BSR_S04E14_Brie Knight - Pancake Queen
When Quaker Oats Company announced the retirement of the Aunt Jemima brand, my first thought was to talk to playwright, Brie Knight, whose play titled, “Pancake Queen” told the story of Nancy Green, the woman hired to portray the figure.
The play received the 2015 Sue Winge Playwriting Award from Villanova University, was featured in PlayPenn’s 2017 Conference, and received its first reading as part of the inaugural Philadelphia Women’s Theatre Festival.
Here is my interview with Brie Knight.
PANCAKE QUEEN by BRIE KNIGHT
In 1893 St. Joseph, Missouri, Nancy Green strives to make peace with her painful past so she may live her future as a free woman. When she finds herself employed by a local miller, Randolph T. Davis, to portray his new, revolutionary merchandising symbol, Aunt Jemima at the Chicago’s World Fair, her past experiences and future dreams collide. As Nancy fights to make a life of her own design, she risks being consumed by Aunt Jemima and the past she wants to leave behind.
ABOUT BRIE KNIGHT
Brie is an emerging Playwright based in Philadelphia and a member of the Philadelphia Playwright’s Lab, The Foundry. Brie earned her M.A in Theater from Villanova University, where she also served as a Graduate Assistant in the Theater Department. Her play PANCAKE QUEEN received the 2015 Sue Winge Playwriting Award from Villanova University and will be featured in PlayPenn’s 2017 Conference. PANCAKE QUEEN received its first reading as part of the inaugural Philadelphia Women’s Theatre Festival. It was at Villanova where she also developed her solo show, THE “N” WORD. She served as a Dramaturgy Intern at People’s Light, where she worked on WOODY SEZ. Brie’s works weave the fantastical into socially conscious, historically rooted stories, to illuminate societal issues and barriers around identity, race, class, and gender.
Brie Knight - New Play Exchange
https://newplayexchange.org/users/7338/brie-knight
Aunt Jemima brand to change name, remove image.
