Quail Bell Film Screening: 'Mi Abuela, Queen of Nightmares' at Pine Box Rock Shop

By Sydnie Stern

December 9th, 2022 -  Debuting on screen at the Pine Box Rock Shop is the film version of Christine Stoddard’s original stage production Mi Abuela, Queen of Nightmares. First performed at the Gene Frankel Theatre in New York City in June 2022, Stoddard’s play captures the tug-of-war dynamic between mothers and daughters in immigrant households, all while showing the power (and trap) of using fantasy as a coping mechanism. The two-hour screening and panel will begin at 8:30 P.M. Quail Bell Press & Productions invites the public to Pine Box Rock Shop at 12 Grattan Street, Brooklyn, NY 11206 on December 9th to experience this cinematic occasion. Tickets are available on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/430979991757

Maya (Vanessa Vivas), a restless adolescent, is made to rise in her Salvadoran-American household in Phoenix, Arizona, encountering family mythology and maternal trauma during her ascent. In the darkened desertscape, realized in the movement talents of Jess Appel and Amanda Andrews, Maya weathers her relationship with her devout immigrant mother (Marian Del Valle) and works to embrace lost fragments of her mixed-race identity. In lieu of a paternal figure (Jacob Baron portrays the figment of Maya’s father) or any stable-minded elder in the cruel conditions of the world, Maya embraces storytelling as escapism. She even imagines her ancestors from El Salvador as a hilarious duo (Ariana Jackman and Christine Stoddard). She is compounded with moral turbulence when she uncovers secrets from her mother’s heirlooms, and chooses to persevere forward with the vigour of a warrior. In this story, Maya bridges girlhood and womanhood, while the spirited teen traverses familial and multicultural struggles. This experimental production features jaguars and Salvadoran music and dance influences, choreographed by Fiamma Piacentini (who also plays Abuela). .

Christine Stoddard is a writer, filmmaker, published author, and multi-hyphenate artist. Recent projects include “Cyber Cinderella” and “Forgot Fairytales,” among others. Based in Brooklyn, Stoddard has worked on plays and readings at the Kennedy Center, Poetic Theater Productions, the New York City Poetry Festival, etc. Her original play Mi Abuela, Queen of Nightmares received The Table Work Press National Playwriting Award and was recognized as a Fulton Theatre New Works National Finalist. Find out more at WorldOfChristineStoddard.com.