The Ancestry Dot Com Play

by Alyssa Haddad-Chin

Samia never knew her father, and her secretive Lebanese mother is more interested in watching Wheel of Fortune than providing answers. While she’s proud of her Arab American heritage, Samia wishes she knew more about her family history — until her friend does her DNA test without her consent, making Samia confront just how much knowledge about her ancestry she can handle.

Samia never knew her father, and her secretive Lebanese mother is more interested in watching Wheel of Fortune than providing answers. While she’s proud of her Arab American heritage, Samia wishes she knew more about her family history — until her friend does her DNA test without her consent, making Samia confront just how much knowledge about her ancestry she can handle.

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The Ancestry Dot Com Play

Recommended by

  • Brian James Polak: The Ancestry Dot Com Play

    So many laugh out loud moments in this great play! I love how the handles questions of identity as well as the varying ways in which people seek to identify themselves and how that intersects with the relationships in their lives. This play is funny and complex and I love it.

    So many laugh out loud moments in this great play! I love how the handles questions of identity as well as the varying ways in which people seek to identify themselves and how that intersects with the relationships in their lives. This play is funny and complex and I love it.

  • Allyson Dwyer: The Ancestry Dot Com Play

    Alyssa's comedy is so bright & nuanced because her dialogue comes from characters that feel lived in and real. People often speak comedically because in real life we reach for humor in times of stress, discomfort and alienation. But beneath the layer of detachment and quips, you feel real people with deep existential problems that are too painful to begin to contend with - especially alone. Such complicated characters, in such a tight, tiny, perfect package. This could easily be produced today and should!

    Alyssa's comedy is so bright & nuanced because her dialogue comes from characters that feel lived in and real. People often speak comedically because in real life we reach for humor in times of stress, discomfort and alienation. But beneath the layer of detachment and quips, you feel real people with deep existential problems that are too painful to begin to contend with - especially alone. Such complicated characters, in such a tight, tiny, perfect package. This could easily be produced today and should!

  • Jasmine Sharma: The Ancestry Dot Com Play

    Scream out loud funny! Scream out loud delicious! Speaks so directly to the world now and to navigating identity politics among friends and loved ones. Gorgeous and treacherous dialogue. Will fly anywhere to see it produced.

    Scream out loud funny! Scream out loud delicious! Speaks so directly to the world now and to navigating identity politics among friends and loved ones. Gorgeous and treacherous dialogue. Will fly anywhere to see it produced.

View all 8 recommendations

Development History

Awards

  • Terrence McNally New Works Incubator
    Rattlestick Theater
    Semi-Finalist
    2024
  • The Leah
    Leah Ryan Award
    Finalist
    2024
  • Waterworks
    New Works, Live Arts
    Finalist
    2024