Celebrating a close to Pride month, on Wednesday, June 29, 2022 at 7 p.m. Kent’s Theatre Battery will present a full-series screening of “Harry Potter and the Transgender Witch!” in-person with free admission at Kent Station.

This free screening will be held at Kent Station’s Performance Space, located at 444 Ramsay Way next to Gentle Dental (map below).

In alignment with their “Radical Hospitality” ethos, there is no admission fee; however, reservations are available now. This marks their return to live performances after a pandemic pause, making this a double celebration.

At any other time, this project may not have come together, but as a result of the pandemic lockdown yielding sufficient time and a pretty clear schedule, the contributing artists and actors collaborated to create a unique and timely piece. The series premiered on the web and caught hold, subsequently screening across the country in queer film festivals. Now coming home, this in-person event will include cast appearances, merchandise sales and more.

Theatre Battery is now in their 11th season and what began as an extension of young Kent theater alumni’s desire to continue working together has evolved into a small professional theater with a decidedly social justice dialog focus. The company present original works and seek to create opportunities for connection particularly amongst those who might not otherwise find each other, to coalesce around the love of live theater.

In “Harry Potter and the Transgender Witch!” the series uses the medium of Lego and is set against the backdrop of Hogwart’s School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. It tells the story of an 11-year-old transgender student’s journey navigating betrayal, when she discovers the transphobic nature of her environment amongst those she would have believed were “her people.”

Theater director Logan Ellis hopes to spur “fulfilling conversations” amongst a variety of attendees. He has been gratified to see the series being used in both corporate sensitivity training, as well as youth education programs seeking to promote acceptance and inclusion. He also sees it as a learning opportunity for the company to gauge how people want to return to live in-person events.

Here’s a trailer:

General information about the project is here: https://www.theatrebattery.org/hp-transgender-witch.

Tickets can be reserved here: https://theatrebattery.strangertickets.com/events/125142249/lego-harry-potter-and-the-transgender-witch-live-screening

Featuring:

    • Donato Fatuesi as Quincy Blueburger
    • Anula Navlekar as Pudge the Owl, Neville Longbottom, Parvati Patil, and Padma Patil
    • Caitlin Macy-Beckwith as Ginny Weasley, Minerva McGonagall, and Dolores Umbridge
    • Abubakr Ali as Harry Potter and Voldemort
    • Shanelle Nicole Leonard as Hermione Granger
    • Sola Fadiran as Dean Thomas
    • Steven Flores as Ron Weasley and Severus Snape
    • Robert Lee Hart as Aragog
    • John Evans Reese as Draco Malfoy and Horace Slughorn
    • Shannon R Davis as Dumbledore
    • Adam Magill as Professor Lupin and Viktor Krum
    • Matthew Elijah Webb as Blaise Zabini
    • Kait Mahoney as Moaning Myrtle
    • Nicky Martinez as Luna Lovegood
    • Mia Fowler as Colin Creevey and Lee Jordan
    • Zoe Mann as Bellatrix LeStrange
    • Shauntal Pyper as Argus Filch, Additional Voices
    • Sango Tajima as Cho Chang, Additional Voices
    • Malex Reed as Firenze, Additional Voices
    • Michael Cercado as Grawp, Additional Voices
    • Nic Sommerfeld as Additional Voices
    • Doireann Mac Mahon as Additional Voices

Written by Melina Cohen-Bramwell, Margaret E. Douglas, Kelli Dunham, Logan Ellis, Mia Fowler, Kait Mahoney, Nicky Martinez, Genne Murphy, Elsie Phillips, Audley Puglisi, Malex Reed, and Alex Vermillion

Directed by Logan Ellis, Production Managed by Kait Mahoney, Associate Produced by Alex Vermillion, Compositions by Kyle Kindred, Sounds by Erin Bednarz and Megumi Katayama, LEGO Builds by Heather Ellis, Lighting Design Consultation by Amber Parker

Along with this production, the group has announced a full schedule of programming as described on their website:

    • The Battery Powered Series will return with public readings of new plays in development in late July. Among these works will be anticipated development of The Green River Killer Project, which Theatre Battery has been gestating for three years.
    • The Theatre Battery Acting Lab, a scene study class available to local actors of all levels free of charge, will return for a two-week session from July 11 – 22, with a culminating public showcase. With class sections for both professional actors and local high school students, we welcome our community to join us in practicing some craft.
    • Sleep is for the Weak, a 24-hour new play festival experience featuring local theater artists generating material in a one-day sprint, will return for its seventh cycle on the weekend of July 30.

You can learn more about this energetic and inspiring group of home-grown theater professionals on their website here: https://www.theatrebattery.org.

Scott Schaefer

Founder/Publisher/Editor. Three-time National Emmy Award winning Writer (“Bill Nye the Science Guy”), Director, Producer, Journalist and more...