New Charleston Theatre Company’s Mission is to Make Space for Queer Artists

The Void, a new Charleston theatre company, that aims to showcase contemporary plays that highlight the underserved voices of queer, female, and gender non-conforming artists, will soon make its debut with a series of “pop-up plays.”

Shannon Vogt and Teresa Elj were training and working as actors in Chicago when, like so many others, they lost their jobs to COVID-19. Both had moved to the Windy City to study theatre, but dreamed of returning home to their beloved Holy City. Elj moved back home to Summerville where she quickly began auditioning and working at Charleston theatres such as Flowertown Players and The Footlight Players. It was during a production at Footlight Players, where Vogt (who had also returned to town) saw Elj and realized she had found just the person to help her with her lifelong dream: opening her own theatre company in Charleston.

Vogt and Elj had worked together in college in a production of Monster by Duncan MacMillan, where they quickly became friends and now fate had brought them back together. They grew their team and brought on technical director, AP Hart, and production manager, Brianna Morgan.

Together, they decided to launch The Void as a series of three “pop-up plays” at the Queen Street Playhouse. Their goal is to acquire a black box space down the road that will enable them to produce a full season and host enriching events for local actors and the arts community at large.

The team says the strength of The Void’s foundation lies in that each member has experience working on and off stage. In addition to having been hired professionally as actors, their founding team members have been employed by theatre companies, music venues, and performance halls. They have created this company based on their collective experience as underrepresented female, queer, and gender non conforming artists.

The Void’s first performance will be Succulents: The Art of Adulting, a premiere written by Leath Roth Barsanti. It is a four-person show tackling topics like productivity, hustle-culture, addiction, climate change, and navigating queer relationships. It is a highly immersive production that slips into the surreal and is full of warm comedic moments- which is why The Void said they were so excited when Nameless Numberhead’s Maari Suorsa came on to direct the show.

The show will debut in February. Tickets will be on sale at TheVoidTheatre.org in November.

The Void is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization. You can make a tax-deductible donation and there more about the theatre at TheVoidTheatre.org.

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