LEO AND LISA

BY REMY VAN COLLEN

Taking the renaissance and resetting it in contemporary Brooklyn, we find Leonardo Davinci (let’s call him “Leo”) scrambling to find pants to meet a potential patron. His lover, Andrew Salai, is not too helpful. The patron, Francis Giocondo (“Frankie”) manages to convince Leo to paint a portrait of his wife, Lisa, for free, with the promise of sending his wealthy friends to Leo should he like the painting. Upon meeting Lisa, Leo is immediately transfixed by her beauty, making a bit of a fool of himself. Lisa, intent on learning more about the self-proclaimed genius, pushes Leo past his comfort zones, and reveals a layer of loneliness that her kept life has brought her. Frankie stops by for surprise check-ins on Leo’s progress, irking Leo’s organized sensibility. Lisa and Andrew have a chance meeting in the studio (where neither was requested to be). Leo rages against the two of them for stepping outside the boundaries he has set. Lisa storms out, but Andrew comforts Leo, showering him in compliments, which Leo does not reciprocate. Lisa returns, setting new boundaries of her own with Leo, who is now more open to being known by his model. Frankie pops by and is taken by Andrew, offering him whatever he wants to sleep with him. Andrew spits in his face, and Frankie calls off the portrait, leading Leo to berate Andrew. Andrew takes Frankie up on his offer, giving Leo the $4500 dollars he needs, and leaving. Lisa returns of her own accord, and the two sleep together before discussing why it is they want each other, and why it is they won’t ever work. They devise a plan to sell the portrait together so they can both get what they want.

THE PLAYWRIGHT

Remy Van Collen (they/them) is an NYC based playwright originally from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. They hold a BA in Theatre Performance from Wagner College. While at Wagner, they became Resident Playwright for Completely Student Productions, one of the student run theatre organizations on campus. Through CSP, they premiered Guy Friends: An Original Musical and This Time Tomorrow: A Song Cycle on stage, as well as virtual productions of Daughters of Leda and Litmus Test. They also wrote a virtual adaptation of Edward II which premiered with Shakespeare on the Oval, another student run theatre org. After graduation, their one-act play Body Count was accepted to Emerging Artists Theatre’s Spark Festival. Their full length play, Non-Disclosure, was then part of All Out Arts’s Fresh Fruit Festival, celebrating queer plays and playwrights. In 2023, they were invited back to Wagner as a guest artist to participate in a 2 year New Works Incubator of their play, Daughters of Leda. Year 1 presented a workshop production followed by a year long editing process, and Year 2 presented a full scale production of the completed draft. Their work has always been centered in bringing people together and how debate on stage brings us closer to understanding each other. Isolation only exists without conversation. Their pieces have been described as “playfully vulgar,” “cunningly stupid,” and "begrudgingly sincere.” And they agree with all of the above!