IF YOUR PLANTS COULD TALK, WHAT WOULD THEY SAY?
ABOUT THE PLAY
ALIVE is a new, full-length play tackling depression, queer identity, and substance abuse through the lens of magical realism. This irreverent and ultimately heartwarming work is about growing the will to continue living in spite of mental illness.
Bobby’s quirky gang of houseplants is in trouble. Hopeless to change their fate, they are slowly dying after being moved into a dark apartment. Bobby is in trouble too, facing eviction and struggling with depression in the midst of a messy breakup. In a drug-induced fever dream, Bobby and his plants discover that they can mysteriously talk to one another. Will their budding companionship spur Bobby to battle his inner demons, save the plants, and discover a life worth living?
CHARACTER SKETCHES BY JANEY JONES
ANDREW NEWTON
PLAYWRIGHT
Andrew has always been a theater kid. From a young age he has acted in a wide variety of roles in productions at the community and collegiate levels, from Orpheus in Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice to Jack in Into the Woods. At Wake Forest University he directed and starred in The Last Five Years as well as multiple cabaret-style musical revues. Inspired by his own experiences surviving depression in his mid-twenties, ALIVE is his first major project as a playwright. In his day job he works as a horticulturist in Nashville and lives with his wonderful family (a very supportive husband and a very sassy cat named Tammy).
MADELEINE HICKS
DIRECTOR
Madeleine Hicks is a Nashville based writer, director, and performer. She is a highly collaborative, multimedia artist with a focus on theater and filmmaking. Her recent work includes Assistant Directing “FEED”, a new horror short by Kara McLeLand, and The Cackleberry County Fair, an immersive theatrical experience that was named in the Best of Nashville 2023 under Kindling Arts Festival. She is also in post-production for her debut feature film, Sunshine Girls, a queer love story set in a candy-coated dystopia.
THE PROCESS
ALIVE was written throughout 2022 and had a successful rehearsed reading in front of an audience in October 2023. After an overwhelmingly positive response from that reading, ALIVE is now being produced at the Darkhorse Theater on August 1-3 in partnership with Kindling Arts Festival.
Currently, ALIVE is in the early creative stages of production which includes building our team, researching inspiration images for set and costume design, creating organizational tools, and dramaturgical work.
Later this spring, we'll hold auditions to find our cast members and move forward with regularly scheduled production meetings. As we move into the early summer months, we'll shift focus to scheduling, technical needs, marketing, and production logistics. We look forward to holding rehearsals in July and opening the show in August!
Developing a new play is no easy task, but we feel confident in bringing this vision to life with the support of our Nashville community and the Kindling Arts Festival.
BUDGET
The majority of our budget will go towards fairly compensating our cast and crew for their work on ALIVE.
Other expenses include set design, rental space for both rehearsals and production, costume design and construction, and props.
DONATE
Want to help us bring Alive to Life?
We have exciting incentives to offer at every tier, including stickers, pre-order tickets, and Kindling Arts Festival Passes for 2024. Thank you for your support of ALIVE!
Donations for ALIVE are being accepted by our presenting sponsor Kindling Arts, a 501c3 non-profit organization. All gifts made are fully tax-deductible.
