There's an Ocean in Nebraska

by Dana Lynn Formby

In the topsy-turvy world of There's an Ocean in Nebraska, adventures are quickly threatening chaos. 9-year-old Queenie is on the run after stealing her new best friend Gus, the talking blowfish, from a pet store. Struggling actor Peter is desperate to perform while his mother haunts him with guilt. Samantha is trying to pull together her family spinning out of control. At the center of it all is Grace, a woman...

In the topsy-turvy world of There's an Ocean in Nebraska, adventures are quickly threatening chaos. 9-year-old Queenie is on the run after stealing her new best friend Gus, the talking blowfish, from a pet store. Struggling actor Peter is desperate to perform while his mother haunts him with guilt. Samantha is trying to pull together her family spinning out of control. At the center of it all is Grace, a woman trying to find her way back home. By turns hallucinatory, hilarious, and deeply moving, this exciting new work by Chicago playwright Dana Lynn Formby takes us on an unexpected journey to the possibility of healing.

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There's an Ocean in Nebraska

Recommended by

  • Cheryl Bear: There's an Ocean in Nebraska by Dana Lynn Formby
    “

    A moving story of healing and mental health as we run from what we need to confront. Well done.

    A moving story of healing and mental health as we run from what we need to confront. Well done.

    ”
  • William Missouri Downs: There's an Ocean in Nebraska by Dana Lynn Formby
    “

    A wonderfully absurd play filled with fugitive blowfish and runaway humans. One thing I know after reading this play, I will never tap on the glass of an aquarium again.

    A wonderfully absurd play filled with fugitive blowfish and runaway humans. One thing I know after reading this play, I will never tap on the glass of an aquarium again.

    ”
  • Heather Helinsky: There's an Ocean in Nebraska by Dana Lynn Formby
    “

    As a dramaturg, I find plays about mental health are tricky to dramatize and I appreciate the theatricality of this one. At the heart of this play, the characters want to run away from a reality of Nebraska. Peter’s act of running away is to leave home to become a professional actor. Queenie is running away from the people in her life forcing her to take medication. For Grace, she’s running away from memories. I like the question of if it's better to stay home and face fears? Also, #ithinkitisapieceofshitbutamanwoulduploadit is hilarious, good luck playwright!

    As a dramaturg, I find plays about mental health are tricky to dramatize and I appreciate the theatricality of this one. At the heart of this play, the characters want to run away from a reality of Nebraska. Peter’s act of running away is to leave home to become a professional actor. Queenie is running away from the people in her life forcing her to take medication. For Grace, she’s running away from memories. I like the question of if it's better to stay home and face fears? Also, #ithinkitisapieceofshitbutamanwoulduploadit is hilarious, good luck playwright!

    ”

Development History

  • Workshop, Triton Community College, 2015
  • Reading, Chicago Dramatists, 2014