Marissa Alaniz launches "Elizabeth," in conversation with Rhiannon Ling

Celebrate the publication of the complex and suspenseful true-crime play Elizabeth with local playwright Marissa Alaniz and members of the original cast, in conversation with dramaturg Rhiannon Ling.

Join us for a reading and moderated conversation, audience Q&A, reception, and book signing.

About the play

In January of 1947, Elizabeth Short’s body was discovered in an abandoned Los Angeles lot. She had been brutally murdered by an unknown killer, and a botched investigation launched her into true crime fame. Nearly a century has passed and The Black Dahlia case is no closer to being solved. Following the events leading up to her death and the subsequent investigation, this play recenters Elizabeth in her own story, through the eyes of Aggie Underwood, a famous female reporter and Elizabeth herself. Elizabeth examines our relationship and engagement with the true crime genre and celebrates the personhood of America’s most famous murder victim.

Praise for Elizabeth

“This is a very strong piece of work. [Alaniz explores] the death of Elizabeth with a clear feminist stance, and the non-linear structure displays a confidence of dramatic form that allows for complexity, mystery and suspense… [Alaniz counters] a typically male-dominated storytelling form by enriching the portrayal of Elizabeth, and by keeping her alive in the play’s dramaturgical conception, [ensuring] that she is able to speak with her own voice.”

“The dialogue is rich with subtext and rarely feels [expositional] – a massive feat for a play grounded in so much historical context. The language is poetic, but never indulgent.”

About the playwright

Marissa Alaníz is a queer Latina actor and writer of stage and screen. A graduate from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, she holds a BFA in Drama from NYU and an MFA from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, where she wrote extensively on true crime, panfictionality, the intersections of comedy and horror, and ethical depictions of sex work in media. Her plays have been seen at Zeider’s American Dream Theatre in Virginia Beach, VA, Mad Cow Theatre Company in Orlando, FL, Oklahoma City University, Irvington Theatre, and all over New York City and London. She often explores themes of queerness, sexuality, quotidian horror, trauma, female stories, and misfits. She is a member of AEA and a published pin up model. marissaalaniz.com

About Rhiannon Ling

Rhiannon Ling (she/her) is a bisexual theatre- and filmmaker, specializing in the development of community-engaged story across mediums. Her work often revolves around gender and sexuality and its entwining with history, politics, the arts, and identity; she is passionate about amplifying the voices of those silenced, providing unity in discomfort, and sparking genuine query between opposition. Select credits: All the Daughters of Viola’s House, The City of Forget-Me-Nots, Monsters in Our Blood, Best Time to Be Alive, and (beyond) Doomsday Scrolling. Honored by the O’Neill, SheNYC, and NormalAve. Recipient of the Mayor’s Arts Award, the NEA ArtWorks Grant, and the RedLine Arts in Society Grant. Proud member of AEA, Rewrite the BiLine, Ring of Keys, LMDA. BFA, CAP21 Conservatory. rhiannonlingnyc.com