‘Alone Together’ solo festival

Farm Arts Collective presents “Alone Together,” a festival of original and innovative solo theatre performances by artists from around the country on Sept. 19, 20 and 21 at Farm Arts Collective. Over the course the weekend, there will be one new show each night, created by groundbreaking American theatre artists Maureen McGuigan from Scranton, Pa., ashley sparks from Los Angeles, Calif. and Deke Weaver from Champagne Urbana, Ill.

This year’s theme revolves around death and extinction, yet all shows proport to include some laughs and theatrical wonderment.

“Remember You Will Die” on Friday Sept. 19 - What happens when existential dread meets dark comedy? Maureen McGuigan’s solo show “Remember You Will Die” transforms life’s heaviest topics into an unexpectedly uplifting theatrical experience that audiences won’t forget. From conversations with neighbors over magical mushroom chocolates, McGuigan weaves personal anecdotes with fascinating historical facts and scientific discoveries. The result is a performance that makes audiences laugh, cry, and ultimately feel less alone in confronting life’s biggest mysteries.

“Death is probably the most taboo subject in our society,” said McGuigan, who also serves as Deputy Director of Arts & Culture for Lackawanna County in Scranton, Pa. “But the only certain thing in life is that we will die.” This show encourages us to discuss death more openly so we can live more authentically. It features projection and music by Jason Smeltzer. It premiered at the Scranton Fringe Festival and will go on to tour Ireland later this year.

“9 Pictures” on Saturday, Sept. 20 - Written, performed and facilitated by ashley sparks, the work-in-progress immersive and interactive solo show blends facilitation, family photos, and stories (from ashley and the audience) about death, grief, politics, and race. This multimedia experience also includes karaoke, at least one dirty joke, snacks, and a worksheet. This performance is being developed through community sharings and the script evolves after each performance.

With an M.F.A. in Directing and Public Dialogue from Virginia Tech University, ashley has made theater with ensembles such as Cornerstone Theater Company in Los Angeles, ArtSpot Productions and Mondo Bizarro in New Orleans, and PearlDamour. sparks is the co-director of Mark-n-Sparks, a time-based creative experiment creating work at the intersections of policy and housing justice.

“CETACEAN (The Whale)” on Sunday, Sept. 21 - With a team of award-winning collaborators, Deke Weaver’s life-long project is presenting a performance for every letter of the alphabet with each letter representing an endangered animal or habitat. Truly interdisciplinary, 2023’s CETACEAN was a dazzling collage of lo-fi effects, story, video, sound with a large helping of dance and a dash of national park ranger talk. A Fall 2025 tour brings a condensed translation of the original show to New England, the Gulf of Mexico, and the land-locked seas of the Great Lakes. CETACEAN (The Whale) is dark, thoughtful humor for the Anthropocene.

Tickets are $25 per show or $60 for a festival pass. Pay-What-You-Can tickets are available for low- and fixed-income community members. To purchase, go to www.farmartscollective.org

Following each performance there will be a B.Y.O.B reception.

Farm Arts Collective is located at 38 Hickory Lane Damascus, Pa. Call (917) 566-7698 for more information.