WTFringe 21 Producer Series: Tory Parker of “Recommended For You”

We had the opportunity to learn a little more about playwright and producer Tory Parker, and we’ve just gotta make the introduction.

Hey Tory! What WTFringe show are representing? What’s your role on the production team?

TORY: I’m the playwright and producer of Recommended For You, as well as the Co-Artistic Director of DCSG Theatre. 

Can you give us a brief description of your artistic background? How did you come across the work of WTF?

TORY: As a day job, I’ve worked in marketing at both regional theatres and major art museums, so I\’m always immersed in the arts, the conversations they\’re stimulating, and how they\’re evolving with the rest of the world. 

While I\’ve always loved theatre, I didn\’t start engaging with it until college. And at my small, liberal arts college, I got to explore every aspect of it. From the beginning, I’ve loved theatre when it’s a creative and collaborative act. I love my theatre company, DCSG Theatre–which is made up of fellow alumni–because it celebrates theatre-making as didactic, wherein the joy and the reward are in the creation process.

Beautifully said. Have you collaborated with WTF before? If so, in what capacity?

TORY: Yes! I wrote and produced Twilight Sleep for last year\’s Fringe Festival. It was directed by Olivia Kernekin, who is not only directing Recommended For You but is a Co-Artistic Director of DCSG Theatre. 

Well, we’re so thrilled to have you back for this year’s Festival! 

Tell us–what’s your connection to your WTFringe show? What compelled you to step into a production role for it?

TORY: Recommended For You started as an idea for a Zoom playwriting bake-off last August and has continued to evolve over this past year, and we wanted to make the best possible version of it for WTFringe. The voices that are part of Women\’s Theatre Festival are outstanding leaders in their field; there are really powerful and important pieces being performed here, and we wanted to be a part of a theatre festival that actually walks the walk when it comes to making something groundbreaking and inclusive. 

Incredible. Lastly, what’s been your favorite aspect of preparing for WTFringe 21?

TORY: I love making theatre with my friends. I\’m consistently blown away by their talent and generosity, and how they’ve managed to create a play I hardly recognize out of a play I have spent months of my life writing and rewriting. In this year of overwhelming death and depression, of feeling both hyper-connected and disconnected, it\’s been a life-saving joy to create something with people I love. Plus I effing hate baking bread so this is really all I can do. 

Catch the LAST performance of Recommended For You on Friday, July 16th, 2021 at 8:00 pm EST.

Click here to view the full schedule for the (virtual) National Women’s Theatre Festival Fringe 21 and here to snag your tickets.

All WTFringe 21 tickets are Pay-What-You-Can with a $10 suggested donation per performance.