MANCHESTER, NH – theatre KAPOW continues its thirteenth season with a second series of live-streamed productions, beginning with “A Hundred Words for Snow” by Tatty Hennessey to be performed January 15 – 17, 2021.
When 15-year-old Rory’s geography teacher father dies suddenly, she decides to pursue his lifelong dream and journey to the North Pole. Following the route he planned and the advice of the great explorers before her, Rory packs a rucksack and her father’s ashes for a journey of love, loss, and endless snow. Tatty Hennessy’s play “A Hundred Words for Snow” is about being an explorer in a melting world. It’s a coming-of-age story. With polar bears.
This debut play by British writer Tatty Hennessy received the Heretic Voices award in 2017 and went on to win a Vault Origin award and receive four Off West End nominations including Best New Play and Most Promising New Playwright. It premiered in 2018 at Arcola Theatre and was so popular it transferred in 2019 to the Trafalgar Studios in the West End.
This theatre KAPOW venture is a personal one. The show stars Emma Cahoon as Rory and, in this piece Emma, is directed by her mother, tKAPOW co-founder and company member Carey Cahoon. “When we were looking for shows for our streaming series, we knew we had to do something with Emma,” said Carey, “we wanted a way to work safely during this particularly sensitive time during the pandemic and knew that the three of us could work on a show together while Emma was home from school.” Emma is currently a student at the Boston University School of Theatre. “When we found this script we knew that Emma would be a perfect Rory” Matt Cahoon, tKAPOW’s Artistic Director and the third Cahoon involved in this project said.
When asked about the experience of working on a play during this difficult time, Emma said, “It’s a really important time to be making theatre however we can. We’re in a certain coming-of-age time of theatre, a new era, and so it feels like the perfect time to explore a coming of age story about a young woman facing great loss. It feels close to my heart too, as the past year has sort of been my ‘coming of age,’ as well.” The process of heading off to college in the midst of a global pandemic was not always a smooth one for Emma who not only had to adjust to life away from home but also had to navigate the very stringent COVID protocols at BU. Emma remained positive throughout the semester and found ways to persevere in the face of adversity. “One of my favorite things that Rory says in the play is how she once thought of ‘whiteness’ or ‘nothingness’ as a blank page, an absence, but comes to learn how full of life complete purity can be, which I think is a beautiful sentiment as we continue venturing into this unexplored, unprecedented world. The way that my parents and the tKAPOW company have been able to fill this blank canvas with color has been astonishing and I’m so thrilled to have my shot at it with them.”
A Hundred Words for Snow is directed by Carey Cahoon and will be performed by Emma Cahoon. Tayva Young will be providing the lighting design. Performances are Friday, January 15 at 7:30 pm; Saturday, January 16 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm; and Sunday, January 17 at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $10.00. Visit www.tkapow.com for tickets and information.
About theatre KAPOW
theatre KAPOW develops ensemble productions of great dramatic literature to explore the human experience and inspire and challenge both artist and audience. tKAPOW places emphasis on the importance of rigorous formal training to develop an ensemble of skilled and dedicated theatre artists.
Now in its thirteenth season, tKAPOW has established a reputation for presenting important classic and new dramatic literature including productions by August Strindberg, Henrik Ibsen, Sam Shepard, Sarah Ruhl, and Tony Kushner. In 2019, tKAPOW won the NH Theatre Award for Best Production of a Play for The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood. tKAPOW has also won Best Production of a Play for Penelope by Enda Walsh (2014), Time Stands Still by Donald Margulies (2015), and Exit the King by Eugene Ionesco (2017).
Visit www.tkapow.com to learn more.
