Spring 2021 ON THE BRINK Reading Series
Curated by Professor Saffron Henke

What have we learned from 2020? How do we as theatre artists respond to this moment?

These are multifaceted times we are facing, not just in terms of the political, social and cultural upheavals that 2020 brought upon us, but also the challenges the pandemic has brought to live performance as well. In response, this Spring, the Colorado State University Theatre Department will begin a series of readings of new works addressing the hot topic themes of our times – issues that have pushed our culture to the brink…and that reveal whole new worlds of possibilities. A collaboration of professional theatre artists, faculty members, current students and CSU alumni, On the Brink will explore works representing a variety of underrepresented voices and perspectives.

7:30-9 p.m. Reading
9 p.m. Facilitated post-reading discussion

Mary Magdalene Smokes a Joint by Ben Jolivet
Performed by faculty member, Saffron Henke

Mary Magdalene gives voice to the loves and losses, to the miracles and the exorcisms of her time on earth and reframes and re-centers her role in the greatest story ever told. With wit, warmth, and wisdom, Mary guides us through her world and the experience of being a woman with a voice in a world made for men—along the way, discovering herself what she can do with it. Who is teacher and who is student? Who gets to lead? And what truly does one see when looking into the face of G*d? Both eulogy and celebration, Mary Magdalene Smokes a Joint puts the world’s most misunderstood of women back at the heart of her own story.