Founded in 2012, Hedgepig has gone through many phases to advocate for gender equity in classics. In 2020, we began Expand the Canon, our cornerstone project, but you can scroll down to learn more about all our past works, productions, and the way we got to where we are!

2024

A year of monthly readings with 9 national partners

As we continue to focus on getting these under-sung classics to new audiences, we expanded our ‘season’ – we featured one play from our 2023 list each month. 8 of those 9 months featured readings of the plays – which we did with 9 partner theaters across the country.
NYC Partners: Classic Stage Company, Fiasco Theater, INTAR, The Acting Company, and Irish Repertory Theater
Virginia: American Shakespeare Center
California: Bay Area Drama
Chicago: Midsommer Flight
Washington: Island Shakespeare Festival — who also produced a full production of Aphra Behn’s The Lucky Chance in their summer season.

Our Reading Committee and Research Committee stayed strong and active, helping to produce the 2024 Expand the Canon List, which features short and one-act plays! This year’s curation team: Triza Cox, Gagarin, Kalina Ko, Emily Lyon, and Skye Pagon.

2023

As many plays as Shakespeare

We put out our fourth Expand the Canon list – totaling 36 featured writers (as many plays as Shakespeare!). The curation team grew and changed, with now 5 curators at the helm: Shannon Corenthin, Gagarin, Kalina Ko, Emily Lyon, and Skye Pagon.

We produced two staged readings featuring our ensemble of associated artists – a spring reading of Hannah Cowley’s A Bold Stroke for a Husband (2020 List), directed by Emily, and a fall reading of Lesya Ukrainka’s The Stone Host (2022 List), directed by new staff member Triza Cox.

As our curation team grew, and theaters began emerging more actively from the pandemic, so too did our impact. Island Shakespeare Festival committed to producing at least three years of Expand the Canon plays – starting with A Bold Stroke for a Husband, directed by Hedgepig Artistic Director Emily Lyon. Across the country, there were also productions of Las Pascualas (2022 List), A Bold Stroke for a Wife (2020 List), and more. To have a clearer sense of who was reading and accessing these plays, we launched our subscription service – helping us track how many artists and companies we’re serving while making this work possible.

2022

Expand the Canon becomes the cornerstone

In January 2022, Mary Candler stepped down from her role as Artistic Director and hired three leaders to take over the company: Emily Lyon as Artistic Director, Corri Oster as Managing Director, and Shannon Corenthin as Director of Production. Hedgepig also joined the Shakespeare Theatre Association, and attended their first conference in Pennsylvania where they made great connections.

Amongst the new leadership, and with success around this deeply necessary work, Hedgepig declared Expand the Canon to be its core focus. Our shift was from production company towards advocacy – where partnerships would be our main means of production.

We received our first NEA grant of $10,000, so the program was able to “expand.”  We continued our Reading Committee, and with the brilliant suggestion from Skye Pagon, launched a Research Committee. Scenes from each play from the 2022 ETC list were professionally filmed to share over digital platforms. These were directed by Aneesha Kudtarkar, Emily Lyon, and Raphael Massie. Our fall festival featured bi-monthly “Loose Canon” casual come-as-you-are readings, with partner companies: The Sol Project, Island Shakespeare Festival, and Ma-Yi Theatre Company. These were held either in Brooklyn bars or via Zoom over the course of five months. The final piece of the 2022 Expand the Canon Festival included two panel discussions: “What is a Classic?” and “What is Being Produced?” Panelists included Melody Brooks (New Perspectives), Karen Ann Daniels (Folger Theatre), Danny Marin (Con Limon Productions), and Jill Rafson (Classic Stage Company).

We wrote an article published in American Theater Magazine, about the importance of translations in expanding our understanding of classics –– and supporting theatrical translations is a major element. Find that article here.

In celebration of its tenth anniversary, Hedgepig held its first “gala” type fundraiser, known as The Canon Ball, at Irondale in Brooklyn.

2021

Expand the Canon grows – and we explore creating new work

We continued our Expand the Canon added a reading committee of 30 readers to the Expand the Canon project, brought Kathy Bischoping on as a research associate for the project, and continued with our curator team from 2020. We created the festival in September in a hybrid format, partnering with Classical Theatre of Harlem, Ma-Yi Theatre Company, and The Sol Project on 3 virtual readings - which we paired with in-person watch parties in Brooklyn.

Our podcast, This Is A Classic! The Expand the Canon Theatre Podcast, launched online and featured one play per episode.

We commissioned Regina Robbins to develop a new play based on Mercy Otis Warren’s 1770s play, The Ladies of Castile. We held an in-person devising workshop for this project directed by Jo’Lisa Jones, dramaturged by Emily Lyon, and featuring Skye Pagon, Terra Chaney, Jory Murphy, Rafael Jordan, Jordan LaRoya, and Monica Rounds. That fall, we held a reading of the play, entitled War & Mercy, alongside our Expand the Canon festival.

The ensemble kept training online, and occasionally ventured out to in-person gatherings as the world began reopening. However, many of our members had left the city, or planned to leave soon. We closed 2021 with a Halloween production in the parks. Directed by Skye Pagon and produced by Rachel Schmeling, this was the ensemble’s first fully-devised production. 

2020

Expand the Canon launches!

2020 marked a moment of re-orientation as we redefine the north star for the organization. It was also an extremely challenging year as the pandemic closed theaters suddenly. Yet, we persisted.

We launched the first Expand the Canon list, curated by Emily Lyon, Mary Candler, Skye Pagon, and Shannon Corenthin. It felt like the apex of our values: uplifting the voices of women in classic theater by declaring them as classics themselves. While for years we’d explored the traditional canon with femme folks at the helm, this crystalized our goals for the future of classics.

We announced the program in what had to shift to be an online announcement… in March of 2020. We spent the year reading and researching to choose our first 9 plays, and featured 4 of them in a virtual festival of readings in partnership with The Classical Theatre of Harlem, Ma-Yi Theatre Company, and American Players Theatre. We received excellent press from American Theatre, The New York Times, Playbill, and Token Theatre Friends. 

Our ensemble pivoted to the changing year and times. We kept doing our monthly trainings, but they were now held on Zoom. We launched an anti-racism accountability group and engaged outsider trainers to further our work dismantling white supremacy within our company.

We also hosted a virtual cabaret in October entitled, “The Pursuit of Joy,” and finished the year with a virtual, episodic take on Little Women, adapted by Brooke Viegut, and featuring Desiree Baxter, Rachel Schmeling, Madeline Egan Addis, Ashley Kristeen Vega, and Samanthia Nixon.

2019

Two full productions – and the spark of our pivot to the future

In 2019, Hedgepig Ensemble Theatre produced Mary Stuart at The Access Theatre in April. We programmed panels on Forgiveness and Allyship. Costumer Somie Pak, who has worked on several Hedgepig shows, was nominated for the Howard Hewes Design Award for her work!

Our first commissioning/devising process began with Brooke Viegut (director/adaptor) to create an adaptation of Little Women that centered exclusively on the 4 sisters and mother at Christmastime. This approach demanded that we mine the novel for the worthy storylines of sisterhood and family—rather than the magnetic romantic relations. The production ran for two weeks in the Great Room of South Oxford Space in December.

This was also when we were considering a play by a woman through history that none of us had ever heard of… which lead us to ideate around our next big project, Expand the Canon.

2018

All’s Well That Ends Well; remount of Taste of Shakespeare; and some Noel Coward

In 2018, we returned to Shakespeare, tackling a challenging play: All’s Well that Ends Well. The play, directed by Emily Lyon, was well received and attended by many folks excited to see a rarely produced Shakespeare. This was the first project for which we programmed pre-show panels to highlight aspects of the play that we wanted to connect to contemporary issues for our audience. These included The Culture of Toxic Masculinity, Comedy as a Woman (with Dahlia Lithwick), and Women Lifting up Women.

1/12th Night (from Taste of Shakespeare) was brought to ShakesCon making Emily, Jamal, Rachel, Mary, Jory, and Mike feel like rockstars among Shakespeare nerds. The show was later remounted with Basil Rodericks replacing Jamal James at the Shakespeare in the Theater festival at The Brick. We also produced a two-night only event – Escapism: An Evening of Noel Coward, featuring music and the following one-acts: Weatherwise, Family Album, and Rain Before Seven.

In this year, Hedgepig became its own 501c3 non-profit organization, and Emily Lyon was named Associate Artistic Director of Hedgepig.

2017

2 full productions: The Secret in the Wings, A Taste of Shakespeare

Our first year doing two full productions! At this time, co-founder & co-artistic director, Gwendolyn Kelso, moved away from the City and Mary Candler adjusted to solo leadership. We produced A Taste of Shakespeare, with adaptor/director Emily Lyon. The three short titles, 1/12th Night, The Tiny Tempest, and Midsummer: Tedious & Brief, were performed by Olivia Williamson, Jamal James, Jory Murphy, Mike Magliocca, and Rachel Schmeling. These plays were performed on the Industrious BK rooftop paired with wine, at The Well paired with beer, and in Prospect Park with cereal pops.

Meanwhile, the ensemble spent the year of training working with aspects of Mary Zimmerman’s play, The Secret in the Wings. Breaking from our focus on dense text, this play demanded a strong physical vocabulary. We produced this play under the direction of Emily Lyon in December 2016 at The Access Theater Gallery with Sara Hymes, Danielle Cohn, Mary Candler, Olivia Williamson, Naz Black, Gregory Jon Phelps, Alex Tissiere, and Andrew Hutcheson.

Staged Readings

Dreams, Fictions, and Fancies: An Evening With Tennessee Williams; Living with the Absurd: Ionesco, Pinter, & Millay

During this year, we produced two theatrical events: Our second Evening of Tennessee Williams featured many ensemble members in Lady of Larkspur Lotion, Talk to Me Like the Rain, and The Case of the Missing Petunias. In frustration over the results of the 2016 election, we also presented an evening of Absurdist plays including Ionesco’s The Leader, Pinter’s One for the Road, and Edna St .Vincent Millay’s Aria da Capo. 

2016

A new play – The Women of Williams County

We were offered the opportunity to produce Karly Thomas’ world premiere of The Women of Williams County, a new play that brought the iconic women of the Williams plays to one landscape. Hedgepig won best ensemble at the Midtown International Theater Festival under the direction of Emily Lyon. The play featured Gwendolyn Kelso, Sara Hymes, Danielle Cohn, Olivia Williamson and Associated Artist Mary Jo McConnell. In this year, we also won our first foundation grant — a gift from The Nancy Quinn Fund. The year was spent further developing Short Shakespeare and the ensemble.

2015

The Merry Wives of Windsor; one-act Chekhov comedies

We produced Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor at The Treehouse Theatre, directed by Paul Nichols. Mary Candler, Gwendolyn Kelso, and Andrew Hutcheson were featured alongside associated artists Nathan Crocker and Christopher Seiler. Meanwhile, the beginnings of our Short Shakespeare canon began with drafts of Mini Macbeth, Julius Caesar: Chopped and Stabbed, R&J: 15-mins. traffic, 1/12th Night, Tiny Tempest, and Midsummer: Tedious & Brief.

Continuing our one-act exploration of other classic writers, we hosted Guns, Smokes, & Booze: a night of Chekhovian comedies.

2014

A bit of Tennessee Williams – which lead to Interior: Panic at FringeNYC; World’s Fastest Hamlet

In 2014, we produced our first Tennessee Williams night, showcasing one-act “drafts” that would become Williams’ best-known plays, including Interior: Panic (precursor to Streetcar), The Pretty Trap (precursor to Glass Menagerie), and Mooney’s Kid Don’t Cry (his first play).

Over the summer months, we brought Tom Stoppard’s World’s Fastest Hamlet to Governor’s Island, and later continued to tour it around the city. This 15-minute blast became the inspiration for Short Shakespeare/A Taste of Shakespeare.

From the Tennessee Williams’ night, our first fully produced project emerged. We presented Interior: Panic, a one-act draft of A Streetcar Named Desire, at The New York International Fringe Festival under the direction of Emily Lyon with Gwendolyn Kelso, Andrew Hutcheson, Mary Candler, and Michael Amendola. Gwendolyn Kelso won best actor in the festival for her performance as Blanche.

2013

Readings: Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing

The company began with measured steps, producing two readings in 2013: Twelfth Night directed by Lenny Banovez and Much Ado About Nothing directed by Brendon Fox. These readings showcased the high standard of text work and acting that Hedgepig would become known for. We also began monthly ensemble trainings for actors, creating relationships and a shared vocabulary of techniques that showed up on stage richly every time. Our other community building included regular trivia nights, called Are You Smarter Than A Drunken Knave? which often gathered a number of small Shakespeare companies and fellow nerds for joy and silliness.

2012

The Origin Story

Co-Founders Mary Candler and Gwendolyn Kelso met while pursuing their MFAs at The Shakespeare Theatre Company (DC). While there, they were struck by the power of an ensemble of artists who trained and grew together. Upon moving to NYC, Gwendolyn and Mary experienced both a strong desire among artists for a deep ensemble experience and a distinct void of female leadership in classical theatre.

On a blustery night in 2012, Mary and Gwen squirreled away in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, hiding from the raging winds of Hurricane Sandy. For 3 days, they drank coffee, imbibed cocktails, and chatted through their artistic experiences, ambitions, and the state of the world. By the time the MTA was running again and Mary returned home to Harlem, the unshakeable dream of a theater company had formed. In 2012, Hedgepig Ensemble Theatre was created to fill the void of female leadership in classical theater and provide a fulfilling ensemble experience in NYC. Fact: Neither Mary nor Gwen knew how to run a theater company nor produce a show. Over the first 3 years, the trial and error method prevailed alongside endless discovery of what Hedgepig could and should be.