URGE
Three new plays from local Seattle playwrights: Montse Garza, Alina Rios, and Miriam Tobin. Shot through with music, movement, longing, and hope, this uniquely theatrical experience transforms the intimate space into a whole world.
“Urge brought me into an experience, into the depth of feeling inside a story without an overt explanation of that story. The brilliant use of movement, sound, color and poignant props, allowed me to make my own interpretation and meaning of the visceral communication.”
“I don’t know what I saw, but I loved it.”
— URGE audience member
“This is a show I would have liked to have seen multiple times to fully soak up all the complexity and nuance.”
— URGE audience member
I was in the dream of the show and I didn't know altogether what parts of myself all the characters were but the part that really shook me deeply was the Rope scene where one young person is going to make it and another young person isn't going to make it across into safety, into possibility. The one who gets left behind gets tangled up somehow in what we don't need to know—it's not a cognitive thing. Experientially, it was incredibly resonant and powerful, very universalizable, and I was in tears.
— URGE audience member
In rehearsals…
URGE Company Bios
Adriana Hillas (production manager, ensemble) [she/they]
Adriana is a performer, writer, and teaching artist. Growing up abroad most of her life as a third culture kid, theater was always how she found community. She received her MFA in Devised Theatre in 2018 and enjoys sharing her love for theater and play with anyone she can! She believes art is a powerful tool for individual and collective healing. You may have seen Adriana in Washington Ensemble Theatre's productions of Dream Hou$e and Scrambling the Goose. They are excited to be a part of the founding company at VERBOOOM, and hope you enjoy the show as much as she enjoyed the process of developing it!
Alina Rios (director, playwright) [she/they]
Alina is the Artistic Director of Verbooom. Her plays and films are produced on both sides of the Atlantic. She’s a Dramatist Guild Foundation National Fellowship Finalist (2023-2024) and a quarterfinalist in the ScreenCraft Stage Play Competition 2023. In 2023, Alina trained with Frantic Assembly in London, and came back to Seattle to start Verbooom. Earlier this year, she was a playwright for Dragonslayer, an immersive experience produced by AnA Collaborations. More at alinarios.com.
Chris Harris (assistant director) [he/him]
Chris Harris is a graphic artist working in photo and video mediums. He is excited to help guide the development of URGE while documenting the process and creating visual assets for the show. Chris can be found taking photos and posting them on the internet at helloimchris.com.
Elijah Spreier (ensemble) [he/him]
Elijah is thrilled to join Verbooom for URGE! An actor vocalist and dancer, he has previously acted in Georgianna and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley with Taproot Theatre and will be performing in Get Tappy at Second Story Theatre. Instagram @marshall_elij.
Erin Slomski-Pritz (sound design) [she/her]
Erin is an audio artist and producer based in Seattle. She has worked on projects for numerous outlets and institutions, including National Public Radio, The Kitchen Sisters, Vice Media, Yale, Stanford, and The Aspen Institute. Her most recent work on dreams and synchronicity was featured at Jack Straw's New Media Gallery.
Cait Steiner (production assistant) [she/they]
Cait is an artist and a fire dancer who is coming out of theatre retirement to support Verbooom’s first show.
Montse Garza (playwright, ensemble) [she/her]
Montse is a Latina actor, writer, and lighting designer hailing from la frontera (the Texas-Mexican border). Since moving to Seattle last year, she’s designed and performed in several shows, but this one is particularly special. URGE is Montse’s first performance in a devised theater piece and the first full production of her playwriting. She’s immensely grateful to the Verbooom team for believing in her work
Natalie Grant (movement director, ensemble) [she/her]
Natalie Grant is a dance artist based in Seattle, WA. After graduating with a BFA from Chapman University, she received training from the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance and from programs such as Springboard Danse Montreal and OBOC/Countertechnique. She’s had the pleasure of being a member with Alex Ketley’s company, The Foundry, as well as performing works by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Ohad Naharin, VIMVIGOR, and Spenser Theberge. In Seattle, Natalie performed for sold-out audiences in AnA Collaborations’ immersive theater production, Dragonslayer. This is Natalie’s first project with Verbooom.
Miriam BC Tobin (playwright) [she/her]
Miriam BC Tobin is a Seattle-based playwright, theatre artist, and arts leader. She has performed on stages and taught drama across the US and Europe. Honors & awards include a Hedgebrook residency, PEN Writing Scholarship, and London Dramatic Academy Fellowship. She is a resident writer with the Seattle Public Library and an associate artist with Parley Productions and The Shattered Glass Project. Miriam also runs SCRiB LAB, a playwriting organization aimed at community and connection. More at mirbct.com.