Meet Siena Marilyn Ledger

Today we’d like to introduce you to Siena Marilyn Ledger. They and their team shared their story with us below:

Siena Marilyn Ledger (Playwright) they/he/she is a playwright and actor from San Diego, CA. Their educational journey includes graduating from Cal State Fullerton’s BFA Acting program and completing the Tutterow Fellowship at Chicago Dramatists. Much of their work is characterized by its symbolic nature, delving into queer dynamics and experiences through the use of poetic language and exploration of spacetime. Ledger has been produced in various locations across the United States and abroad.

“Man and Moon” started as a collaborative collegiate project with director Kat Devoe-Peterson. In 2022, it debuted in three cities as part of the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere, with performances at Good Company Theatre, The 16th Street Theater NFP, and Oregon Contemporary Theatre.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The last text message I ever received from Kat said, “What if Man and Moon makes it to Broadway?” And then a follow-up, “Stranger things have happened.”

In college, Kat and I were artists in collaboration, constantly creating and offering encouragement. Then time passed, and lives drifted apart, and without much warning, Kat suddenly left Earth.

When Kat died, it made me realize that things happen before we understand them. There’s evidence of this in the sky and in our cells –– all planes of existence. We just forget. And in that time that it takes us to forget, we invent from within something to get through the days even though we don’t have the understanding yet… We still find something to believe in… I call it hope.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I offer minds hope in the form of stories to get them through time and perhaps help them understand a little bit more about a person’s journey.

Man and Moon is a story about unlikely friends –– Aaron, a transitioning man, meets Luna, a twelve-year-old girl with a deep passion for outer space, in the waiting room of a hospital’s Oncology Unit. Together, they learn how to wait, each navigating their own changing bodies and lives as they fit within the context of space and time.

I wrote Man and Moon for Kat in honor of their mother, who, against the odds, beat breast cancer multiple times. Kat directed the first production of Man and Moon at our college in a little black box theatre in 2016. Almost ten years later, I am so grateful to get to say Man and Moon have launched way beyond what I thought would ever be possible. Man and Moon has just completed its rolling world premiere as part of the National New Play Network. I wish Kat could have been here to see it.

That wish is what keeps me going. I remember that last text message and think about what if… How far can I reach with this story? Who else needs to hear it?

The most rewarding aspect of the premiere experience has been seeing how a single written framework can bring together so many people who also believe in hope and the power of friendship.

During the production of Man and Moon in Chicago, a group of teens at a local high school held a talkback. They discussed the loss of parents and friends, changes in identities, and finding ways to cope. They talked about how the play gave them hope, even if that hope is simply based on realizing they are not alone.

What does success mean to you?
Success to me is continued opportunities to collaborate with as many other creators as possible.

Simply put, I am a freelance writer determined to keep writing.

And of course –– for Kat –– my biggest wish is to get Man and Moon onto Broadway.

Stranger things have happened.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gayforplays.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tadasiena
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siena-ledger/
• Youtube: https://gayforplays.com/motions
• Other: https://gayforplays.com/man-and-moon

Image Credits
Photo 1: J. Peltier Photography Photo 2: Daren Scott Photo 3: Glenn Willoughby Photo 4: 16th Street Theater NFP Photo 5: Daren Scott