I haven’t been to the Next Step Reading Series in a while, so I was glad to set foot inside Bynx Orlando on the last Monday of January. I was there to see Tony Taylor’s adaptation of Tom Viola’s graphic novel, Or Die Trying; Kimberly DiPersia was the director.
(The Next Step Reading Series is where performers read a feature-length movie script, complete with directorial directions, as if they’re reading a radio play. They wear costumes and use props, plus Michael F. Taylor is providing foley sound effects and voice effects.)
In the story, the women of a village awaken to find all their men are missing, and the village is on fire. There was no sign of battle, no noises to wake them. The men were gone, the village was burning.
One woman, Kendra (Paige Weinsheimer) vows to find their men and return, or die trying. She’s joined by three other women: Yo-Li (Kat Riley), Elwyn (Lillian McGuinness), and Rissa (Jennifer Coe). Kendra is a former mercenary, Yo-Li is an archer, Elwyn is a sword master, and Rissa is “just” a tavern wench.
Along the way, they encounter giants, a wizard, a witch, a medusa, and even some cyclops, all played by the ensemble cast Freya Hunt, Rachael Tillman, Ysela Williams, and Naina Leon. The show was narrated by Lisa Acebo.
As they travel, the four women share what brought them to the village: Kendra was a mercenary who refused to filfill a contract, Yo-Li escaped an abusive relationship, Elwyn learned to fight, and Rissa “has given many men in the village pleasure, but only been given pleasure by one.”
“She’s nothing more than a tavern wench,” Elwyn scoffed when Rissa first wanted to join their party. But apparently, she was a very good tavern wench.
It’s like a D&D party came to life and headed out to save their men.
As it turns out, Harmonia, a siren, has conquered Amazonia and uses her siren’s song to entrap men and force them to do her bidding. Her plan is to conquer the surrounding kingdoms by using the men as pawns for her army.
But the four women have other plans. After meeting the wizard Mensla, they meet a wood elf, a centaur, and a giant (played by members of the ensemble wearing masks), all who help lead the party to Amazonia.
Throughout their travels, Kendra will occasionally exhort her friends to “SAVE OUR MEN!” but they’ve been doing so well in all their labors, who actually needs them? I mean, these women were kicking ass. They put out a fire, fought giants, defeated a medusa, and ultimately defeated Harmonia* — do they even need their men?
* Oh, come on, don’t act so surprised. It’s a fantasy script. How did you expect it to end?
Still, we are treated to a few surprises, like for being “nothing more than a tavern wench,” Rissa turns out to be the biggest ass-kicker in the entire party. She not only becomes an archer who fires a deadly right-in-the-eye shot to defeat a cyclops, we find out that Rissa’s spiritual protector — the wizard Lira (played by Lisa Acebo) — is actually her mother, and that Rissa is a powerful wizard in her own right.
But the party gets captured by Harmonia, and we are looking at the All Is Lost moment, which every good script has. They’re about to be executed and Harmonia will get exactly what she wants. . . but wait! What’s that sound?
The giants! The giants are attacking! The wood elf cuts the others free, and they fight their way to freedom, with Kendra’s script taking the worst of the damage.
There was one disappointing ending that I didn’t enjoy, but that’s the thing I won’t spoil for you. You can watch the entire performance here on ATL’s YouTube channel. (You can even see me at the very beginning looking for a place to sit down.)
This was an all-female cast, as well as the director, which is not as common as one would hope. Kudos to All The Line for taking this step and creating more opportunities for women.
The Next Step Reading Series happens on the last Monday of every month at Bynx Orlando at 7 pm. It’s part of the All the Line Studio & Incubator‘s talent development work.
Photo credit: All the Line Studio & Incubator (Used with permission)