Q&A with Artistic Director Emily Lyon

Q: What drew You to Anima in the first place?

A: I fell in love with Anima the first time I read it. It is a story that is, unfortunately, a really relevant and present experience for many women and femme folks. The story of how you reclaim your agency and sense of self after being a victim of abuse and assault, is a really powerful conversation to have and transformation to watch.

I also loved the complexity, the humanity, the language of [Anima]. It’s so fabulous to have a female painter, a female artist, as our protagonist who gets to go on a journey of choosing to empower herself, and she does it beautifully.

Q: What would you like people to know about Anima before coming to see it?

A: It was written in 1898, so turn of the century Italy, by a Jewish-Italian writer. I think that this is a conversation for everyone. Ultimately, it is a play about how pain is either transformed or transmitted and that systems of patriarchy and capitalism hurt everyone, not just women and marginalized folks in that system. While it is a play by a historical woman playwright, I think everyone will be struck by the conversation.

I would like people to know that there are some sensitive topics, including sexual assault and self harm. [Emily notes they are not shown, but are discussed]

Q: What is it like working with Island Shakespeare Festival as a partner organization and as a director?

Q: What is the benefit of an Expand the Canon Partnership? And what can a company expect from partnering with ETC?

One major result, that is really beautiful, I’ve noticed from our continued partnership with Island Shakespeare Festival is that when I tell local people I am directing a non-Shakespeare play, they go “OH! You are doing an Expand the Canon one!” So they are really getting to know what Expand the Canon means. For a company, the benefit is that, even though your audience might not know the specific title, they do get to know what [the play] represents and what it means.