Victoria Fragnito
she/her/hers
ASTORIA, NY
Victoria M. Fragnito is an actor/director/teaching artist turned playwright. Her works have had successful workshops and readings in NYC and the U.K.
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Biography

Victoria M. Fragnito is an actor/director/teaching artist turned playwright. Her acting career has included regional theatre, touring companies, and independent films. She attended DeSales University and worked very closely with the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, assistant directing many of their critically acclaimed productions (Midsummer, The Playboy of the Western World, South Pacific, Sweeney Todd, Romeo and Juliet with Rick Sordelet, and more) and touring with their WillPower program as Ophelia in ‘Hamlet’ and Hermia in ‘Midsummer’. She was in the inaugural acting apprentice program at Florida Studio Theatre where she participated in their nationally recognized Write-A-Play program, performing the works of young playwrights for thousands of students from all over the state of Florida. The writing bug bit Victoria when she arrived in New York City and found the substantial roles for women to be slim to none. Her debut play ‘Scar Tissue’ was the first play selected for Match:Lit Theatre’s ‘New Words in a New Light’ reading series and has had a successful workshop at Dixon Place as part of their “Works in Progress” program. ‘Scar Tissue’ had a public staged reading at the historic The Old Joint Stock theatre in Birmingham, England as part of their Women’s History month in March, 2019. ‘Scar Tissue’ will be a part of the 2021 SheNYC Festival after a virtual festival this past August. Her new play, ‘With Dignity’ has been selected for multiple opportunites including The Bechdel Group's monthly reading series, The Tank's CyberTank program, and First Friday's with The Barrow Group.

Plays

Scar Tissue
by Victoria M. Fragnito

Time does not heal all wounds. Best friends Jessica and Sam each have scars from their pasts that have not healed. Jessica has never been able to get past an extremely damaging romantic relationship from her formative years in college, while Sam has been ignoring a painfully fractured relationship with her sister. After years of denial, an impromptu lunch date and a surprise overnight guest forces them both to confront these wounds and face what they didn’t want to see head on.

Cast:
JESSICA, female, late 20’s, has Italian heritage, otherwise no specific ethnicity SAM, female, late 20’s HANNAH, female, early to mid 30’s, Sam’s sister JACK, male, late 20’s to early 30’s LUKE, male, late 20’s, probably a white dude
With Dignity
by Victoria M. Fragnito

If you were dying, wouldn't you want a say in how you go? Marti is faced with the task of telling her Italian-Catholic family that she is taking advantage of her state's new Death with Dignity law. Join the Antonelli family for the most uncomfortable Sunday Dinner they've ever had. 

Cast:
CARLOTTA (LOTTIE), female, mid 60’s, Italian-American. A fiercely strong and formidable woman. She’s been dealt some lousy hands by life, but she picks up and carries on however she has to. GEORGIANA (GEORGIE), female, early 60s, Italian-American, sister-in-law to CARLOTTA. Jovial, sweet, and with no filter, you fall in love with her energy and spirit within 5 seconds of meeting her. The rough patches of her life haven’t hardened her like they did CARLOTTA. The confidant of the family. MICHAEL, male, mid-to-late 30s, Italian-American, oldest child to CARLOTTA. Kind, bluntly honest to a fault, he holds nothing back. After falling into the ‘man of the house’ role at a rather young age, he’s become the family protector, especially to his sister. JENNY, female, mid 30s, NOT Italian-American, wife to MICHAEL. Sweet and slightly aloof, she has the free spirit of a child. It’s super hard to get mad at her sweetness and innocence. She consistently gets underestimated - she’s a lot sharper than she gets credit for. MARTINA (MARTI), early 30s, Italian-American, youngest child to CARLOTTA. Strong willed and stubborn as a mule, she takes after her mother. Not one to be told what to do or how to run her life, she marches to the beat of her own drum despite what anyone might think of her choices. SHAYLEEN, early 30s, NOT Italian-American, wife to MARTINA. Relaxed and easy-going, she is a comfortable presence to be around. Easy-going does not mean pushover. She will stand up and speak her mind when she feels she needs to.

Successes

Scar Tissue was selected for SheNYC's 2020 Summer Festival! Due to COVID-19, we presented a virtual presentation of the piece and are cautiously optimistic for a live return to the stage for the 2021 Festival!