Upcoming.

Parley presents a world premiere workshop production.

Little Brother's Body

by drew david combs

directed by Rebecca Tourino Collinsworth
production assistance by Dustin Hageland

featuring:
​Myriam Baillargeon 
Julian Garcia
Isis King
Sydney Maltese
Emily Pike 
Steven Sterne 
and Christa Thielen 
Parley is a Theater of Access, committed to making art that's affordable for everyone. In keeping with this value, we reserve 10 seats at each performance to distribute to our patrons free of charge. We release these tickets on a first-come, first-served, basis beginning one hour before the show. Guests who prefer to guarantee their seating in advance may easily purchase tickets online for $10 each.

19 June

7 pm

West of Lenin
​
<=======  tickets available here
​EMILY PIKE (ELI) is a Seattle-based actor, musician, and teacher who graduated from Cornish College of the Arts with a BFA in Theater. She has been involved in a number of Parley workshops in the past, and is delighted as always to be working with such thoughtful artists in the development of new work. Recently, she has appeared in Silhouette (Annex Theatre) and The Inappropriate Suitor (Ghost Light Theatricals), and in the winter months she works as a teaching artist for Freehold's Engaged Theater program. When she isn't performing or teaching, you can find her at Pike Place Market selling eggs, books, and spices.
JULIAN GARCIA (DAVID) is thrilled to be collaborating with Parley once again. Little Brother's Body is his 4th time he will be performing with incredible Seattle actors and the creative minds behind Parley. Julian is an actor from Big Spring, Texas. He’d like to thank Rebecca Tourino Collinsworth for creating amazing moments, Drew for writing such an engaging play, the cast, and the rest of Parley for always making this fun. Enjoy the Show!   
CHRISTA THIELEN'S (MAMA) love for music - fostered by her mother, an accomplished orchestra teacher -  sparked a wildfire of passion for performing. After dabbling with multiple instruments, she very quickly narrowed her focus to voice. This led to a lifelong love affair with singing,  performing in both large and small venues, all while honing her performance-craft. This love for the arts, however, did not end there. In what could be perceived as a short time, she has climbed ladders, jumped fences, and became a producer for a successful production company in Seattle. This experience spawned the commencement of producing a few short films and a web series, in which she has had the fortunate opportunity to play the lead in nearly all of them. As she continues to study her craft in a Sanford Meisner class at Gilmore studio, she consistently and religiously seeks to raise the bar to even higher heights, demanding excellence, and settling for nothing less. Her passion is displayed in her unremitting drive to seek out new sources of inspiration to fully understand acting and production to
exhaustive ends. Little Brother's Body is her first taste of theater, and she has been relishing 
every moment of it.
STEVEN STERNE (PAPA) is an actor, director, teaching artist and photographer based in Seattle. He has worked with Washington Ensemble Theater, Ghost Light Theatricals, the 1448 Projects, Theater Anonymous, Annex Theater, Seattle Public Theater, Seattle Theatreworks, Theatre Machine, and Seattle Playwrights Salon, as well as Parley. Steven is a Board member with The 1448 Projects and a Teaching Artist at Seattle Public Theater. 
 
This is Steven’s second project with Parley; he appeared as John in The Language of This World by Caitlin Coey in 2014. Steven’s primary interest in theater is the creation and development of new work, and he is very happy to be working with Parley again.
 
Steven is married to local playwright and designer Jennifer Dice, and their two children (not really children any longer), Aaron and Olivia, are both seasoned performers.
ISIS KING (KATHLEEN) is thrilled to be returning to Parley for Little Brother's Body, and in the company of such an amazing cast & playwriting team! Favorite past Parley shows include: Crooked Grace, Maiden Voyage, Venus, Beautiful Moon, A Long Dark Ride, and Joy Ride. Other favorite theatre credits include: The Inapproriate Suitor with Ballard Underground; Unexpected Wilderness with Annex Theatre; also Studio4Seattle. Film/TV credits: "The Good Wife," "Smash"; Commercials: Ford, Progresso Soup, Gas-X. BA in Theatre from CUNY Hunter College. Much love to my husband and #1 fan Jim! Look for Isis next in Parley's upcoming production of This Pleasant Prison in July, and Pratidhwani's production of Queen at ACT in August!
SYDNEY MALTESE (CALI) is an actor and writer from Seattle with roots in northeastern Ohio. As a person who identifies with disability, Sydney is passionate about making the arts accessible for and representative of all. She is therefore proud to be a part of Parley’s efforts, and was most recently seen in Parley productions Iguazú and About Marilyn, both by Julieta Vitullo. She would like to plug her day job at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, where she is part of a team of fierce advocates for immigrants and refugees and for justice in our immigration system. 
​After studying multiple disciplines including journalism, production and screenwriting - interspersed between travels around the world -  MYRIAM BAILLARGEON (DR. CALLAGHAN) eventually found herself at the doorstep of a Meisner acting class and decided it was time for her to pursue her childhood passion. She then decided to dedicate all of her time to acting and writing, and it was at this point of declaration to the universe that opportunities soon arose. She began acting in a profusion of short films and is currently acting in various plays. Aside from acting, Myriam is busy at work writing children's stories, plays and feature films.

Then.

​Most women in 17th century Venice had two options: marry or become a nun—and they didn’t get to choose.  For unwilling brides of Christ, a convent truly was a prison.  With no religious calling nor hope of seeing the outside world again, many took advantage of what pleasures they could, be they against the rules of their order or downright illegal.  Within the walls of one Venetian convent, seven nuns are coping with monastic enclosure in vastly different ways.  When they fall under investigation by the city’s magistrates, they face crises of faith and mortal danger as trespasses are revealed and actions are called to account.  Hidden history comes to light in a fictional story of female agency in a time when it was forbidden.
Parley presents a
​world premiere workshop production.


This
Pleasant
Prison


by Katherine Jett

directed by
Rebecca Tourino Collinsworth
production assistance by
Dustin Hageland
​
featuring:
​Cynthia Geary
Colleen Carey
Tatiana Pavela
Isis King
Emily Pike
Sydney Maltese
and Melanie Hampton

9 July

7 pm

West of Lenin

Tickets available below!


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"The story [was] rich with piercing insight into the frailties of humanity while simultaneously reflecting love, respect, and hope for our species."

"Get thee to Fremont's West of Lenin Theater before the show closes ... ! The acting is superb, the minimal staging is clever, and the play raises interesting questions." 

"I left the theater so happy yesterday, my heart was full. What a magnificent play!" 

"The play, the actors - wonderful. There were four of us, not used to the particular format for a play, that were stunned with the power and beauty of it.  Thank you, thank you!"

"We discussed [the play] all the way home last night as your words had a lasting effect … It reminded both of us of something you would experience at the Huntington Theatre in Boston. I'm a huge fan!!!" 

"A beautiful story told with great humor and empathy."

"WONDERFUL ... the performances were pants droppingly good. . . . a delight, a triumph, and truly original."

"Extremely interesting storytelling and really wonderful acting. The female take on The Odyssey was awesome! Hats off for such a courageous piece of work!"

​
"Spectacular.  Truly. ... I was crying from Act I, Scene 1. Kudos to everyone involved." 

​Super thought-provoking play ... I am still thinking about it today. And my friend could not stop raving ... We are glad we came."

"I wanted to thank you all for such a powerful and brave night of theater. I won't be able to stop thinking about tonight's show for quite a spell. Beautiful work you all."

"The play was so touching from start to finish, so personal and very intimate."
"Your ability to skewer religion while remaining kind and respectful to the humans involved is an astounding skill. I look forward to many more engaging plays."

"The actors were great! The production was smart, and told the story well. Most of all, I wanted to say how impressive it is that you've accomplished 30 world premieres! That really is a contribution to the Seattle theater scene. I look forward to future productions." ​
​
"I could, honest-to-God, see that play making its way out into theaters around the country.​"
"Go and see this show! It's awesome and unexpectable ... yeah ... new word ... deal with it."

"A beautiful play that I'm still thinking about days later ... simply stunning ... I have so much love for Parley and the work that they do."

"A sly and beautifully wrought love triangle that kept my head spinning long into the night, even in my dreams. The acting, writing, directing and audience engagement were so welcome in these times of seeing
theater that’s mainly 'good for you.'"
​
​"There was tremendous love and energy from that audience. Quite extraordinary for a staged reading, and really fun for the performers."

"We enjoyed your play SO much last night. I replayed it in my head and your play 'stuck' with me like a good book or movie. Subtle plot twists, the exploration of love and trust... made me really THINK and the more I thought about it, the more I LOVE this play."
​
"I just wanted to tell you all how much I loved both the engaging play and the emotionally charged acting.  You've all got a great thing going with Parley!"

 "[The play was] an existential truth-telling gem. Thank you for the deeply poignant writing and the brilliant performances."
​
"Your play was excellent. You really have something there that a lot of people will identify with. Thank you for telling the story."
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© 2014, Rebecca Tourino Collinsworth