Corn Bread & Feta Cheese: Growing Up Fat & Albanian

Rocky from the Bronx Productions and teatro oscuro present Corn Bread & Feta Cheese: Growing Up Fat & Albanian, a solo-show written and performed by actress and comedienne Elza Zagreda.

Who or what are Albanians? Elza unravels the mysteries of the oldest people living in the Balkans… so old, they speak a language with no known root! Follow her story as the fiery, outspoken eldest daughter who grows up in a strict Albanian household where women’s contributions are dismissed and their hopes and dreams ignored. With her coming of age, Elza grapples with body image issues, acne, bad ’80s music, mullets and having to hide shotguns in her underwear for special occasions.

Mesmerized by the past, Elza tries to carve out her own distinct future while living on the cusp of two jarringly different experiences: an “American” one, filled with freedom, individuality and fun and a quintessentially Albanian one, consumed with gender constraints, conformity, and tradition. Elza zig-zags around the world trying to escape her reality and establish her own identity amidst the restraints of her culture, finally discovering her own unique voice in a surprising place: the life and words of her great aunt, who lived back in Albania half a century ago.