STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Malena Grandio is Producing Off Broadway Play INVASIVE SPECIES Written By Yale Alumnus Maia Novi
Malena Grandio is Creative Producer and Partner at Playhouse, a non-disciplinary creative & production studio specialized in world building for a harmonious future. Based in New York and London, their purpose is to play with the magic of artists to show that everything is possible.
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Invasive Species
June 3-11th @The Tank NY
Blurb: What if acting was a disease, brought on by the poisonous bite of an invasive species of insect called the acting bug? What if we actors are all afflicted with a strange illness that causes us to lie about, to pretend to be, to forget even, who we really are? This is the question (one of many) at the heart of Invasive Species, a dramatic essay on the false truths of acting, on lying to live, and living to lie. And how immigrating to the United States may just be the hardest role.
Why now: I.S is a dark comedy that grapples with issues of mental health and the experiences of an immigrant artist. I.S. opens conversations about what it means to be “Latina” in the United States – the ways film and entertainment stereotypes put limits on who we can imagine as Latina and make a monolith out of Latin-American culture and artistic expression. Even with stories of immigration, we don’t often get to see what it’s like for those of us who are artists and trying to fit in, in more ways than one, to a world that doesn’t understand, and so can’t figure out how to sell, us.
New York, NY — The Tank in association with Playhouse is proud to present Invasive Species, a new play by Maia Novi, directed by Pulitzer Prize finalist Michael Breslin (Circle Jerk, This American Wife), his first solo directing project. The play follows a young Latina actress as she navigates mental health issues and the challenges of fitting into the American entertainment industry as an immigrant artist. Invasive Species will run from June 3 – 11 at The Tank.
The cast includes Maia Novi, Sam Gonzalez, Alexandra Maurice, Julian Sanchez (Becky Nurse of Salem), and Raffi Donatich. Louisa Jacobson (Lunch Bunch, HBO’s The Gilded Age) will assistant-direct. Amauta Marston-Firmino (Slave Play) is the dramaturg. Yichen Zhou is the lighting designer; Jessie Char and Maxwell Neely-Cohen will be the sound designers; Cameron Surh is doing projections; and Max Mooney is the Stage Manager.
Michael Breslin is a writer, performer, and producer best known for his play Circle Jerk, co-written with Patrick Foley, which won an Obie Award and was a 2021 Pulitzer Prize Finalist. He is a creative director of Fake Friends, a theater and media company, and recently developed and produced This American Wife. He also executive produced and co-wrote the book for
Ratatouille: The Tik Tok Musical, which raised $2 million for the Actors Fund.
Maia Novi is a performer and writer, recently seen in GIRLS by Brandon Jacobs Jenkins (Yale Rep), YELL: a “documentary” of my time here by Jeremy O. Harris, and Lorca’s Bodas de Sangre, directed by Tatiana Pandiani (Iseman Theatre). Currently, she is developing a feature film with
Film4 and eOne. Her work is centered around bilingualism and multiculturalism.
The Tank is a non-profit arts presenter and producer based in Manhattan, which aims to provide a platform for emerging artists. The organization strives to remove economic barriers to the creation of new work, while being inclusive and accessible.