Nothing Remained But Voice And Bones by Allyson Dwyer

In second grade, Narcissus visits overweight Mel and informs her that she is cursed to search for perfection but to never find it. Unable to grapple with this truth, she spends a lifetime letting this curse define every relationship, even those between her past selves. Only Mel can find a way to break out of a cycle of self-hatred that keeps her from realizing what is truly beautiful about her body and her existence.
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Nothing Remained But Voice And Bones

Recommended by

  • The Workshop Theater:
    20 Jun. 2022
    “ The Workshop Theater is pleased to recognize Allyson Dwyer as a playwright selected out of a competitive pool of applicants for our Spring 2022 Writer’s Intensive. The Writer’s Intensive is an eight-week long, playwright-driven process geared towards revising an existing play. Nothing Remained But Voice and Bones is a sharply-observed longitudinal study on the effects that internalized fatphobia and conventional beauty standards have on the life of a young woman. The piece is fantastically theatrical and refreshingly frank in its depiction of body image struggles. Our congratulations and thanks to Allyson. ”
  • Shaun Leisher:
    7 Aug. 2021
    “ A piece of theatre that gets to the heart of our society's obsession with thinness by looking at the life of one woman from her 20s to her 70s. The way time and stage magic is used is so effective at getting us in Mel's headspace. ”
  • Samantha Marchant:
    4 Dec. 2020
    “ Dwyer's script drives at it's core from all angles and across a lifetime. All roads lead to one overwhelming, highly relatable thought. The weight of this constant self-negging is crushing and so very real. ”
View all 12 recommendations

Character Information

  • MEL
    20s,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    MEL as a young adult. Fleshy, chubby, not “remarkable” but sharp and outspoken.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • MELANIE
    50s,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    MELANIE in middle-life. Shorter, now uncertain of herself, but still, a fighter.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • LANIE
    70s,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    LANIE in her older years. Lost and confused, but stubborn in a beautiful way.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      70s+
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • CHRISSY
    20s,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    Mel’s sister, slightly thinner than Mel
    the same kind of body sickness (also plays KAREN)
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Any adult age
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • LIAM/ALEX
    20s-70s,
    Any
    ,
    Male
    LIAM/ALEX Mel’s college boyfriend, hard to read/Melanie’s husband, overly tender
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Any adult age
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • NARCISSUS/EVERYWOMAN
    20s,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    NARCISSUS/EVERYWOMAN Tall, thin, perfect breasts, thigh gap, clear skin, delicate limbs, feminine voice (can probably sing), elegant at parties, photogenic, has “the thing” but isn’t aware but kind also is. (Narcissus should also play all other ensemble women who appear in the play, marked as EVERYWOMAN.)
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Theater Accident
    ,
    2022
  • Workshop
    ,
    Workshop Theater
    ,
    2022
  • Reading
    ,
    Clubbed Thumb
    ,
    2021

Awards

Semi-Finalist
,
NAP Series
,
Normal Avenue
,
2020
Semi-Finalist
,
New American Voices
,
Landing Theater Company
,
2020