Co-​Artistic and Executive Director Karen Lange talks about PS’ 2013 productions and what the future holds:

This was the year of identity. We didn’t plan it that way — it just happened. Last spring’s Unclear Family Repertory featured characters redefining what it means to be a friend, a wife, a husband, or a mother, as well as who they were as people. Whether they were moving, evolving in their relationships, trying to bond, or trying to mourn, the women in Smudge, Benched, and Bleed were all struggling to keep a sense of themselves amid a swirling, changing world.

And we kept that theme rolling with Cabaret XXXY: Who Do You Think You Are? — the third in our series of hit Capital Fringe musical cabarets. And though it dealt with its title question in a fun, flirty, sometimes irreverent way, it was still honest in its push for self-​examination.

In a way, all of our full-​length shows have been about identity from a woman’s perspective. 2011’s Carol’s Christmas dealt with a woman who opted to disappear rather than move on from heartbreak. 2012’s Killing Women explored whether a woman can work and be a mother at the same time without giving up either part of herself.

2013, however, has focused on Identity in a way we never have before and will continue to do so in this fall’s Bondage, whose leather-​clad leads try to find honest emotional connection by role-​playing many different people. It’s the classic masking and unmasking that is portrayed over and over again in cultures around the world. Are you the mask or are you the person?

In the past, we’ve planned shows in a more or less catch-​as-​catch-​can manner. Scripts have come across our collective desks that we couldn’t resist, and we’ve leapt at them. But this method, while it’s led to some great art, also has us remaining behind the proverbial 8 ball, struggling to select shows, find space, produce, and promote in a much shorter schedule than we want to. We’re growing up — and we need to pick a major so we can graduate to the next level.

Ergo, after Bondage, we’ll be hunkering down to make plans for the shows we will do for the next two years. Two deadlines loom large – applications for Capital Fringe Festival are due in late December. In early January we need to have selected a script for a yet to be announced but very exciting festival in DC. We have several ongoing projects in development, so the strategic planning will include setting dates for those and selecting some scripts to produce. We’re looking at innovative locations, local talent, and provocative topics.

We’re choosing a direction and getting on the road. Stick with us for a great ride.

We are thrilled to announce our next play: This November, Pinky Swear is proud to present David Henry Hwang’s BONDAGE. In a Los Angeles S&M parlor, a dominatrix and her client are clad head-​to-​toe in leather costumes that conceal their faces and ethnicities. These elaborate disguises allow them to play out fantasies based on racial stereotypes and sexual mythologies. Exchanging biting social observations with stinging humor, they progress through their power games to expose the arbitrariness of racially minded thinking. All the while, however, they are haunted by an awareness that in spite of their efforts, they may be moving towards the most terrifying reality of all — a true intimacy that transcends the bounds of race. The production will be directed by Toni Rae Salmi.

In addition to the play, the audience will be treated to an immersive experience in what we are calling our “Lounge.” No more waiting outside the theater when you arrive — you’ll be swept away to a new world the second you walk in the door. Amy Couchoud is leading the Lounge creation team. Come see what she cooks up & what happens when the performance comes to you…

We are equally excited to announce that the production will take place at the brand, spankin’ new (see what we did, there?) Anacostia Playhouse. We are thrilled to support the construction of a new theater space owned & run by women. Anacostia Playhouse exemplifies that art is for everyone, everywhere. They’re embracing the Anacostia community and showing that east of the river is just as crackling with quality entertainment as the west side. Come on down and celebrate the new space, see our show, and look at what these women have made possible. That’s what we call walking the walk.

Performances: November 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, and 23 (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings) with possible extension dates of December 5, 6,7, 12, 13, 14.

Tickets: watch this space — tickets will go on sale in mid-​October

Anacostia Playhouse is located at 2020 Shannon Place, SE, WDC