The Home Show

Genesis of Play & Synopsis

In 2024, playwright Kathleen Coudle-King began conducting interviews with residents in the greater Grand Forks area. She had received a grant from the Community Foundation of GF, EGF, and Region. (The interviews are available under the Home Project tab above). Because Kathleen is a playwright, she knew from the beginning that these interviews would some day inspire a play. That play is now The Home Show, set to premiere Nov. 29 at 7 pm and Nov. 30 at 2 p.m. at the historic Empire Arts Center. The production is made possible by the City of GF Arts Regrant and the ND Council on the Arts Special Projects grant.

Billed as a "multi-media, immersive theatre piece," the play will utilize some audio interviews, some home videos solicited from people in GF, shaddow puppetry, 6-original songs commissioned for the project, and live theatre. Audiences will visit 6 homes over the course of 90 minutes (without intermission). Seating is limited, and people are encouraged to reserve seats:

Sonder, noun - the strong feeling of realizing that every person you see has their own life story in which they are the most important person:

Cast

Ashley Fredricksen in "Lucky Apt. #3"

Janessa Jaye Champagne - as herself

Jace Erickson in "Lucky Apt. #3"

Theresa Knox - in "Forever Home"

Heather Fors in "A Taste of Home"

Ruth Drake - puppeteer & Church Lady

Director & Playwright

Kathleen Coudle-King has long been intrigued by the things we don't talk about, the stories we don't share, and has made it her life's work to add breath to those words. To say them out loud is to reduce their hold over us. Break their spell.

Kathleen has written plays about teens who were sent away to "homes for unwed mothers" (St. Bette's) dating violence (Look Away), the stories of women political prisoners in Uruguay (Compañeras), and homelessness (In Search of Perephone). She earned a B.F.A. from NYU's TSOA in Dramatic Writing, then promptly moved to North Dakota. (A story for a different time.) There she enrolled in grad school, earning an M.A. in English from the U. of ND. Kathleen currently serves as the Managing Artistic Director for the Empire Theatre Co. in Grand Forks, ND, where she directs plays regularly.

Please visit her site at www.coudle-king.com