Dance Nation

Clare Barron’s ferocious and gloriously funny prize-winning play Dance Nation makes its Australian debut at Red Stitch in March as part of Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Directed by Maude Davey (My Life in the Nude, Retro Futurismus), Dance Nation follows a troupe of pre-teens as they navigate the hyper-sexualised, ultra-competitive world of competition dance. In this world of sequined leotards and six-foot trophies, the dancers themselves – their needs, their hopes, their fears – matter least.

Dance Nation is a comical and excruciating look at the moment when girls become aware of their own power – and of its limits. Performed by a cast of mature women, the dissonance between a 13-year-old’s dreams and what they will ultimately achieve is stark. Barron’s writing reminds us of the ferocity of the children we once were.

Clare Barron is a playwright and actor from Washington. Her plays include: I’ll Never Love Again; Baby Screams Miracle; Dirty Crusty; You Got Older; and a boy put this girl in a cage with a dog and the dog killed the girl. She is the recipient of the 2014 Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship and the Paula Vogel Award at the Vineyard.

She is also a member of New Dramatists and Youngblood at EST, an Affiliated Artist with Target Margin, an alumni of the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, and is currently pursuing her MFA at Brooklyn College. As an actor, Clare appeared in the world premiere of Heidi Schreck’s The Consultant (Long Wharf), and traveled to Beirut to play Mae in an Arabic-English production of María Irene Fornés’ Mud.

“Clare Barron’s Dance Nation heralds a new generation of playwrights who see beyond mean girls and airheads to real, unvarnished, complicated young adults.” – San Francisco Chronicle

Director: Maude Davey Featuring: Brett Cousins, Caroline Lee, Zoe Boesen, Casey Filips, Shayne Francis, Hannah Fredericksen, Natalie Gamsu, Tariro Mavondo, Georgina Naidu Set & Costume Design: Adrienne Chisholm Lighting Design: Clare Springett Sound Design: Peter Farnan Assistant Director: Angelica Clunes Choreography: Holly Durant Stage Manager: Stephanie Young Assistant Stage Manager: Diane Pereira