By Eva Trieger
SAN DIEGO — If asked, the average person would probably have no trouble coming up with the names of female actors, entertainers or celebrities…and the vast majority of them would be under 40 years of age.
Everyone knows of singer/songwriter Taylor Swift. Most people would recognize actor Emma Stone and activist Greta Thunberg. What happened to women of a certain age in the eyes of society? How did this particular demographic become invisible?
This is precisely at the heart of the What Next? Collective. In a recent Zoom interview, I caught up with co-founders Melissa Jordan Grey (producer) and Jena Joyce (director). The two women have known each other for decades. Their kids grew up together.
Melissa, a musician, writer and comedian and Jena, a lawyer with a background in acting, were aligned from the start. Melissa was taking classes at La Jolla Playhouse and prodded Jena to join her. During the pandemic, Melissa Jordan Grey used the isolation to write. She was delivering meals for Jewish Family Service and wrote about the people she encountered as she brought them sustenance. During the same period, Jena re-emerged in Coronado Playhouse’s online productions.
Following the pandemic a shift had occurred. The What Next? Collective was formed to embrace and explore this evolution in the lives of women over 40. Relationships had changed, some women had become empty nesters, others had lost their jobs. These two women embraced the opportunity to take the reins and ask the question, “What do you want to do with your life?”
Life’s demands had made so many things obligatory for women; it seemed a luxury to step back and question what makes one feel good and creative. “Women’s work” is an umbrella term, encompassing careerists, volunteers, caregivers, moms, grandmas, etc. Women over 40 frequently lose their community as they are pulled in many disparate directions. The expectations of and for women is worthy of excavating and performing.
Park Bench Confessions is the fictional Friedland Park setting where five staged readings provide “comedy, catharsis, and a whole lot of “Yes, been there.” These personal and relatable tales will be portrayed by local San Diego actors including Julie Alexandria, Isabel Canzoneri, Susan Clausen, Maria Costello, Blair Hatch, Analia Romero and Naomi Welsh.
This grass roots project is self-funded by the collective. “The Collective centers on the voices of those too often left out of the narrative, with work that’s gutsy, grounded and gloriously honest.” The plays will be performed in a single engagement at the National Comedy Theatre. The prototype was performed at the La Jolla Community Center where every seat was filled. This told producers Jena and Melissa that audiences believe in the legitimacy and vision of this project.
According to co-founder Melissa Jordan Grey, “Our ensemble has grown, our voices have deepened, and the stories we’re sharing this season are bolder, sharper, and even more unapologetically real. You’ll meet women navigating bake sales, board rooms, trampolines, and generational trauma—sometimes with grace, sometimes with profanity. And often with both.”
Each of the five stories was written by a woman between mid-40s to mid 60s. The scripts were created by Lindsey Salatka, Julie Alexandria, Melissa Jordan Grey, Lolo Moreno Ines and Caroline Gilman. The relatable and resonant themes include aging, unrealized dreams, generational expectations and limitations, and self-realization.
Both women also share Jewish heritage. I was curious to know if this had informed their mission. Melissa explained that she learned early on that she shouldn’t expect “that the world is going to bring success to my door.” Her childhood experience taught her that if you want something you go out and make it happen.” She believes that her interest in stand-up comedy was born out of being an outsider. Intellectual comedy was inherited from her mother and grandmother who used humor as a salve.
The stories are not exclusively Jewish but are experiences common to all women of a certain age. The wish is to create community and a diverse network for women, where all are encouraged and welcome to express themselves and grow with the work.
Melissa described herself and her co-founder, Jena, as Lucy and Ethel–both overachievers. Through What Next? Collective they want to move “just a little further from the starting line” and continue to do that each year. Mainly, they want the audience to come to the show, see themselves in the stories, have fun and stay for the talkback at Shakespeare’s Pub afterward.
Park Bench Confessions will be performed only on May 10th at 4 pm.
The National Comedy Theatre is located at 3717 India Street, San Diego 92103.
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Eva Trieger is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts.