A pair of tickets to the Ensemble Studio Theatre 2018/2019 Mainstage Season production

Behind the Sheet

by Charly Evon Simpson
directed by Colette Robert*

Jan 9 - Feb 3, 2019

In 1846, Philomena is a pregnant slave woman assisting her owner, Dr. George Barry, as he tries to find the cure for fistulas and tending to his patients, other enslaved black women. Everything changes when he receives a new patient. Inspired by the life and experimentation of Dr. J Marion Sims and the lives of Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey, three of the enslaved black women he worked on, Behind the Sheet explores the untold stories behind the rise of modern gynecology.

Charly Evon Simpson’s plays include Jump, Behind the Sheet, Scratching the Surface, form of a girl unknown, and more. In 2019, Jump will be produced at PlayMakers Repertory Company, Milagro, and Actor's Express. Her work has been seen, heard, and/or developed with Ensemble Studio Theatre, Ars Nova, The Tank, Salt Lake Acting Company, PAGE 73’s Summer Residency, National New Play Network at its Kennedy Center MFA Playwright’s Workshop and National Showcase of New Plays, and others. She’s currently in The Amoralists’ 18/19 ‘Wright Club and she’s The Pack’s current playwright-in-residence. Charly was a Philadelphia Dramatists Center Playwright-in-Residence at Plays & Players Theatre and is a former member of SPACE on Ryder Farm’s The Working Farm, Clubbed Thumb’s 17/18 Early Career Writers’ Group, Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Youngblood, Pipeline Theatre Company’s PlayLab, and Fresh Ground Pepper’s PlayGround PlayGroup. BA: Brown. MSt: Oxford. MFA: Hunter College. www.charlyevonsimpson.com