291
BY JADE O'KEEFFE
291 explores the love of two of the most influential figures in early American modernist art: Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz. In 1915 Stieglitz received some of O'Keeffe's charcoal drawings at his famous 291 gallery. They were sent to him, unbeknownst to O'Keeffe, by her friend Anita Pollitzer. Fascinated by these drawings, Stieglitz began a correspondence with O'Keeffe that would last until his death in 1946. Throughout those three decades they exchanged over 5,000 letters; a selection of which have been published in a book titled My Faraway One by Sarah Greenough. This play is inspired by those letters, and includes excerpts from them, thanks to the permission granted by the Yale Committee on Literary Property. We are very grateful to be able to bring some of O'Keeffe and Stieglitz's real words to the stage. Unlike Stieglitz, O’Keeffe kept to herself and spent little time and energy building a public persona. For this reason her art and her character continue to be wildly misunderstood. It is with such delight that we bring these characters to life once again for the Parodos Festival, and share part of their story and truth with you.
291 was first developed and workshopped at Ryerson University for the New Voices Festival in 2014. It was subsequently accepted into the Rough Writers New Play Festival 2015, where it received a staged reading with professional actors in Colorado. This is the play's second fully staged production.
70 Minutes
Thursday June 14th at 8:00pm and Friday June 15th at 2:00pm and 8:00pm
Photography by: Joseph Hammond