Scissoring

Northampton MA - The Smith College Department of Theater presents Scissoring by CQ Quintana, directed by Kelsey Rainwater on February 26, 27, 28, and March 1 at 7:30 p.m. in Hallie Flanagan Studio Theatre. When Abigail Bauer takes a job as a teacher at a conservative Catholic school, she is forced to step back into the closet against the wishes of her long-term girlfriend. As she struggles to reconcile her professional ambitions, personal relationships, religious beliefs, and internalized shame, Abigail receives guidance from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Eleanor’s devoted friend and lover, Lorena Hickok. Tickets $5–15 at smitharts.ludus.com.

Scissoring explores the ways in which people can feel split into multiple, sometimes conflicting, identities. The New York Times called it a “pleasure to watch…about finding the courage to be fully oneself.” Playwright CQ Quintana is a queer Cuban-American writer who works in theatre, poetry, television, and lyrical nonfiction. Their plays have been developed at the Kennedy Center, Diversionary Theatre, and INTAR. Scissoring was the culmination of their M.F.A. in playwriting at Columbia University and was a 2013/14 finalist in the Alliance/Keneda National Graduate Playwriting Competition. The play premiered in 2018 at INTAR in New York City.

In Scissoring, Quintana examines the complex relationships between queer identity, religion, race, and professional opportunity. Guest director Kelsey Rainwater, an actor and faculty at David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, has been the fight and intimacy coordinator on several Smith productions. She is excited to return to campus to direct this layered, provocative, sweet, and funny show. “What makes this experience even more meaningful is the chance to tell this story at such a crucial time in our country, at Smith—where young creators are encouraged to amplify their voices through art.” Rainwater observes, “In a moment when people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and wxmen are increasingly marginalized, we are making a clear statement: these voices will be heard.”

Set in New Orleans in 2018, Scissoring conveys the myriad intricacies of closeted life in the late 2010s when the city was recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Abigail’s partner is an artist and they live in the rapidly gentrifying Marigny, a bohemian neighborhood where they can be their authentic selves. St. Elizabeth Rose Catholic School, where Abigail teaches, is in Uptown, a wealthy, more conservative district. The stress of toggling between these two worlds, physically and emotionally, pushes Abigail to a breaking point. Quintana introduces Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok to serve as imagined guides for Abigail and heightens the theatricality with a sentient, opinionated school PA System. St. Elizabeth Rose’s principal, a fellow teacher, and a Catholic priest round out the ensemble cast.

The New Orleans locales and Abigail’s interior thoughts are brought to the stage with sets by Isabel Kurzweil ’26, lighting design by Via Sussman ’26, costumes by Lily Sickman-Garner ’25 and sound by Reed Shaw ’27 with stage management by Tamarin Camp ’25. “We have such a wonderful group of creators on this, everyone involved knows how special this show is, and why it matters to tell this story,” says Rainwater. The message she wants the audience to take away? “That you are enough. All of you. Not one bit is out of place.” There will be a talkback with CQ Quintana after the March 1 performance. For a list of content warnings, email boxoffice@smith.edu.