Premiere Showcase - "Morphology"

This July, Phillips’ Mill will present a workshop production of “Morphology,” a new, never-before-seen play by Jillian Blevins.

“Morphology” is a family drama about a mother and her nonverbal autistic son making decisions about their future in a world that has trouble understanding them. Their small world opens to the audience through the story, revealing a microcosm of poetry and care that the rest of the world has overlooked.

“One thing I love about producing new plays is that it gives playwrights room to take a risk,” says director Griffin Horn. “When we first decided to reach out to Jill because of the quality of her work, one of my first questions was ‘Do you have a script that may not get done at another theater because it didn’t fit a mold? Can we help you take a risk?’ And for Jill, that risk was to give us a deeply personal play that was still finding its way to the world. That’s going to be the fun of our workshop production. The theater, and the community around it, is going to act as a midwife in the final stages of helping this story see the light.”

The production will mark a return to New Hope for playwright Jill Blevins, who was raised in the area, and whose plays have been produced in New York and beyond. It will be a wonderful testament to the Mill’s commitment to new work.

The performance on July 25 has been tailored to be more relaxed, with modified production elements that provide better access for audience members with sensory differences.

Art from the organization Studio Route 29, a progressive art studio that centers the creative practices and perspectives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, will be displayed on the walls of the Mill during the performances.

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