Webster's Bitch (One-Act) by Jacqueline Bircher

15 MINUTE: When their Editor-in-Chief gets caught using some rather colorful profanity, the employees of Webster's dictionary find themselves at the center of a Twitter uprising over gender, obscenity, and the future of the English language itself.
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Webster's Bitch (One-Act)

Recommended by

  • Cheryl Bear:
    22 Mar. 2020
    “ A fantastic play about gender bias, protocol and the English dictionary. Rightfully scathing in it's takedown and hilarious! ”
  • Emma Goldman-Sherman:
    2 Sep. 2019
    “ BRILLIANT! This is one of those wonderful 10 minute plays that gets better by the minute, and it already started out great! How much fun this would be onstage!!! What a marvel it is - to be funny, meaningful ,have high stakes, to experientially expand our human understanding of language and its impact, AND TO ENTERTAIN - hats off (and I wear hats every day, so I have them to remove) to Ms. Bircher for her little office play about the dictionary. The play I most want to see right now! ”
  • Emily Hageman:
    2 Sep. 2019
    “ I absolutely love this play. Each of the four characters is so well-defined and thought out. It's absolutely laugh-out-loud hilarious, but more than that, it is an absolutely scathing look at the words we use to define women. Seriously, I wanted to give a standing ovation at the discussion of how being a woman is offensive. This is a fantastic play written by a fantastic writer, and EVERYBODY needs to read it, or, better yet, see it. ”
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Character Information

  • GWEN
    30s,
    Female
    A lexicographer at Webster's Dictionary.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • ELLIE
    20s,
    Female
    Gwen's younger sister.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • NICK
    30s/40s,
    Male
    Another lexicographer.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • JOYCE
    50s/60s,
    Female
    The Senior Editor.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      50s, 60s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    The Neo-Political Cowgirls
    ,
    2018
  • Reading
    ,
    Geneva Theatre Guild
    ,
    2018
  • Reading
    ,
    Clutch Productions
    ,
    2017

Production History

  • Professional
    ,
    Silverthorne Theatre Company
    ,
    2021
  • Professional
    ,
    Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival
    ,
    2019
  • Professional
    ,
    City Theatre / Thinking Cap Theatre
    ,
    2019
  • Community Theater
    ,
    The Little Theatre of Alexandria
    ,
    2018
  • Professional
    ,
    Duluth Playhouse
    ,
    2018

Awards

Winner
,
National Award for Short Playwriting
,
City Theatre
,
2020
Semi-Finalist
,
Marathon of One-Act Plays
,
Ensemble Studio Theatre
,
2019