Surreal Pandemic Comedy “A Pot of Basil, or, Thank You for Being a Friend” Finds Humor in The Golden Girls and a Talking Cockroach – The RAT NYC, August 23-31, Directed by Jennifer Sandella

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK – In the world premiere of Heather Jeanne Violanti’s surreal comedy “A Pot of Basil, or, Thank You for Being a Friend,” a would-be writer trying to run away from her unhappy life has her plans put on hold when New York locks down for the 2020 COVID pandemic. All she has for company are her imagination, a pot of basil, a talking cockroach, Marie Antoinette, and episodes of The Golden Girls. In this fast, funny, 60-minute comedy, the world might be ending—but that’s just the beginning of figuring out what really matters. The show is directed by Jennifer Sandella and features N. Marie Teagno, Lisa Whitten, Mary Lane Townsend, Margaret Sullivan, Travis John Martin, and Josh Karen. “A Pot of Basil, or, Thank You for Being a Friend” plays at The RAT NYC in DUMBO (68-117 Jay St, Brooklyn, NY 11201 ) on weekends from August 23-31.

Says Violanti, “Writing this play helped me work through the pain and uncertainty of the COVID pandemic. I tried to counter the seriousness of that difficult time with wacky humor, all the while exploring what it means to keep going when your world falls apart.” 

WHAT: “A Pot of Basil, or, Thank You for Being a Friend”

WHO: Written by Heather Jeanne Violanti

Directed by Jennifer Sandella

Featuring: N. Marie Teagno, Lisa Whitten, Mary Lane Townsend, Margaret Sullivan, Travis John Martin, Josh M. K.

WHEN: 6:00 p.m. Saturday, August 23

3:00 p.m. Sunday, August 24

6:00 p.m. Saturday, August 30

3:00 p.m. Sunday, August 31

WHERE: 68 Jay St, Brooklyn, NY 11201 (near F, A, C)

HOW MUCH: $15 

RUN TIME: 60 minutes

TICKETS: www.theratnyc.com

BIOS

Heather Violanti (Playwright) is a playwright and dramaturg currently based in New York City. Her plays have been produced at the Dream Up Festival at Theater for the New City, the Radioactive Festival, the Women’s Theater Festival, the DR2 Lounge, and MusicalFare Theatre. Her play Waltz of the Exterminator was published in the Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2021 by Smith & Kraus. Two other short plays, The Bald Mousetrap and Fish Story, are published by Brooklyn Publishers. She developed Thank You for Being a Friend over Zoom sessions at Naked Angels’ Tuesdays@9 in 2021-2022 and in a digital reading for the Rogue Theater Festival’s 2024 reading series. She has an MFA in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism from Yale School of Drama. 

Jennifer Sandella (Director) is a Brooklyn based theatre artist with a foundation in classical text and performance. Jennifer is the Artistic Director of Random Access Theatre and the Executive Director of The RAT NYC. She holds an MA from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London and a BFA from Hofstra University. Recent directing projects include: Miranda from Stormville (RATCO), The Potemkin Play (Here Arts), Rosmersholm (The Old Stone House/RATCO), The Taming of the Shrew (Brooklyn Bridge Park: Shakespeare at Sunset), Save the Robots (West Village Musical Theatre Festival/NYMF). Jennifer is an associate member of the SDC, a 2015 Drama League resident artist and a member of the Director’s Lab West (’14 cohort). www.jennifersandella.com