Polylogues

produced by Colt Coeur at HERE Arts Center, September 17-October 9, 2021

written/performed/created by Xandra Clark

scenic design: Jean Kim

costume design: Hahnji Jang

lighting design: Cheyenne Sykes

projection design: greer x

sound design: Michael Costagliola

dialect coach: Joy Lanceta-Coronel

Polylogues is an interview-based solo show that investigates real people’s experiences with nonmonogamy—and love in all its forms. Writer/performer Xandra Nur Clark is more like a medium than an actor, listening on headphones to interviews while performing them. By providing anonymity to each interviewee, Xandra channels voices and stories that could never be heard if the storytellers’ identities were known. The result is a vibrant, intimate community forged on and off the stage through a wide range of perspectives—from a polyamorous senior to a child worried about her open parents, from a resident of a commune to an evangelical swinger, and from the fully committed to the cautiously curious. Polylogues examines what 21st century humans want in relationships, what we’re afraid of, and the many ways we are capable of loving beyond what any single one of us can imagine.

Polylogues received a developmental showing at The Tank in Nov/Dec 2018, and a workshop production at Dixon Place in February 2019. After being postponed due to the COVID pandemic, the World Premiere was produced by Colt Coeur in the fall of 2021.

featuring: Xandra Nur Clark

photos by Ashley Garrett from Dixon Place workshop production