Email: info@theatreprorara.org

The Convent of Pleasure

Adapted by Heather Meyer
From the 1668 play by Margaret Cavendish
Directed by Nicole Marie Wilder
August 5 — 15, 2021
Unholy Matrimony

Lady Hap­py, a wealthy heiress, rejects soci­etal pres­sure to take a hus­band by build­ing a clois­tered utopia for unmar­ried women. The ladies are quite pleased to live free from the threat of mar­riage. The lords are quite per­turbed to be kept out of the fun. And poor Madam Medi­a­tor has her hands full try­ing to keep the estate sol­vent. Will Lady Hap­py’s “prin­ci­ples of plea­sure” be able to with­stand the scruti­ny of Princess Prin­ci­ple or the ris­ing cost of flowers? 

Who­ev­er said mon­ey can’t buy hap­pi­ness, didn’t have enough mon­ey to try. 

 

This is a rol­lick­ing new adap­ta­tion by Heather Mey­er, cre­ator of Women’s His­to­ry Month: The His­tor­i­cal Com­e­dy­bra­tion (with fab­u­lous prizes) and numer­ous past Fringe shows. The orig­i­nal 1668 play was writ­ten by “Mad Madge” aka Mar­garet Cavendish, the Duchess of New­cas­tle (or as she called her­self: “the thrice noble, illus­tri­ous, and excel­lent princess, the duchess of New­cas­tle, Mar­garet Cavendish”), gets a 21st cen­tu­ry facelift for a frothy, face-paced, fem­i­nist romp.

Part of the Minnesota Fringe Festival

Performing at:

Wood Lake Nature Cen­ter Amphitheater
6710 Lake Shore Dr S
Rich­field, MN 55423

Directions

35W Exit 10 for Co. Rd 53 (W 66th St.)
East on W 66th St.
Right (South) on Lakeshore Dri­ve S.
Enter the nature cen­ter on the right.
Park and then fol­low signs to amphitheater

Tickets:
Must be purchased in advance 

www.MinnesotaFringe.org
$10 with a $3 reser­va­tion fee
Fringe but­tons ($5 in advance: https://www.minnesotafringe.org/fringebuttons)

Performances Dates:

August 5th — 8th and 11th — 15th

All shows begin at 7:00 PM as part of the Min­neso­ta Fringe Festival

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This activ­i­ty is made pos­si­ble by the vot­ers of Min­neso­ta through grants from the Min­neso­ta State Arts Board thanks to a leg­isla­tive appro­pri­a­tion from the arts and cul­tur­al her­itage fund.

{ CAST }


Pic­tured: Megan Kim, Boo Segersin 

Pho­to: Charles Gorrill 

Design: Max Lindorfer

LADY HAPPY
Boo Segersin
MADAM MEDIATOR
Meri Golden
PRINCESS PRINCIPLE
Megan Kim
LORD SOMEWHAT
Kelsey Laurel Cramer
LORD SORTOF
Nissa Nordland Morgan +
LORD SOSO
Taj Ruler
LADY AMEND
Kayla Dvorak
LADY AMUSE
Lynda Dahl
LADY AMOROUS
Ankita Ashrit

 

{ CREW }

DIRECTOR
Nicole Marie Wilder
STAGE MANAGER
Clara Costello +
COSTUME DESIGNER
Mandi Johnson
PROPS DESIGNER
Madeline Achen

+ The­atre Pro Rata Com­pa­ny Member

 

10 Tips for seeing The Convent of Pleasure:
  1. The Amphithe­ater is just to the left of the Wood Lake Nature Cen­ter, and an out­door venue (under a love­ly tree canopy): BYO Bug Spray.
  2. The park­ing is free!
  3. The build­ing is closed after hours, but the park is open until 11:00pm. Note the por­ta-pot­ty to the right as you enter the park.
  4. The por­ta-pot­ty, the park, and the amphithe­ater are all Accessible.
  5. The seat­ing is wood­en bench­es with­out backs. We rec­om­mend bring­ing a sta­di­um cush­ion for our 90 minute show.
  6. The near­est restau­rant is Piz­za Luce, and with­in walk­ing dis­tance just north on 66th St. 
  7. The 515 bus line also runs along 66th St.
  8. We will per­form if there’s a driz­zle, but will can­cel for unsafe con­di­tions (Air Qual­i­ty Alert, Exces­sive Heat Warn­ing, or Severe Weath­er Warning).
  9. Feel free to bring a rain pon­cho, but keep umbrel­las closed: we want all audi­ence mem­bers to leave with the same num­ber of eyes they arrived with.
  10. The park has love­ly walk­ing trails… feel free to come ear­ly and explore!

Learn more about Wood Lake Nature Cen­ter here.

Insider knowledge for The Convent of Pleasure:
  • Most of the words are Heather’s, but the poet­ry you will hear is 100% Mar­garet. Heather left those vers­es as is.
  • Mar­garet Cavendish was­n’t the only female clas­si­cal play­wright. There was also Hrosvitha (c.930‑c.1002), Abbess Hilde­gard of Bin­gen (1098–1179), Eliz­a­beth Cary (1585–1639), and Aphra Behn (1640–1689).
  • This cast and crew is ful­ly vac­ci­nat­ed against COVID-19! This is a kiss­ing play, and every­one is keep­ing each oth­er safe.