PrideFest at the TankpresentsHomeBody: A Queer Modern Folktale
Two nights only! Friday June 27 @ 7pm and Saturday June 28 @ 9:30pm
THE TANK 312 W 36th Street, New York City
HomeBody is a love story, a folktale, a modern myth. Silvia, a young woman, is born with an Octopus inside of her chest. Despite her chatty ever-growing Octopus, Silvia is so very lonely until she meets Blue, a charming stranger, with a heart the size of a whale. The two set off on an adventure to the bottom of the sea, filled with lobster lovers, fabulous fish, a lonely baby turtle, a hungry seagull, and a heroic amount of fears faced. At the bottom of the sea, the two, together, transform into what they’ve been fighting, what they’ve always been.
Anahita Monfared
Event Producer and the role of The Octopus
Anahita Monfared is an actor, writer, and dancer based in NYC/Lenapehoking. They experiment with text, movement, and performance art to explore the body politic, gender/sexuality, violence, disability, and disobedience. Upcoming: 1001 Nights (La MaMa Experimental Theater Club), Select T.V./Film: “Firefly Lane” (Netflix) , “National Parks” (ABC) and For Her, a feature film centering the ongoing Woman Life Freedom revolution in Iran.They are the Director of Development at Dyke Theater Co. and the Associate Artistic Director of MENA Artists Initiative. A graduate of NYU Tisch (BFA Drama ’24).
Michela Murray (Silvia)
Michela Murray is a queer Actor, Drummer, and Theatre-Maker based in NYC. Recent Credits: Trying For Hedda (La Mama ETC), Koi-Coy (Lenfest Center), Titus Andronicus (La Mama ETC), 24 Hour Plays: Nationals 2024 (Off-Broadway). Training: The Theatre School at DePaul University (BFA Acting). She feels extremely lucky to be a part of Homebody.
Isa Garcia (Blue)
Isa DeLeón Garcia (they/elle) is a born-and-bred Tejané playwright, actor, deviser, dramaturg, director and producer based in New York City. BFA: NYU Tisch. Isa is the Founding Artistic Director of a new theater collective, Dyke Theater Co. (DTC), committed exclusively to theater made by and for dykes (and those who love them). DTC’s inaugural productions included ASÍ, written and performed by Garcia, and So Far Away, written by Jaden Tyler Urso (The Tank: PrideFest, 2024). Garcia was the Associate Producer of The Tank’s LimeFest 2024 which featured 4 DTC productions: $7 Girl, Spew’s Little Baby, Sam and Kiki’s Big Gay Road Trip, and the premiere of their original play, Sublimation (Dyke Theater Co., The Tank: LimeFest, 2024). Select acting credits include: DEZ in Jackie Heck’s absurd full-length play, The Final Hole (The Tank: DarkFest, 2023); LEE in Noma Mirny’s Among The Coats (Good Apples Collective: Rootstock Series, 2024); LOU in Noma Mirny’s Are You Listening? (Playwrights Horizons Downtown, 2024); SARA in Florence Klein’s The Cut (The Vino Theater, Disrupt The Cis-tem, 2025); PERFORMER in Sophie McIntosh’s 4044 4040 4409 (The Brick, ?!: New Works 2025). Producer and Director of Chick Magnet: A New Play Incubator (Dyke Theater Co., The Vino Theater, 2025). Isa is very excited to work on Homebody again!
Sadie Shea (Whale)
Sadie Shea is an NYC based actor, dancer, and cellist. She is a recent graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts where she studied at the Atlantic Acting School, Experimental Theatre Wing, NYU Berlin program, and Classical Studio. Credits: I’ll Be There (feature film), A Guide to Self-Synthesis (Opera Lab Berlin), in lucem (Tisch Drama Stage), Twelfth Night (NYU Classical Studio) and Homebody (Tisch Student Works). In 2024 she premiered her new piece, SMOKESHOW, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She would like to thank the entire Homebody team for their support and trust.
Ava Martinez (Leon/ Sea Turtle)
Ava Martinez is so excited to be returning to HomeBody! Ava is originally from Pueblo, Colorado, but now calls NYC home. She is a full time performer and teacher with her BFA from NYU Tisch. Previous credits include: Shimmer Fish & Others in the national tour of The Pout Pout Fish (TWUSA), Ethyl & Others in the national tour of Pete’s Big Hollywood Adventure (TWUSA), Antigonus/Autolycus in The Winter’s Tale (The Classical Studio/NYU), The Stage Manager in Our Town (Stella Adler/NYU), Mary in the Off-Broadway world premiere of Safe Hands the Musical (SheNYC) amongst many others. She just wanted to tell you she loves you!
Vivian Lemons (Leanne/Waiter/Seagull)
Vivian Lemons (she/her) is ecstatic to be a part of HomeBody for PrideFest. She loves nothing more than ensemble stories told by primarily queer voices, and to be able to collaborate with people she loves and admires is such a joy. Vivian is a member of LoveChild Theatre Company, and was last seen as Liz Truss (and others) in Dave and Boris Killed the Cat. She was also seen as Angelica in The Rover at Tisch Drama Stage and Virginia in Decision Height at Stella Adler. Vivian holds a BFA from NYU Tisch Drama. She would like to thank her incredible friends, family, teachers, and everyone else who has encouraged her to keep being her weird self.
Creative Team
Véro Matheny — Co-writer / Director
Claire McGinlay — Co-writer / Director
Molly Litvin — Production Stage Manager and Sound Designer
Luca Plitz — Scenic Design
Rhys Luke — Props and Puppets
Seo Won Yun — Costume Design
Olivier Plamondon — Lighting Design
Vivian Hunt — Social Media Manager
ARTIUM: OMNI 