Apparitions

by Ali Keller

Apparitions is about Lilly, a 30 something customer service agent and Office Manager at Apparitions Perfume Company. Driven by a hyper vigilance she developed from untreated PTSD, Lilly takes her job very seriously and just wants everyone to be okay. But when Lilly is prevented from giving the customers what they want (her boss threatens to fire her for being too accommodating), a persistent customer shows up to...

Apparitions is about Lilly, a 30 something customer service agent and Office Manager at Apparitions Perfume Company. Driven by a hyper vigilance she developed from untreated PTSD, Lilly takes her job very seriously and just wants everyone to be okay. But when Lilly is prevented from giving the customers what they want (her boss threatens to fire her for being too accommodating), a persistent customer shows up to the office in person to force Lilly to get what she needs. Apparitions asks, how much empathy is too much empathy? And when does the pursuit of understanding become dangerous?

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Apparitions

Recommended by

  • Liana Irvine: Apparitions by Ali Keller
    “

    (January 2022) please see TWT review

    (January 2022) please see TWT review

    ”
  • Liana Irvine: Apparitions by Ali Keller
    “

    What happens when someone works too hard? What happens when that work clings like a ghost? What happens if everything haunts them? These are the questions that stick like an echo from the past. On every page of Keller's Apparitions, day-to-day survival is visible.

    What happens when someone works too hard? What happens when that work clings like a ghost? What happens if everything haunts them? These are the questions that stick like an echo from the past. On every page of Keller's Apparitions, day-to-day survival is visible.

    ”
  • The Workshop Theater: Apparitions by Ali Keller
    “

    The Workshop Theater is pleased to recognize Ali Keller as a playwright selected out of a competitive pool of applicants for our Fall 2021 Writer’s Intensive. Resonating with the overworked person in all of us, Keller highlights how the never-ending clockwork of life grates on our psyche: the repetition of everyday life in a cubicle; the conversations that always begin with “Apparitions, this is LILY”; the schedule that doesn’t give a lunch break, let alone time to put the ghosts to rest. And then a life-or-death not-ordinary situation shows up in the office, changing everything.

    The Workshop Theater is pleased to recognize Ali Keller as a playwright selected out of a competitive pool of applicants for our Fall 2021 Writer’s Intensive. Resonating with the overworked person in all of us, Keller highlights how the never-ending clockwork of life grates on our psyche: the repetition of everyday life in a cubicle; the conversations that always begin with “Apparitions, this is LILY”; the schedule that doesn’t give a lunch break, let alone time to put the ghosts to rest. And then a life-or-death not-ordinary situation shows up in the office, changing everything.

    ”
View all 4 recommendations

Character Information

  • LILLY
    hypervigilant, soft-spoken most of the time
    30s
    Any
    Womxn
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female,
      Non-binary
  • NEAL
    well intentioned but condescending
    30s - 60s
    Any
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s,
      40s,
      50s,
      60s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male
  • JAIMIE
    fun loving, is a little too self-centered to actually be helpful
    30s
    Any
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male,
      Non-binary
  • SUSAN
    a Karen
    40s - 60s
    Any
    a cis Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      40s,
      50s,
      60s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female

Development History

  • Residency, The Workshop Theatre - Spring Intensive, 2021