Jeff and the Dead Girl

by Madison Fargo

Jeff seems like a totally normal guy, except that his job is going to people’s funerals and pretending he knew the deceased. Today, he is the boyfriend of Emily Dawson, a young woman who recently committed suicide. He was not expecting her to jump out of her casket and ask for his help. Jeff is thrown into the twisted world of the Dawson Family, where truth and reality are often muddled, and the family dog looks...

Jeff seems like a totally normal guy, except that his job is going to people’s funerals and pretending he knew the deceased. Today, he is the boyfriend of Emily Dawson, a young woman who recently committed suicide. He was not expecting her to jump out of her casket and ask for his help. Jeff is thrown into the twisted world of the Dawson Family, where truth and reality are often muddled, and the family dog looks an awful lot like Dad. Jeff must find the space between fantasy and reality if he is to reunite Emily with her parents, and get her the hell out of his apartment.

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Jeff and the Dead Girl

Recommended by

  • Broadway Play Publishing Inc: Jeff and the Dead Girl by Madison Fargo
    “

    this playwright has a unique voice, and any theater interested in new plays should read it and consider helping it in its development

    this playwright has a unique voice, and any theater interested in new plays should read it and consider helping it in its development

    ”

Character Information

The Woman in the Television/Bethany/Stacey Blowjob should all be played by the same woman.
  • Jeff
    A paid mourner. Deeply awkward. Deeply lonely. Lives in his own head.
    22
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Man
  • Annie
    Frustrated and deeply depressed, grieving for the death of her daughter, left only with her ferocious anger and dry wit. Longing to form a connection.
    34
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • Emily
    Died a few days ago but has a lot of life left in her. Mischievous and demanding. Jeff's personal poltergeist.
    19
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      Teens,
      20s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • George/Buster
    A grieving father, also the family dog, struggling between obligation to be human and desire to be animal
    34
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Man
  • Woman in the Television/Bethany/Stacey Blowjob
    A spokeswoman for death, a dominatrix, and a sex doll.
    any age
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s,
      40s,
      50s,
      60s,
      70s+
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman

Development History

  • Reading, Wrights of Spring Festival, 2018
  • Reading, The Theatre School at DePaul University, 2018

Production History

  • University, The Theatre School at DePaul University, 2019

Awards

  • New American Voices Playwriting Festival
    The Landing Theatre Company
    Semi-Finalist
    2020
  • Lawrence Bundschu and Warren P Snoddy Playwriting Prize
    The Theatre School at DePaul University
    Winner
    2019