Who Are We?
Sapphest was founded in 2024, when producer Marena Faye had a minor epiphany while watching Lempicka on Broadway. Seeing such a beautiful and raw portrayal of a sapphic relationship onstage brought up a wave of emotion. When Marena spoke with other sapphic friends who had also seen the show, they shared how seen they felt, and how frustrated they were by the overall lack of sapphic representation in theatre.
This inspired her to create a platform for sapphic playwrights to tell their own stories. Within a month, and with the help of her associate producer and best friend, Mary, she decided to found a sapphic play festival in Brooklyn. Alongside a crew of former theatre kids, she produced the first installment that summer.
The Sapphest producing team includes founding producer and artistic director Marena Faye, associate producer and artistic advisor Mary Kamitaki, Technical Director Maggie Dunn, Graphic Designer and Operations Support Alexa Powell, Social Media Manager Vivian Hunt, Resident Dramaturg Antonia Cruz-Kent, and Operations Support and Development Erin Ellbogan. So far, we’ve collaborated with hundreds of artists to bring Sapphest events to life!
Marena Faye is a theatre director, producer, educator, arts management leader, and applied theatre practitioner with over a decade of experience creating and leading theatre and acting programs. She holds a master's degree in Applied Theatre from Goldsmiths, University of London, and has spent much of her career working with young people through theatre education, directing, program leadership, and workshop facilitation. Her work has included directing student productions, developing original theatre programming, and facilitating workshops exploring identity, prejudice, resilience, and self-expression. She founded Sapphest in 2024 to create more opportunities for sapphic playwrights and artists to develop new work and bring their stories to the stage.
Meet Marena Faye
Our Artistic ProcessWe believe in creating opportunities for sapphic artists to tell stories that are often underrepresented onstage. Each festival begins with an open call for original short plays inspired by sapphic music. Selected works are brought to life through collaborations between playwrights, directors, actors, and our producing team. Our process centers artistic collaboration, creative exploration, and supporting new voices. We work with artists throughout the production process, from selecting and developing work to assembling creative teams and bringing the final performances to the stage. Through this work, we aim to create an environment where artists can take creative risks, build relationships, and contribute to a growing community of sapphic theatre-makers.
A few Qs and a few As
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The term sapphic comes from the Greek poet Sappho, who is celebrated for her poetry exploring themes of love and desire between women. In the context of Sapphest, and as it’s more commonly understood in queer spaces, sapphic is an inclusive umbrella term for folks who identify as women, nonbinary, trans, two-spirit, genderqueer, and agender, and who experience love or attraction for others within these communities. Sapphics may identify as lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, aromantic, queer, or something else entirely. Because the term is intentionally expansive, it resists rigid definitions.
Sapphic is not only an identity. It is also a community, a culture, and a celebration of both softness and strength, decadence, revelry, and ethereal beauty. It reflects a way of moving through the world with deep emotion, tenderness, and sacred connection. Sapphest welcomes all self-identified Sapphics and allies.
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Definitely not! Sapphest events are designed to celebrate sapphic art and community, but allies are more than welcome.
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Follow @sapphestnyc on Instagram, or sign up for our mailing list below to receive updates about play submission opportunities, auditions, and events.
SAPPHEST IN THE NEWS
SAPPHEST IN THE NEWS
Sapphest has been featured on
Evil Thespian podcast, GO Magazine,
Gay Buffet on Substack, donyc.com, Broadwayworld.com, and more!