Writer/Performer: Jessica Creane
Director: Joseph Ahmed
Sound Design: Ashlin Aronin
Tea consultation and co-curation: Sebastian Beckwith at In Pursuit of Tea
As a guest of this intimate tea party, you are presented with exquisite tea and parlor games, and when the end comes, no need to panic, you won’t be alone. Probably…
You and your fellow guests are attendees at a tea party at the end of the world, partaking in the rituals and obligations of being a guest in someone else’s, for lack of a better word, home. Your host for this tea party is new to the gig, but what she lacks in grace, she makes up for in burning human intensity and unexpected abilities.
TEA PARTY AT THE END OF THE WORLD is inspired by the creator’s time in the Arctic Circle as an artist-in-residence and her low-key obsession with the ritual comforts and complexity of loose-leaf tea. TEA PARTY… explores how we connect to one another in times of uncertainty and fear; celebrating the splendor of being alive in a beautiful and disappearing world, while honoring the unfathomable cost it exacts on our ability to connect and find purpose.
This darkly humorous, cutting and cozy exploration of the apocalypse wonders alongside the audience if remaining playful in dire circumstances is the key not only to surviving, but thriving.
Or maybe it’s just the caffeine that’s getting us through. Best not to think too hard about it.
* Tea service is included in the ticket price.
Patron Notes
Recommended for ages 16+. This is a participatory show, and tea will be offered at various times throughout the experience. Please refrain if you are sensitive to caffeine or various teas/herbs. Audience members will be invited to participate, but never put on the spot. The show doesn’t shy away from various explorations of life and death or assume there are correct answers to those queries. If you have questions about if this show is for you, please reach out directly.
p/c Wide Eyed Studios
Special Thanks
Thank you to The Arctic Circle Residency for trusting artists and bringing us to the end of the world to witness it all firsthand, La Jolla Playhouse for supporting the show through it’s development in both the DNA New Works Festival and Without Walls Festival, FringeArts for opening their space to us to experiement, ASLE Climate Conference for their last-minute addition of this piece in progress to a conference two years in the making, Threshold Collective for their continue believe in the project and in-kind support, Hatch Escapes for opening up their space, Cannonball and Philadelphia Fringe Festival for support the show’s first run, Kindling for nurturing this piece in its infancy, In Pursuit of Tea for their expertise, kindness, and sponsorship, Global Tea for the amazing tea gear, and the many playtesters of the work without whom I would be a puddle on the floor.
