It was one year ago that the pandemic lockdown kicked into high gear. Now Fairfield University’s Quick Center for the Arts looks back on a terrifying, turbulent time in “Six Feet,” a new, virtual play written and directed by Melanie Hoopes. The play – which will be presented at 7:30 tonight, March 25 – is part of “Global Theatre: A Performance Series,” curated by Broadway producer Cheryl Wiesenfeld.
“Six Feet” tells the story of a group of people connected by a tragic event while navigating this strange, confusing present. The play details the lives of eight characters on five Zoom calls occurring in the two-week period prior to the 2020 presidential election.
Hoopes’ credits include Netflix’s “Bloodline,” Alec Baldwin’s “Here’s the Thing” and “This American Life,” to name a few. She wrote “Six Feet” as a platform to explore our country’s political divide, racial and economic inequality, mental health crisis and lack of affordable health care. “Six Feet” asks if it is possible to reconcile our differences and heal the divide — and, if it is, how do we begin?
The Quick’s “Global Theatre: A Performance Series” illuminates narratives that focus on the concerns facing our nation and world, to open minds and effect change. Of Hoopes’ new play, Wiesenfeld said, “’Six Feet’ knocked me out. Reconciliation and walking in someone else’s shoes are the way forward for all of us.”
Following the performance, audience members are invited to participate in a post-show panel discussion led by Fairfield University’s Vice President for Mission and Ministry Rev. Gerry Blaszczak, S.J., and Richard Greenwald, PhD, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Tickets start at $20 and are available at quickcenter.com. This and several other upcoming Premiere Quick Center events are free for Quick members. To become a member, visit quickcenter.com or call the box office at 203-254-4010 or toll free at 1-877-ARTS-396.
– Georgette Gouveia
