Earworm

by Shualee Cook

Candles Out is a decade-old punk rock break up song seeking closure with five people whose lives they're entwined with in very different ways - Sasha and Jory, the two band members that wrote them; Trevor, the guy they wrote them about; Elise, Trevor's sister; and Kess, a music journalist who sets them all on a collision course with a past they may not be ready to deal with.

Candles Out is a decade-old punk rock break up song seeking closure with five people whose lives they're entwined with in very different ways - Sasha and Jory, the two band members that wrote them; Trevor, the guy they wrote them about; Elise, Trevor's sister; and Kess, a music journalist who sets them all on a collision course with a past they may not be ready to deal with.

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Earworm

Recommended by

  • Kate Busselle: Earworm

    As a movement specialist, I thoroughly enjoy and appreciate this play! Not only does this play showcase relatable characters, but also provides interesting challenges in terms of actors playing anthropomorphic personifications of songs! A beautiful story of how songs impact us and make us deal with truths about ourselves. Colleges and universities should seek this play out for production!

    As a movement specialist, I thoroughly enjoy and appreciate this play! Not only does this play showcase relatable characters, but also provides interesting challenges in terms of actors playing anthropomorphic personifications of songs! A beautiful story of how songs impact us and make us deal with truths about ourselves. Colleges and universities should seek this play out for production!

  • Lainie Vansant: Earworm

    Earworm is structurally unique and poetically beautiful, but that doesn't begin to describe how it touched my heart to read it. Cook has created something both incredibly specific and beautifully relatable in this piece in a way that surprised and moved me. I would love to see this staged -- there is so much potential in Cook's design choices, and it's sure to move an audience!

    Earworm is structurally unique and poetically beautiful, but that doesn't begin to describe how it touched my heart to read it. Cook has created something both incredibly specific and beautifully relatable in this piece in a way that surprised and moved me. I would love to see this staged -- there is so much potential in Cook's design choices, and it's sure to move an audience!

  • Jacob Juntunen: Earworm

    I got to see a workshop production of this show at Tesseract Theatre in St. Louis, and the script still sticks with me, just as its title suggests. A song weaves its way through a number of stories, with memorable characters, exciting representations of women and LGBTQ+ characters, and an ambitious formal structure that moves in and out of time with a huge payoff at the end. Definitely worth the read!

    I got to see a workshop production of this show at Tesseract Theatre in St. Louis, and the script still sticks with me, just as its title suggests. A song weaves its way through a number of stories, with memorable characters, exciting representations of women and LGBTQ+ characters, and an ambitious formal structure that moves in and out of time with a huge payoff at the end. Definitely worth the read!

View all 9 recommendations

Development History

  • Type Reading, Organization Campfire Theatre Festival, Year 2019
  • Type Residency, Organization The Tesseract Theatre Company, Year 2018
  • Type Reading, Organization Tesseract Theatre , Year 2018

Production History

  • Type Workshop, Organization Tesseract Theatre, Year 2019

Awards

  • Princess Grace Award
    New Dramatists
    Semi-Finalist
    2017