Ryan Drake's queer coming-of-age exploration you don't have to do anything will play NYC's HERE this spring. Playwright Will Arbery makes his producing debut presenting the world premiere production, which will run at the Manhattan venue February 8–23, 2024. An official opening night is slated for February 11. Ryan Dobrin is at the helm.
The work centers on the malignant friendship teenage Teddy held with Clark, who both bonded due to a mutual sense of outsiderness. But what could've been a queer safe haven for Teddy was manipulated to destructive ends. Throughout the work, he unravels his 11-year-long journey of sexual awakening, coming-of-age, and withering connection during the dawn of the digital age—all archived through fractured texts, voicemails, and social media alerts.
"I really think of this play as a period piece because it is about what it means to be a teenager in a very specific time—post digital age, but pre-all of us having a really strong understanding how we use our voices differently while we're Instant Messaging...That directly intersected with queer teenagers suddenly being able to find each other in new ways," said director Dobrin in a statement.
The cast will include Yaron Lotan as Teddy, Will Dagger as Clark, Andrea Abello as Enid, and Miles Elliot as Guy & Others. Further casting will be announced at a later date.
The production will feature scenic and prop design by Cat Raynor, lighting design by Bentley Heydt and Molly Tiede, costume design by Christopher Vergara, sound design by Carsen Joenk, and projection design by Zack Lobel. Alex Might will serve as fight and intimacy firector. Leigh Honigman and Joey Nasta serve as producers alongside Arbery.
The production is a part of SubletSeries@HERE: a curated rental program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as a technical liaison.
