Drop of Kindness

by David Hilder

Next year, but sideways:
In Lanna’s kitchen, in her childhood home behind its strong electrified fence, she works and writes and grows herbs in a drawer. But when Gwennie returns – after more than 20 years – two sisters have to get reacquainted. Stalwart Jerry is next door, Lanna’s faithful friend, but it is the magnetic, gorgeous James who draws both women to him like moths to a beacon of light. A play about...

Next year, but sideways:
In Lanna’s kitchen, in her childhood home behind its strong electrified fence, she works and writes and grows herbs in a drawer. But when Gwennie returns – after more than 20 years – two sisters have to get reacquainted. Stalwart Jerry is next door, Lanna’s faithful friend, but it is the magnetic, gorgeous James who draws both women to him like moths to a beacon of light. A play about the perils inherent in an increasingly fractured society, with laughter and woe.

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Drop of Kindness

Recommended by

  • Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend: Drop of Kindness by David Hilder
    “

    Oh boy. This play, set in the dystopian not-too-distant future, is about so many things blended together: sibling responsibility and rivalry, anxiety, cults, radicalization... the list goes on, yet the play doesn't feel like a wild mess pulling in many different directions. It is tightly focused on two sisters, reunited for the first time in twenty years. The big themes of the play swirl around them, making this feel like an intimate story about very big things.

    Oh boy. This play, set in the dystopian not-too-distant future, is about so many things blended together: sibling responsibility and rivalry, anxiety, cults, radicalization... the list goes on, yet the play doesn't feel like a wild mess pulling in many different directions. It is tightly focused on two sisters, reunited for the first time in twenty years. The big themes of the play swirl around them, making this feel like an intimate story about very big things.

    ”
  • Cheryl Bear: Drop of Kindness by David Hilder
    “

    A terrific story of sisterhood that is so richly layered, complex and real in who they are and their ability to connect underneath all of it. Beautifully done.

    A terrific story of sisterhood that is so richly layered, complex and real in who they are and their ability to connect underneath all of it. Beautifully done.

    ”
  • Tiffany Antone: Drop of Kindness by David Hilder
    “

    This play's dystopian dysfunction grabbed my attention from the start. The world is populated with quirks designed to unsettle, and the characters are mysterious but very human. Hilder weaves themes of sibling love, sibling rivalry, guru-ism, cult-ism, and terrorism, into one big creepy quilt of a play, and I enjoyed every stitch.

    This play's dystopian dysfunction grabbed my attention from the start. The world is populated with quirks designed to unsettle, and the characters are mysterious but very human. Hilder weaves themes of sibling love, sibling rivalry, guru-ism, cult-ism, and terrorism, into one big creepy quilt of a play, and I enjoyed every stitch.

    ”
View all 6 recommendations

Character Information

  • Lanna
    An agoraphobe.
    early to middle 40s
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      40s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American,
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American,
      Indigenous, First Nation, or Native American,
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic,
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American,
      Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander,
      South Asian or South Asian American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • Gwennie
    Rough around the edges.
    late 30s to early 40s
    Cis female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s,
      40s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American,
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American,
      Indigenous, First Nation, or Native American,
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic,
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American,
      Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander,
      South Asian or South Asian American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • Jerry
    Stalwart, having been through a rough patch
    later 50s, early 60s
    Cis male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      50s,
      60s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American,
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American,
      Indigenous, First Nation, or Native American,
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic,
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American,
      Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander,
      South Asian or South Asian American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Man
  • James
    Attractive, appealing, magnetic.
    early to middle 30s
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American,
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American,
      Indigenous, First Nation, or Native American,
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic,
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American,
      Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander,
      South Asian or South Asian American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Man

Development History

  • Reading, The Blank Theatre's Living Room Series, 2014
  • Reading, Stella Adler Studios, 2013