Jimmy Gorski Has Taken Off!

First read-through of our spring production, Jimmy Gorski is Dead was a success!

What a wonderful group of artists to be working on such a charged piece.

In line with our mission to create inspiring work that investigates societal constructs and to cultivate theatrical discourse, this production shines a heavy light on the horrific increase in drug abuse and overdose in the past decade.  

Words from the playwright, Kristen M. Scatton: “This play was originally written as a way to express the grieving process after a sudden loss in my own life. It has since evolved into a play that also touches on several current social issues including the U.S. heroin epidemic and its origins in prescription drug use, toxic masculinity, and the clash between conservative and liberal values. I view it as an "emotional autopsy," a study of the incidents and decisions in a person's life that lead them to a particular moment - in this case, an irrevocably tragic decision.” 

We are thrilled to be performing this world-premiere at a time when these topics could not be more important. Overdose knows no age, no party lines, no economic status. Heroin use has been increasing in recent years among men and women, and it has more than doubled in the past decade among young adults aged 18 to 25 years. Here in Philadelphia, the opioid epidemic has hit horrific heights. There is an area just north of the Kensington area that is home to 75 to 125 addicts at any given time and is known as the East Coast's largest heroin market. 

Most addicts do not start out with the knowledge they are heading into a rabbit hole. But by the time they are seeking out that next high, to recreate the feeling of escape they so desperately desire, they are already going into hiding. But for most as they use hide, they work to cover their tracks. Whether their loved ones see the tracks or not, whether they sense the hiding or not, they are still yearning to only see the pure in the one in their life who is traveling down this rabbit hole. Until they get left behind,
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This show explores both the story of someone working to escape and the ones he leaves behind. The people who could sense the hiding, but either turned an eye or didn't look hard enough. The guilt of the survivors and the co-dependents. 

--Erin Carr

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