Drop of Kindness

by David Hilder

Next year, but sideways:
In Lanna’s kitchen, in her childhood home behind its strong electrified fence, she works and writes and grows herbs in a drawer. But when Gwennie returns – after more than 20 years – two sisters have to get reacquainted. Stalwart Jerry is next door, Lanna’s faithful friend, but it is the magnetic, gorgeous James who draws both women to him like moths to a beacon of light. A play about...

Next year, but sideways:
In Lanna’s kitchen, in her childhood home behind its strong electrified fence, she works and writes and grows herbs in a drawer. But when Gwennie returns – after more than 20 years – two sisters have to get reacquainted. Stalwart Jerry is next door, Lanna’s faithful friend, but it is the magnetic, gorgeous James who draws both women to him like moths to a beacon of light. A play about the perils inherent in an increasingly fractured society, with laughter and woe.

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Drop of Kindness

Recommended by

  • Cheryl Bear: Drop of Kindness by David Hilder
    “

    A terrific story of sisterhood that is so richly layered, complex and real in who they are and their ability to connect underneath all of it. Beautifully done.

    A terrific story of sisterhood that is so richly layered, complex and real in who they are and their ability to connect underneath all of it. Beautifully done.

    ”
  • Tiffany Antone: Drop of Kindness by David Hilder
    “

    This play's dystopian dysfunction grabbed my attention from the start. The world is populated with quirks designed to unsettle, and the characters are mysterious but very human. Hilder weaves themes of sibling love, sibling rivalry, guru-ism, cult-ism, and terrorism, into one big creepy quilt of a play, and I enjoyed every stitch.

    This play's dystopian dysfunction grabbed my attention from the start. The world is populated with quirks designed to unsettle, and the characters are mysterious but very human. Hilder weaves themes of sibling love, sibling rivalry, guru-ism, cult-ism, and terrorism, into one big creepy quilt of a play, and I enjoyed every stitch.

    ”
  • Barbara Blatner: Drop of Kindness by David Hilder
    “

    Hilder's play starts out quietly: two very different sisters meet for the first time in a long time in a strange, vaguely familiar world of fences, armed guards and weapons deliveries. Lanna and Gwennie are drawn so clearly I knew them; Lanna, the conservative, reclusive workaholic, is particularly endearing - her reticence, longing, dismay, fear of losing control I could sense in the writing. What happens as a handsome stranger enters their lives and seduces both sisters to his side, occurs inexorably, savagely, the action becomes louder, louder, erupts, finally everything makes sense. Very...

    Hilder's play starts out quietly: two very different sisters meet for the first time in a long time in a strange, vaguely familiar world of fences, armed guards and weapons deliveries. Lanna and Gwennie are drawn so clearly I knew them; Lanna, the conservative, reclusive workaholic, is particularly endearing - her reticence, longing, dismay, fear of losing control I could sense in the writing. What happens as a handsome stranger enters their lives and seduces both sisters to his side, occurs inexorably, savagely, the action becomes louder, louder, erupts, finally everything makes sense. Very vivid, skilled, heart full storytelling.

    read more
    ”
View all 5 recommendations

Character Information

  • Lanna
    An agoraphobe.
    early to middle 40s
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      40s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American,
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American,
      Indigenous, First Nation, or Native American,
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic,
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American,
      Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander,
      South Asian or South Asian American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female
  • Gwennie
    Rough around the edges.
    late 30s to early 40s
    Cisgender Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s,
      40s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American,
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American,
      Indigenous, First Nation, or Native American,
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic,
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American,
      Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander,
      South Asian or South Asian American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female
  • Jerry
    Stalwart, having been through a rough patch
    later 50s, early 60s
    Cisgender Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      50s,
      60s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American,
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American,
      Indigenous, First Nation, or Native American,
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic,
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American,
      Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander,
      South Asian or South Asian American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male
  • James
    Attractive, appealing, magnetic.
    early to middle 30s
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American,
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American,
      Indigenous, First Nation, or Native American,
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic,
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American,
      Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander,
      South Asian or South Asian American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male

Development History

  • Reading, The Blank Theatre's Living Room Series, 2014
  • Reading, Stella Adler Studios, 2013