Spicy Witch Productions Aims to Change the Game for Women in Theater

Meet Spicy Witch Productions, a company even cooler than its name already makes it seem. According its mission statement, this New York-based theater company, "explores gender and identity through the pairing of classical and contemporary plays in repertory. Dedicated to creating roles for women on and offstage, Spicy Witch aims to help close the gender gap in theater and to use the conversation between classical and contemporary text to initiate a dialogue and be a catalyst for social change." In short, this is everything we could possibly want in a theater company. We got the chance to chat with Hannah Hammel, the Marketing and PR Director and one of Spicy Witch's founding members, about their creative and unique season, the importance of supporting women in theater, and how you can keep up with their inspiring, thought-provoking work in the future. Read on, and if you're an NYC-based theatergoer you can still check out their current productions, The Cunt and The Country Wife this weekend!

How would you describe Spicy Witch Productions?

Spicy Witch Productions is a group of young, committed artists who want to make our voices heard in the theatrical community of New York City. We are dedicated to closing the gender gap in theater by creating roles for women on and off the stage. In terms of the stories that we tell, we pair classical and contemporary plays in repertory in order to initiate dialogues and as a catalyst to social change.

            photo credit: Jessica Briggs

How did the idea of Spicy Witch come to be?

The six founding members of Spicy Witch Productions met doing a production together in 2013 in which we felt our appearances were being valued more than our minds or our talent. Throughout the run of that show, however, we developed great affection and respect for each other. We also learned that we all felt there is a dearth of satisfying opportunities for us as young female actors, especially in classical theater. The more we thought about it, the more we realized that we knew many talented female artists who were, like ourselves, eager for chances to share their work, and we decided to create that community for ourselves.

How is Spicy Witch, its mission, and its productions important for women in theater?

Well, first and foremost, I think our company and mission are most important for women in theater in that we create chances for them to do their work in a supportive, high-quality, and artistically vigorous space. Working with Spicy Witch is extraordinarily empowering; one is surrounded by such driven and strong women (and those of other genders) creating magic together with a feminist mission. All women in the theater (let’s be real - all women everywhere) deserve that experience. I would say our mission is also important for women in and out of the theatrical community who join us as audience members. We pick plays that explore themes that are important to us as women in today’s world. Everyone, regardless of where they fall on the gender spectrum, can gain from exploring these themes with us.

            photo credit: Jessica Briggs

Tell us about your upcoming season. What do you have coming out now, and can you give us a preview of what we can look forward to in the future?

This current season is the inaugural season for our writer-in-residence program, in which we support a young female playwright by providing her with readings, feedback, actors, and - at the end of the residency - a full production of her play as part of our season. This season we are producing Elle Anhorn’s stunning play, The Cunt, along with director and company member Phoebe Brooks’ take on The Country Wife, the classical play from which The Cunt is adapted. Both plays feature explorations outside of the traditional rules of gender, sexuality, and relationships. You can expect comedy, intrigue, and burlesque! 

Coming up in our Spring Season, we will be premiering another original play by our next writer-in-residence, Annette Storckman, who will be adapting The Revenger’s Tragedy. I’m not able to discuss that season very much yet, so you’ll have to see the shows in the spring for yourselves to find out more! 

             photo credit: Jessica Briggs

Why is Spicy Witch's repertory-oriented structure innovative? How do shows end up getting paired together? What do you think the audience gains from catching both shows? 

While our plays are entertaining and thought-provoking as stand-alone pieces, our repertory structure allows each season to be a discussion of the themes that both plays share; and audiences that see both plays get to participate in that journey with us. The plays in rep frame one another and, since one is always classical, let audiences see what is and isn’t changing as we move forward.

How we pick our pairings has shifted somewhat as we have moved from producing previously-published contemporary plays to producing entirely new works. We usually provide our writer-in-residence with a few classical plays that we are interested in producing. Once she has selected the play she wants to work on, we all work together in pulling out the thematic aspects of the play that we want to work with that season. As her play develops, so does the shape of our season. 

           Hannah Hammel / photo credit: Robert Mannis

How can people support Spicy Witch?

The best way is to buy tickets and come see our shows! The artists we are working with have done astonishing work, and we want as many people as possible to share it with us. Tickets are available here. The Cunt and The Country Wife run through September 27th at the Flamboyan Theater at the Clemente on the Lower East Side. We also want to spread the word, so like and share us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Finally, Spicy Witch Productions is fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas, and all donations are tax-deductible. Those who are able can donate here at any time.