Priyanka Shetty On Her Incisive New Solo Play ‘#Charlottesville’

Priyanka Shetty’s sharp solo play #Charlottesville Start by asking, “Priyanka, where were you on August 11th and 12th, 2017?”

At the time, he caught his car in a crowd of poachers not only for the torch carry, the Dockers-clad Dickhead brigade marching through the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, but also for the tragic death of Heather Heyer, who was killed by self-recognized white supremacists.

The fires caused by protests and opposition protests, and the subsequent emergency and mass attacks of vehicles, were deaf to the then President Trump’s tone, burning comments accordingly at best.

On August 11th and 12th, Shetty was a fresh graduate student in India, studying acting at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Since then, and following her successful solo debut Elephant in the roomshe built it #Charlottesville Verbal from court transcripts and news reports from interviews with over 100 community members she knew.

The play is currently enjoying the world premiere run at Keegan Theatre. Under the direction of Yury Urnov, supported on stage by Dylan Uremovitch’s excellent projection and lighting design, Shetty plays dozens of parts, including playing cards. She offers his insightful verbatim reading of “You had people on both sides who were very wonderful people.”

Judged with some actual statements from the Alt-Right Rally organizers played by Shetty, Trump’s response looks even more extraordinary. And that’s part of her point where their words are set on the stage.

“In that sense, I use the character I play, in the provocative role, just like Alt-right uses Lolz, so I’m my lolz version of who you are,” she says.

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And humor is important. “It’s a very thin line because you draw them,” says Shetty. “You don’t want the play to be a platform for them, so for me it was also important to add that element of humor while revealing how crazy they are. [Richard] Spencer gets a passionate monologue. Jason Kessler gets a slum in poetry. Christopher Cantwell gets the cabaret number. That’s my “lol” version. And I know they hate it. So I put it there. ”

On the other hand, to play cards, take a slightly different touch. teeth It’s really funny to see South Asian women playing Trump. But I remember how different it felt, and how different it landed before his reelection, in a certain danger and where it excels at it. For example, you want to laugh, but you don’t want to do it either. ”

In a section that links the story to an alt-right movement close to her home, Shetty brings a similar edge to the portrayal of one of Trump’s companions, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “We were already dealing with the consequences of the rise of Hindu nationalism, as South Asians and Indians, even during Trump’s first election, and that was what was happening in our hometown,” Shetty says.

“And what’s going on there to see their friendship blossoming and their photos hugging each other like lovers? And then recently, Modi’s video has said, “Make India great again.” It’s really crazy how things match up in such a bad way in both of these countries at this completely extreme turn. ”

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#Charlottesville Runs at Keegan Theater at 1742 Church St. NW until April 13th. Tickets are $59 and offer discounts available to students, seniors over the age of 62, and patrons under the age of 25. visit www.keegantheatre.com.

Free tickets #Charlottesville It is available to federal and non-profit employees who lost their jobs during a recent layoff. To request tickets, please email box office revenue at boxoffice@keegantheatre.com.

Visit Shetty for more information www.priyankashetty.com.