Author Archives: Pat Davis

About Pat Davis

Pat Davis is an author, poet, and playwright. With Dianna Ortiz, an American nun who was tortured in Gautemala, she co-authored "The Blindfold’s Eyes", an award-winning account of Ortiz’s torture, recovery, and search for justice. Long employed at the Guatemala Human Rights Commission as communications director and later as interim executive director, she has worked as an editor, translator, interpreter, and poet-in-the-schools. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from American University. Her poems and translations have been published in various literary journals, and in 2010 she produced her first play, “Alternative Methods,” to good reviews in the Capital Fringe and the New York International Fringe festivals. She lives in Virginia with her husband and four-year-old daughter.

Ana en el Trópico (Anna in the Tropics) at Gala Hispanic Theatre

By - February 12, 2012
Oscar and veronica

Gala Hispanic Theatre has put together a slick world premiere of Ana en el Trópico, the Spanish translation of Nilo Cruz’ Pulitzer-Prize winning play, Anna in the Tropics. Continue reading

The Wings of Ikarus Jackson at The Kennedy Center’s Family Theater

By - February 6, 2012
Lynette Rathnam (Cris) and Andreu Honeycutt (Ikarus) in 'The Wings of Ikarus Jackson.' Photo by Carol Pratt.

The Wings of Ikarus Jackson, a world premiere commissioned by the Kennedy Center, is beautifully produced, engaging, and – there’s no way around it – uplifting. Parallels to the Greek myth of Icarus are slim – no one has to fashion wings to escape imprisonment on an island, and no one crashes. The Ikarus of this story successfully escapes his isolation and comes to a joyful acceptance of his nature. Continue reading

The Rough-Faced Girl at Synetic Family Theater

By - December 5, 2011
Michaela Rothschild (Mother), Joshua Rosenblum (Achak), and Jade Wheeler (Rough-Faced Girl). Photo by Michael Rothschild.

The Rough-Faced Girl, Synetic Theater’s current Family Theater production, is much like Synetic Theater’s shows for adults: visually compelling, captivating, tender, and thoroughly worthwhile. The story itself is beautiful. Continue reading

Inspecting Carol at Sandy Spring Theatre Group

By - November 14, 2011
Larry (Dino Coppa), Phil (Bruce Hirsch) and Colleen (Susan Aaron Ostrinsky). Photo courtesy of SSTG.

Inspecting Carol, produced by The Sandy Spring Theatre Group, is a delightful romp, a perfect antidote to the gloom of lengthening nights and the frazzlement of approaching holidays. The farce built around Charles Dickens’ revered work A Christmas Carol, the … Continue reading

GREEK at Scena Theatre

By - October 22, 2011
Danielle Davy and David Bryan Jackson in 'GREEK.' Photo by Mason Summers.

No description can do justice to Steven Berkoff’s Greek, at Scena Theatre. The play is an updating of the Oedipus Rex story, set in London of the 1980s. But that doesn’t get at the play’s off-kilter splendor. It’s a tragedy … Continue reading

Stop Kiss at No Rules Theatre Company

By - September 12, 2011
Rachel Zampelli (Callie) and Alyssa Wilmoth (Sara) in NRTC's production of "Stop Kiss". C. Stanley Photography.

No Rules Theatre Company’s Stop Kiss is a delight. How often can one say that of a play that tackles a serious issue? How likely is it that one could ever say that of a play structured around the brutal … Continue reading

The Arbor – a Film Directed by Clio Barnard

By - August 8, 2011
Manjinder Virk as Andrea Dunbar's daughter Lorraine.

A disturbing, intense, and important film, The Arbor, directed by Clio Barnard, examines British playwright Andrea Dunbar’s short life as an artist and a parent and the role her impoverished environment played in both endeavors. Dunbar, who died of a … Continue reading

Charlotte’s Web at Adventure Theatre

By - June 28, 2011
Helen-Hayes Award winner Deidra LaWan Starnes and Davis Hasty as Wilbur. Photo by Bruce Douglas.

Adventure Theater’s production of Charlotte’s Web is a delight. An exuberant, talented cast and creative direction make this story of loyalty, loss and renewal engaging for children and adults alike. While the cast milks every possible laugh from the material, … Continue reading

The Glass Menagerie at Arena Stage

By - June 13, 2011
Sarah Marshall (Amanda Wingfield), Clark Young (Tom), and Rachel Caywood (Laura). Photo credit: Leslie E. Kossoff, Georgetown University.

Partnering with Arena Stage’s Mead Center for American Theater, Georgetown University’s Theater and Performance Studies Program has created a sensitive, energetic, and finely tuned production of Tennessee William’s Glass Menagerie. The Glass Menagerie is considered to be William’s most autobiographical … Continue reading

Purge at Scena Theatre

By - June 12, 2011
Colleen Delany as Zara and Kerry Waters as Old Aliide in Purge. Photo by Don Summers, Jr.

Purge, by the young Finnish sensation Sofi Oksanen, is an intense exploration of the dynamics of power. Scena Theatre’s production, which marks the play’s regional debut and is only its second performance in the US, is crisp, fast-paced, and enthralling. … Continue reading