NORTHAMPTON, MA – The Smith College Department of Theatre presents Tidepools, written and performed by Francesca Sobrer ’85, directed by Sue Clement ’79 on Friday, September 20 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hallie Flanagan Studio Theatre. Tidepools is the story of one woman’s journey away from the shore and back. This hour-long performance takes the audience for a ride in the waves with the story of finding and living love only to be caught in an undertow of loss and grief eventually drifting back onto the shore in a tidepool of realized joy. The play is free and open to the public, no reservations required. Francesca Sobrer discovered her talent for storytelling while teaching high school students and learned how powerful they can be. She says, “I’m a big fan of the personal narrative; every time I hear and tell a story, I get a larger understanding of what it is to be human.” Arlene Malinowski, a fellow storyteller in Chicago calls Tidepools “a solo show that is rich in heart and spirit. It’s a love story about being reshaped, reoriented and transformed.”
Storyteller, writer, teacher, actor, director, and Smith alum, Francesca Sobrer has been published in Chicago Storytellers Press, from Stage to Page, True Stories About Love and recently was co-editor with Liminal Publishing, A Poet’s Tarot by Josep Miquel Sobrer. A multi MothStorySLAM winner, Sobrer has won story slams in Chicago, Brooklyn, and Milwaukee. Other favorite Chicago storytelling venues include Back Yard Story, This Much is True, Soul Serenade, First Person Live, BackRoom and Homewood Stories.
Director Sue Clement has directed plays and original pieces largely at the university level, and for the Fringe Festival, and Freehold Theater in Seattle. She is most at home working on new scripts and self-scripted pieces with ensembles. After working on a few productions back in their Smith College days, Sue is thrilled to reunite with Francesca on Tidepools.
Leonard Berkman, Anne Hesseltine Hoyt Professor of Theatre will lead a talkback with the artists, Assistant Professor of Theatre Monica Lopez Orozco, and Benita Jackson, Professor of Psychology after the show on Friday.
