(L-R) Anna LaMadrid and Sheila Carrasco (Photos – Shay Yamashita/TAKE Creative)
L.A.’s acclaimed IAMA Theatre Company presents two new compelling solo performances for viewing online as part of their season exploring identity, isolation, race and connection.
News Desk
Paraphrasing co-artistic directors Stefanie Black and Katie Lowes, “Strong female voices have always been at the center of IAMA. We knew that supporting these two undeniably powerful storytellers was a no-brainer from the jump. They bring their own unique theatrical expression to our virtual stage, begging the audience to stay present and look within.”
The Oxy Complex
“The Oxy Complex,” a new solo comedy about female identity written and performed by Anna LaMadrid, an exciting Latinx-American voice, and directed by Michelle Bossy, was filmed live at L.A.’s Pico Playhouse and streams through April 18 at iamatheatre.com. Set on the 500th day of quarantine, it is a dark comedy exploring love, sex, loneliness, trauma and the hormone that affects it all — Oxytocin, also known as the “cuddle” or “love” hormone, which essentially responds to human touch. “I initially set out to examine the ways that technology interrupts our biology,” explains LaMadrid. “But now that quarantine has taken away all our distractions and we have all this time on our hands, how do we reckon with ourselves? Viviana is a fictional character and her story is heightened, but the show is rooted in truth, drawn from personal experience and from other women I know.” A Venezuelan born, East Coast-bred actor living in Los Angeles, LaMadrid has appeared in other productions by IAMA as well as at Boston Court and in TV productions.
> Streaming on demand through April 18, 2021
Anyone But Me
“Anyone But Me” is also streaming through April 18 and was also filmed live at Pico Playhouse. It was written and performed by Sheila Carrasco and directed by Margaux Susi. Carrasco dissects the psyches of women who struggle with self-identity, exploring the personas we create in order to get by. From the local grocery clerk to your neighbor’s teenage daughter, to that lady from the cult — this play is about women who want to be someone they’re not. Someone better, easier, stronger… anyone but them. “There’s a little of me in each of the characters,” Carrasco says. “I think most women, at some point in our lives, tend to wrap our identities around a single aspect — a relationship, our job or work ethic, our racial or maybe immigrant background, our perceptions of ourselves as artists. This play is an exploration of all my different alter egos and the insecurities I’ve had in my life, and about accepting the nuance of everything that makes me who I am. We don’t have to be just one thing.” Carrasco has appeared in various IAMA productions, the CBS pilot “Ghosts,” numerous other TV productions, the Groundlings, and various productions around the country.
> Streaming on demand through April 18, 2021
Tickets
Tickets are $15 per household for one show, and $10 for the second show. For more information and to reserve tickets, go to iamatheatre.com.
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