Seattle director explores of queerness and romance in latest show

Seattle-based direct Andrew Coopman saw a lot of buried history in his newest play, The Convent of Pleasure - in particular Queer history.

“The Convent of Pleasure is a story of two women falling in love and fighting against the cultural expectations placed upon them,” they explained. “And the REALLY wild part is that one of the two primary characters changes gender with no explanation during that last act, which her husband wrote. What could be overlooked or simply labeled a cross-dressing character is, I believe, something much more complex and beautiful and kick-ass and resilient.

“The Convent of Pleasure is a great example of how history has erased and suppressed LGBTQ+ identity for comfort and ease, making it seem like a revolutionary or rebel idea of the last century or so,” Coopman continued. “But this beautiful romantic comedy is also a great example of the Queer community’s resilience and determination throughout history. We are Queer, we have been Queer, we have always been here, and it’s time to recognize and celebrate our story… and that’s why audiences should come watch our play.”

The Convent of Pleasure by Margaret Cavendish is part of a new virtual series by Chicago-based Ghostlight Ensemble called For Your (Re)Consideration, which explores the works of historically overlooked female playwrights.

Written in 1688, The Convent of Pleasure tells the story of a group of unmarried women, initiated by Lady Happy, who choose to avoid the pains or displeasures that exist in a male-dominated world and instead create their own community, or convent, of pleasure to create their own perfect, self-functioning society.

The cast of The Convent of Pleasure includes: Ensemble Member Song Marshall with Lotus Lindez, Cynthia Becker, Sagen Berry, Sebastian Summers, Aria Caldwell, Ira McIntosh and KJ Snyder.

As a director, choreographer, devisor, performer, playwright and teaching artist, Coopmanhas worked in a variety of theaters around the country including Seattle, New York City, Milwaukee and the Chicagoland area. Directing credits include: RE: Social/Divide (Cooperative Performance), Into The Woods (Studio East), Wilde Tales (Seattle Opera), James & The Giant Peach (Village Theater), Little Women The Musical (Seattle Musical Theatre) and the premier of The Sunflower Sisters (Eclectic Theater).

The Convent of Pleasure is currently streaming on-demand through May 9.

Tickets are pay what you will, with a minimum of $5 per reading and the average donation for such virtual offerings at $15. By donating more, if you are able, you help offset the cost for those who can’t afford to give. Tickets are available here.

Featuring a variety of distinct voices and styles from different historical periods, the virtual readings that make up For Your (Re)Consideration seek to bring attention to remarkable women who have been sidelined by history for reasons that had nothing to do with their talent and everything to do with their gender and, in many cases, their race.

Sometimes referred to as the Other Canon, the work of these early female playwrights dates from Hrotsvitha in the 10th Century to Dorothy C. Guinn in the 1920s. Their plays are as much the building blocks of modern theatre as those of their male counterparts. Some good, some great, some successful in their time, some way ahead of their time, these women have found themselves all but erased from history and rarely, if ever, produced today.

The series is curated by Ensemble Member Holly Robison, who said she struck on the idea for the series a few years ago when she came across The Enchantment by Victoria Benedictsson, who was said to be an inspiration for Hedda Gabler and Miss Julie.

“I thought it was absurd that those plays are heralded as classics and performed all the time, but I had never even heard of Benedictsson or her play,” Robison said. “I started thinking — what else was missed because the author was a woman? Or what plays and playwrights were never cultivated?”

Additional readings include:

• Distinguished Villa by Kate O’Brien, directed by Elizabeth Lovelady
• Mine Eyes Have Seen by Alice Dunbar Nelson and War Brides by Marion Craig Wentworth, directed by Angelisa Gillyard
• Warp and Woof by Edith Lyttelton, directed by Christina Casano
• The Enchantment by Victoria Benedictsson, adapted by Clare Bayley, directed by Holly Robison

Find out more about For Your (Re)Consideration and the entire 2020-2021 Season at GhostlightEnsemble.com.