WEiRD: A staged reading

WEiRD: A Staged Reading & Fundraiser for ASK

Overview:

WEiRD is an ensemble play that explores adolescence through the eyes of Grayson, a 13-year-old neurodivergent science prodigy who sees the world in formulas and patterns. Recently placed in a high school biology class far beyond his age, Grayson becomes the emotional center of a loosely connected group of teens and adults navigating grief, identity, family fractures, and the pressure to conform. An allegorical surrealistic play, WEiRD unfolds through multimedia imagery, an immersive soundscape, and minimal set pieces that shape its dreamlike world.

Featuring: Nicholas Scott, Trudy Poux, Aliyah Gruberg-Revty, Josh Crouch, Lex Powell, Norm Magnusson, Arriella Guidubaldi, Hannah Munson, Johnny Poux.

Written & Directed by Amy Poux

The play centers on the quiet resilience of teens living on the edge: River, Grayson’s older sibling, who is quietly unraveling under the weight of adult responsibilities; Shiloh, Grayson’s best friend and confidant, and surprising empathy in Wren, an older student who becomes a quiet ally. Meanwhile, Wren’s girlfriend Dakota—a complicated teen grappling with queerness and internalized rage—feels threatened by Grayson’s bond with Wren and begins to lash out. Her brother Bryce, angry and adrift, enables her aggression while navigating his own toxic masculinity and family trauma.

Amy Poux, the project’s writer and director, brings a distinct theatrical style rooted in nonlinear structure, impressionistic imagery, and live audience interaction. Her work draws from Boal and Brechtian traditions, combining poetic storytelling with community engagement to create theater that invites transformation and radical empathy.

WEiRD continues Poux’s commitment to centering voices that are typically marginalized and those living at the intersection of difference and invisibility. The piece does not merely depict trauma, it models resilience, tenderness, and the radical possibilities of inclusion. Stylistically, WEiRD builds on Poux’s prior work (Nona’s Supper Club, Do Nothings TV pilot, and Take To The Bed) by incorporating stylized movement, poetic language, and musicality to draw the audience into the protagonist’s world view.

This staged reading is a fundraiser for Arts Society of Kingston in celebration of the new performing arts venue. All sales will go towards ASK’s operations and support of this vital new space for performing artists.