down cellar

As a sudden and intense storm descends on a cabin in the woods in northern Maine, four people are unexpectedly brought together.

---SEMIFINALIST FOR O'NEILL NPC 2025---

As a sudden and intense storm descends on a cabin in the woods in northern Maine, four people are unexpectedly brought together.

---SEMIFINALIST FOR O'NEILL NPC 2025---

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down cellar

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  • Shaun Leisher: down cellar

    An absolutely terrifying horror play that also feels like an honest depiction of neurotypical people. A play that shows how mental illness impacts women in very different ways. A play about trauma and the harm that can be perpetuated by the people we love. I was really amazed by this play. It goes to some really wild places. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I need to see this play produced. It's an absolute feast for actors, directors and creative teams. Lots of stage magic.

    An absolutely terrifying horror play that also feels like an honest depiction of neurotypical people. A play that shows how mental illness impacts women in very different ways. A play about trauma and the harm that can be perpetuated by the people we love. I was really amazed by this play. It goes to some really wild places. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I need to see this play produced. It's an absolute feast for actors, directors and creative teams. Lots of stage magic.

  • Christopher Shultz: down cellar

    There’s a story somewhere about the making of ‘Halloween’ (1978), how the plot is akin to someone slowly stretching a rubber band until it becomes so tense it pops. Jordan Elizabeth Henry achieved this same effect wonderfully with ‘Down Cellar.’ The suspense in this piece is sometimes too much to bear, but it culminates in a satisfying and macabre conclusion that, without giving too much away, would make the old horror masters smile.

    There’s a story somewhere about the making of ‘Halloween’ (1978), how the plot is akin to someone slowly stretching a rubber band until it becomes so tense it pops. Jordan Elizabeth Henry achieved this same effect wonderfully with ‘Down Cellar.’ The suspense in this piece is sometimes too much to bear, but it culminates in a satisfying and macabre conclusion that, without giving too much away, would make the old horror masters smile.

  • Daniel Prillaman: down cellar

    Horror is so difficult on stage because you can't cut away. You have to consistently build and pace your tension down to the second, and Henry does this masterfully. "Down Cellar" is a dark, horrific poem packed to the brim with sick, scary visuals that would both fascinate an audience and give them nightmares. Most frighteningly, the story is all too real, and as the characters reveal more and more of their true selves, our terror grows. A brilliant piece.

    Horror is so difficult on stage because you can't cut away. You have to consistently build and pace your tension down to the second, and Henry does this masterfully. "Down Cellar" is a dark, horrific poem packed to the brim with sick, scary visuals that would both fascinate an audience and give them nightmares. Most frighteningly, the story is all too real, and as the characters reveal more and more of their true selves, our terror grows. A brilliant piece.

View all 6 recommendations
Margot: afab, 28 --- dx'd ptsd with psychotic features
Jax: she/her/they/them, 20, Margot's student --- undx'd bipolar 1 with psychotic features
Gloria: afab, 37, Jax's mom --- dx'd bipolar 1 with psychotic features
Jack: amab, 45, Gloria's husband --- neurotypical
Gretchen: she/her, 17, a camper --- doubled with the SPECTER
Specter: she/her, ageless --- doubled with GRETCHEN

Development History

  • Type Reading, TOSOS, Year 2025
  • Type Workshop, Organization The Pipeline Collective, Year 2023
  • Type Reading, Organization The Pipeline Collective Living Zoom Series, Year 2023