Interview: Chisa Hutchinson and THE BLEEDING CLASS at 59E59 Theaters 

The Bleeding Class, written by Chisa Hutchinson and directed by Cezar Williams is a part of part of  the AMPLIFY Festival at 59E59 Theaters.  This captivating show will be on the Upper East Side stage through September 1 in Theater C.

When a mysterious plague throws society into chaos, it results in an unlikely alliance between the reserved Dr. Pennington and a strong-willed escort named Sugar, whose immune system may hold the key to saving the world.  Sugar and Dr. Pennington trade personal barbs and professional observations as they race to find a cure, but there’s something more important than human life at stake – money. Funny and fast-paced, The Bleeding Class combines science fiction, thriller, and camp to ask: What would you do, and who would you be, if everything was on the line?

Broadwayworld had the pleasure of interviewing playwright, Chisa Hutchinson about her career and The Bleeding Class at 59E59 Theaters.

Hutchinson holds a BA fraom Vassar College and a MFA NYU – TsoA.  She has presented her plays, which include She Like Girls, Somebody’s Daughter, Surely Goodness & Mercy, Whitelisted, and Dead & Breathing at such venues as Atlantic Theater Company, Contemporary American Theater Festival, the National Black Theatre, Second Stage, and Arch 468 in London. Her radio drama, Proof of Love, can be found on Audible with a boss rating. She’s been a New Dramatist, a Dramatists Guild Fellow, a Lark Fellow, a Humanitas Fellow, a NeoFuturist, and a staff writer for the Blue Man Group. Chisa has also won a GLAAD Award, a Lilly Award, a New York Innovative Theatre Award, a Helen Merrill Award, and the Lanford Wilson Award. She staffed on two television series: Three Women (Starz) and Tell Me Lies (Hulu). Meanwhile, her first original feature, The Subject, in which a white documentarian deals with the moral fallout from exploiting the death of a black teen, is available on various VOD platforms after a successful film festival circuit during which it won over 30 prizes.

Who was the very first person to recognize your writing talents?

If we're talking playwriting, I guess that'd be Mr. Pridham. He was my Drama teacher at the swanky, all-girls private high school where I was a scholarship kid and one of a handful of black students. The girls in his acting class had to regularly perform scenes and monologues, and at some point, me and the other black girls in the class got tired of fighting over the Beneatha monologue from RAISIN IN THE SUN. So I started writing material for us. And Mr. Pridham not only allowed it, but encouraged it. He'd read and critique my work, and then he took me to see August Wilson debate Robert Brustein about color-blind casting, and I just knew I had to keep at it because August Wilson said so. (He was not a fan of colorblind casting, which he thought was just a bullshit excuse to not tell stories that are actually about people of color.) So yeah. God bless the Mr. Pridhams of the world. 

What piece of advice can you give to aspiring playwrights and/or screenwriters?

It's a war of attrition, y'all. The only way to win it is to stay in it.

Can you tell us about a significant mentor in your career?

Lynn Nottage! I will sing that woman's praises wherever I can from every rooftop. She didn't know me from nothin' when I approached her as a grad-school student and asked if I could be her assistant for a semester in lieu of an internship, but she agreed. I learned so much just observing her and how she got down, how she balanced her creative life with her family life. And she's been showing up at my shows and speaking my name into rooms ever since. There are a few folks I would seriously consider donating a kidney to if they needed one. She is at the top of the list.

We are excited about the AMPLIFY Festival and the presentation of your work, The Bleeding Class. What would you like our readers to know about the festival?

The people at 59E59 do not mess about. They are PREPARED. Val Day has been especially attentive and supportive. Like I can tell she just wants this to be a good experience. Everyone there does! Every time I walk up in that space, I feel welcome, even by people who don't know I wrote one of the plays being presented. It's just a warm, friendly vibe. Other off-Broadway spaces should take note. 

What inspired your story for The Bleeding Class?

I had just finished writing a couple of pretty dark and heavy plays and was in the mood for what I thought was going to be light and zany satire. I called my agent in spring of 2019 and told her about my wacky idea: "I'm thinking... hear me out... there's a global pandemic. Yeah! And uh... the only people who can save us from the virus ravaging the world is a Dominican hooker and her black doctor. YEAH! That feels like a fun way to assert the value of black and brown people."

Then the actual pandemic happened, mid-draft. Yyyyyyyeah.

Can you tell us a little about the team that has brought The Bleeding Class to 59E59 Theaters?

Undiscovered Works in a tiny company with a big heart headed up by Leah Abrams. She was very open to my ideas about who to bring on board-- like bringing the gentle powerhouse that is Cezar Williams in to direct and the organizational wizard, Tahra Veasley, to stage-manage-- and had she some good ones herself (basically the entire design team-- all brilliant!). We were both excited about the idea of using non-Equity actors specifically because it takes black and brown actors a while to even qualify for Equity. That's how few opportunities there are.   Like HOW is this Tamar's off-Broadway debut? That girl is FIYAH! Anyway, I'm pretty happy with the team that came together around this piece.

What would you like audiences to know about the show?

It is not an anti-vax play. It is an anti-supremacist-capitalist-asshole play.

Anything else, absolutely anything you want Broadwayworld readers to know.

If you see any of my plays at 59E59 this season, please accept these woots as a token of gratitude: woot-woot-WOOT!

To learn more about Chisa Hutchinson, visit her website at www.chisahutchinson.com.

The Bleeding Class at 59E59 Theaters will be performed through September 1 with matinee and evening performances available. The theater is located at 59 East 59th Street (between Park and Madison Avenues). To purchase tickets and for more information, visit the Theater website  HERE. 

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