at the very bottom of a body of water

Finalist, Williamstown Theatre Festival's L. Arnold Weissberger Award
Selection, The Lark's Playwrights' Week

Marina is being haunted. Every night, she dreams about drowning. Every week, she makes catfish soup. But when this ritual meal is disrupted by the disappearance of her fishmonger, she can no longer swim in the routine circle of her solitary life. She embarks on a...
Finalist, Williamstown Theatre Festival's L. Arnold Weissberger Award
Selection, The Lark's Playwrights' Week

Marina is being haunted. Every night, she dreams about drowning. Every week, she makes catfish soup. But when this ritual meal is disrupted by the disappearance of her fishmonger, she can no longer swim in the routine circle of her solitary life. She embarks on a surreal quest--all the way down to the darkest place she can imagine--to confront the ghost that is holding her captive...or rather, the ghost that she's been holding captive.
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at the very bottom of a body of water

Recommended by

  • Matt Minnicino:
    24 Nov. 2021
    you won't find someone who writes better plays about how making food is like making love is like living life is like finding joy is like grieving is like being -- there's an Elysian magic to every little shimmer and gleam of language (in several tongues) on each page, as the audience is sweetly shepherded into the warm, ebbing and flowing waters of Marina's journey and the characters around her. there are so many fish in the vast ocean, but I'd spend my time with these sublime swimmers all day and beyond.
  • Brian Dang:
    5 Sep. 2021
    While specific moments of transcendence are sprinkled throughout the play in pivotal moments of connection, the experience of swimming through this "play about fish" is nothing short of transformational as a whole. Folding innumerable cranes, turning to face the things we fear may hurt us, returning to water. To see these characters live after loss. I feel held.
  • Ruth Cooper:
    14 Sep. 2020
    Benjamin Benne, you are a magical playwright. I feel that I can speak to you directly because your characters are aloud on the page. And also... orgasmic.

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Two River Theater
    ,
    2017
  • Workshop
    ,
    The Playwrights' Center
    ,
    2017
  • Workshop
    ,
    Umbrella Project
    ,
    2016
  • Workshop
    ,
    The Lark Play Development Center
    ,
    2016
  • Workshop
    ,
    Parley
    ,
    2014

Awards

Finalist
,
L. Arnold Weissberger Award
,
Williamstown Theatre Festival
,
2021
Finalist
,
Working Farm
,
SPACE on Ryder Farm
,
2018
Finalist
,
Ingenio Milagro
,
Miracle Theatre Group (aka Milagro)
,
2018
Selection
,
The Mix
,
Steppenwolf Theatre Company
,
2018
Finalist
,
Festival of New American Plays
,
Austin Playhouse
,
2017
Finalist
,
Many Voices Fellowship
,
The Playwrights' Center
,
2017
Selection
,
Playwrights' Week
,
The Lark Play Development Center
,
2016
Finalist
,
Many Voices Fellowship
,
The Playwrights' Center
,
2014