August Hot Chip Roundup
Turn up the heat!!
Hi friends!
Welcome to my very first substack!
Idk about y’all, but I’m getting tired of:
Missing out on friend’s projects
Using Instagram as my primary tool for hearing about said projects
Getting sucked down a rabbit hole of Simone Biles routines (I love you, Simone, but I need to get some work done) and videos of people doing dumb shit and hurting themselves (I laugh every time).
So here is your once-a-month resource for what I’m up to.
But first, Simone really JUST DID THAT and a cop hurting himself lol ACAB.
My August Projects!
Anyway, here’s where you can catch me this month:
Sanctuary by Alyssa Haddad-Chin at the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival
Super excited to perform in a reading of Alyssa’s new short play. She is honestly so cool, and I am honored to be a part of this! We are performing August 15 at 8pm, and if we make it to finals, we’ll be performing again on August 17. You can learn more and grab your tickets here.
Fucked-Up Play Fest at Caveat NYC
I’m thrilled to be writing for Fucked Up Play Fest, produced by the incredible Paige Esterly, at the end of the month! If you love a good 10-minute play festival combined with a silly evening of drinking games, then Fucked Up Play Fest is the place for you. Learn more and grab tickets here.
I had SUCH a blast writing and performing alongside Marx Jones in FUPF last year in this silly little piece directed by Michael Ortiz, Love Is Love Your Gay Black Dads This Summer.
What I’ll Be Seeing in August
Are all of my friends superstars? Yes.
The Third Hunger or The Donner Party Play by Sarah Groustra August 12th and 16th
Can’t wait to see Sarah Groustra’s The Third Hunger or The Donner Party Play at The Tank! Am I nervous about the content? Yes! Cannibalism is scary! Do I trust Sarah implicitly? Also yes! Sarah and I were a part of The Road Theatre’s Under Construction Writers Group (Highly recommend for any writers out there!) and now we’re in a class at ESPA led by the incomparable Gina Femia (Highly highly recommend their classes!). Love Sarah’s writing, and I can’t wait to support her work! Performances are August 12th and 16th. Get your tickets here.
Point to Point: A Live Painting Performance by Nick Turturro August 26-27
Nick is a dear friend, long-time collaborator, and multi-hyphenate-artist-extraordinaire. While I’ve acted alongside him, served in leadership roles with him, hung his artwork in my bathroom, suffered through SEO writing with him, and even written roles for him, I’ve never gotten a chance to go to one of his live painting events. So I can’t wait to catch him at the Tank later this month! Grab your tickets here, and if you can, donate to his GoFundMe.
Sapphest August 3-4
This is the first ever Sapphest, an exciting new play festival celebrating the works of queer women and sapphic-identifying individuals. Produced by the brilliant Marena Faye! I will unfortunately be out of town for this one, and I’ve been experiencing FOMO for weeks over it. Don’t be like me. Grab your tickets here!
Cool Shit Highlights
Huge Congratulations to Edinburgh Fringe Folks!
Sarah Alice Shull’s solo show, Something to Believe In, was truly spectacular. I laughed, I cried, and my little heart swelled with pride for our SAS! She’s in Edinburgh now, but I’m sure we’ll be seeing her on Broadway any day now!
I also just saw that a former playwriting classmate of mine, Sora Baek, will be performing her solo show, Sell Me: I Am from North Korea. I was lucky enough to hear some excerpts in class, and whoa, Sora is a powerhouse. Catch it if you can!
SERIALSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!
Did I write for this? Yes. Was it a strong ass cycle? Also yes! Some may say the strongest! I had such a blast working with Ethan Fox, Josh Boerman, Emily Oliveira, Elizabeth Spindler, Irina Kaplan, Georgia Cohen, Keith Weiss, Nick Turturro, and the rest of the Serials team (and a special thanks to Paige Esterly for directing episode 1 back in March!). We nabbed not one but TWO first place wins in July, and we had So Much FUN. If you’re still sleeping on Serials, I can only assume that you hate fun. We will be back this September, so look out for more info next month!
Huge congratulations to Kenjiro Lee, Alex Beige, Jack McManus, Cody Hom, Amaal Saifudeen, Meg Rosensweet, and Karen Marulanda on your plays!
(And thank you, Ahdya, for making me pose for this photo, always listening to my frantic Serials ramblings as I write, and supporting me in all the ways: namely bringing me coffee when I wake up. I love you!)
Treat yourself to some yummy coffee!
Speaking of coffee!! My cousin, Julian, just started his own business! The coffee beans are sustainably sourced in Colombia, where he lives, and the business is queer and trans owned. Plus, it’s delicious. Ahdya and I are working our way through a four pack now! Order your own here. (and use the discount code SORRYCOFFEECLUB for free shipping on subscription orders!)
AND from now until August 22, Sorry Coffee is donating 20% of proceeds to their friend Cata’s gender affirming surgery. (If coffee isn’t your thing, you can donate directly to Cata’s GoFundMe here.)
And because I’m a nerd…
Last month, I read:
The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
Honestly, unbelievable. This book covered colonialism, consumption, culture, class, and so much more. I was blown away by how skillfully Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi seamlessly navigated so many complicated subjects in this haunting read! An inspiration! I will be sitting with this book for a long time.
The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner
This was a Book Club pick! (Yes, I’m in a lil book club—love you, Emily, Christine, Nat, and Laurel!!) While I ultimately wasn’t blown away by the book, there were certain aspects of it that I LOVED. I’ve never gotten to sit with such a fantastical, tough, thoughtful, unapologetically queer protagonist, and the book tackled themes of addiction, queerness, class, and prejudices around education (or lack thereof) in ways that felt authentic and unique.
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
This book… Oh my god. I just finished it last night, and the ending left me weeping. But wow, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is like Simone Biles, because he really stuck the landing. In a not-so-distant future, people who are incarcerated for long bids or facing the death penalty have the opportunity to win their freedom through gladiator style “hard-action sports" (aka fights to the death). It’s brutal, it’s intense, and it is 100% rooted in real life, citing actual laws and referencing real victims of our carceral system in footnotes. It infuriates me and makes my heart ache, and it’s an absolute must-read. Also, the world and characters are so thoroughly built, every bit of this universe feels tangible. I can’t wait to read and watch all the interviews with Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.
What We’ve All Been Waiting For: Hot Chip of the Month!
THE MANGONADA
Mango sorbet, tajin, chamoy, fresh mango, whatever the hell that straw thing contains—this is my latest obsession! Highly highly recommend for all my hot chip fans!
Love y’all! Thank you!
Wow, I’ve been busy this month! Taking a deep breath! Drinking some water! You should, too!
If you want to talk about any of the above, catch a show together, or tell me about what you’re working on, please reach out!
As always, Free Palestine (Here is a link to Palestine Children’s Relief Fund) and Close Rikers Now (Here is a link to National Bail Out).