Dreams of the Penny Gods

Bug's just your average 13-year-old girl whose family is hiding out in a storage facility. So naturally, she's transformed herself into a high priestess who's trying to raise the dead. On this particular summer day, her incantations seem to work, setting off an acceleration of events ending in a rough Armageddon that launches her into the world.

Nominee, The Kilroys' List,...
Bug's just your average 13-year-old girl whose family is hiding out in a storage facility. So naturally, she's transformed herself into a high priestess who's trying to raise the dead. On this particular summer day, her incantations seem to work, setting off an acceleration of events ending in a rough Armageddon that launches her into the world.

Nominee, The Kilroys' List, 2014 and 2015
Lark Playwrights' Week, 2013
Rita and Burton Goldberg Playwriting Award, 2012
Finalist, Clubbed Thumb Biennial Commission, 2011 (under the title "Grendel")

Setting
August 2011. A makeshift living area in a storage facility near Biddeford, Maine.

Characters
BUG, WHITE, 13 GOING ON 8. Isolated. Obedient, eager, and straightforward. A little slow.
KITTY, WHITE, 45-50-ISH, STORAGE FACILITY MANAGER. Never smiles. The drug addiction of her youth has been replaced by a ferocious devotion to Jehovah. Looks like she eats cigarettes.
GLORIA, BLACK, 30S-40S, YOUNGER, PRETTIER, AND KINDER THAN KITTY. Though she is Kitty's first and most faithful convert, she has outgrown the friendship. Often tries to protect Bug. Often fails.
BOBBY, WHITE, 30. Prison was probably the best thing that ever happened to Bobby. Seems hapless and free of subtext, but this is simply a persona he's cultivated to survive his home life and prison life. The reality is much darker.
TRUCK, NOT WHITE, LATE 20s-30s or 40s-50s. ENTREPRENEUR AND BOBBY'S FRIEND. Handsome in a way. Smooth. Nothing but subtext. Has either avoided or been to prison but is now sober and into health food. Takes great pride in his accomplishments. Understands first-hand that doing the right thing often comes at a cost.
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Dreams of the Penny Gods

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Lost Girls Theatre
    ,
    2016
  • Workshop
    ,
    Snowlion Rep Playlab
    ,
    2015
  • Workshop
    ,
    Lark Play Development Center
    ,
    2013
  • Reading
    ,
    Lunar Energy Productions
    ,
    2012

Production History

  • Professional
    ,
    Halcyon Theatre
    ,
    2016
  • University
    ,
    Hunter College MFA Thesis Production
    ,
    2012