This Sunday at 2pm: "My Brother Jake" at the Neurodivergent New Play Series
Dave Osmundsen's new play will be presented on May 19th at 2pm, and will be directed by Allen MacLeod as part of Piccione Arts's ongoing play series dedicated to neurodivergent empowerment
This coming Sunday, the Neurodivergent New Play Series - an ongoing production of Piccione Arts curated by spit&vigor - will present a staged reading of My Brother Jake - written by Dave Osmundsen & directed by Allen MacLeod - at spit&vigor’s black box theater, located at 115 MacDougal Street, 3C, New York, NY on May 19th at 2pm EST.
Tickets are available at www.spitnvigor.com/neurodivergent-plays, with a minimum $15 donation for limited in-person seating & pay-what-you-can for at-home for at-home livestreaming up to two weeks after the live performance. Regular updates are available at www.linktr.ee/neurodivergentplays and on Instagram & Facebook @neurodivergentplays.
My Brother Jake tells the story of an autistic theatre artist who has managed to have what some would call an “inspiring” career. Ethan, his higher-needs twin brother, has lived in his shadow their whole lives. When Jake’s life and livelihood are at a crossroads, past resentments come to the surface, and Ethan makes an impassioned bid for agency.
“I was drawn to the "Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated" proverb, particularly the contextual definition of "love" and "hate": Jacob is chosen to lead God's people, Esau is not,” according to Mr. Osmundsen on why he wrote the play, stating that he was also “fascinated by the sea change of artistic leadership in the American theatre and an increased "accountability" culture that often costs powerful people their jobs, [and] I wanted to explore what presentations of autism the American theatre uplifts and supports, which it leaves behind, and the tension between the two. An autistic True West, if you will.”
On the broader industry conversations surrounding neurodivergent empowerment, he adds that “[t]he support to challenge both preconceived notions and narratives of autism from the allistic community and examine narratives the autistic community has constructed for itself. The chance to grow, change, expand, and experiment as an openly autistic artist and writer.”
Founded in 2023 by award-winning autistic playwright and producer Anthony J. Piccione, the Neurodivergent New Play Series is dedicated to presenting matinee readings on the 3rd Sunday of every month - with seasonal breaks in December, January, July, and August - of plays written entirely by neurodivergent and disabled playwrights (i.e. autism, ADHD, dyslexia, OCD, Tourette syndrome, etc.) as part of a growing resident company of playwrights whose interests and specialties span a wide range of subjects, genres & structural approaches, with each play personally selected from a neuroinclusive resident company of directors. Learn more at www.linktr.ee/neurodivergentplays or by following @neurodivergentplays on Instagram and Facebook.
The Neurodivergent New Play Series is a curated production of spit&vigor. Founded in 2015, spit&vigor is a non-profit theater company devoted to the development of new plays and spirited, innovative productions of existing work. Their small roster of productions has been award winning and critically acclaimed, praised as “darkly humorous, deliciously ghoulish”, “wrenching and visually eloquent”, "irresistibly dramatic" and "legitimately upsetting" by the New York Times. In collaboration with theater company Theatre4thePeople, spit&vigor was the recipient of the 2015 New York Innovative Theater Outstanding Premiere Production of a Play Award for their very first production in a historic chapel at The West Park Presbyterian Church, which included an Artist Support Grant from the Donn Russell Fund. spit&vigor has since gone on to earn The Players Theater Off-Broadway Artistic Residency, The Center at West Park’s Artist Residency, IRT's 3B Residency, The Davenport space grant, and The Times Center space grant.
