Intelligent Art + Community Collaboration = Real Change
The Honorable Herbert Peabody embraces the idea that real change occurs when intelligent art and community collaboration join forces.
During the height of the #MeToo Movement, as the country was coping with the explosion of all the sexual misconduct and abuse of power that was being uncovered (finally). McGee, like everybody else, was exploring for ways to redefine his role and responsibilities in supporting women by asking himself the fundamental question: How can I do better?
He began researching what implications happen when we absolve the misconduct because he was a favor celebrity, politician, teacher, close friend, or relative. He also found it curious that these men were more concerned with preserving their legacy than proclaiming their innocence. McGee was also wrestling with the consequences of revering the achievements of these celebrated men while at the same time being absolutely disgusted by their deplorable behavior. What consequences will their actions have on their legacy – Who holds them accountable for their actions and who oversees the narrative of those legacies? Historians? Archivists? Museums? Libraries? And that’s when Joe the tour guide and The Honorable Herbert Peabody was born.
During the height of the #MeToo Movement, as the country was coping with the explosion of all the sexual misconduct and abuse of power that was being uncovered (finally). McGee, like everybody else, was exploring for ways to redefine his role and responsibilities in supporting women by asking himself the fundamental question: How can I do better?
He began researching what implications happen when we absolve the misconduct because he was a favor celebrity, politician, teacher, close friend, or relative. He also found it curious that these men were more concerned with preserving their legacy than proclaiming their innocence. McGee was also wrestling with the consequences of revering the achievements of these celebrated men while at the same time being absolutely disgusted by their deplorable behavior. What consequences will their actions have on their legacy – Who holds them accountable for their actions and who oversees the narrative of those legacies? Historians? Archivists? Museums? Libraries? And that’s when Joe the tour guide and The Honorable Herbert Peabody was born.
My ultimate goal is to offer a dazzling evening of theater where the audience is drawn closer together with a new sense of self-awareness and inspired to create a safer and more balanced society. Then perhaps later at dinner, they might laugh their socks off at zippy lines, debate over the comedic twists with thought-provoking questions, and all the while reflecting to themselves, “That was hysterical. I learned something about myself. Let’s go change the world… Now, where are my socks?”
- Kirk McGee, interview with TheaterMania
Kirk McGee creates funny, loose-limbed theatrical performances that speak to the survival of the human spirit. His works are anchored by two ironic notions working in tandem: First, our flaws, follies, and blunders unite us rather than divide us; and second, once we are united, there are endless possibilities available to us to tear down the barriers that divide us.
However, rather than presenting fearless heroes to illustrate these guiding principles, Kirk creates fallible fools who desperately struggle to preserve their dignity while overcoming insurmountable circumstances and inevitably succumbing to the vulnerability of their true identity.
Together, Kirk and Corey, and the Peabody design team have created an evening of theater that aims to make audiences both laugh and think about the role each of us can play in addressing systems of abuse to create a better, safer, and more equitable world.
However, rather than presenting fearless heroes to illustrate these guiding principles, Kirk creates fallible fools who desperately struggle to preserve their dignity while overcoming insurmountable circumstances and inevitably succumbing to the vulnerability of their true identity.
Together, Kirk and Corey, and the Peabody design team have created an evening of theater that aims to make audiences both laugh and think about the role each of us can play in addressing systems of abuse to create a better, safer, and more equitable world.
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Kirk McGee* (Performer/Writer): Kirk McGee is an award-winning actor and playwright whose career spans theater, film, and TV. As an actor he has appeared in various off-Broadway productions, regional and NY theaters (Philly Shakespeare, StageWorks Hudson Theater, Cherry Lane Theater) On TV he has appeared on Are We There Yet? (recurring), Law & Order, The Path, and Sesame Street. Kirk received nominations for Best Actor at Idyllwild International Film Festival and for The Jack Nance Breakthrough Performance Award at VisionFest for his performance in the title role in the romantic comedy Chasing Taste (featured on Amazon/iTunes). Most recently has received a Performance Grant from The Café Royal Cultural Foundation. www.McGee4me.com
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Corey Atkins (Director) is a New York City-based director, creative producer, and writer. He most recently directed the premiere of John Jiler’s Under Big Piney starring Tim Bake Nelson and Gloria Reuben (Intiman Theatre online), and a workshop of Matthew Goldstein’s new dark comedy, Purgatorium, lead by Noah and Emma Galvin (Evan Bernardin Productions). Other credits include: Lincoln Center Theatre/Institute, Noor Theatre/NYTW, The Acting Company, Cleveland Play House, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Denver Center, Hangar Theatre, and Portland Stage Company, among many others. Corey was Associate Producer for the 2015 Tony Award-winning Cleveland Play House from 2011-16, and Artistic Associate at The Playwrights Realm from 2017-2018. He is a Drama League Directing Fellow, a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, and was a finalist for SDC’s Mike Ockrent Fellowship with Casey Nicholaw, and Gielgud Fellowship with Michael Greif. He has also been a volunteer for the Latinx Theatre Commons Translation Committee. He holds an M.F.A. in Directing from the University of Texas at Austin. www.CoreyAtkins.com
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Kimberly Colburn (Dramaturg): Decades of experience in artistic departments at multiple theatres with a focus on new play development. Credits include: Co-Director for the Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF), Literary Director for South Coast Repertory (SCR), Senior Producer of New Work for Soulpepper Theatre, Freelance Dramaturg, Script Reader, and/or Evaluator for dozens of organizations in the U.S. and Canada including: Actors Theatre of Louisville, Denver Center Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Playwrights Center, The O’Neill Theatre Conference, PlayPenn, Native Voices at the Autry, Mixed Blood Theatre, IAMA Theatre company (Los Angeles), Artists at Play (Los Angeles), National Endowment of the Arts (NEA), Leah Ryan Prize, Literary Manager and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA), Network of Ensemble Theatres (NET), National New Play Network (NNPN), Soulpepper Theatre (Toronto), Musical Theatre Company (Toronto), Oregon Contemporary Theatre, and Local Theatre Company (Colorado). Visit www.theatrekimberly.com for more information.
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Clíona Smith (Scenic Designer) is a Scenic Designer and carpenter from Dallas, Texas. The Honorable Herbert Peabody is her first professional production and she is very excited to be part of the team. Her recent work includes Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Cosi fan Tutte, and Men on Boats all performed at the University of Oklahoma.
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Paige Seber (Lighting Designer) is a Lighting Designer for Theatre, Dance, Opera, Music, and Immersive Events. Her work has been seen onstage at SXSW, Minetta Lane, the Skirball Center, the Joyce, Dixon Place, Theatre For a New City, and The Havana Theatre Festival. Her work has also been seen on screen with the ChamberQueer QUEERantine Festival, International Contemporary Ensemble’s TUES@7 series, and George Mason University’s Mason Arts at Home series. Paige is a member of Song Sessions Collective and holds a BFA in Lighting Design from The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University and is a proud member of United Scenic Artists USA-829. seberlighting.com
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Dailee Morrone (Stage Manager) is a New York based stage manager. Her most recent credits include Gi60 International One Minute Theatre Festival 2021 (The Tank), Pim's Metamorphoses (Digital Presentation), Home: A NYCHA Storytelling Project (Digital Presentation), and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Brooklyn College). She is a graduate from Brooklyn College with a B.A in Theater and the Unit Production Manager with The American Musical and Dramatic Academy.
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