Pluck

It's 2003. Fourteen year-old Cleo and Bea are twins. Cleo can't stop running away from womanhood. Bea can't stop running away, period. When we don't have the words for what we're becoming, we make up myths instead. A play about gender identity, dysphoria, twins, and monsters in the age of AOL.
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Pluck

Recommended by

  • Collin Van Son:
    11 Jun. 2024
    I saw a reading of Pluck at the 2023 National Playwrights Conference, and I can confirm that it made me laugh, shiver, and at one point sweat profusely. Jan captures the magic and the horror of puberty, and shows that it wasn’t exactly a walk in the park for our parents, either. With its cryptids and ambiguous stains, Pluck will change the way you remember that small patch of woods at the edge of your hometown.
  • Leah Plante-Wiener:
    8 Apr. 2024
    I love this play so much. It's so tonally particular in the best way possible. Cleo is a deeply sympathetic character who stays with you long after you've left the world of the play, which will swallow you whole. I really hope to see this staged someday.
  • Aly Kantor:
    19 Sep. 2023
    This fierce, raw coming-of-age drama is what young audiences deserve—though theatre-goers of all ages will surely relate to this uber-honest depiction of teenage transformation (and the humiliating yearning to make one's strange and shameful internal world visible). I was particularly taken by the chatroom scenes, which add a unique sense of theatricality while perfectly encapsulating Cleo's internal struggles with queerness, gender, and the assorted struggles of puberty. The piece is succinct, and every player has at least one incredible moment to shine and show off their range. This is a wonderfully wild, delightfully specific, but broadly relatable play!

Character Information

  • Lenny
    30s-40s,
    Any
    ,
    Male
    Guidance counselor. Also plays DADDY SAYZ, CIRCUS FREAK, and TYLER. Queer.
  • Jessie
    35,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    The twins' mother.
  • Fox
    14,
    Any
    ,
    Male
    Super nerdy, super smart.
  • Cleo
    14,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    Can be played by AFAB non-binary performer. Questioning her/their gender. Bea’s twin.
  • Bea
    14,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    Cleo's Twin.

Development History

Awards

Semi-Finalist
,
Playwriting Fellowship
,
Princess Grace Awards
,
2023