Event

MENORCA by Robert Koon

On the island of Menorca, an archeological dig reveals human remains. Ollie (Alesandese), a woman of Basque origin born in San Sebastain, is there. She is with her students and James, her boss who is also her lover. In the Southern California desert, a border is being watched and guarded. Ollie is there too, with George, a Mexican- American border patrol agent, when more human bones are discovered. The present intrudes on the past as boundaries are set, crossed, and broken. All in the search for the identity of a woman misplaced.

Kirsten D'Aurelio (just seen in People We Know at the side project and in Fires in the Mirror at 16th Street) will take on the lead role of Ollie. In preparation for the part, she just returned from Spain where she visited Menorca, Ciutadella, explored the Basque country of San Sebastian, and experienced Barcelona. She kept a daily blog of her travels available on 16th Street's blog.

Robert Koon's plays include the critically-acclaimed Vintage Red and the Dust of the Road (Jeff Award for New Work), St. Colm's Inch and Odin's Horse. Menorca was developed at the William Inge Theatre Festival (with Ann Filmer as its director). This is its world premiere.

Cast: Kirsten D'Aurelio (Fires in the Mirror at 16th Street, People we Know at the side project) as Ollie, Doug MacKechnie (Lucinda's Bed at Chicago Dramatists as James, Juan Gabriel Ruiz (Our Lady of the Underpass with Teatro Vista and 16th Street) as George. The rest of the ensemble are: Teddy Boone, Melissa Kong, Mallory Nees, Ben Osbun, Rachel Rizzuto and Angela Sprinkle. The production is directed by Ann Filmer.