Panini Press

Overview

It’s a coming out party! Sourced from interviews with 20+ trans and queer people who recognized their queerness in isolation, Panini Press welcomes you into a party organized by solo performer Hal Martenson to celebrate a lucky audience member’s small and large triumphs over the last three years. After 2020, the *Pandilini* condensed our lives into tiny boxes – our homes, the squares on screens, scraps of fabric on our faces. Somewhere inside that collective trauma, there were some unexpected gifts – the worlds inside of us opened up for the first time and we were able to look in the mirror and recognize ourselves for who we really are. But when we turned around, there was no one to celebrate with us. That ends today – with the party we all deserve!

About the Artist

Hal is a trans nonbinary performer and writer residing in South Philadelphia, PA. After concluding a career in arts management - including stints at FringeArts, Pig Iron Theatre Company, and Theatre Horizon - and taking a step back from the field for a brief three-year break, Hal is tip-toeing back into the world they love, hopeful to redefine their relationship with theater as an artist first. Hal holds a Masters Degree in Theater from Villanova University, where they first explored a nonbinary gender identity as the titular role in Everyman, as well as the ecstatic worlds of Charles Mee as Thyona in Big Love. Previous to relocating to Philadelphia, Hal ran the New Haven Theater Company, where they directed Talk Radio in an old radio station and piped the sound out to the street, and Urinetown in an abandoned storefront. They also frequently collaborated with A Broken Umbrella Theater Company, including on a site-specific commission from the New Haven Public Library. Hal is inspired by messy, collaborative work that invites audiences into the production and actively builds community through art. 

Credits