Written and performed by Sharon Washington
directed by Maria Mileaf
presented by Primary Stages, in association with Jamie deRoy, and Hartford Stage

“Acting, mimicking, presenting, or narrating, Washington is always a figure to watch… with a fine actor’s capacity for transformation and a born storyteller’s knack for casting a magical haze over even the most everyday events.”
– Michael Feingold, The Village Voice

Award-winning actress Sharon Washington, beloved by audiences for her performances in our productions of While I Yet Live and String of Pearls, as well as The Scottsboro Boys on Broadway, returns to Primary Stages to share a uniquely personal story with the New York Premiere of Feeding the Dragon. As both playwright and star of this autobiographical solo piece, Sharon revisits her time growing up in an apartment on the top floor inside the St. Agnes Branch of the New York Public Library, where her father served as the building’s custodian. Shrouded in family mystery, Sharon’s story boldly examines how both the power of forgiveness and her lifelong love for the written word have helped her battle dragons of all forms.

Theater director Maria Mileaf is back at Primary Stages for a third time with the production Feeding the Dragon, written and performed by theater and television veteran Sharon Washington. Feeding the Dragon is about Ms. Washington’s childhood growing up in an apartment on the top floor inside the St. Agnes Branch of the New York Public Library, where her father served as the building’s custodian; Ms. Washington creates many vibrant characters all seen through the eyes of “the little girl who lived in the library.” As a freelance director concentrating on new work, Ms. Mileaf has been steadily working since the early 1990’s after finishing her MFA in directing at University of California/San Diego (plus an undergraduate degree in semiotics from Yale). Early theatrical adventures included being on the staff of Peter Sellar’s L.A. Festival and spending a season in Italy to observe Nobel Prize winner for Literature Dario Fo’s creative process as he developed his piece The Rape of Francesca. In addition to Primary Stages, she’s directed productions in New York for The Play Company, The Vineyard and Playwrights Horizons as well as many regional theaters including New York Stage and Film, …Read more