The Siblings Play by Ren Dara Santiago

For Mars, Leon and Marie what defines family is survival. It’s something they learned from their parents and finessed on the block. These kids grew up knowing how to look solid when life fills you with holes. When one parent starts to creep back in to one of their lives, the holes start to bleed. Out come vengeful spirits and one of the siblings can’t keep up. Living with these kids means being haunted by people you live with.
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The Siblings Play

Recommended by

  • Nilsa Reyna:
    2 Apr. 2021
    “ Ren Dara Santiago welcomes you inside a family's home and then delicately, but swiftly exposes you to struggle and trauma. The siblings makes you laugh, but also break your heart as you witness the fragility of life through their constant fight for survival. This is a necessary work that needs more productions! ”
  • Audrey Lang:
    31 Dec. 2020
    “ I feel so lucky to have seen a couple iterations of The Siblings Play, from a reading at MCC's PlayLabs to the recording of the Rattlestick production from earlier this year. The story it tells is painful, vital, and thought-provoking - and one I want the whole world to see, hear, and experience. ”
  • Michele Travis:
    1 Jun. 2020
    “ The play stays with you: the richness and specificity of Ren's language, and her command of dramatic structure in service of this story. The kids' survival tactics - the way they show up for, and fail, each other - ring so true. It's heartbreaking, beautiful, and should be widely produced. ”
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Character Information

Must understand the environment of the play, fully. They know their neighbors. They knuck if you buck.

  • MARIE
    17,
    WOC
    ,
    AFAB or transfem
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Teens
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any actor of color
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • LEON
    19,
    Brown, Black
    ,
    AMAB or trans-masc in casting.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Teens, 20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any actor of color
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • MARIAN
    13,
    Brown, Black
    ,
    AMAB or trans-male or masc in casting
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Child, Teens
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any actor of color
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • LENORA
    37,
    WOC but can be mestiza if Logan is a MOC
    ,
    AFAB or transfem
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any actor of color
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • LOGAN
    37,
    MOC but can be mestizo if Lenora is WOC
    ,
    AMAB or trans-masc in casting.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any actor of color
    • Gender: 
      Male

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Ojai Playwrights Conference
    ,
    2017
  • Workshop
    ,
    Cherry Lane Theater Mentor Project
    ,
    2017
  • Reading
    ,
    Labyrinth Theater Company
    ,
    2016
  • Reading
    ,
    MCC Theater PlayLabs
    ,
    2015
  • Reading
    ,
    Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
    ,
    2014

Production History

  • Professional
    ,
    Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
    ,
    2020
  • Workshop
    ,
    The Cherry Lane Theater Mentor Project
    ,
    2017

Awards

Winner
,
The Cornelia Street American Playwriting Award
,
Rising Phoenix Repertory
,
2019