Foul Fiend Theatre Troupe is gratefully seeking donations in support of a new original play by Kenzie Packer: Graduation Ball.

Graduation Ball is a dark, satirical tale that unfolds in the moments between ballet classes at a prestigious dance academy. In dressing rooms, bathrooms, and the dead of night, three students—a hot-headed revolutionary, her impressionable boyfriend, and the new strait-laced ballerina—are plotting a coup against the authoritarian regime that runs their studio.

This play isn’t about professional dancers in their prime. Rather, it’s about where those dancers get their start: small hometown studios with a penchant for the dramatic and a desperate desire to claim “the next prima ballerina.” As kids and teenagers trying to understand ourselves, our art feels like a calling—so what happens when that art turns against us?

Your donations will help make this show a reality, primarily by securing a space in which to perform it!

About FFTT:

Foul Fiend Theatre Troupe is an itinerant band of thespians, wordsmiths, and troubadours dedicated to creating accessible theatre. Our productions run the gamut from Shakespeare, Chekhov, and Ibsen to new musicals, devised pieces, and adaptations of classic literature and mythology.

In the Spring of 2023, after the success of helming NYU Shakespeare in the Square’s production of King Lear in Washington Square Park, which was attended by hundreds of members of the public alongside friends, family, and the student community, our co-founders turned their vision beyond graduation. Ally, Connor, Kam, and Zoe set about creating a troupe that would not only let them keep putting on daring and innovative productions of classics and original works, but to keep them entirely free of charge to the public. They decided to perform primarily in spaces that any member of the NYC community could stumble across and sit down at; imaginary worlds on rooftops, inside your favorite bar, and tucked into an alcove of your favorite park.

It began with Genderf*ck Twelfth Night, a production of the Shakespearean classic set in Prospect Park’s Nethermead field and populated by an almost exclusively trans and nonbinary cast. From there, Foul Fiend has only grown, staging in the summer of 2024 our first original play and full-length musical.

We are dedicated to championing productions that retell and reshape classic stories to reflect the contemporary voices and struggles of our communities. We solicit new works that are both timeless and timely, with an eye towards productions that would flourish in a public space.