TURNING KRASNIQI: A NON-BINARY PLAY by Jonathan Alexandratos

Turning Krasniqi is the story of Hannah Krasniqi, a high school senior in a small, conservative Kentucky town who transitions to become a burrnesha, a gender in his ancestral homeland of Albania. There are several problems with this, of course. Hannah has never been to Albania. Hannah does not know anyone who has become a burrnesha. And Hannah has barely spoken to anyone during his entire high school career, leaving him with a pretty weak support system. Can Hannah get the support he needs in order to overcome his transphobic principal and transition according to the ancient rules of the burrnesha transition? Turning Krasniqi finds the answer to this question buried in old Albanian traditions that blossom into modern, universal truths about being who you are.

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JONATHAN ALEXANDRATOS (they/them) is a Non-Binary, New York City-based playwright. Their work lives at the intersection of ancient and modern Queerness, pop culture, and cathartic bonding. In addition to Turning Krasniqi (2020 Parity Commission winner), Jonathan’s work has focused on superhero immigrants (We See What Happen, 2017 Greenhouse Award winner from Strange Sun Theater), Queer toys (TOYS 101, solo show in the 2019 So-Fi Festival), fleeing war with the help of magical realism (Words Cannot Describe This, 2018 Queens Council on the Arts New Works Grant) among others. Currently, Jonathan’s work is supported by Parity Productions and Pipeline Theatre Company. Offstage, Jonathan writes academic cultural histories of toys, dolls, and Happy Meals, and that work has been seen in books (Articulating the Action Figure), film festivals (Billion Dollar Babies, the Tribeca Film Festival), TV stations (Story in the Public Square, PBS), podcasts (Build for Tomorrow, Is It Transphobic?, et al.), and elsewhere. They teach at Queensborough Community College and Sarah Lawrence College.

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Directed by MIka Kauffman

CAST: Stephanie Cha (Christina), Annie Conolly (Liam/Sam), Bowie Lance (Hannah), Peri LeBlanc (Krista), Mattie Mariposa (Julio/Jessie/That One Band Kid), Kristyn Michele (Mr. Wormsley), Jace n/Ziev (Larissa/Alex), Ashley Lauren Rogers (Mom/Allison Statter), Tobaron Waxman (Olgi), Dillon Yruegas (Mr. Turning/Jorge Ramos)

Costume Designer: Gylanni Carrington

Sound Designer: Emma Lea Hasselbach

Projection Designer: Jean Sonderand

Production Stage Manager: Becca Silbert

Stage Manager: Dexter Warren

Assistant Stage Manager: Schuyler Seitzsky

Casting Director: Danielle Prestfelder Demchick, CSA

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General admission tickets to the workshop are free, with a suggested donation of $10 if you are in a position to give. Donations are accepted at https://give-usa.keela.co/preview/DYaK9BkmR4B5thP6J.

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This workshop will be approximately two hours, with one intermission.

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As part of our COVID-19 protocol and to keep our actors and audience as safe and healthy as possible, we require all audience members to wear a mask throughout the performance. The AMT Theater is ADA accessible with the exception of the balcony seating.