‘Mynx’ to premiere at Vortex
Adam is a comic book writer wrapped in a dark secret.
Ket is the overseer-cumbabysitter sent by his publisher to make sure he meets his deadlines.
Both dive deeply into Adam’s past to unearth the truth driving his work.
The world premiere of “Mynx and Savage” opens at the Vortex Theatre on Friday, April 27. The play continues on weekends through May 13.
Set in comic book primary colors, the play pits the superheroes that support Adam against his writer’s block and the true story he is afraid to tell.
“He makes a living through Mynx and Savage; they’re two comic characters,” said Ray Rey Griego, the play’s co-director with Caitlyn Jones. “Mynx is the superhero and Savage is the villain.
“He had a friend when he was growing up named Jill,” Griego continued. “She was actually the creator of Mynx and Savage. Unfortunately, she died and he used her work to make his own.”
Ket pushes Adam to dig into the secret of his characters’ birth.
Born in Akron, Ohio, playwright Rebecca Gorman O’Neill left at age 17 to attend Dartmouth College. She went on to earn her master’s in fine arts degree in dramatic writing at Carnegie Mellon University. Today she teaches playwriting, screenwriting, cinema studies and graphic novel writing at Denver’s Metropolitan State University.
O’Neill’s original play was one of the winners of the 2018 American Association of Community Theatres New Playfest. The production marks the first time the Vortex has been asked to premiere one of those selections.
“Mynx and Savage” stars Aleah Montano (“The Taming of the Shrew,” “Burn This”), Heather Donovan (“An American Daughter”), Chris Hughes (“The Diviners,” Santa Fe’s Theatreworks) and Hector Colunga (“Mary Stuart”). “It took us three
months to cast the show,” Griego said, “because we wanted passion, focus, dedication and humanity.”
The AACT New Playfest began in 2014. Every other year, juries of playwrights and directors cull hundreds of new scripts in multiple rounds of readings.
“Mynx and Savage” is one of six plays chosen for 2018 production.