AUDIO PLAY NO LONGER AVAILABLE
(DECEMBER 2–JANUARY 17, 2021)
*EXTENDED DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND*

Whose stories are either erased from history, or never recorded at all? This is the Baroque-era true story of an illicit romance between Queen Marie-Therese (wife of Louis XIV) and her African servant, Nabo Sensugali, a Little Person from Dahomey, and the hilarious consequences that scandalized the French court.

Free for members & AVAILABLE for 24-hour rentals for $10+

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REVIEWS


“Clever, biting, and brilliantly performed. During this strange and stressful time, I found it an absolute delight.”
-Krista Garver, Broadway World Reviews

“If one listened to this production for nothing else, one could take grim satisfaction in the gossipy nastiness of it. But Nottage employs satire, and even silliness, to address more serious issues. She turns the story on its head, making it a play that satisfies on many levels.”
-Judy Nedry

“Yet in a year of good, bad and maddeningly mediocre audio plays, Las Meninas stands out. While many theater artists have responded to the pandemic with relentlessly sober and serious tales, Profile has created a production that dares to entertain and enlighten in equal measure. {…} It is an angry, romantic, playful and political dramedy that takes aim at racism and misogyny with a smile that suggests laughter is the best revenge on the ruling class.” -Bennett Campbell Ferguson, Willamette Week

ORBITING LAS MENINAS

In this episode our host Bobby Bermea interviews artists of Las Meninas by Lynn Nottage. Actress Lauren Modica talks about her art and hopes for the future for the American stage. Then, we hear from sound designer and composer Matt Wiens about his inspiration and approach to layering in music and effects for our audio play adaptations. Our episode wraps as director Dawn Monique Williams discusses this play (written about the African presence in the French Court) and its resonances with the Black Lives Matter movement.

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A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR

“Lynn Nottage has long been a hero of mine. Her stories have provided a theatrical home for so many of us; from By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (which I have directed twice), to Ruined, Intimate Apparel, and Poof (a one act I directed over 20 years ago in undergrad), I have always felt the affirmation of Black lives, in particular the lives of women—the unsung, the forgotten. I have always felt the power of her world building, depth of care, pride, and curiosity. Las Meninas is a superb example of all of this and I hope you, the listener, can experience Lynn’s deftness as a storyteller as she subverts the tragic mulatto trope and renders an origin story, a creation myth, drawn from historical detail, that exposes the sickening pain of human trafficking and the resilience of the human spirit and the triumph of love.” -Dawn Monique Williams

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CAST

Pictured from top to bottom:

Lauren Modica as Louise Marie-Therese
Stacy Ross as Mother Superior/Queen Mother
Crystal Ann Muñoz as Queen Marie-Therese
Chris Murray as King Louis XIV
Rance Nix as Nabo Sensugali
Michael J. Asberry as Painter/Doctor
Claire Rigsby as La Valliere/Lady Servant

PRODUCTION

Director: Dawn Monique Williams
Associate Production Manager: Jamie Lynne Simons
Costume Designer: Bobby Brewer-Wallin
Sound Designer and Composer of Original Music: Matt Wiens
Audio Engineer: Robert A. K. Gonyo
Casting Director for the Role of ‘Nabo’: Judy Bowman, CSA
Line Producer: Jamie Rea

COSTUME DESIGN
BY BOBBY BREWER-WALLIN

Irreverent, caustic and touching, Nottage weaves an imaginative tale based on a fascinating but forgotten time.

Helen Hayes, Theatre Washington