing Groups

AGNES - 30s; Liberian immigrant; Ella’s home care worker; tough and funny.
ELLA - American; white; a rheumatoid, bedridden woman; deformed and wooden, her fingers trapped in claws; prematurely aged.
ROZA - 40s; Bulgarian immigrant; speaks Bulgarian; Ella’s home care worker; silent except when addressing birds.
SHIPKOV - 40s; Bulgarian immigrant; Roza’s husband; drives a subway train; former ringmaster.
HAPPY - 20s; Indian; recently immigrated con artist; training as subway driver; smiles a lot.
BUSKER - plays an instrument on the subway platform; is all other voices/voiceovers; moves freely through time and space.

Time Period Contemporary
Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
Additional Features Mime, No intermission, Physical Comedy, Play w/ Music
Duration 90 minutes
Cautions
- Alcohol
- Drugs
- Strong Language
- Smoking

Media

REVIEWS

"Rich in feeling, wide in scope, teeming with poetry and sprinkled with Bulgarian." - The New York Times

"...a tough and tender play...that is as graceful and evocative as trapeze artists flying through air with the greatest of ease." - Variety

"...Kapil has created a masterly matrix for what are essentially first-person short stories told by the five main characters...this lyrical, bittersweet play is a spirit-soaring experience." - Hartford Courant

Videos

Agnes Under the Big Top - Long Wharf Theatre promo
Actress Fancesca Choy-Kee discusses Agnes Under the Big Top

Music

Musical Style N/A (Not a musical)
Vocal DemandsN/A (Not a musical)
Chorus Size No Chorus

Licensing & Materials

Minimum Fee: $110 per performance

Scripts

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Ticketing

Authors

Aditi Brennan Kapil

Aditi Brennan Kapil is a writer, actress and director of Bulgarian and Indian descent. She was raised in Sweden, resides in Minneapolis, MN, and her work is produced nationally and internationally to critical acclaim.

Agnes Under the Big Top