WORKS IN PROGRESS

2023 - Casa Cushman

Written and directed by Leigh Fondakowski

Set design and dramaturgy by Sarah Lambert

Chelsea Factory Residency

A new play in development, based on the life, career, and queer loves of Charlotte Cushman, a once famous but now mostly forgotten 19th century actress. 

The process began in 2005 with a book (Lisa Merrill’s When Romeo was a Woman) and a workshop in Chicago.  And the work has continued to progress over the years, with multiple drafts, readings and workshops (About Face, Tectonic Theater Project, New York Theater Workshop, Orchard Project, MacDowell, and the Drama League, among others) and in 2023, a residency at the Chelsea Factory in NYC.

A few sketches from a series of three workshops at the Chelsea Factory:

Casa Cushman continues to evolve.