Mariana Newhard returns to NACL to further refine work on her new hybrid theater opera.

Queen of the Nile unravels the sexualization of women in media, politics, and mythology, exploring the pitfalls of seeking truth amidst a radicalized political climate and the invasive presence of news and social media. This residency will culminate in a public staged performance of the opera.

A veteran Deep Space artist, Mariana shared an early draft of the currrent work at NACL last summer and prior to that was seen here in 2017 in a work-in-progress presentation of Assembled Identity.

Mariana Newhard, right, with Purva Bedi in Assembled Identity, Photo by Paula Cort

Mariana Newhard is a Filipina-American writer/performer specializing in hybrid new work. She is a member of the Dorset Theater Festival’s Women Artists Writing Group (DTF WAW)  Her hybrid opera, Queen of the Nile, has been in development since 2019 and received workshops and residencies at HERE Arts Center, Rogers Arts Loft, NACL, and DTF WAW. In October she will be in residency with her project at NACL as well as The Bethany Arts Center. Her first production, Assembled Identity (a co-creation with Kristin Marting and Purva Bedi) premiered at HERE Arts Center in Spring 2018. Mariana premiered her shorts Big Leap, Alone, and Perfect in 50 Ways at the Capital Fringe D.C. in July 2018.  Other plays include Andromache at the Edge of the World, Zenith, Otherworld, and Da Food is Da Food. Mariana has been an invited artist at Drop Forge & Tool and NACL. She has a BFA in Acting from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and studied writing at Sarah Lawrence College, Harvard University, and the Asian American Writer’s Workshop. She was born and raised in Manila.

Banner photo by Paula Cort