KELSEY MESA
Director and Playwright
La Salpêtrière
By Kelsey Mesa
3W, 1M
Clumsy housewife Yvette wakes up in the hysterics ward of La Salpêtrière with no memory of how she arrived, and finds herself thrown in with two of the hospital’s most famous hysterics. She is of great interest to the lauded Docteur, whose medical toolbag includes public hypnosis and punches to his patients’ uteri. Is Yvette really supposed to be here? Is she really a hysteric? And can Yvette—along with her roommates Didi and Antoine—find the strength they need to break out?
Content warnings
Domestic abuse and violence, sexism and misogyny, mental illness and ableism.
WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION
Taffety Punk Theatre Company
October 2023
WINNER OF HELEN HAYES AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION AND OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTOR (Kimberly Gilbert)
La Salpêtrière by Kelsey Mesa
Directed by Danielle A. Drakes
Starring Fabiolla Da Silva, Kimberly Gilbert, Yihong Chen, and Danny Puente Cackley
LIGHTS: Elijah Thomas
SOUND: Marcus Kyd
COSTUMES: Johnna Presby
SCENIC AND PROPS: Daniel Flint
STAGE MANAGER: Jenna Keefer
DRAMATURG: Tiffany Bryant
MOVEMENT DIRECTOR: Lorraine Ressegger
Photos by Cameron Whitman