FERTILE GROUND by Jennifer O'Grady

2022 O'Neill Semifinalist
2022 Semifinalist, Princess Grace Award/New Dramatists Fellowship
2022 Semifinalist, Panndora's Box New Works Festival

(Full length in development) Novelist Leigh wants a baby but struggles with unexplained miscarriages. Her younger sister Olivia, a parent and psychologist on the tenure track, is having trouble finishing her study of maternal...
2022 O'Neill Semifinalist
2022 Semifinalist, Princess Grace Award/New Dramatists Fellowship
2022 Semifinalist, Panndora's Box New Works Festival

(Full length in development) Novelist Leigh wants a baby but struggles with unexplained miscarriages. Her younger sister Olivia, a parent and psychologist on the tenure track, is having trouble finishing her study of maternal filicide due to one of her subjects, whose motivations are disturbingly unclear. Leigh's husband Max wants to be done with fertility treatments so that he and Leigh can move on. As Olivia and Max begin leaning on each other for support, Leigh begins writing a new novel about filicide, and fact and fiction begin to collide and will have devastating consequences. A new play about motherhood, including its darker side.
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FERTILE GROUND

Recommended by

  • Jack Levine:
    6 Jun. 2022
    “ JENNIFER O’GRADY’s play deals with the struggles faced by those women who desperately want a baby but can’t, those women who have a baby and find it a challenge, and those women who do things nobody else can understand. As a man, I cannot possibly fully comprehend what a woman feels, but to the extent possible, this play informed me, rocked me, and made me think about a subject foreign to my own world. “Fertile Ground” captivated me, as it will any audience. This is a powerful play and so well done. BRAVO! ”

Character Information

4 actors; some doubling

  • Leigh
    Early 40s,
    a woman
    A novelist struggling with infertility
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Olivia
    Late 30s,
    a woman
    Leigh's sister. A psychologist and parent
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Max
    Early 40s,
    a man
    Leigh's husband. A graphic designer
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Willa
    20s or 30s,
    a woman
    An incarcerated woman
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Guard
    40s,
    a man
    Played by the actor who plays MAX
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male

Awards

Semi-Finalist
,
Princess Grace Award in Playwriting/Fellowship at New Dramatists
,
2022
Semi-Finalist
,
Panndora's Box New Works Festival
,
Panndora Productions
,
2022