The "It" girl |
||
|
|
||
|
Indra Manuela |
Sean Cowhig |
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
Follow Us:
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING TO OUR SHOW!
We'd like to thank:
Dora Cruz Bencomo
Niek Versteeg
Katherine Swick
Miguel Perez
Victoria Uzcanga
The Art of Acting studio
Cast
Creative Team
Sean Cowhig
Florencia Baez
Ray Jones
Isabel Peña
Meet the Company
Indra Manuela
Sean Cowhig
Florencia Baez
Ray Jones
Isabel Peña
Photos
by: Miguel Perez @pcatoday
by: Miguel Perez @pcatoday
by: Miguel Perez @pcatoday
Clara Bow, the "it" girl
Clara in "The wild party" 1929
Authors note
If you told me in May of 2024 that this project would premiere on the Hollywood Fringe, I wouldn't have believed you; This show started as something I was making for acting school and now it has become something much larger in my life, my first written and produced show, one of my first projects as an artist and a beacon of hope during a great period of uncertainty in my life.
I wanted to tell Clara Bow's story because it surprises me how forgotten she seems to be, specially nowadays, when the show industry loves throwing around the term "it girl" so much yet seems to forget the woman who originated it.
I felt the need of telling this story, the story of the first "it girl" because it also saddens me how little the treatment of women in this industry has changed from Clara's time. How Clara became the first of many young women to be praised and cherished when they're shinning the brightest for then to be thrown away and forgotten once they dare to stop being "perfect" while the world seems to enjoy watching them crash and burn.
But what truly connected me with Clara was how even though we were born in completely different contexts and almost 100 years apart from each other;We seem to be so similar both as artists and personality-wise.
I think that the two of us are women with a so-called fieriness, a peculiar way to carry ourselves and are considered to be "funny" girls. But what truly made me see myself in Clara was her vulnerability, her authenticity and her refusal to play by someones else's rules, specially in a time in which it was expected for her, and for that, I thank her.
This is not the story about the It girl, the myth or the icon but, Clara, the young woman from Brooklyn who both suffered and loved deeply, whose authenticity was such that there's now a whole term around it, a woman who was not perfect, but fun, chaotic and wild but also deeply sad yet refused to be pitied.
When I think of Clara Bow I no longer think of that mythic Hollywood star but of the lonely girl who found solace and joy in movies and acting, who didn't change herself to please the industry and who now lives forever in the silver screen. It's been the honor of a lifetime to play her and tell her story, which I hope was made justice in this play.
Finally I want to thank the two people who made The "It" girl possible, my director, mentor, teacher and friend Sean, who always believed in me with this project and supported me since the very beginning, this show would not exist without him directing it. And my friend, partner in crime and assistant director, Florencia who's done a lot for this project without expecting anything in return and was my shoulder to cry on many occasions. Sos re Piola, piba, gracias.
And finally I'd like to thank myself, for locking in, being stubborn and believing in myself no matter how messed up things got or how close I was to losing my mind.
Lots of love,
Indra Manuela
.png)
