1978. The first two female longshoremen at the Port of Los Angeles are trapped by their male co-workers in the cargo hold of a container ship just as it is heading to Shanghai. As they struggle to survive, they are visited by witches, who both help them and test them.
This play is inspired by the first women to work at the Port of Los Angeles as Longshoremen. The play is a work of fiction. The...
1978. The first two female longshoremen at the Port of Los Angeles are trapped by their male co-workers in the cargo hold of a container ship just as it is heading to Shanghai. As they struggle to survive, they are visited by witches, who both help them and test them.
This play is inspired by the first women to work at the Port of Los Angeles as Longshoremen. The play is a work of fiction. The characters and story are a product of the playwright's imagination.
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The Ordeal of Water
Recommended by
Cheryl Bear:
20 Jan. 2021
“
A terrific play for women that takes a powerful look at the desperate struggle for survival and the need for every female to band together. Beautifully done. ”
Playwrights Foundation:
24 Apr. 2020
“
Playwrights Foundation congratulates THE ORDEAL OF WATER as a Finalist for BAPF 2020. This play rose to the top 35 out of 735 plays submitted, and was discussed at length by our Bay Area Literary Council for consideration in our season. We loved how this play uses the language of theater to illuminate challenging perspectives and compelling intersectional questions. This play ultimately moved & inspired us and spoke to the core mission of PF. We hope that once we’re allowed to return to our theaters again, it will be considered for production to reach new audiences. ”
Lisa Dillman:
21 Jan. 2020
“
This is a beautiful, lyrical play that slams the past right up against the present with rewarding results. Its jumping-off point is high stakes and the tension doesn't ever let up. Full of vibrant characters and terrific life-or-death conflict, it packs in a bit of mayhem, a bit of magic, and whole lot of insight into issues women have had to face down through the ages. It's this kind of richness that makes Stephanie Alison Walker a playwright whose work I always follow. ”
The first female longshoreman at the Port of Los Angeles. She inherited her father's union book after he died. She is tough and doesn't take shit from anyone. Over the last two years she has learned how to survive as a woman in a man's world on the waterfront. Second generation Mexican American. Only child. Private, keeps to herself and holds her cards close to her chest.
Can be played by:
Age:
20s
Race/Ethnicity:
Latinx/o/a or Hispanic
Gender:
Female
MARGO STRAND
20,
White
,
Female
Poet turned longshoreman after inheriting her deceased father's union book. Comes from a long line of longshoremen. Girlie girl with blonde Farrah Fawcett hair. Part hippie, part disco.
Can be played by:
Age:
20s
Race/Ethnicity:
White
Gender:
Female
THEMA OKOH
50s,
Black African
,
Female
Ghanaian woman from the Gambaga witch camp (in Northern Ghana.) A widow and mother who was accused of being a witch and exiled to the Gambaga witch camp. She is a survivor.
Can be played by:
Age:
50s
Race/Ethnicity:
Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
Gender:
Female
SUNITA LAL
30s,
Indian
,
Female
Indian woman from Gujarat accused of being a witch when she was unable to have a child. She lives in the shadows. She's a survivor.
Can be played by:
Age:
30s
Race/Ethnicity:
South Asian or South Asian American
Gender:
Female
ELSE KNUTSTADDER
30s,
Norwegian
,
Female
Norwegian woman from 1617 accused of being a witch and put to the Ordeal of Water during the Vardo Witch Trials.
Can be played by:
Age:
30s, 40s
Race/Ethnicity:
White
Gender:
Female
Development History
Reading
,
Playwrights Union - First Peek Reading Festival- Los Angeles, CA