So. How’ve you been?
We’ve been remarkably busy, all things considered. When the pandemic started, the Coil had the good fortune to already have a well-established bi-monthly radio show. The Coil Project Variety Hour became our primary focus, with some changes to our production process. Traditionally we’d packed a ludicrous number of people into the tiny booth at Takoma Radio to perform short plays and ongoing serials written by our members. When that was no longer an option, we switched to pre-recording the show, but the show went on.
You can catch the show every other Sunday night at 7pm on takomaradio.org or, if you happen to be within the charmingly tiny broadcast radius of WOWD-LP Takoma Park Community Radio, at 94.7 FM on your actual radio. We’re working on making some of the back episodes available as an online archive, so keep an eye out for news on that!
Because of all the… everything, we’ve had to put the production of Fiveplay on hold. We do plan to put the show on, however! Eventually! Everyone involved remains enthusiastic about the show and eager to get back to it as soon as it’s safe for both our performers and crew and our audiences.
Everyone knows what comes after foreplay… fiveplay.
Fiveplay is a new play from local playwright Erica Smith (writer of 2014’s Come Out and Say It and 2019’s Stonefish) and directed by Sean Butler (2017’s Tiresias’ Tits) taking an affectionate look at polyamory and the modern family. Emerson’s dating Sawyer, who’s married to Monty, who’s dating Ray, who’s also dating Avery, who’s married to Emerson. And their friend Keegan lives with them too.
This is a show about a family — Venn House, six people who chose one another. Sure, sometimes poly people’s problems are about relationships. Sometimes they’re about jobs, or money, or haunted antiques. And sometimes family is even more complicated than it seems.