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Both a stage play and feature documentary, this unique hybrid project is being produced in concurrent, parallel tracks that are woven together expertly, illustrating the way past memories and current realities exchange time and space with trauma and healing, ebbing and flowing in non-linear fashion to form a story and create the arc of a life.
LF TEAM POV
POSTMORTEM is a unique hybrid project, innovative both dramaturgically and structurally. Both a stage play and feature documentary, the project is being produced in concurrent, parallel tracks that are woven together expertly by Emmy nominated filmmaker Marilyn Ness and Oscar nominated producer Beth Levinson, illustrating the way past memories and current realities exchange time and space with trauma and healing, ebbing and flowing in non-linear fashion to form a story and create the arc of a life.
The play, written by Marylin, centers on Maddy, a NYC Medical Examiner, who, mid-life, finds herself remembering for the first time, her sexual abuse as a child by her stepfather. The documentary then takes us behind the process of making the play, giving viewers the opportunity view - through the eyes of the objective lens, the playwright's experiences as they unfold in real time.
This artful and innovative project has captured our attention because of the expertise of the storytellers, the very personal nature of the material and lived experience of the storyteller, the groundbreaking way it tells the story of survivorship, and the commercial opportunities created by having a film, that can be accompanied by a live performance. We also marvel at the commitment to care, exemplified by this team, as they unravel forces of harm and rebuild them in defiance of the odds and the pain.
TIMING
THE PLAY
A first, public presentation of POSTMORTEM will kick off the Mosaic Theater’s 10th anniversary season in September 2024 in Washington, DC.
- FEB 2024: Pre-Production Commences
- AUG 2024: Rehearsals Commence
- SEPT 2024: First Public Workshop
- 2025: Off-Broadway Play Release
THE FILM
POSTMORTEM is in early production. Principal photography will commence with play rehearsals in August 2024. We envision a 2025 film release simultaneous to an off-Broadway or regional staging of the play.
- FEB 2024: Filming projection, set & sound design
- MAY 2024: Edit Opens
- AUG 2024: Production (Principal Photography of Rehearsals)
- SEPT 2024: Production (Film Public Presentation)
- OCT 2024: Edit (Rough Cut 1)
- DEC 2024: Edit (Picture Lock)
- 2025: Film Release
CREATIVE TEAM & ATTACHED TALENT
DOCUMENTARY TEAM
- MARILYN NESS • Playwright & Documentary Director
- BETH LEVISON • Documentary Producer
- JAMIE BOYLE • Editor
PLAY TEAM
- SHERYL KALLER • Stage Play Director
- LAWRENCE MOTEN • Set Designer
- ABIGAIL HOKE-BRADY • Lighting and Projections Designer
- REGINALD L. DOUGLAS • Artistic Director
- CHELSEA RADIGAN • Artistic Producer
- CHRISTOPHER BANKS • Director of Production
SYNOPSIS
POSTMORTEM, the play—a fictional, multi-generational adaptation of my story—centers on Maddy, a NYC medical examiner, who mid-life, remembers her own sexual abuse as a child. She must confront the ways that the criminal justice system—to which she has dedicated her life—has failed survivors and still find a way to go on.
Concurrently produced—and envisioned to be concurrently distributed—POSTMORTEM, the feature-length documentary, will turn the camera on the playwright/survivor, her family members, and the actors playing them —as the story, the bodies, the words, and family media come to life on both screen and stage. Both will reveal the legal, emotional, and even storytelling risks that survivors face when daring to speak in a world that still demands our silence.
IMPACT THEMES
IAG INSIGHTS
Coming soon
Director/producer impact vision
Coming Soon
IMPACT STRATEGY
Having two versions of a story, revealing hidden layers of complexity through different media, provides us with an expansive menu of ways to impact people. Think exponential, multi-modal impact. Consider the ways in which one might travel these memories with a buddy, a guide, a dedicated resource. Consider the care for cast and audience. Consider the spaces where POSTMORTEM can be unpacked, in real time.
Cast and crew care is paramount. We’re engaging an Intimacy Coordinator and a Mental Health Expert for the duration of the production. Audience care and safety are also at the forefront of our minds. We are working to forge partnerships with multiple organizations to inform the creative process and our impact efforts for both the play and the film, combined.
Organizations include: RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), NAESV (National Alliance to End Sexual Violence), Futures Without Violence, and the #MeToo leaders.
POSTMORTEM, the play, through its staging, is an act of engagement itself. With our partners, we will offer post-performance talk forwards and resources to promote transformation and change. Additionally, we will license productions of the play—and the projections—to community and college theaters to maximize the project’s impact.
Impact efforts for POSTMORTEM, the documentary, will include community screenings and companion guides for use on college campuses, and beyond.
We will create pre and post-exposure measurement tools as well.
VIDEOS
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Additionally INFORMATION
PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL