Playwright brings sword fights and queer love front and center in Prism Movement Theater’s ‘La Maupin’
Kelsey Milbourn and the cast of ‘La Maupin: The French Abomination’ (Courtesy photos) Duel – identity: Playwright brings sword fights and queer love front and center in Prism Movement Theater’s La Maupin RICH LOPEZ | Staff writer rich@dallasvoice.com Some serendipitous force must have been at play in 2020 for Kelsey Milbourn.
During those high COVID times, the artist happened upon a podcast that covered lost history, and one particular episode stuck out to Milbourn so insistently that they could not get out of their mind. “I even remember where I was when I heard it,” they said. “We were rehearsing in my living room, and when this show talked about a bisexual duelist who was a famous opera star and renowned for fighting men, my ears perked up.” That was Milbourn’s introduction to Julie d’Aubigny. ……………………. La Maupin: The French Abomination Written and directed by: Kelsey Milbourn Cast: Nicole Carrano Trey Estes Kristen Lazarchick Ania Lyons Kelsey Milbourn Carissa Jade Olsen Mitchell Stephens Shanthany Wilkerson Costume Designer: Aaron Patrick DeClerk Fight Coordinator: Mitchell Stephens Light Designer: Jonah Gutierrez Sound Designer: Kelsey Milbourn Stage Manager: Alexandra Hernandez Performances: July 11-13 at Hamon Hall and July 25-Aug.
3 at Latino Cultural Center. PrismMovementTheater.org. ……………………. Four years later, Milbourn is telling d’Aubigny’s story in La Maupin: The French Abomination, a movement play which opens July 11 as part of ATTPAC’s Elevator Project by Prism Movement Theater.
The idea stirred in Milbourn’s head, but at that time, the artist admitted, she was worried about telling such stories. “Doing queer plays felt like a scary idea at the time.
