This is a play about the physical land that women and minorities are and are not allowed to occupy, and the theories that justify displacement. It’s also about the metaphysics of “place,” the bodies we occupy, the cellular realities, and our relationship to nature—the final arbiter of whose land it will ultimately be.
SYNOPSIS: Set in a cornfield, In McClintock’s Corn is a play is about gender-non-conforming, neurodivergent geneticist Barbara McClintock, her companion/partner Harriet Creighton, and McClintock’s revolutionary quest to understand diversity in nature and to reframe “deviance” as an expression of natural variance.
Director: Laurie Mufson
BARBARA MCCLINTOCK......Kate Kenworthy
HARRIET CREIGHTON……Kaeli Patchen
HELEN…..Lyka Miranda
DORIS.....Aja Goode
MARGARET.....Rachel Johns
PHYLLIS.....Aja Goode
JIM (JAMES) WATSON.....Fletcher Lowe
CLARK.....Stephen Kime
MARTHA.....Lyka Miranda
HANNAH.....Rachel Johns
Carolyn Gage is a neurodivergent, lesbian playwright, performer, director, and activist. The author of nine anthologies of plays and eighty-three musicals, dramas, and one-woman shows, she specializes in non-traditional roles for women, especially reclaiming famous lesbians whose stories have been distorted or erased from history. For extended bio, CV, and production history see www.carolyngage.com .
Faculty emeritus of Mercersburg Academy, served as Arts Department Chair, Director of The Burgin Center for the Arts, Director of Theatre and Director of the Arts. Before moving to PA, Laurie was an active member of the Washington DC theatre community. She directed new plays for Source Theatre Company’s Washington Theatre Festival ( Best Director for Burying Fiona by Jeanie Marshall in 1996) and served on the board of the Actors Center. Laurie also directed for The American Century Theatre and Potomac Theatre Company, receiving a special citation from the Maryland House of Delegates for her work as Artistic Director for Potomac Theater Company in 1998. Her acting career has included stage, television and film work. Laurie is a certified Lessac kinesensic bodyvoice trainer and served on the Board of Lessac Training and Research Institute as president and is currently on its Executive Leadership Team.
Kate Kenworthy (they/them) is very excited to be a part of this project! They are relatively new to the DC area, and were recently involved in the staged reading of Even When the World Burns, as a part of Rorschach Theatre’s Magic in Rough Spaces new play lab. You can next see them as Angel in Angel Number Nine with Rorschach Theatre in July.
Kaeli is a DC- based actor and educator. Among previous theatre credits are Me...Jane (The Kennedy Center), Once Upon a Moon (Discovery Theater), Fantastagirl (Adventure Theater), Dracula: A Feminist Revenge (Rorschach Theatre), Head Over Heels and Be More Chill (Monumental Theatre). Kaeli graduated with a degree in Musical Theatre from American University.
Lyka Miranda is a budding actress and stand-up comic based in Washington D.C. She has performed at the DC IMPROV, the DC Comedy Loft, Busboys & Poets, among other great local venues. She also works as a production assistant for Comedy Bonfyre, a local comedy show that centers the voices of immigrants, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and other traditionally marginalized peoples.
Rachel Johns (she/her) is an actor/director/theatre maker and teaching artist who recently moved to Washington, DC after graduating with a BFA in Drama from New York University. She is excited to be joining WWIT for the first time in both In McClintock's Corn and Haunted!" Recent credits include Luna/Marty understudy in Discovery Theater's Once Upon a Moon, Ann Putnam in Rorschach Theatre's staged reading of American Dream, and Izzy in Word Dance Theatre's MOVE! Women's Rights from Isadora Duncan to NOW."
Fletcher Lowe’s recent stage credits include: Fickle Theatre (DA/Cardinal, Joan [staged reading]), Best Medicine Rep Theatre Company (Bellboy, America’s Sexiest Couple) , Silver Spring Stage (Antoine, An Empty Plate in the Cafe du Grand Boeuf), Reston Community Players (Jimmy Ray, Bright Star), John Brown University Department of Theatre (Hunter, ; Edward, Big Fish; El Gallo, The Fantasticks). Fletcher serves on the development team at Round House Theatre, as well as a Helen Hayes Awards judge.
After taking time to focus on school, Aja has recently stepped back into performing. With a strong background in dance and musical theater, she has been seen in various community theatre productions across the DMV. Credits include: Georgia-Playing Juliet/Casting Othello, Luttiebelle- Purlie Victorious; Deloris U/S-Sister Act; Taylor-Stick Fly.
Stephen Kime is excited to perform with WWIT for the first time. Recent credits include: Keegan Theatre: Shakespeare in Love (Sam); NextStop Theatre: Frankenstein (Victor), Midsummer (Demetrius); Endangered Species Project: The Awakening (Alcee), Romeo and Juliet (Mercutio), Comedy of Errors (Simonides).