Snowgirl

created by Rosie McInnes, Morgan Rose Ford, Caitlin Gjerdrum, Meghan Hornblower, Cassie Chapados

November 11, 2019

What is a Snowgirl? Do we all have one inside of us, buried deep, beneath stifling social mores, quiet tramas, and banal anguish? Is she a mythical being from a fairytale you almost remember reading? Or is she an imaginary friend, a schizophrenic alter ego, the piece of a girl that withered (but maybe didn’t quite die) as she grew up–as she learned how to be nice and polite, how to survive her family, how to grow up as a girl in a hostile, wintery, magical world. Snowgirl follows the tale of two beings (or is it one?), Shannon and Snowgirl. Shannon’s world is unfriendly, austere, with the faint scent of lurking danger present in the lives of all assigned-female bodies. Her struggle is an internal one–to free herself from the fear and restraint she’s been taught by her mother, by society at large, by herself. Is Snowgirl a menace or a friend? The answer to her questions or the source of her problems? Through music, movement, and some magic Snowgirl tells the story of this girl and of so many others, at a time when we are all searching for who we are and who we will become.

Bios:

Rosie McInnes is a New England-based theater maker, youth worker, and activist. Rosie received her BA in French Literature and Creative Writing from Bryn Mawr College in 2016 and has been making her life in Boston and Plymouth, VT since then. Recent theater credits include: A Story Beyond (Liars and Believers), Circle Up! (Central Square Theater), Fear Project (The Open Theater Project), and The Weird (Off the Grid Theater Company). Practiced in devised work, Rosie has collaborated with many individuals and companies around Boston and is a founding member of the Unbridled Child Theatre Collective. Having worked as a youth worker for many years, Rosie is also trained in peer counseling practices and is the mental health coordinator at Farm and Wilderness camps in VT where she works supporting youth to claim their power through connection with the earth, social justice education, creative practices and farming.

Morgan Rose Ford is a writer and performer based in Somerville, MA. Recent projects include Lydia Diamond’s Stick Fly at Hibernian Hall (Kimber), Boston Theater Company’s touring productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Helena), and Romeo and Juliet (Mercutio), and Theatre in the Open’s The Tempest (Stephano). Morgan is a founding member of the Unbridled Child Theatre Collective and a co-creator of Snowgirl. After originating the role of Shannon in 2018, she is excited to bring her devising and dramaturgy skills to play in this new production.Thank you to The Nora and CST for an incredible opportunity and to Cassie and Meghan for joining us on this wild ride.

Caitlin Gjerdrum is a singer, actor, writer, director, sometime linguist, occasional educator, aspiring puppeteer, and would-be time traveler focused primarily on the development of new works riding the intersections of curiosity and joy. Current projects include a one-woman show loosely based on the works of Virginia Woolf, an original sci-fi musical in development, a multi-lingual jazz album with new translations by the artist, and a collaborative musical adaptation of a short story by Tolstoy. Previous credits at Central Square include performing in URT’s A Christmas Carol and music directing The Nora’s Cloud 9. She is a proud faculty member of Berklee College of Music’s Musical Theatre Summer Intensive, where she shepherds students through the process of writing their own original musical (book, lyrics, & music). Founding member, Unbridled Child Theatre Collective.

Meghan Hornblower is thrilled to be devising movement for Snowgirl. She is an actor, dancer, and choreographer from the greater Boston area currently living in NYC. Past choreography projects include Delicate Particle Logic (Flat Earth Theatre), Shrek the Musical Jr., The Lion King Jr., Honk! Jr., and Beauty and the Beast Jr. (Magic Circle Theater, Tufts University Children’s Theater), and Assassins (Boston College). Meghan is also looking forward to joining the cast of CST’s upcoming production of A Christmas Carol. Film: principal dancer in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women. BA Theatre & English, Boston College. Thank you, Lee and Debra, for your support and for giving us the space to develop this play at CST. Many, many thanks to Rosie, Cassie, Caitlin, and Morgan for bringing me onboard this incredibly imaginative, enriching, and collaborative process! May you always hold onto your snowgirls.

Cassie Chapados is a director, designer, production manager, and educator from Wisconsin, who semi-permanently resides in Cambridge. In addition to being a freelance director and designer, she is the full-time production manager at Central Square Theater and the Associate Artistic Director of The Nora Theater Company’s That’s What She Said program. As an artist she strives to tell the stories of young people, particularly young women in a time when those stories are more necessary than ever. Currently she is helping to develop several new works (mostly about young women, all about what it means to be human), assistant directing at Boston College, and knitting as much as she possibly can in preparation for the coming winter.