Little Birds & Beating Hearts

by Kristen Palmer

The play opens in the parking lot of a disintegrating motel on the outskirt of the district. A group of agents put a plan in motion to locate Milla, a daughter of a dissident, reported to be dead. In one of the rooms she is being secretly kept by Clyde, one of the agents now charged with finding her. She is often addled from drug use, but is kindling the will to ask the questions no one is asking - why, who's...

The play opens in the parking lot of a disintegrating motel on the outskirt of the district. A group of agents put a plan in motion to locate Milla, a daughter of a dissident, reported to be dead. In one of the rooms she is being secretly kept by Clyde, one of the agents now charged with finding her. She is often addled from drug use, but is kindling the will to ask the questions no one is asking - why, who's orders, and where else could they go? The play pits coarse dialogue, familiar archetypes, and slapstick violence against heightened language and moments of serenity to ask serious questions about violence, individual agency and belief.

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Little Birds & Beating Hearts

Recommended by

  • Cheryl Bear: Little Birds & Beating Hearts

    A riveting story of asking questions, finding strength and hope in the face of power. Well done.

    A riveting story of asking questions, finding strength and hope in the face of power. Well done.

  • Liz Duffy Adams: Little Birds & Beating Hearts

    I love this play. It's bleak and hopeful, and strange and familiar, and darkly funny and violent and sexy. The characters are vivid and idiosyncratic and perversely lovable, and I root for them against all reason or odds. I love the seediness of the settings, the desperation of all involved, the witty terseness and unnerving poetry of the dialogue. It's wonderful.

    I love this play. It's bleak and hopeful, and strange and familiar, and darkly funny and violent and sexy. The characters are vivid and idiosyncratic and perversely lovable, and I root for them against all reason or odds. I love the seediness of the settings, the desperation of all involved, the witty terseness and unnerving poetry of the dialogue. It's wonderful.

Development History

  • Type Workshop, Organization The Brick - Brooklyn, NY, Year 2013
  • Type Reading, Organization Circle X Theater, LA, Year 2009
  • Type Workshop, Organization William Inge Center for the Arts, Year 2008