Around Town

‘It’s So Exciting’: NCHS Grad Claire Ayoub’s Film, ‘Empire Waist,’ To Debut at Playhouse

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Growing up here in town, Claire Ayoub—New Canaan High School graduate, actor and award-winning writer/director—used to spend her entire summer at The Playhouse. “That’s where I would go to see all the different movies,” Ayoub recalled one morning last week. “And half the time it was just, ‘I’m with my friends. This is fun.’ ”

Since launching from NCHS, Ayoub—daughter of local gynecologists—has gone on to run a production company and write an award-winning solo show, “The Gynokid,” among other accomplishments. 

And this month, Ayoub makes a triumphant return to The Playhouse. Her new film, “Empire Waist,” a teen body image dramedy, debuts at the newly renovated Elm Street theater with an early screening this week and then opens Sept.

Around Town

NCHS Grad Claire Ayoub’s New Film ‘Empire Waist’ Notches Festival Wins [Q&A]

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Claire Ayoub’s film, “Empire Waist,” recently won “Best Empowerment Film” and “Best Social Impact Film” at the Sedona International Film Festival. It will be screened by 600 students as part of the Annapolis Film Festival’s Education Day this week, and there’s a public screening Saturday as part of that festival. And this just in: It’s also been accepted to the Dallas International Film Festival and Coney Island Film Festival. 

We talked to Ayoub—a New Canaan High School graduate known to many locals for her hysterical and moving solo show, “The Gynokid,” which she performed last year as a fundraiser for the Town Players of New Canaan’s home, the Powerhouse Theatre—about “Empire Waist,” her performing arts background in town and the early reception of the film. Here’s our exchange. ***

New Canaanite: Many people, including me, enjoyed your solo show “The Gynokid.”

Around Town

Podcast: Claire Ayoub’s Solo Show ‘The Gynokid’ Coming to Powerhouse Theatre

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This week on 0684-Radi0, our free podcast (subscribe here in the iTunes Store), we talk to Claire Ayoub, a New Canaan High School graduate and comedy writer whose award-winning solo show, “The Gynokid,” is coming to town next month. Presented by the Town Players of New Canaan, “The Gynokid” will be performed at the Powerhouse Theatre in Waveny from May 12 to 14 (just three shows, ticket info here). Here are recent episodes: