Audrey Cefaly grew up in Greenville, part of Alabama’s Black Belt. The playwright often draws from her Alabama roots for her plays, which include “The Gulf,” “Alabaster” and “Maytag Virgin.” Her latest is “The Garment,” which will get a reading Sept. 22 as part of Red Mountain Theatre’s Human Rights New Works Festival. Directed by Cheryl Hall, the cast includes Cari Gisler Oliver, Rachel Burttram and longtime Cefaly friend and collaborator Carolyn Messina. Cefaly talked about the new play, her other work and her inspirations.
Tell me a little about yourself.
I was born and raised in Alabama. These days I live in Baltimore with my husband, Tim, and our dog, Rosa. I come from teachers and therapists. My mother is a writer; her play “Autumn Elegy” premiered at the Humana Festival in 1989.
Tell me about playwriting and how it started for you. It sprung out of not finding plays you wanted to do as an actress, correct?
Yes, like many playwrights, my first love was performance. I was finding it difficult to find short plays that got at the heart of what I wanted to say as an artist, so I wrote one. My first play won the whole festival. I was very lucky to have such wonderful friends encouraging me early on to keep writing.
Do you see a common theme in your work? How would you describe it to someone who hasn’t seen your plays?
I write what love looks like to me, in all its permutations. I write about grief and about the lost and lonely. Working-class families, hardscrabble. Much of my work is set in Alabama.
Can you describe “The Garment”?
I am venturing into new territory, stepping away from Southern narratives and out of my comfort zone – not forever, but for a while – to talk about issues of the day. They are still very personal stories but told through a socio-political lens. The initial impulse for “The Garment” was an image of a voluminous, vintage black mourning dress. What would happen if it was the focal point of a biting comedy about artists? I am exploring toxicity and predation in the arts told from the vantage point of female artists. The play examines the intersectionality of artistic identity/ownership, the politics of collaboration and the traditionally complicit pathways many artists negotiate/rationalize for the promise of success. Contemporaneously, I see the play as an ode, of sorts, to my lifelong partnership with dramaturg Carolyn Messina. The vibe is “Master Class” meets “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” a savage tragi-comedy for the #MeToo movement.
You’ve had a long-standing personal friendship and now working relationship with Carolyn Messina.
She’s the best kind of wrecking ball. We met in high school, acting in plays together. Later in life, we’d take shows to New York and self-produce. She is chiefly my dramaturg, but she is also my muse, just an incredible actor. I think she’s brilliant and my plays wouldn’t be what they are without her.
How involved are you in this production? Will you be in Birmingham?
I worked with the actors and director Cheryl Hall over the summer to refine the script. We were able to fit in two virtual table reads. I wanted to be in Birmingham for the reading, but I won’t be able to make it there in person this time. Hoping to support from afar.
Who is your favorite playwright? Who are your inspirations?
It’s really hard to pick a favorite. My first love was Beth Henley. Over the years, I’ve drawn from Terrence McNally, Tennessee Williams and Martin McDonagh.
What are you working on now? What’s next?
I’m working on a play called Trouble about struggling millworkers. It’s the fourth installment in my Alabama Cycle (The Gulf, Alabaster, Maytag Virgin), an exploration of the unsung voices, stories, and topographies of working-class people in the Gulf Coast region.
“The Garment,” Sept. 22 at 2 p.m., part of the Human Rights New Works Festival taking place Sept. 20-22 at Red Mountain Theatre.
