Girlfails

A World Premiere Play by Liv Shoup

Directed by Rachel Bathurst

Produced by AJ Bloomfield

Associate Producer

Sydney Schulze

Lighting Designer

AJ Bloomfield

Graphic Designer

Noa Silverman

Starring

Eliza Carson & Erin Malimban

Stage Manager

Jenny Glickman

Production Assistant

Destiny Bedminster

Sound Designer

Drew Mangione

Costume/Scenic/Props Designer Mae Merkle

“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” written by Brian Wilson, Tony Asher, Mike Love

Arranged and produced by Drew Mangione

Performed by Nic Fallacaro, Drew Mangione, Aidan Pettyjohn, Jordan

Singer, Ethan Utterback, Nathaniel Warren

Zine Design

Managing and Art Editor: Jenny Glickman

Cover Design: Dirty Napkin Co.

Graphic Design Assets: Noa Silverman

Production Photography: Theodore Zinn

What

Girlfail

gərl-fāl

Noun

is a Girlfail, anyway?

A girl who frequently fails or is, herself, a failure.

Eliza Carson Erin Malimban

A Note from the Executive Producer

AJ Bloomfield

Nine months ago I was not a producer.

Last August, I had the privilege to travel to Scotland to work at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Nearly 3,500 shows are officially listed in the program, all vying for the same audience, competing for ticket sales and trying to out-flyer their neighbors. Still, instead of competing, these artists all uplifted each other, offering an ear, a positive review, a vouch, or a drink.

This was my first exposure to an arts community so large that was simultaneously also so supportive of each other’s art.

This solidified my confidence in my decision to enter performing arts as a career and gave me the resolve to want to take on a project like this one.

It also proved to me, on the largest stage in the world, that theater can only thrive if you have the community behind it.

Nine months ago I hired my first team member.

Before “Girlfails” was a word and before we had a single clue what this project would become and certainly before I became a producer.

This show would not be here if not for the incredible work of everyone named in this zine. They have made this work come to life and have made me the producer I get to call myself today.

To my creative team and cast –You have made this process so smooth and so goddamn fun. I am so grateful to be able to call you my collaborators and my friends.

To our supporters –

Thank you for your donations and in kind contributions. You have made this work possible and deserve to be celebrated.

And to the person reading this before the show starts...

Welcome to the Girlfails community.

Naomi Friedman, “The Book Trader,” Acrylic on Panel

From The Director

Rachel Bathurst

Girlfail is a noun, applicable to instances and individuals in turn. The term was born from the period in which it was written and the cultural conversations the internet subjects us to - GirlBoss long memed to death, Girl Math fresh chum in the water. It has proved shockingly difficult to define, evading specificity. A Girlfail lives within us all, messy but well-meaning, always with a story to tell of some mishap or misstep or mistake. This show is full of such mishaps and mistakes, ones that could have been made by someone you know. In fact, several of them have been.

The Girlfails (Frankie and Joy) are at a point where the stages of psychosocial development are bleeding together; they are mostly certain of who they are, and now that that’s done they begin to truly wonder - will anyone ever choose to love me? Yes an identity has been formed, but who said it was any good? This might be familiar - deep down we have all feared we are unlovable, or useless, or worse both. But we keep reaching for connection because we have to, because we are social animals, because we need each other. For young women, the most important relationship is often the best friend, especially while in and freshly out of college, facing the great unknowable expanse of the rest of their lives.

More succinctly: it’s about FRIENDSHIP and how life, even at the most trying and confusing, is a very silly thing.

We have quite literally put our blood sweat and tears into this show. We do it because we love it. It is the honor of a lifetime to do this work, with these people.

Please enjoy.

Erin Malimban, “It’s The Rookies Who Laugh Only When They Win,” Digital Collage

Amir Gad, “Smoking Entrance,” Collage

i’m

just a girl and i like pretty things

Madison Yu

i wanna look like i listen to lana and cigs after sex for breakfast lunch and dinner wanna look like i smoke one singular vogue cigarette right before i shower for the ritualistic sake of it

i wanna look like i go on the balcony barefoot, like my collarbones would contrast nicely against black spaghetti straps, like black is my favorite color but i wouldn’t mind the occasional red lipstick i wanna

i wanna look like i can sing like what i say keeps people stretching their ears for more because i know lots of things and i feel lots of things so i wanna look like i’m worth copying worth following worth wanting to be worth calling myself a creative an artist

i wanna look like i can call myself an artist without the slap a second later when i laugh at myself for being so pretentious but i wanna look like i’m not like i’m not pretentious please i just really like pretty things i’m really just a girl and i like pretty things and i wanna look cool while doing that and i wanna not look pretentious doing that i wanna not want to vomit when i make something and i wanna look like i’m living in art without all the bitterness and imposter syndrome that comes from dipping your toes into this radioactive field

Girlfailing Upwards: How to Girlwin

Liv Shoup, Playwright

Has this ever happened to you?

One time I texted the person I was seeing that I wanted to die, and instead of coming over, they Venmo’d me $5.

One time I ran face first into a hanging stone bird bath and split open my temple.

One time I slipped down concrete stairs in the rain and it hurt really bad and my partner said “maybe you broke your coccyx” and I cried because I was convinced I broke my coccyx.

Now, these are all clearly tragedies, and I’m sure they’ve brought similar events of your own to mind. These, my darling, are girlfails. Girlfails with a lowercase g. Not the play’s title.

In my first year of writing class, I was introduced to the concept that to keep a story moving, to keep stakes high and conflict engaging, one must repeatedly “hit the protagonist in the face with a fish.” When I heard that phrase, I HOPED it would only apply to writing. Unfortunately, most days, it applies to life. My face is well accustomed to the wet, scaly smack of a fish. But isn’t that such a gross metaphor? Is the fish still alive? What kind of fish is it? That is why, as I have aged, I’ve decided to call them something different: girlfails. Am I the inventor of this term, probably not. But one does not need to invent something to perfect it. Probably.

So what can you do when you experience a girlfail? You can shrug it off. You can roll with the punches. You can cry. I’ve even learned that sometimes you can cry so hard it makes you get your period early (if you are a period-getting girlfail). OR...you can reframe your mindset. Transform it. Make that girlfail into a girlwin.

I may have gotten $5 instead of any comfort or empathy, but I ALSO got a free (before tip) iced vanilla latte out of it.

I may have knocked the hell of my beautiful little head, but I found out I look GREAT with a black eye.

I may have wiped out on the stairs and had immense pain for a week, but I got to say coccyx over and over, and that is a hilarious word.

You see what I mean? In every girlfail, there is a girlwin to be found. Go, my love. Go find your girlwin. Take your tragedy and spin it into a comedy – it’s all funny eventually. And when all seems lost, cry it out and get yourself a little treat. Don’t have treat money? I suggest texting your local situationship something alarming. They just might send you $5.

Izidor Peterson, “Temporary Bliss,” Digital Photo

A Confession from a Gear Addict

Drew Mangione, Sound Designer

I own two electric guitars, an electric bass, a ukulele, a synthesizer, a snare drum, a xylophone, an ocarina, a recorder, and a djembe (traditional West African drum). Even with all of these instruments, I can never find the time nor the motivation to actually play any of them. I’m always making excuses. Sometimes I’d rather spend my free time watching something, sometimes I just want to browse apps on my phone, and sometimes I’m just flat out too tired to set up any of my instruments just to mess with them for 30 minutes before I have to do something else.

I do a lot of reading on various gear and instrument forums, and this seems to be a common problem. The thrill of researching and acquiring new things is more fun than the act of actually using them. Up until the instrument arrives at your doorstep, the process is very analytical, not very subjective, and exciting about all the possible things you could pick. Once the instrument is in your hands however, no amount of forum posts or Youtube reviews can get you any further. It is solely upon you to figure out what you want to do with it, and the infinite possibilities of creativity can be scarier than the limited choices you have with picking the instrument.

For Girlfails, I’ve created two songs, one original and one cover. I find that creating music is much easier when given a task or objective. Perhaps part of the ease is from it being work, rather than self-enjoyment, but I also think that reducing the infinite possibilities of music I could create to

a finite number within a given genre is helpful for focusing my creative energy. Just like how working out is easier with a friend, I believe that creating music is easier when there is a specific goal. Part of this might be limiting yourself to a select few instruments, or at least starting out by trying to create a melody with one instrument. Often I’ve found that after I create a solid base with an instrument, picking the next instrument comes much easier and I quickly know what I want from it. Like with many things in life, getting started is the hardest part and everything afterwards comes easy.

I don’t believe that I will ever stop desiring new instruments. New instruments can inspire you to try new genres or try novel techniques. And for me personally, I just enjoy the design and construction that goes into every one of them, and yes, sometimes the musicality does come second to that. Music at the end of the day is a subjective and artistic medium, and part of the charm is in how it is made. Some people can write an entire album just using their voice and a guitar, and some people need a room’s worth of instruments to feel inspired. Both ways result in great music that can be appreciated, so I’ll keep collecting instruments.

Theodore Zinn, “Euphoria,” Digital Photo

MEET THE TEAM

Eliza Carson (she/her, Joy) Eliza Carson is an actor and teaching artist. After graduating from UConn, she went on tour in France with Pickles Company, then moved to Philly, where she has taught students age 5-15 and worked with Paper Doll Ensemble on The Pecking Order. She also trained at Shakespeare and Co. in Lenox, MA. Hire her. @eliza.carson

Erin Malimban (she/they, Frankie) Erin Malimban is a Filipino American actor based in Philly. She was recently in CCTAxPhilly’s All Eyes on Tomorrow, The Strides Collective’s the pigeon, and a workshop of L M Feldman’s SPACE, OR THE MERCURY 13 PLAY at Villanova. Recent film credits include Characters Disappearing dir. Connor Sen Warnick and The Chocolate Hills of Bohol dir. Jared Garcia. Erin loves helping

realize stories with elements that are distinctly queer, Asian American, both, or just let her be herself in ways she isn’t usually able to. She’s thankful for the community she has in Philly that lets her do that too.

Rachel Bathurst (she/her, Director) Rachel Bathurst is a director, performer, and playwright overjoyed to be making her professional debut. Most recently, she was in college. While there she served as assistant director on Songs for a New World (Dir. Bill Fennelly) and The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (Dir. Kyle Metzger) as well as directing Game Theory and The Implication. Now that she has her business degree, she is figuring out how to balance two careers as a prospective corporate girlboss and theater director. She would like to thank the Girlfails team for not only

trusting her, but supporting her at every step of the process.

Destiny Bedminster (she/ her, Production Asst.)

Destiny Bedminster is thrilled to be working as the Production Assistant for Girlfails. Originally from the US Virgin Islands, she moved to Philadelphia to further her education and pursue a career in event production. Within her five years in Philly, she has worked on various productions in theater, fashion, and film. This June, she will conclude her studies at Drexel University, where she majors in Marketing with minors in Graphic Design and Film/TV Production. She is excited for you to see the show and hopes you enjoy. Finally, she wants to express her gratitude to the entire Girlfails team for the opportunity to work with each and every one of you.

Lighting Designer) AJ is a Philadelphia-based freelance theater-maker and designer. He is proud to present Girlfails as his senior capstone project, as he graduates with a degree in Entertainment Production and Design. AJ would like to thank his theater community at Drexel, his mentors, and his family and friends for supporting him and his work these past 5 years and into the future!

AJ Bloomfield (he/ him, Exec. Producer, Technical Director,

Jenny Glickman (she/her, Stage Manager) Jenny is psyched to be stage managing this wonderful show (and editing this zine!). She is a theatre administrator and stage manager originally from Baltimore. Previous SM credits include I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change and The Lightning Thief with Drexel. She will be graduating in June with a degree in Entertainment and Arts Management. Love to the Girlfails dream team and her family and friends for their support <3.

Drew Mangione (he/him, Sound Designer)

Drew is looking forward to working on Girlfails as the Sound Designer. He is graduating this year from Drexel University with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He has worked on previous Drexel productions including Mantua Theater Project, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Songs for a New World, and The Lightning Thief. Other recent Philadelphia-area shows he has worked on include An Army of Lovers and Shakespeare in Clark Park.

Mae Merkle (any pronouns, Costume/ Scenic/Props Designer)

Mae is so excited to be working on Girlfails! This is the first time they’ve gotten the opportunity to design the set, props, and costumes all within one piece! Mae is involved with Drexel’s Theater Department, as well as the Custom-Designed Major Program, both of

which informed the design process in their own ways. Mae is a 3rd-year student at Drexel and an aspiring costume designer. They’re thrilled to be entering the Philadelphia theater community professionally, among plenty of other costume design endeavors!

Sydney Schulze (she/they, Associate Producer) Sydney is a rising senior at Drexel studying Entertainment and Arts Management. She’s been involved in theater production for over 7 years and loves all thing live events. She takes her skills beyond theater, working with corporate events as well as concerts. Girlfails has been an amazing show and she wants to thank everyone who’s been a part of it.

Liv Shoup (she/her, Playwright) Liv Shoup is a Philadelphia-based writer and theatre artist. Liv lives (haha) to tell relatable stories that exist within heightened reality. If one person leaves

the theater feeling less alone after seeing one of her plays, she considers it a success. Hopefully they laugh too. That would be nice. You can find her in the Mandell Theater box office giving students questionable advice as Drexel Performing Arts’ Audience Services Coordinator. She thanks all the usual suspects, but especially AJ for giving her this sick opportunity, and Mia for being her favorite person to Girlfail with. livshoup.carrd.co

Noa Silverman (she/her, Graphic Designer) Noa Silverman is a Junior at Drexel University. She is a graphic designer and artist who does album cover art, poster designs, and other kinds of design-related activities. She’s very excited about her contribution to the Girlfails production! She is also currently working on a couple side projects, and a personal magazine. She is always excited to work on the next project! You can check out more on her instagram: @noa_silverman_art!