Wave Walker by Bridgette Dutta Portman

[10-minute] Returning to the beach where her young daughter drowned, a woman demands an apology from the personification of violent waves. But how can one elicit sympathy from a force of nature indifferent to human suffering?
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Wave Walker

Recommended by

  • Susan Middaugh:
    27 Dec. 2021
    “ Bridgette captures a mother's grief and the anger she feels toward Mother Nature that caused her young daughter's drowning. Very poetic and a release of feeling that enables the mother to choose life and to reconnect with her lost daughter through her journal. Powerful. ”
  • Cheryl Bear:
    26 Jul. 2020
    “ An incredibly heartbreaking and beautifully done exploration of grief when nature is the one who took your child. Great work. ”
  • Emma Goldman-Sherman:
    20 Mar. 2019
    “ Yes, oceans are sometimes the only thing large enough to hold our grief, and this one refuses to do that! How large it all feels! How impossible to surmount! I love the scale of this short but intense impactful piece. I love how Nature is so much larger than the humans in the play. And I love how the final response/action can be a movement toward creation. ”
View all 6 recommendations

Character Information

  • Meryl
    20s-30s,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    A poet haunted by grief.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female, Non-binary
  • Leia
    Appears 20s-30s,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    A mysterious woman. She is Cymopoleia, the ancient Greek goddess of violent waves.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female, Non-binary

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    San Francisco Olympians Festival
    ,
    2015

Production History

  • Professional
    ,
    Pear Theatre
    ,
    2016