Pygmalion Productions

Giving voice to women through a variety of artistic mediums.

TWO HEADED
by Julie Jensen
FLYING
by Sheila Cowley
BODY AWARENESS
by Annie Baker

It's Body Awareness Week on a Vermont college campus and Phyllis, the organizer, and her partner, Joyce, are hosting one of the guest artists in their home: Frank, a photographer famous for his female nude portraits. Both his presence in the home and his chosen subject instigate tension from the start. Phyllis is furious at his depictions, but Joyce is actually rather intrigued by the whole thing, even going so far as to contemplate posing for him. As Joyce and Phyllis bicker, Joyce's adult son, who may or may not have Asperger syndrome, struggles to express himself physically - with heartbreaking results.

The play begins in Utah in 1857-the year more than 100 California-bound immigrants traveling from Missouri and Arkansas were killed in what became known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Hettie and Lavinia, 10-year-old friends at the time, know about the nearby massacre, an event that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. We follow their friendship through 40 years (set at 10-year intervals) as they each find their place in an intolerant, patriarchal Mormon society and the polygamy it espouses. The relationship between the women is tested when Hettie marries Lavinia’s father, a breach of trust that Lavinia condemns. Lavinia’s lifelong hatred of her father becomes clear when Hettie learns that her friend was an eyewitness to the Mountain Meadows Massacre-carried out by Mormons and planned by Lavinia’s father.

Susan flew military planes in WWII, so men could go and fight. Now she's been sent home to get back to normal, while the town waits for her local hero husband to come home. Flying looks at life propelled by stories, as the town tells glory tales of Bob and Susan tries to put away her memories of flying. Susan uses Bob's legend to keep his family airfield going, so when his wounded gunner shows up looking for a job, she's forced to hire him. Fisher struggles with an artificial leg and an airfield run by women, as the stories of the town reveal Susan through what they leave out.