Featuring an original stop-motion film by Nisha Ramnath
Synopsis
Tragedy can tear families apart – or it can bring them together… really together. Stop-Motion occupies that in-between space - the space between tragedy and comedy, family drama and magical escape. Xan, who spent her 20s acting as her mother’s sole caretaker, must navigate the aftermath of a terrible accident (as well as some long-neglected family relationships). Privately, she reveals herself to us through a whimsical stop-motion film she’s been working on while contending with grief, duty, and the limits of escapism. Stop-Motion probes the idea of how an individual - and a family - can evolve in the face of tragedy and perhaps, move forward together - even if it’s one frame at a time.
Join Us as a Parity Patron
Parity seeks patrons for the promotion of Stop-Motion. Help us enter film festivals, nationally and internationally. Your support helps us produce our Development Award-winning works and create career opportunities for women, trans, and gender-expansive theatre artists. Parity Patron giving levels begin at $2,500. Patrons receive billing credit in Parity's playbills, on our website, and on our social media channels with permission.
Photography by Jess Nurse
About the Playwright:
Liz Kerin (she/her) is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and author, who earned her degree from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Most recently, Liz inked a two-book deal with Tor Nightfire/Macmillan for her Night’s Edge, and her first book, The Phantom Forest, was released in 2019. Playwriting honors include The Kennedy Center, Premiere Stages at Kean, Theatricum Botanicum, The Road Theatre, FringeNYC, and Unicorn Theatre. Her play Stop-Motion was awarded the 2018 Parity Commission. On the film and television side, she was chosen for the 2016 Hit List and the Young and Hungry List, which names the top up-and-coming screenwriters in the industry. She is developing a feature film with Imagine Entertainment as well as a television series based on her forthcoming books. For more, please visit www.LizKerin.com
CAST
Emily Batsford (she/her) – Xan
Paula Ewin (she/her) – Sharon
Meghann Garmany (she/her) – Charlotte
Emily Keefe (she/her) – Clover
Finn Kilgore (he/him) – Harry
Jak Watson (he/him) – Micah
TEAM
Director: Ludovica Villar-Hauser (she/her)
Playwright: Liz Kerin (she/her)
Filmed Stage Production Producer, Assistant Director and Editor: Nancy Pop (she/her)
Director of Photography: Edna L. Biesold (she/her)
Set/Properties Designer: Andreea Mincic (she/her)
Costume Designer: Maya Graffagna (she/her)
Lighting Designer: Miriam Nilofa Crowe (she/her)
Sound Designer: Caroline Kittredge Faustine (she/her)
Animator: Nisha Ramnath (she/her)
Dramaturg: Jennifer Kranz (she/her)
Production Stage Manager: Jenna Ng Lowry (she/her)
Production Manager: Scott Schneider (he/him)
General Manager: JM Morgan (all pronouns)
Intimacy Coordinator: Lauren DeLeon
Parity Assistant: Meg Gilbert (she/her)
Social Media Photographer: Bailey Macejak (she/her)
SUPPORT
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council.
Parity Patrons
Executive Producer
India Blake
With the Generous Support of
Laura Pedersen
The Poomer Fund for Anne Smith Towbes
About the Animator:
Nisha Ramnath (she/her) is an animator that works in stop-motion and laser animation. She earned a BFA in Animation from the Maryland Institute College of Art and currently runs her own design firm that produces animated shorts and content for the Laser Light Show Industry. Her style of animation is DIY, making set and puppets out of common objects.
Claymation model drafting and stop-motion animation by Nisha Ramnath.
Stop-Motion In Development
Animatic storyboard and claymation model drafting by Nisha Ramnath.
December ‘20 Reading Cast & Creative Team
Emily Batsford (she/her) – Xan
Paula Ewin (she/her) – Sharon
Natalie Jacobs (she/her) – Charlotte
Emily Keefe (she/her) – Clover
Finn Kilgore (he/him) – Harry
Jak Watson (he/him) – Micah
Playwright: Liz Kerin (she/her)
Director: Ludovica Villar-Hauser (she/her)
Dramaturg: Jennifer Kranz (she/her)
Assistant Director: Judith Binus (she/her)
Set Designer: Andreea Mincic (she/her)
Costume Designer: Maya Graffagna (she/her)
Lighting Designer: Miriam Nilofa Crowe (she/her)
Sound Designer: Megumi Katayama (she/her)
Animator: Nisha Ramnath (she/her)
General/Stage Manager: Kendall Allen (she/her)
General Manager: Alissa Jaquin (she/her)
Video Editor: Bailey Macejak (she/her)
Co-Video Editor: Erin Bradford (she/her)
Casting: Jamibeth Margolis, C.S.A. (she/her)
Virtual Reading, December 2020. Pictured (left to right): Emily Batsford as “Xan,” Paula Ewin as “Sharon,” Natalie Jacobs as “ Charlotte,” Emily Keefe as “Clover,” Finn Kilgore as “Harry,” and Jak Watson as “Micah.”
Reading, August 21st, 2019 at 15 Hudson Yards. Pictured (left to right): Emily Batsford as “Xan,” Finn Kilgore as “Harry,” Emily Keefe as “Clover,” Caroline Bloom as “Charlotte,” and Paula Ewin as “Sharon.” Photography by Ashley Garrett.