We Are A Masterpiece by Gina Femia

WE ARE A MASTERPIECE takes place at the dawn of the AIDS crisis, when the disease was still a mystery. In Kalamazoo, Michigan, Joan, a no-nonsense nurse, becomes a sort of fairy godmother to the town’s gay community when no one else will step up to care for them as they die one by one. She becomes their friend, their mother, their sister, as they navigate life and death with this new plague. Out of the ashes of...
WE ARE A MASTERPIECE takes place at the dawn of the AIDS crisis, when the disease was still a mystery. In Kalamazoo, Michigan, Joan, a no-nonsense nurse, becomes a sort of fairy godmother to the town’s gay community when no one else will step up to care for them as they die one by one. She becomes their friend, their mother, their sister, as they navigate life and death with this new plague. Out of the ashes of their collective lives, lifelong bonds are forged and beauty is found even at the darkest of moments.
  • Recommend
  • Download
  • Save to Reading List

We Are A Masterpiece

Recommended by

  • Mark Loewenstern:
    2 Nov. 2021
    “ A beautiful ensemble play, accessible and moving. At its center is an ordinary person who sacrifices much because she has decided that the difficult thing is the right thing to do. It's easy for us to look back to the dawn of AIDS and see the need for someone like the heroine Joan, but Femia throws us into the maelstrom of those days so we may appreciate how and why the helpless were abandoned. It's a remarkable exploration of that moment in time, and is relevant to any time when there is struggle between fear and compassion. Wonderful work. ”
  • Nick Malakhow:
    30 Aug. 2019
    “ Wow! I knew this would be affecting, but did not realize how often during reading I would ugly-cry on public transit! This play is a veritable masterpiece itself. The nuanced and so-carefully stitched together and chosen scenes were the ultimate example of powerful "showing vs. telling" in script writing. I felt even for the characters I disagreed with. Though this tale was fairly geographically and socially self-contained, it pulsed with such incredible universality and truth--really moreso than other canonical AIDS crisis plays that I've seen or read. I'm eagerly awaiting the chance to see this in production. ”
  • Michael Goodwin Hilton:
    20 Feb. 2019
    “ This was the play I needed to read this week. Femia has found a way to write about the AIDS epidemic in the 21st century: post-ironic, deeply personal. She proves herself to be not only playwright but magician, conjuring those from the margins - nurses, janitors, artists - to tell about those who died in the margins. "Choose to remember" Ryan exhorts us. Without question, this mesmerizing play will be remembered for a long time to come. ”
View all 12 recommendations

Character Information

The actor who plays Charles must also play Greg and Gerald.

This play can be presented with the additional suggested doubling:

Shelley/Linda

Lisa/Annie

  • Tom
    40s,
    Any
    ,
    Male
    The Janitor at the Hospital where Joan works. Very blue collar, plain, needs good comedic timing
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Shelley
    40s,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    Joan’s friend, a fellow nurse, closed minded and unknowingly cruel
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Ryan
    late 30s-40s,
    Any
    ,
    Male
    Older than John and Charles, even back then, an art collector, the survivor
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Lisa
    17,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    Joan’s daughter, has a strong sense of justice, tends to whine
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Teens, 20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Linda
    40s,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    Joan’s friend from the choir, a very hometown kinda woman
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • John
    Early 20s,
    Any
    ,
    Male
    Younger, an artist, the glue of his friends, a big giant beating heart
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Joan
    40s,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Father Jerome
    late 40s-early 50s,
    Any
    ,
    Male
    A priestly priest at the local parish, Joan’s brother, charismatic
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Charles/Greg/Gerald
    mid-20s,
    Any
    ,
    Male
    Charles/Greg/Gerald:
    Charles: John’s partner, older than John but younger than Ryan, male.
    Greg: Ryan’s partner who dies, dances.
    Gerald: The choir director, sings the Ave Maria.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Annie
    late 20s,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    A younger nurse, very vain, a little bratty and airheaded
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female

Development History

  • Commission
    ,
    Retro Productions Theatre Company
    ,
    2017
  • Reading
    ,
    Retro Productions Theatre Company
    ,
    2017

Production History

  • Professional
    ,
    Out of Box Theater
    ,
    2020
  • Professional
    ,
    Retro Productions/14th Street Y
    ,
    2018

Awards

Honorable Mention
,
Christopher Hewitt Award
,
2018
Winner
,
Doric Wilson Award for Independent Playwrights
,
NYIT Awards
,
2018