Cast: Deborah Kent

Deborah Kent (Playwright/Performer) (she/her) grew up in Little Falls, New Jersey, and majored in English at Oberlin College. After earning a master’s degree from Smith College School for Social Work, she worked at University Settlement House on New York’s Lower East Side. Her life took a new direction when she moved to San Miguel de Allende in central Mexico and devoted her energy to writing. She is the author of nearly two dozen young-adult novels and numerous nonfiction titles for middle-grade readers. In recent years she has branched into writing personal essays and pieces for solo performance.

Kate Hendrickson (Director) (she/her) is a Chicago-based director specializing in  new plays. She is a resident director at Trap Door Theatre, where she has premiered  Lipstick Lobotomy (Kilroys List) by Krista Knight; Fantasy Island for Dummies and Anger/Fly by Ruth Margraff; Cookie Play, AmeriKafka, Chaste and Beholder (Jeff Award for Best New Work, After Dark Award for Best Original Music) by Ken Prestininzi; Howard Zinn’s Emma (After Dark Award for Best Ensemble); and 12 Ophelias by Caridad Svich, among others. Additional credits include We Are Pussy Riot for Red Tape Theatre, and various productions and readings at Chicago Dramatists, the International Voices Project, Pivot Arts’ Multi-Arts Festival, and Links Hall’s Physical Fest Chicago.

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About the Trap Open Series

Trap Open explores non-traditional forms of playmaking, while developing and giving voice to the next generation of groundbreaking theatre artists. In keeping with the promise to foster innovative forms of expression, Trap Door opens up its space to company members, as well as guest artists, to develop new work that exists outside the realm of a traditional theatrical run. These performances occur sporadically throughout the prime-time season as additional offerings during the week and late nights. Whether it is a workshop of a bold new play, a daylong performance installation, or a collaboration with artists from other mediums, Trap Open offers audiences thrilling, unexpected experiences while granting artists the opportunity to take risks that push their artistic practices to new heights.

Trap Door’s Trap Open Series Presents:

Hand Foot Hand

 

Written by Deborah Kent

Directed by Kate Hendrickson

 

February 9th, 2025

Runs: Sunday, February 9th – 3:30 pm and 8 pm

Admission: $20

Where: Trap Door Theatre is located at 1655 W. Cortland St.

Accessibility: Trap Door Theatre is wheelchair accessible.

Both performances will feature a Touch Tour.

Group tickets: Special group rates are available. For information, call (773) 384-0494 or email boxofficetrapdoor@gmail.com.

What is it like to enter a brand-new school in eighth grade when you’re the first blind student they’ve ever enrolled? Imagine attending your first party as a college student, or setting out to look for your first job when most employers blanch at the thought of hiring a blind applicant. Author and performer Deborah Kent takes us on a journey that begins in a small New Jersey town, moves on to a college campus in the turbulent Sixties, explores the streets of New York’s Lower East Side, and carries us to a community of writers in central Mexico. Laced with wry humor, this is a story about searching for footholds in a world that is not always welcoming and discovering handholds in the most unexpected places.

Hand, Foot, Hand was developed at Chicago Dramatists with the generous support of the Access Fellowship program and premiered at Lifeline Theatre’s 2024 Fillet of Solo Festival.