theatre KAPOW continues its thirteenth season, which has become a season of live-streamed productions, with Gidion’s Knot by Johnna Adams to be performed March 5 – 7, 2021.
MANCHESTER, NH – Amidst the fallout from her 5th-grade son Gidion’s suspension from school, a mother demands answers. What begins as a highly charged parent/teacher conference with Gidion’s emotionally overwhelmed teacher develops into a revelatory confrontation that burrows under the surface of bullying, failures of the system, culpability of the adults and freedom of expression. Is Gidion the perpetrator, the victim or the hero of his story? Who can untie this knot? Gidion’s Knot is a poetic game of verbal chess between two women about breakdown in communications between children and the adults meant to nurture them, and the thin line between bully and victim in schools. Reverberating with more questions than answers, this heart-wrenching drama is sure to provoke deep feelings and promote vigorous conversation.
“This play makes you wrestle with so many tough questions and we explored it, we kept uncovering more,” said actress Rachael Chapin Longo, who plays teacher Heather Clark in the show. “In the wake of tragedy we seek answers to grasp some understanding, to make sense of things. Corryn and Heather are opponents in a heartbreaking match to uncover truths, accountability and the hardest won act of all – forgiveness.”
Director Matt Cahoon shared this play with a friend who is a school administrator. She found the show a very difficult read, as he suspected she would, but he was surprised by her reaction. “She said that all she could feel was this overwhelming sense of isolation from both characters. Perhaps we have gotten to the point in this pandemic where the feeling of isolation is the one that jumps most quickly to mind,” Cahoon said. theatre KAPOW has certainly felt a sense of isolation at times, and Gidion’s Knot is actually the first show they have done with more than one actor since February of last year. “The process of safely and responsibly making work during this time has certainly presented challenges, but in a way, this show feels like the beginning of a return to something like normalcy.”
Gidion’s Knot is directed by Matthew Cahoon and will be performed by Rachael Chapin Longo and Carey Cahoon. Tayva Young will be providing the lighting design. Performances are Friday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, March 6 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, March 7 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10. Visit www.tkapow.com for tickets and information.
About Johnna Adams
Johnna Adams received a Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association Citation for Gidion’s Knot (2013). She is a past recipient of the Princess Grace Award and a 2012 Finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award. Gidion’s Knot was published in 2012 in American Theatre Magazine. The Contemporary American Theatre Festival premiered the play in 2012. She graduated from the DePaul University Theatre School with a BFA in Acting and received an MFA in Playwriting from Hunter College under professor Tina Howe.
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 plays by Paula Vogel, Sarah Ruhl, Tony Kushner, Henrik Ibsen and William Shakespeare. 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).
