About the Play:

Athena has become a favourite of acting teachers for Female/Female Scenes.

Athena is a full-length comedic drama by Gracie Gardner. Mary Wallace and Athena are brave, and seventeen, and fencers, and training for the Junior Olympics. They practice together, they compete against each other, they spend their lives together. They wish they were friends. Athena is a portrait of two high-achieving young women, simultaneously rivals and allies, pushing each other to be the best.

Athena centers around two young women: rival foil fencers who navigate the struggles of high school and womanhood in a highly competitive arena. Mary Wallace and Athena are both seventeen-year-old fencers training for Nationals. Mary Wallace lives in a house in New Jersey, loves marine biology and practices at home. Athena lives in an apartment in New York City, takes acne medication and Athena is not her real name. Follow their journey from competitors to confidantes as they form a bond navigating the milestones of adolescence, training together only to learn the future is only certain for one of them.

Athena received a critically acclaimed premiere in 2018 at JACK (a Multidisciplinary Art Center) in Brooklyn and was a New York Times Critics Pick and a Theatre is Easy Best Bet.

Cast: 3 female

What people say:

"Wily and entertaining." — Village Voice

"A deadly serious comedy about ambition, success, and owning your superiority. In its delicate ferocity, it shows a playwright who is full-throttle funny and wise beyond her years." — New York Times

About the Playwright:

Gracie Gardner is a Brooklyn-based American writer. She is a proud member of Ensemble Studio Theater's Obie-winning group Youngblood and she's the recipient of the American Playwriting Foundation's Relentless Award.