Upstaged!: Draw Me Without Boundaries by Margaret Gibson

Upstaged!: Draw Me Without Boundaries by Margaret Gibson
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2025, PALACE THEATER

Waterbury, CT –On Saturday, September 20th at 2:00 p.m., Connecticut State Poet Laureate (2019-2022) Margaret Gibson, will journey into the deep connections that are possible between people despite their physical isolation. Draw Me Without Boundaries is a collection of poems told in inner monologues between a woman and her granddaughter. Gibson, alongside actress Tori Richnavsky, will bring to life this moving theatrical adaptation of her poems.

“Draw me without boundaries,” Lena says to her granddaughter Zoe, an artist.

The poems are their love story, told in their voices: inner monologues whose prose and poetry are set against the shifting background of global climate crisis and the COVID pandemic.

Margaret Gibson has published 14 books of poems, most recently Draw Me Without Boundaries. Prior to this non-traditional book of poetry and prose, Gibson brought out a trilogy, which includes Broken Cup, Not Hearing the Wood Thrush and The Glass Globe, which won the Connecticut Book Award in Poetry. Her awards and honors include the Lamont Selection, Melville Kane Award, and the Connecticut Book Award (twice). She was a Finalist for the National Book Award (1993) and for the Poets’ Prize (2016). With a grant from the Academy of American Poets, she edited an anthology, Waking Up to the Earth: Connecticut Poets in a Time of Global Climate Crisis. She is a Professor Emerita at UConn.

Tori Richnavsky has been involved in theater both on stage and behind the scenes since the age of 5. She graduated from the Warner Theatre Center for Arts Education in Torrington, CT, and received her BA in Theatre with an acting concentration from Columbia College in Chicago. She has performed with many theaters throughout Chicago and Connecticut, most recently spending most of her time with Phoenix Stage Company in Oakville, Connecticut. Tori also served for a time as Chair of the Connecticut Community Theatre Association.
Tickets are $35 and are offered on a first-come, first-served basis as seating is limited.
Tickets and more information are available at palacetheaterct.org or 203-346-2000. This event is made possible through the support of Connecticut Community Foundation, Mary Ellen & Tim Rourke, The United Way of Greater Waterbury, Thomaston Savings Bank, and The Village at East Farms.

About the Upstaged! series

Our newest addition to the Spotlight Series, UPstaged!, is an eclectic collection of theatrical experiences presented in an intimate setting. Storytelling is at the heart of each presentation, inviting the audience to engage and explore.