October 28th

November 11th (with discussant folklorist Kay Turner)

7:30 pm

City Lore

56 E. First Street (F Train to 2nd Ave, or #6 Train to Bleecker St.)

Manhattan, NY

RSVP via Eventbrite here. 

Perfect for anyone fascinated with contemporary witchery and Halloween, Modern Witches is a solo performance about Virginia Woolf, queer relationship anxiety, and, of course, witchcraft. From the storefront of a mystic shop to the rabbit hole of #WitchTok, actress Kate struggles to create the perfect self-tape audition as Virginia Woolf, though she tries to bolster her performance with various magical ingredients. She unravels, revealing that she is frozen in the midst of running away from her totally normal, healthy relationship — and does not understand why. From a state of deep desperation, Kate accidentally summons the ghost of Virginia Woolf, whose bold approach to life helps her to work through the root of her fear.

Katie Kopajtic is a writer, actor and producer whose work spans theatre, film and digital publication.

Past work includes Lipstick Lobotomy (Columbia University stage reading), Confessions of a Personal Trainer (Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2017, 59E59, The Tank), Modern Witches (The Barbershop Theatre, Charm City Fringe Festival, River’s Edge Theatre Company), and “The Actor” (New York Short Film Festival 2018).

In addition to acting and producing, Katie is a writer. Recently published essays include “Queer Fandom is a Recommended Drug” (Electric Literature, upcoming), “Longing for the Magic of My Childhood Home” (Catapult, 2021), and “Best Club, Worst People” (the Under Review).

Kay Turner is an artist and scholar working across disciplines including performance, writing, music, exhibition curation, and public and academic folklore. She is noted for her feminist writings and performances on subjects such as women’s home altars, fairy tale witches, and historical goddess figures. She co-founded “Girls in the Nose,” a lesbian feminist rock punk band that anticipated riot grrl. Her books include Beautiful Necessity: The Art and Meaning of Women’s Altars, Transgressive Tales: Queering the Grimms, and Before and After: What the Witch’s Nose Knows That Andy Warhol’s Nose Doesn’t Know. Her What A Witch performance series continues at Five Myles Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, on October 30 and November 6 with “A Hekate Supper,” Parts 1 and 2, featured in conjunction with the exhibit “Hekate’s Grove.”