←Recommendations of Joan's Arc

A great, insightful, tightly structured play, dealing with an important issue. Issue plays can be didactic, here I was brought in by the characters and the surprising plot twists. The play paints a realistic portrait of the complexities of grief in the aftermath of an unseen school shooting. .

An insightful exploration of young people (and a couple of adults) coping with and healing from trauma. In focusing not necessarily on the tragic event itself, but one student's quest for truth about a wholly different matter afterward, Hageman says much more about how we heal and move on in a poignant fashion than I believe would be the case if the play simply clung to the gory details. Wonderfully theatrical--I can see the powerful images leap off the page in my "director-mind." Additionally, young actors are -served by these complex, funny, human, and naturally rendered characters.

Hageman's signature theatricality and talent for writing young voices shine through in this chilling play. The chorus of voices cuts to the soul, and imagining Joan's pain is heartbreaking, making the twists and turns of normal high school life seem insignificant. Through it all, the moments of high school normalcy and humor really hit the spot. It's quite the experience - check it out and put it up!

Hageman does a masterful job creating teenage speak, telling an open-hearted story of finding your people in the face of devastating loss. “Joan’s Arc” is a touching, gripping high school drama, a teen caper set against the background of a school shooting, one which should produced in schools all across our troubled nation.

Emily Hageman takes an unfortunate reality of American schools, and balances it wonderfully against an all-too-common tragedy to create something that is part-noir, part-drama, and part-character study. The story of Joan and her peers is a graceful and heartbreaking portrayal of grief and trauma among young people, full of complex and engaging characters. Mason in particular is a great new take on the “ghostly friend and mentor” character—I loved the constant sense of doubt about just how real and present he is. An incredible experience of a play that has inspired me to read more of Hageman's work.

Moving and suspenseful. Hageman writes so beautifully and realistically about young people, and Joan is a terrific character. What I love about this play is that it doesn't just focus on Joan's grief and the harrowing experience of a school shooting. Instead, we follow Joan as she tries to move forward and solve a puzzling and disturbing mystery at her school. Another wonderful new work from Hageman.

Everything that sets Emily Hageman’s work apart in short and one act formats really shines in JOAN’S ARC. Once again, Hageman has chosen several incredibly difficult topics – school shootings, mental illness, grief, the bureaucracy of America’s public education system, etc – and placed them into a play that is so readily accessible to a younger audience. It’s truly an inspiration and I hope to see more full-length works from her in the future. #PlaywrightPlug

*joyful noise over another Hageman full-length*
*falls over*
Hageman puts all her signature moves - adorable teenagers, a mix of heart, HUMOR and heartache - to very fine use here, a response to gun violence in school mixed with a Chinatown-esque mystery and then the way we, all of us, are just stumbling around trying to make sense of things.
Produce her work produce her work produce her work, my god, produce her work
If you've never read her writing before, you are in for a treat. If you have, this is the same excellence you are right to expect.