Bald Sisters at Steppenwolf runs till January 15!

“BLINK ONCE FOR BURIAL. BLINK TWICE FOR A FRIDAY FUNERAL. BLINK THRICE IF YOU HATE MY GUTS.”

ABOUT THIS SHOW

Ma is dead; now what happens? Vichet Chum’s world premiere follows two sisters—at odds since birth—as they settle the affairs of their strong-willed, wise-cracking mother while reconciling their family’s Cambodian heritage with its ever-so-complicated American present. Where’s the will? A burial or cremation? And what do we do with Ma’s teeth? Bald Sisters is an irreverent, comedic and ultimately poignant examination of the ties that bind multigenerational families of immigrants together: history, spirituality and humor. 

Playwright Vichet Chum
Director Jesca Prudencio
Dramaturg Polly Hubbard
Scenic Design Andrew Boyce
Costume Design Izumi Inaba
Lighting Design Stacey Derosier
Sound Design & Original Music Pornchanok Kanchanabanca
Projection Design Mike Tutaj
Company Voice & Text Coach Gigi Buffington
Producing Director Tom Pearl
CSA Casting Director JC Clementz
Production Stage Manager Laura D. Glenn
Assistant Stage Manager Jaclynn Joslin
Script Supervisor Emma Sipora Tyler
Assistant Director Karina Patel
Assistant Lighting Designer Erica Lauren Maholmes
Assistant Projection Designer Parker Molacek
Fights & Intimacy Courtney Abbott
Fights & Intimacy Greg Geffrard
COVID Safety Manager Lauren Casson
Tech Cover Lauren Littlejohn
Run Crew Joe Creen
Cultural Consultant Sami Ismat, Thavary Krouch & Sophoan Khoeun

Cast
Coburn Goss
Jennifer Lim
Nima Rakhshanifar
Wai Ching Ho
Francesca Fernandez
Omar Bader
Cheryl Hamada
Jennifer Jelsema
Matt Miles
Stephanie Shum

Joel Moorman and Brandon Jones: Video.
Photo cred: Michael Brosilow

Video

Interview with Vichet Chum
Rehearsal Trailer
The Big Shave with Francesca
Audience Response

Reviews

Chicago Sun Times: “Multigenerational worlds collide in moving, funny and powerful ‘Bald Sisters’ at Steppenwolf Theatre” by Steven Oxman. Review

Chicago Reader: “Mourning and celebrating in the same breath” by Irene Hsiao. Review

Around the Town: By Alan Bresloff. Review

New City Stage: “As American as Buh-Bah Sok-Moin: A Review of “Bald Sisters” at Steppenwolf Theatre” by Tristan Bruns. Review

Chicago Theatre Review: “People are Bitches.” Review

Twelfth Night at KC Rep runs till September 25!

I am playing Viola in Twelfth Night at Kansas City Repertory Theatre this month, directed by the incredible Nelson T. Eusebio III! In my first full production back from the pandemic, I have the honor of serving this dream role with an incredible cast, team, and theatre. Here are some photo highlights of the experience. If you are in Missouri, come through!

More info.

Review in the KC Independent

Photos by Lia Chang:

...what the end will be at ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY opens June 2

Francesca is understudying the role of Chloe in Mansa Ra’s new play …what the end will be at the Roundabout Theatre Company. In previews now, this exquisite story opens June 2 and runs till July 10. This is the first show to open in the Laura Pels Theatre since the pandemic, and is one of two venues at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center on W 46th Street in Manhattan.

In this new work commissioned by Roundabout, three generations of men live under one roof and grapple with their own truths of what it means to be Black and gay. It’s an exploration of pride, pain, and patience through the unflinching eyes of fathers and sons. Starring Keith Randolph Smith, Emerson Brooks, Gerald Caesar, Ryan Jamal Swain, Randy Harrison, and Tiffany Villarin. Tickets and learn more here.

...what the end will be BE CREATIVE TEAM

Playwright: Mansa Ra

Director: Margot Bordelon

Set Design: Reid Thompson

Costume Design: Emilio Sosa

Lighting Design: Jiyoun Chang

Original Music & Sound Design: Palmer Hefferan

Hair, Wig, and Make-up Design: J. Jared Janas

Stage Manager: Megan Schwarz Dickert

Assistant Stage Manager: Danielle Ranno

Production Assistant: Cynthia Caridad

Upcoming Virtual Events!

Here is a list of upcoming Virtual Theater events that Francesca Fernandez McKenzie will be performing in. The * means this event is a partnership with Stonehenge NYC as part of my Still Standing Artist Residency:

• Not So Long,* Brooklyn College and the Wolfe Institute, Reading Wednesday 5/12 9:30a, by Cherry Lou Sy dir. Eugene Ma. Inquirer article about project. Register for tickets here.

• Liébling, Cleveland Playhouse New Ground Theater Festival, Saturday May 15 4:00p & 7:30p ET, by Vichet Chum dir. Jesca Prudencio. Purchase tickets here.

• Untitled, Tuesday 5/18 24 Hour Plays Viral Monologues, monologue written by Sung Rno dir. Victor Malana Moag on Instagram.

• Sorry/Not Sorry,* Ars Nova ANT Fest show created by Nana Dakin and Nora Casey, Tuesday 6/22.

• SYZYGY,* Two River Theater's Crossing Borders (Virtual) Festival, July 12-25, by Juliany Taveras dir. Dominique Rider

Stonehenge NYC Still Standing Artist Residency

Francesca is elated to return to NYC after eight months in the SF Bay Area as a recipient of the inaugural Stonehenge NYC Still Standing Artist Residency. From March 2021-February 2022, Francesca is commissioned to create a series of performances pieces in exchange for a free year of housing in Manhattan. Learn more about the residency here.

GLORIA: A LIFE streams on PBS’ Great Performances June 26 2020!

August 2018 I had the privilege of joining the original cast of GLORIA: A LIFE, an off-Broadway documentary play about Gloria Steinem by Emily Mann and directed by Diane Paulus. A recorded performance of GLORIA will air on PBS’ Great Performances this Friday, June 26 at 6p PST // 8p CST // 9p EST, and will be available to stream on Thirteen after! Learn more here.

GLORIA: A LIFE premiered October 2018 at the Daryl Roth Theatre, starring Christine Lahti. To meld my activism and art into one production for nine months was affirming and inspiring. Gloria Steinem is truly the boss. It was a life changing experience and I am honored to have been part of its inception. Learn more about the show here.

The Other Place with Kate Walsh and More

Updating my website with what I’ve been busy with has been on my To Do list for two years. I recognize that isn’t something to be proud of, but it is the truth. On my 102nd day in quarantine and 1 week before I move out of my Bronx apartment to stay with family in the SF bay area (until theater comes back to NYC), now seems as good a time as any to check something off the To Do list.

I’ll keep this post to what I’ve done since graduating YSD, and how you can learn more about these past projects. I hope wherever you are, you are well, safe and taking care of yourself amidst the struggle. The struggle for your health and sanity while in quarantine, as well as the struggle for the liberation of Black people from unjust and broken systems, because none of us are free until all of us are free.

Photoshoot with William Sinclair Moore, March 2020.

GLORIA: A LIFE at the Daryl Roth Theatre, photo credit: Joan Marcus, 2018.

After finishing Summer Shorts, I had the privilege of joining the original cast of GLORIA: A LIFE, an off-Broadway documentary play about Gloria Steinem by Emily Mann. It premiered October 2018 at the Daryl Roth Theatre, directed by Diana Paulus and starring Christine Lahti. Learn more about GLORIA here.

Once GLORIA: A LIFE closed, I traveled to California to fulfill a childhood dream and perform at the California Shakespeare Theater, or CalShakes, in Orinda. I watched my first Shakespeare play there in high school and also interned for them in college. Embodying Shen Te and Shui Ta in Bertolt Brecht’s Good Person of Szechwan on that stage for the bay was a true honor. Directed by CalShakes Artistic Director, Eric Ting. You can learn more about Good Person here.

Good Person of Szechwan at CalShakes, Jay Yamada 2019.

Since moving to NYC, I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with other pilipinx theater artists at Clubbed Thumb, The Lark, Loose Change Productions and Egg & Spoon Theatre. Never in my life had I worked in a rehearsal room that was majority pilipinx, exploring issues and performance specific to the pilipinx diaspora. You can learn more about these workshops and readings here.

In January 2020 I collaborated one again with Rachel Shuey, the Managing Director for Yale Cabaret when I was a co-Artistic Director for it’s 50th year. Love, Medea, written by Peter Gray and directed by Michael Alvarez, premiered at the Center at West Park. You can learn more about it here.

Finally, while in quarantine my creativity has manifested in different ways, returning to my background in community organizing and producing.

Photo by William Sinclair

• As a producer with AYE DEFY, we partnered with Ma-Yi Theater and HowlRound to stream a reading of Diana Oh’s My H8 Letter to the Gr8 American Theater June 2020.

• I’m joining the Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) as Associate Development Manager for their digital festival October 2020.

• April 2020 I performed in an onlinereading of The Other Place by Sharr White, produced by Play Per View and directed by Tyne Rafaeli. Starring Kate Walsh and Sendhil Ramamurthy.

• Most exciting is I’ve been writing scripts, and I hope to share more news about that soon.

"Wonderful" new one act at SUMMER SHORTS

Francesca made her NYC debut at the Throughline Arts SUMMER SHORTS FESTIVAL, as part of Abby Rosebrock's one act "Kenny's Tavern." Directed by Jess Chayes. You have two more weeks to catch her at E59E!

Mariah Lee, Francesca Fernandez McKenzie and Stephen Guarino in "Kenny's Tavern." Photo by Carol Rosegg, 2018.

Press for "Kenny's Tavern"

In-Flight Beverages and a New Kind of Living Room Play in Summer Shorts A

Get to Know the New Playwrights Behind This Season's Summer Shorts

Theatre in Review: Summer Shorts Series A(59E59)

Summer Shorts at 59E59, Series A (The Living Room, Kenny’s Tavern, Grounded)