WOMEN OF ZALONGO by Maria Cominis

Content Disclosure: mass suicide (mentioned), sexual assault (stylized with dance).

Short Synopsis
The play was inspired by the playwright’s grandmother and her fragmented childhood memories prior to her immigration to the US in 1915.

Family secrets, intergenerational trauma, and historical memory are woven into the lives of four generations of women whose family line...
Content Disclosure: mass suicide (mentioned), sexual assault (stylized with dance).

Short Synopsis
The play was inspired by the playwright’s grandmother and her fragmented childhood memories prior to her immigration to the US in 1915.

Family secrets, intergenerational trauma, and historical memory are woven into the lives of four generations of women whose family line reaches back to the heroic women of Zalongo.

Framed by the historical defiant act of bravery, according to the legend, the entrapped women jumped to their death with their children to flee a life of enslavement but before they jumped, they sang and danced first (Dance of Zalongo).

The play is initiated by the surviving ancestors, paralleling the ongoing struggle for women’s autonomy through the lens of Angie’s family history and woven together with Greek folk music and dance. Characterized with familial humor, and the enduring courage of women, the Greek culture is celebrated as it inspires change.
Balkan music and dance inspires the ongoing fight for choice and the cost of sacrifice. Cast:10 women (19-80) and 1 man (multiple roles).

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WOMEN OF ZALONGO

Recommended by

  • Playwrights Foundation:
    9 Jul. 2020
    “ Playwrights Foundation enthusiastically recommends this play, WOMEN OF ZALONGO, as a Semi-Finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival 2020. We were moved by the quality of the writing and the relevant and compelling themes that spoke to the mission of our festival. It excelled in a competitive process of 735 plays submitted this year and rose to the top after a six month long process discussing its merits with both national and local Bay Area readers, and we hope it moves swiftly towards production. ”

Character Information

4 Females 40-60's (1 plays multiple roles).
1 Female 10-16
1 Female 60-80's
4 Female 20-30's (1 plays multiple roles).
1 Male 40-50's (plays multiple roles).

  • Angie
    40-50's,
    Greek American other race/ethnicity welcome
    ,
    Female
    Greek American, Art Professor. Caregiver to her mother, Charis. Paralyzed by her ambition. Searching.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American, White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Eleni
    50's -60's,
    Greek from Turkey, Any
    ,
    Female
    Greek. Angie's Yiayia and guide. Daughter to Katina, mother
    to Charis. She is a figment of Angie’s memory. We see her in her mid-life. Physically dynamic with a large and ethereal presence.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      50s, 60s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American, White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Young Eleni
    10-15,
    Greek from Turkey, Any
    ,
    Female
    Greek. Seeking an adult (18-24) who looks young to play teenage girl. A revolutionary spirit. Fierce. Intelligent beyond her years. Stubborn and driven by dreams of a better life.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Child, Teens
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American, White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Yiayia
    50's -60's,
    Greek from Turkey, Any
    ,
    Female
    The matriarch of the old-world. Rough around the edges, fierce. A warrior. Always working. Judgmental and superstitious.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      50s, 60s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American, White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Charis
    60-80's,
    Greek American, Any
    ,
    Female
    First generation Greek American. Matriarch of the present world. Lost in the long-term memories due to dementia. Childlike.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      60s, 70s+
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American, White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Katina
    20's,
    Greek from Turkey, Any
    ,
    Female
    Greek. Eleni's Mother, beautiful, frail and a victim of war.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American, White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Olga
    20-29,
    Greek from Turkey, Any
    ,
    Female
    Greek. Katina's sister. A business woman in the old world. Bossy. Short fused. Smart.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American, White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Tina
    18-20,
    Greek American, Any
    ,
    Female
    Present world. Charis's granddaughter. Contemporary.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Teens, 20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic, Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American, White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Halime
    20's,
    Turkish, Any
    ,
    Female
    a stunning, Turkish bride with a revolutionary spirit.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Teens, 20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any actor of color
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Zelda
    30-50's,
    Turkish, Any
    ,
    Female
    Turkish motherof the groom. Brazen, big and bold.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s, 50s, 60s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any actor of color
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Zoe
    30-50's,
    BIPOC
    ,
    Female
    Charis’s cheerful caregiver.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any actor of color
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Gendarme
    30-50's,
    Turkish, Any
    ,
    Male
    Turkish Soldier-must move well. Harsh.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American, White
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Basilio
    40's,
    Armenian-American, Any
    ,
    Male
    Olga’s adoring husband.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American, White
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Man with Cigar
    40's,
    Greek from Turkey, Any
    ,
    Male
    Non-speaking, creepy uncle of Charis.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American, White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Jimmy the Greek
    40's,
    Greek, Any
    ,
    Male
    Non-speaking. An old lover of Angie's.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American, White
    • Gender: 
      Male

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Atwater Village Reading, Los Angeles
    ,
    2019
  • Workshop
    ,
    CSUF Jr./Sr. 20/21 Intramural Grant & The Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

Production History

  • University
    ,
    California State University Fullerton, Clayes Performing Arts Center & NEA
    ,
    2023

Awards

Semi-Finalist
,
National Playwrights Conference
,
The Eugene O'Neil Theatre Center
,
2022
Winner
,
Grants for Arts Project
,
National Endowment of the Arts-Theatre
,
2022
Semi-Finalist
,
Bay Area Playwright's Festival
,
Playwright's Foundation
,
2020