Up Next: Athena by Gracie Gardner at Theatre NOVA

A razor-sharp, darkly funny duel of ambition and recognition, Athena plunges audiences into the high-stakes world of competitive girls’ Junior Olympic fencing. Theatre NOVA, Ann Arbor’s resident nonprofit professional theatre specializing in new plays, presents Athena by Gracie Gardner, running July 17-August 9.

Mary Wallace and Athena are brave, and seventeen, and fencers, and training for the Junior Olympics. They practice together, they compete against each other, they spend their lives together. They wish they were friends. Can they overcome their fierce competitiveness? Would they even want to? 

Athena actress Jen Pan says: “This cast has some of the most trained stage combatants in the entire southeast Michigan area and I can't wait for audiences to experience how good and story-driven it can look in a live show.”

Athena is fight-directed by Joe Wright and stars Jen Pan in the title role. Wright and Pan are the founders of Theatrica Gladiatoria, a Ypsilanti-based company dedicated to advancing the art of dramatic violence through training, choreography, performances, and workshops for stage and screen. The cast features Theatrica Gladiatoria students: Brittany Batell as Mary Wallace, a 1x certified SAFD Actor Combatant in singlesword who has trained with Theatrica Gladiatoria since 2022 and at the Fredericksen Intensive in smallsword, and Amanda Buchalter as Jamie, a 5x certified SAFD Actor Combatant and certified Intermediate Actor Combatant with Fight Directors Canada.

Actress Brittany Batell says: “The thing about stage combat is that each fight is a mini-story in itself, of trading advantages and disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses, wins and losses.”

Jen adds: “I want people who come see this show to discover how cool fights can be and, perhaps, get interested in trying a fencing, stage combat, or martial arts class…If you loved Princess Bride or Game of Thrones, this play is for you. Come for the swords, stay for the awkward teenage drama.”

Directed by Shelby R. Seeley, a Yale-certified director and Theatre NOVA Producing Artistic Director who recently returned from an international Directing Residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, the production team includes Theatre NOVA Producing Artistic Director Briana O’Neal (stage manager), Joe Wright (fight choreographer), Kennikki Jones-Jones (sound designer), Amanda Bates (set designer), Jade Guerriero (lighting designer), Michaella Victoria (costume designer), Sydney Schropshire (assistant stage manager), Avalon McNew (assistant lighting designer), and Celah Convis (marketing assistant). 

Director Shelby R. Seeley says: “The stories I want to tell are violently tender and ferally-feminine, and Athena encapsulates that. I have pitched this play fifteen times over many years to local professional theatres, and Theatre NOVA is the first theatre brave– or crazy– enough to say yes. I love how this show explores identity, connection, and ambition in a way that is uniquely feminine. The show demands high level spectacle, and I have no doubts that this team will handle it well, but it’s also exceptional, intimate storytelling.”

Actress Amanda Buchalter says: “Fencing is obviously a huge part of Athena, but it's not what the show is really about. Fencing is a vehicle for what building friendships can feel like in a world that tells you everything is a competition.”

Athena by Gracie Gardner runs July 17-August 9 at Theatre NOVA (410 W Huron St, Ann Arbor). Performances are Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 3pm and 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm. General admission tickets are $30, $25 for 65 and over, and $15 for students with student IDs at the door. Tickets may be purchased online at TheatreNOVA.org or in person one hour before each performance. Seating in the theater will begin 30 minutes before each performance. There is ample free parking and quick access to the city’s restaurants, bars, bakeries, and coffee shops. New patrons can find Theatre NOVA across Huron Street from Ann Arbor’s YMCA through a parking lot entrance on the north side of the street.

Theatre NOVA’s mission is to raise awareness of the value and excitement of new plays and playwrights and to provide resources for playwrights to develop their craft by importing, exporting, and developing new work. This activity is supported by the Shubert Foundation, the Michigan Arts & Culture Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.