Don't miss Gracie Gardner's steamy new two-hander set in an East Village sauna.
October 3 - 6 at Theaterlab
Bad Mother will present BANYA, a new play by Gracie Gardner (I'm Revolting, New York Times Critics’ Pick Athena). Directed by Claire Pruett, this steamy two-hander stars David Gow and Anna Tullis. Performances begin October 3 at Theaterlab.
In BANYA, two strangers, Brian and Darlene, confront their darkest secrets during a revealing sauna session. BANYA blends dark humor and poignant reflections to explore shame, fear, millennial despair, and the search for genuine connection.
The production team for BANYA includes Alex McCarron (set consultant), Eric Berg (stage manager) and Acadia Barrengos (intimacy coordinator).
BANYA runs October 3 - 5 at 7:30PM and October 6 at 3PM. Running time is 1 hour. Theaterlab is located at 357 W 36th St, 3rd floor, New York, NY 10018. Tickets are $35, available at theaterlabnyc.com.
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Gracie Gardner (Playwright) is an American playwright. Her play Pussy Sludge was selected for Theatertreffen Stückemarkt in Berlin, and previously received the Relentless Award; it was developed by Less Than Rent at HERE Arts Center, and The Old Vic in London. Her play Athena (New York Times Critics’ Pick) was presented by The Hearth at JACK. Gracie is the recipient of the Theater of the Future Fellowship, McKnight National Residency and Commission, an Ensemble Studio Theater Sloan Foundation Commission, the James E. Michael Award, the James Stevenson Prize, and she is a Samuel French OOB Festival winner. She’s a proud member of New Dramatists, Ars Nova Play Group, Youngblood, and she has received commissions from Clubbed Thumb, Manhattan Theatre Club, and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She’s also worked as a video game writer for Annapurna Interactive.
Claire Pruett (Director) is an early career director who is compelled to explore the forces we fear, how we cope, and where these efforts connect, overlap, and fracture. Elizabeth Egloff’s The Swan (Keys to the Kingdom) was her directorial debut, and she has tried to scratch the director’s itch since. As an actor, she is a recipient of NoHo Cinefest’s 2023 Best Actress award for her eponymous role in the indie feature film, “Polecat” (Brooklyn Film Fest, Riverrun Film Festival, NHCF). Stage credits include Mildred/The Ape in The Hairy Ape, Tour Guide, Middletown, Roz, Abortive (UNCSA); and Lady Montague in Romeo & Juliet (NC Symphony). She is a member of Triskelion Arts’ 2023 GLUE cohort of movement artists. She proudly holds a BFA in Acting from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where she serves as summer faculty for Theatrical Movement and Mask.
David Gow (‘Brian’) is NYC based actor with a BFA from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He’s appeared in TV shows Madam Secretary, The Good Fight, Jon Glaser Loves Gear, The Girls on the Bus and in Apple TV’s upcoming The Savant. Onstage he’s performed at The Duke on 42nd St, Workshop Theater, Capital Rep, Soho Playhouse, 14th St Y, The O’Neill Center, Shakespeare & Company, Luna Stages, Hollywood Fringe Festival, Great Barrington Public Theater, 4th Wall Theater, and A.D. Players, as well as two shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. As a producer, he produced and starred in multiple theatrical productions in NY and LA including the U.S. premiere of Decky Does a Bronco. He’s also the creator of the web series “The Lip Sync Fables” on YouTube and actor/producer of the short film “Candice”, one of 6 films nominated for a Jury Award at Austin Film Festival.
Anna Tullis (‘Darlene’) was born in California and raised in Colorado. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School of Drama where some of her credits include Usher/God in Branden Jacob-Jenkins’ play Everybody directed by Danya Taymor, and Cassandra in Trojan Women, directed by Ellen Lauren. In addition to her studies in New York City, she has toured internationally in the award-winning play Why Do You Stand There In the Rain?, was seen as Petruchio in Chautauqua Theater Company’s production of The Taming of the Shrew, and studied Shakespeare at the British Academy of Dramatic Arts.