She Lives with a Shrine by Samantha Cooper

Elle is pretty sure her life is going in exactly the right direction; she's got a great promotion, fun and drunk friends, a hot and heavy relationship on the horizon, and a fancy apartment she never fully unpacked. But with an unpredictable sibling and a family always on high alert, distraction is a constant. As the bad news piles up, Elle quickly starts to lose hold of everything she worked so hard for....
Elle is pretty sure her life is going in exactly the right direction; she's got a great promotion, fun and drunk friends, a hot and heavy relationship on the horizon, and a fancy apartment she never fully unpacked. But with an unpredictable sibling and a family always on high alert, distraction is a constant. As the bad news piles up, Elle quickly starts to lose hold of everything she worked so hard for. Making concessions to protect those around her, Elle must ultimately ask herself who those sacrifices help and who they harm.
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She Lives with a Shrine

Recommended by

  • Playwrights Foundation:
    20 Apr. 2023
    “ The community of National Committee readers for the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival advanced SHE LIVES WITH A SHRINE as a Semi-Finalist at Playwrights Foundation. We were compelled by the story centering the mental health of a sibling dealing with a family member's addiction, while supported by Elle's circle of friends. We were compelled by the character renderings as Elle struggles to balance her own career and relationships, as she's always living in family crisis mode. We hope this play is considered for further development and investigation, and finds dedicated collaborators in this play’s journey towards production. #BAPF46 ”
  • Cheryl Bear:
    7 Sep. 2021
    “ Elle's life seems to be going right, but soon she finds herself losing everything and needed to confront the reasons for the sacrifices she may need to make. Well done. ”

Character Information

I have indicated the pronouns for each character based on what I saw as I was writing them but, overall, I’m hoping all characters are flexible enough to accommodate casting any gender identity. You are welcome to change the pronouns within the text to fit the person cast so long as all the rest of the text remains the same. When in doubt, feel free to reach out to the playwright to discuss casting or pronoun changes in the text.

  • Elle
    She/her or they/them
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female, Non-binary
  • Charlie
    he/him or they/them
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male, Non-binary
  • Kat
    they/them
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Non-binary
  • PJ
    he/him
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Allison
    She/her
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Riley
    they/them
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Non-binary
  • Michael
    he/him
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Anna
    She/her
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female

Awards

Semi-Finalist
,
Bay Area Playwrights Festival
,
Playwrights Foundation
,
2023