Pretending
Jacob York, Creative Endeavors
"Do you have a dream? Sorry, I know that’s a personal question, but I’m trying to illustrate a point. Is there something you want to do more than anything?"
Sidney Gibson is a professional wrestler coming to the end of her time in the ring.
Another Sidney is also Sidney, but not really.
In the twilight of their career, they make a choice. To go full bore into the bloody and dangerous world of deathmatch wrestling, filled with barbed wire, thumbtacks, and flaming tables. To express their art with the fullness of themselves.
But life will always get in art’s way. What will Sidney be willing to sacrifice to make her dreams come true? And is it worth it?
Is it enough to be good? Or does she also have to be successful?
When your goal is within your grasp, what could make you give up?
Read They Love Violence on New Play Exchange.
Development:
Reading, Working Title Playwrights - Ethel Woolson Lab - 2024
Honors:
Winner - Risk Theatre Modern Tragedy Competition - 2025
Finalist - The Loom New Works Festival - Woven Theatre - 2021
Poster mock by
Trevor Browning
Recommendations:
“When I read They Love Violence, I was blown away. It was fascinating to learn about the insider mechanics of wrestling. Like attending a masterclass. The play between the two Sidneys is a brilliant device that had me on the edge of my chair. I may even have fallen off a few times! (They Love Violence is) provocative, novel, innovative, and explosive.”
Edwin Wong, Founder – Risk Theatre Modern Tragedy Competition“They Love Violence is a hauntingly beautiful love letter to the world of pro wrestling. All the aches, pains, trials and tribulations, as well as the thrill, the rush, and the passion of the art is on display. This look inside the mind of an aging wrestler is incredibly accurate. With that accuracy, it is moving and entertaining.”
Leva Bates, Professional Wrestler – Formerly of AEW and WWE
“This play is electric. It’s for women’s sports fans, for wrestling fans, AND for any artist. The layers of wrestling and theatre and the passion we have for/sacrifices we make are palpable and invite immense collaboration. The physicality and theatrical possibilities of wrestling and deathmatch are vivid and a dream for designers and movement-loving creatives. This is a dream for any movement theatre company.”
Ally Varitek - Dramaturg
“What a dynamic, gripping play. What is the price and consequence in the pursuit of greatness? This play offers a distinct view that is also transferable to other forums of this dispute. Though the play leans bravely into the violence, there is a strong undercurrent of tenderness. We feel the main character's pain -- both physically and emotionally. Wow!”
Hank Kimmel - Playwright
Working Title Playwrights, Staged Reading - Photography by Jake Guinn of Havoc Movement
Actors featured include Heather Rule, Bryn Striepe, Michelle Pokopac, Matt Mercurio and Sekou Laidlow.