ALEXANDRIA

by Vince Gatton

[FULL LENGTH] In a small town library in the Deep South, two librarians share an unlikely close friendship, despite being on opposite sides of the culture war. But when a young queer runaway, ominous global events, and the Sweep of Human History come crashing through their front door, what will it take for that friendship to survive?

Alexandria is a play about relationships that cross deep divides of belief...

[FULL LENGTH] In a small town library in the Deep South, two librarians share an unlikely close friendship, despite being on opposite sides of the culture war. But when a young queer runaway, ominous global events, and the Sweep of Human History come crashing through their front door, what will it take for that friendship to survive?

Alexandria is a play about relationships that cross deep divides of belief and conviction: what those relationships are worth, and what they cost.

*** Winner - Sanguine Theatre Company's Project Playwright Festival
** Semi-finalist, Princess Grace Award

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ALEXANDRIA

Recommended by

  • Elizabeth A. M. Keel: ALEXANDRIA

    What a devastating, resonant clash of friends and neighbors. The plot gorgeously zooms in on each individual, and then out to the global ramifications, in a way that feels both shocking and inevitable. The final scene will break your heart and glue it together again.

    What a devastating, resonant clash of friends and neighbors. The plot gorgeously zooms in on each individual, and then out to the global ramifications, in a way that feels both shocking and inevitable. The final scene will break your heart and glue it together again.

  • Nora Louise Syran: ALEXANDRIA

    There's much to unpack in this powerful piece. The realistic yet symbolic setting, the meal motif, the well-drawn characters...everything comes into sharp focus as forces pull them from their "decadence on an unprecedented level" and they are left with humanity's "stored knowledge" and fragile, newly won liberties in literal and figurative ruins. Rising up and ultimately winning? Let's hope so. Gatton teaches (without being didactic) and it is a powerful lesson.

    There's much to unpack in this powerful piece. The realistic yet symbolic setting, the meal motif, the well-drawn characters...everything comes into sharp focus as forces pull them from their "decadence on an unprecedented level" and they are left with humanity's "stored knowledge" and fragile, newly won liberties in literal and figurative ruins. Rising up and ultimately winning? Let's hope so. Gatton teaches (without being didactic) and it is a powerful lesson.

  • Ricardo Soltero-Brown: ALEXANDRIA

    A proverbial culture war occurs in the bedrock of civilization in this political drama by Vince Gatton. Dialogue is raw, bold, staggering, witty. Current societal vistas are laid bare regarding religious freedom, marital rights, class privileges, youth's dreams, gender expression, first-world problems, etc. As a resident of Florida, known for being a cultural vacuum (if not void), a great deal of the play rang not only true, but familiar. Reminiscent of the social dramas of Emilio Estevez or Michael Tolkin's THE RAPTURE, the heart bleeds off the page. The central twist is as incendiary as the...

    A proverbial culture war occurs in the bedrock of civilization in this political drama by Vince Gatton. Dialogue is raw, bold, staggering, witty. Current societal vistas are laid bare regarding religious freedom, marital rights, class privileges, youth's dreams, gender expression, first-world problems, etc. As a resident of Florida, known for being a cultural vacuum (if not void), a great deal of the play rang not only true, but familiar. Reminiscent of the social dramas of Emilio Estevez or Michael Tolkin's THE RAPTURE, the heart bleeds off the page. The central twist is as incendiary as the play's titular historical catastrophe.

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Character Information

  • Brenda
    Head librarian at a small town library and a local, born and bred. Southern. Lesbian. Brenda has a jagged, unavoidable scar on her face. She flows like a wide river, calm, steady, and always forward.
    Character Age
    50-ish
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    White
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Pam
    Lesbian woman in her mid-40s to 50s, any ethnicity. From Chicago, and you can tell it from the sound of her. Loud, and with a low tolerance for bullshit.
    Character Age
    40s to 50s
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Any
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Ray
    Southern white man anywhere in his 30s – 40s. Looks like a bespectacled hipster, or as close to a hipster as you can get in this small Southern town. Smart, funny, warm, and hyper-verbal. Works at the library. His people go way back.
    Character Age
    30s - early 40s
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    White
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • Ol’Mo
    Southern African-American male, no one knows how old exactly, but old. The library equivalent of a barfly, he’s always around, always carrying a violin case. An antisocial loner, he’s reserved, protective, and full of opinions he keeps to himself.
    Character Age
    60s - 70s
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    African American,
    Black
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • Monté
    Teens or 20s to play teens. A Southern Black queer boy, he is uninterested in and incapable of gender-conforming. Determined, smart, and intuitive, he holds on to his self-worth like a treasure and a weapon.
    Character Age
    Teens
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Black and/or Latinx,
    African-American or Latinx
    Character Gender Identity
    Male,
    gender non-conforming

Development History

  • Type Reading, Organization Bunbury Theater, Year 2020
  • Type Reading, Organization Project Y Theatre, Year 2017
  • Type Reading, Organization Luna Stage, Year 2017

Production History

  • Type Professional, Organization Sanguine Theatre Company, Year 2018

Awards

  • Hidden River Playwriting Award
    Hidden River Arts
    Finalist
    2019
  • Project Playwright Festival
    Sanguine Theatre Company
    Winner
    2018