Here Lies Cappy by Anya Richkind

FULL LENGTH: There is a bag of letters from Barbara that nobody has opened for many years. Mom has the bag. Somewhere in that bag is Barbara's suicide note. Letter by letter, Mom and Twig learn about Twig's grandmother Barbara, who left us when Mom was two years old. Meanwhile, Dad is building a deck and someone named Benny moves in next to Twig.

PLEASE NOTE: I'm hoping to rewrite...
FULL LENGTH: There is a bag of letters from Barbara that nobody has opened for many years. Mom has the bag. Somewhere in that bag is Barbara's suicide note. Letter by letter, Mom and Twig learn about Twig's grandmother Barbara, who left us when Mom was two years old. Meanwhile, Dad is building a deck and someone named Benny moves in next to Twig.

PLEASE NOTE: I'm hoping to rewrite this play COMPLETELY! Many characters may not exist in the next draft. The heart of the play will still be a daughter, her mother, and her mother's mother. The heart of the play will still be the letters, because those really exist, just like my maternal grandma really did exist, and in many ways, still does.
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Here Lies Cappy

Recommended by

  • Dayna Smith:
    11 Feb. 2020
    “ With such simplicity of language and dialogue, Anya paints a portrait of these people so fully. They inch toward a deep, dark pit of the play -- a mother's suicide -- with baby steps but when it finally hits, the simplicity and truthfulness and "that's all there is?"ness of it is so moving and true and just laid me out. The central relationship between Twig and her mother is such a moving strong suit of this play -- the image of three generations of women sitting at a kitchen table reading the eldest's suicide note will stay with me. ”

Character Information

  • Twig
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female, Non-binary
  • Mom
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      60s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Dad
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      60s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Benny
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female, Non-binary
  • Barbara
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    The Tank
    ,
    2019
  • Reading
    ,
    Play by Play Lab
    ,
    2018

Awards

Semi-Finalist
,
National Playwrights Conference
,
O'Neill Theater Center
,
2020
Semi-Finalist
,
Seven Devils' Playwrights Conference
,
2020
Semi-Finalist
,
Bay Area Playwrights Festival
,
2019
Finalist
,
Leah Ryan's Fund for Emerging Women Writers
,
2019
Finalist
,
Variety Pack Series
,
Cutting Ball Theater
,
2019