Period Sisters

by Ali Viterbi

After freshman Joni joins sorority Theta Beta, she learns that sisterhood means more than the colors you wear. Accompanied by her troubled best friend Kate, Joni spirals down a rabbit hole of bulimia dream ballets, Bachelor restoration comedies, and Dirty Disney ragers. Confronted with a world that confounds her expectations, Joni forces all the members of Theta Beta to ask: what do women owe other women? And in...

After freshman Joni joins sorority Theta Beta, she learns that sisterhood means more than the colors you wear. Accompanied by her troubled best friend Kate, Joni spirals down a rabbit hole of bulimia dream ballets, Bachelor restoration comedies, and Dirty Disney ragers. Confronted with a world that confounds her expectations, Joni forces all the members of Theta Beta to ask: what do women owe other women? And in our post-#metoo era, what’s next? Mixing comedy and catharsis, superficial and sacred, Period Sisters tells a tale of synced-up cycles, consent, and culpability, creating a searing portrait of life as a young, 21st century woman.

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Period Sisters

Recommended by

  • Cheryl Bear: Period Sisters

    A terrific tackle of everything young women are dealing with now and it's a wakeup call to women on how we need to step up and support each other. Well done!

    A terrific tackle of everything young women are dealing with now and it's a wakeup call to women on how we need to step up and support each other. Well done!

  • Elizabeth A. M. Keel: Period Sisters

    Period Sisters humanizes cliché preconceptions about sorority girls. It explores all the nuance of their closed ecological system. While it delves into digestive health, the damaging psychology of beauty, drinking, rape, and the ridiculousness of the legal system, Ms. Viterbi is far from checking the issues off a list. Rather, she tackles each one with vigor and emotional intelligence. The progression of play genuinely feels like a full year passing by. Despite their many mistakes, there’s an air of such careful ministration surrounding the hearts of these young women. Take a peek: it boasts a...

    Period Sisters humanizes cliché preconceptions about sorority girls. It explores all the nuance of their closed ecological system. While it delves into digestive health, the damaging psychology of beauty, drinking, rape, and the ridiculousness of the legal system, Ms. Viterbi is far from checking the issues off a list. Rather, she tackles each one with vigor and emotional intelligence. The progression of play genuinely feels like a full year passing by. Despite their many mistakes, there’s an air of such careful ministration surrounding the hearts of these young women. Take a peek: it boasts a female cast of 10.

  • Eugene O'Neill Theater Center: Period Sisters

    It is the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's pleasure to recommend Ali Viterbi and their play Period Sisters as a finalist for our 2018 National Playwrights Conference. The play rose through a competitive, anonymous, multileveled selection process that took nearly nine months to execute. As one of 53 finalists out of more than 1,4200 submissions, the strength of its writing has allowed this work to prosper in such a competitive selection process.

    It is the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's pleasure to recommend Ali Viterbi and their play Period Sisters as a finalist for our 2018 National Playwrights Conference. The play rose through a competitive, anonymous, multileveled selection process that took nearly nine months to execute. As one of 53 finalists out of more than 1,4200 submissions, the strength of its writing has allowed this work to prosper in such a competitive selection process.

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Character Information

  • Joni
    Freshman
    Character Age
    18
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    White
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Kate
    Sophomore
    Character Age
    20
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    East Asian American
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Val
    Sophomore
    Character Age
    20
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    East Asian American
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Leigh
    Junior
    Character Age
    20
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    South Asian American
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Hannah
    Junior
    Character Age
    21
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    East Asian American
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Bee
    Sophomore
    Character Age
    19
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    White or White-Passing
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Zoe
    Sophomore
    Character Age
    20
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    White or White-Passing
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Rachel
    Sophomore
    Character Age
    19
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    biracial
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Vicki
    Senior
    Character Age
    21
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    White
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Ellie
    Junior
    Character Age
    21
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Black
    Character Gender Identity
    Female

Development History

  • Type Reading, Organization The Drama League, Year 2017
  • Type Reading, Organization Davenport Theater, Year 2017

Production History

  • Type Workshop, Organization HERE Arts Center, Year 2018

Awards