This is some really fun news. Those of you who follow me on Notes or Instagram will have already seen it, but I thought I would share this with readers here. About a month ago my German translator got in touch with me to let me know that the actress Jutta Seifert wanted to adapt my book High Heel into a one-woman play in Germany. She has now acquired the theatrical rights, and the production is planned to open in September of 2024!
The first performance is going to be held inside an abandoned shoe factory (!) and then will tour all over the country. One of her previous shows, another book adaptation called Courasche (“Courage”), even traveled to the U.S. for a few performances in Los Angeles.
This is the second cross-arts pollination that my book has experienced this fall. A framed excerpt was included in an art show about gender and beauty at the University of Connecticut, and now this.
I really can’t tell you how pleased I am that my text has resonated with other artists across different media. High Heel is not just about shoes, but uses the cultural history of high heels as a jumping off place to explore sex, myth, fairy tales, gender performance, and the sexual politics of fashion. There are scenes with the women from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Daphne and Atalanta, Sylvia Plath, sufragettes, 1970s glam rock, Marie Antoinette, and many others—including myself, falling down a flight of stairs in high heels.
I don’t yet know what Jutta plans to do with the story, but I’m very much looking forward to the result!
Enjoy my writing and want to support it? Become a paid subscriber today. You’ll get full access to craft talks, essays, notebook entries, sketchbook pages, and the popular semiannual write-along workshop Essay Camp. You can also buy my books The Oyster War and High Heel, “like” my posts by tapping the heart icon, share them on Substack Notes or other social media, and/or send them to a friend.
With a theatrical presentation-- “Break a leg”
Then kick off those high heels and strut around in bare feet. All hoorays you.
As we say in Portugal. Break a leg 👏