Impenetrable

In a well-to-do Chicago suburb a local spa sparks controversy with a billboard ad featuring a picture of a gorgeous woman in a bikini, superimposed with arrows suggesting how she could be cosmetically enhanced. The model, the photographer, the spa-owner, a local feminist activist and her daughter, and the barista (who observes them all) comment on the events leading up to the billboards ultimate removal. A...
In a well-to-do Chicago suburb a local spa sparks controversy with a billboard ad featuring a picture of a gorgeous woman in a bikini, superimposed with arrows suggesting how she could be cosmetically enhanced. The model, the photographer, the spa-owner, a local feminist activist and her daughter, and the barista (who observes them all) comment on the events leading up to the billboards ultimate removal. A look at how body image and societal and cultural pressures affect both men and women’s perceptions of themselves and of each other.
FYI, Impenetrable is sort of a monologue play. But not entirely. Because I don't like monologue plays.
Also, I say that 4 of the characters are white, but the play has been done by a mostly-Asian cast with a few lines changes, so there's flexibility.
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Impenetrable

Recommended by

  • Cheryl Bear:
    25 Apr. 2021
    A powerful look at body image and the struggle to live free of judgement as oneself. Moving and well done.
  • Joshua Fardon:
    7 May. 2019
    Deftly examines the way one event - the posting of a sexist message on a billboard - affects an entire community, examining not only its aftermath but its origins. It does this in a hybrid-stylized monologue/dialogue format which suits the play perfectly - a collective feeling is more than people talking to each other, and personal pain is best expressed in dialogue. While being an important play about how and why our society is shaped by and permeated by sexism, it avoids judgment and easy explanations. As one character says, “Life is an assault on my body image.”

Development History

  • Workshop
    ,
    Stage Left Theatre (Chicago) LeapFest
    ,
    2010

Production History

  • Professional
    ,
    SIS Productions (Seattle)
    ,
    2014
  • Professional
    ,
    Clockwise Theatre (Waukegan, IL)
    ,
    2014
  • Professional
    ,
    Stage Left Theatre
    ,
    2012

Awards

Finalist
,
Steinberg Award
,
American Theatre Critics Association
,
2013
Finalist
,
Jane Chambers Award
,
2011