Edit Annie

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Edit Annie

A new play by Mary Glen Fredrick Directed by Will Detlefsen

Sept. 9-24, 2022

The VORTEX launches its 35th season with the world premiere of Edit Annie by Mary Glen Fredrick, directed by NNPN directing fellow Will Detlefsen for three weeks only at The VORTEX. Detlefsen, is here as part of the National New Play Network’s Director Fellowship program, which began in conjunction with the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation.

Will Detlefsen – Director

I was introduced to the brilliant artistic director of The VORTEX, Bonnie Cullum, through the National Directors Fellowship, which I received in 2019 from the O’Neill Theater Center and National New Play Network. When I learned about the wild and bold experimentation that happens at The VORTEX, I knew Mary Glen Fredrick’s Edit Annie would be a perfect fit. Mary Glen and I met in graduate school at UC San Diego in 2015. To date, we have collaborated on eight productions, mostly in actor/director roles. This will be our very first time collaborating as playwright/director, and we are thrilled to do it in Austin. We are bracing ourselves for the heat, readying our bellies for delicious BBQ and TexMex and could not be more honored to present this world premiere production of Edit Annie at The VORTEX.

Mary Glen Fredrick – Playwright

We are so unbelievably excited to come to Austin for The VORTEX’s world premiere production of Edit Annie. Every single member of The VORTEX and the creative team has been incredible—after each design meeting we turn to each other and go, “Are we gonna move to Austin?” The talent and kindness here are just boundless. Edit Annie will be my and Will’s ninth production together—at the root of our collaborationship is a deep friendship and care, and we’re so excited for this, our most ambitious and challenging project yet. On the surface, Edit Annie is about video editing, social media and the relationship between video editor Annie and Clara, the #influencer whose online persona she co-creates. At its core, Edit Annie is about our minds—interrogating the loneliness of living with screens, the implications of being able to edit every aspect of yourself and what’s “real” in a digital age. Defying genre, Edit Annie is a dark, comedic queer rom-com psychological social media thriller. We hope Edit Annie will both entertain and resonate with anyone who loves wild, genre-bending, multidisciplinary theatre, anyone who feels lonely while they scroll through social media and anyone who’s ever feltlike the Big Boss they were battling was their own brain.

Buy tickets for the show here.

READ MORE FROM THE AUGUST ISSUE