Breaking Glass: a solo play inspired by the life of Julia Margaret Cameron

We are excited to bring live theater to the Lyman Allyn Art Museum on Saturday, April 4, 2026!

Date: Saturday, April 4, 3 pm

Cost: Suggested $10 donation

Register by emailing [email protected] or calling 860-443-2545 ext. 2129

Breaking Glass is a solo play inspired by the life of Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron. The one-woman play, written and performed by Emma Palzere-Rae, will be performed as a staged reading. With our current photographic exhibits, this promises to be a don’t-miss event, part of Lyman Allyn’s Free First Saturday.

The play shares the life and photography of Julia Margaret Cameron. Set in 1874, prior to Cameron’s return to India, the audience is invited into Julia’s Glass House to be a part of her photography.

Julia Margaret Cameron took up photography at the relatively late age of 48. She produced 900 photographs in a 12-year period, capturing ‘famous men and fair women’ in portraits and tableaus. By experimenting with the art form, she was among the first art photographers. Yet, as a woman, she faced fierce criticism.

Breaking Glass is directed by Kato McNickle, with Production Stage Management by Carin Jennie Estey. Cultural Consultant is Sarbani Hazra. Eileen Donovan is the coordinator on behalf of Lyman Allyn Art Museum.

THE EVENT

3:00 pm — Fully staged reading of Breaking Glass, written and performed by Emma Palzere-Rae

NOTE: Admission to the museum is free all day. Come early and take in three photography exhibitions: Dorothea Lange: LIFE WORK, Photography and the Painted Image, and G. Roger Clements: Facades of New London..

Presented in partnership with Be Well Productions – www.bewellproductions.com.

About the Artists:

Emma Palzere-Rae (Actress/ Playwright/Producer) has appeared in regional, stock and off-Broadway theater, as well as in film, television and radio. She founded Be Well Productions in 1989, touring several critically acclaimed one-woman plays on characters as diverse as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Victoria Woodhull, Emily Dickinson and Gilda Radner. In 1990, she banded together with other female solo artists to create New York City’s Womenkind Festival. Favorite roles include Mrs. Miller in “Ah, Wilderness!”(East Lynne Theater Company); Mother Miriam in “Agnes of God” (Madison Lyric Stage); and Sister Aloysius in “Doubt” (Emerson Theater Collaborative). Currently, she is the Associate Director at Artreach, Inc. (Norwich, CT) which provides arts programs to adults living with mental illnesses. A graduate of Emerson College, she is an active member of Actor’s Equity, the Dramatists Guild (where she serves as the regional representative for New England – West), and serves on the The League of Professional Theatre Women – CT Chapter’s Steering Committee and as Co-Chair for the New London Arts Council.

Kato McNickle (Director) is a writer, director, producer, caricaturist, music-maker, and puppeteer steeped in the Connecticut theater scene. Their plays can be found on NPX and in the collections Best Plays from American Festivals 2015 and Best American Short Plays 2018-2019 from Applause Publishing. Kato is producer of New London’s Mayfly Playhouse, a 24-hour theater project; vice-president of the Mystic Paper Beasts; a member of The Dramatists Guild and the Star Wars Fan Club.

Carin Jennie Estey (Production Stage Manager) is thrilled to be working again with Be Well Productions. Based out of Southeastern Connecticut, Carin works largely as a stage manager, director, teaching artist, and intimacy professional. Carin has been the recipient of several grants including The Elizabeth L. Mahaffey Arts Administration Fellowship for 2022. Carin is the event coordinator at Artreach, Inc., a teaching artist with Oddfellows Playhouse, and the founder of Safe Spaces, an organization that offers professional development training on creating equitable, consent forward, and trauma informed rehearsal and performance spaces. Carin has previously worked as a virtual designer and production stage manager for Be Well Productions for Aunt Hattie’s House: Reconstructed and The Woodhull Project. Additional information available at www.Carin-Jennie-Estey.com