What Would Tina and Amy Do? a Fringe Peek

See/Saw Theatre Co presents What Would Tina and Amy Do? by Larissa Kruesi and Mikaela Saccoccio – a new play about friendship, love, and getting stuff done.

Friendships are an important aspect of life, and female friendships in particular can be incredibly special. As this story is about female friendship, we’ll give you a little insight into the playwrights’.

Larissa and Mikaela’s friendship began when they were students at the College of William and Mary and worked together on a production of Oklahoma!. After graduating they set out to begin their acting careers, but were frustrated to find that there were very few roles for young women in the theatre. Inspired by other young women who created their own work (namely, Mindy Kaling and Lena Dunham), they decided to do something about it.

Students are taught to write what they know, so that’s what Larissa and Mikaela did. Last fall, Larissa began to think about how female friendships can be impacted when one friend becomes romantically involved with someone else and about the unsettled period of time in a person’s early 20s as they struggle to figure out the next phase of life post-college, and she was then inspired by the idea of a play that examined the trials of female friendships.

Suddenly an image of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler appeared; two successful, strong women with an inspiring friendship. And soon Larissa had a title: What Would Tina and Amy Do?. Larissa contacted Mikaela about the idea for a play about two recent college graduates trying to cope with the ups and downs of their careers and love lives and soon began the process of writing many drafts of the script over the course of several months.

With the lack of parts for young women in the theatre there is also a lack of plays focused on the relationships and experiences of young women. Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the number of plays with female protagonists, and What Would Tina and Amy Do? adds to that trend by exploring two important aspects of life for young women fresh out of college: relationships and career goals.

While writing the script, Larissa and Mikaela discussed personal examples of friendships which had been compromised by romantic relationships and noticed that many young women who they talked to had experienced similar situations. They also knew about the struggles and frustrations of entering the work world and not progressing as quickly as expected or desired or another common concern: not having a chosen career path to pursue after college.

Larissa and Mikaela hope that young women watching the show will relate to Tinley and Annie’s friendship, as well as their hardships and struggles, and find comfort and encouragement in their discoveries and experiences throughout the play. And hopefully young women will be inspired to take control of their lives as they chase after their dreams.

What Would Tina and Amy Do? performs July 11th at 6:00pm, July 13th at 6:30pm, July 16th at 9:45pm, July 17th at 8:15pm, and July 19th at 2:45pm, all at Fort Fringe – Bedroom 612 L Street NW, Washington, DC.
Order online or call 866-811-4111.
For more information about the show, visit www.theseesawtheatreco.moonfruit.com.

 –  Guest writer Larissa Kruesi is the co-founder of the See/Saw Theater Company. She has a BA from the college of William and Mary.