The world premiere reading of Sarah Einspanier’s The Convent of Pleasure, directed by Portia Krieger, is coming up on July 9 as part of our Bonfire Series. Check out our interview below with Sarah to learn more about her play, her process, and how you can make a quick $20.
And reserve your seat now for The Convent of Pleasure, July 9, 7:30PM, South Oxford Space (138 S. Oxford St., Brooklyn).
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Pipeline Theatre Company: What do you want us to know about your play?
Sarah Einspanier: Nothing/as little as possible. Because I like being surprised. Because I’m still writing.
PTC: When and where did you decide to start writing this play? Why?
SE: I started this play last year—the way I start most of my plays—with a pack of sticky notes. I write down the things I’m interested in, things I’d like to see on stage, bits of speech. From there, I search for characters and relationships between them. And finally I start digging around for a play that will hold these things and people.
Some of my initial sticky notes included:
Margaret Cavendish’s The Convent of Pleasure
Sociobiology
James Lovelock’s Gaia Theory
Relaxation Apps
Silence
PTC: What excites you most about this project?
SE: Silence.
PTC: In one sentence, tell us something strange that happens in your play.
SE: There are a lot of ants.
PTC: Are you working on anything else?
SE: I’m searching for a new title for my triptych. I’ve offered 20 dollars to a few friends if they can come up with a winner. Unfortunately, I still have 20 dollars burning a whole in my pocket.
Navigating
Balance
PTC: Two truths and a lie, go:
SE: I bike 16 miles a day.
I was a production assistant for Season 17 of The Bachelor.
According to Myers-Briggs, I’m an ENFP.
PTC: What’s next for you?
SE: The Habitat’s Summertime Re-Write Festival with Lauren Z. Adleman.
A residency at The Barn Arts Collective with Morgan Green.
The Mississippi Delta—I’m on a road trip.
About The Convent of Pleasure
by Sarah Einspanier | directed by Portia Krieger
July 9, 7:30PM
138 S. Oxford St., Brooklyn
Reserve Your Seat
Margaret, a scholar, and Katherine, her partner mate, are moving? Going back to the earth? Going off the grid? Singing kumbaya? Whatever you want to call it, because they sure don’t know what to. Margaret is studying Margaret Cavendish, the 17th century playwright, and so she’s inspired (or perhaps deluded?) by Cavendish’s play The Convent of Pleasure. A play about our desire to escape the world alongside our desire to indulge in it. Exploring our excess and our emptiness and how they relate to our constant quest for “happiness.”
