←Recommendations of All The Oxytocin In Your Fingertips

Simowitz’s play, “All the Oxytocin in Your Fingertips” is a vibrant theatrical journey which explores the specifics of Deaf identity, and ultimately reveals the universal theme of self-acceptance and belonging. Loved it!

It is the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's pleasure to recommend Cary Simowitz and their play All The Oxytocin In Your Fingertips as a finalist for our 2020 National Playwrights Conference. This particular work emerged from a highly competitive, anonymous, and multi-tiered selection process to become one of 63 finalists out of more than 1,500 submissions. This enthralling piece galvanized the hearts and theatrical imaginations of our reading teams and is fully championed by our offices. We are honored to put our enthusiastic support behind this writer and their ongoing contributions to the American Theater.

What a fantastic piece! A beautifully executed coming of age that brings a level of nuance, specificity, and inclusivity to the genre that is rare to see. It manages to represent and honor the complexity of Cal's identity while exploring hugely universal themes of belonging, liminality, and many other topics. Simowitz has crafted a distinctly theatrical world here that crackles (sparks?) with love, yearning, and energy, that toys with the idea of how we communicate and misunderstand one another, and that makes visible the invisible experiences and challenges of Deaf individuals, and the multiplicity of experiences within deaf communities.

"All The Oxytocin In Your Fingertips" is a fast-paced frenzy of theatrical energy and stylized storytelling that charts protagonist Cal's journey from deaf to Deaf as he* comes-of-age in a hearing-centric world. Simowitz's script explores diverse aspects of Deaf identity through the human body, featuring a mixture of dance (Tut), sign, and physical sensation portrayed through design. Oxytocin oscillates between heart-breaking and adrenaline-pumping in equal measure, and its epic scale is on-par with work such as Sinn Nachtrieb's "Bob: A Life In Five Acts." A thoroughly enjoyable read.

*masculine pronouns used, consistent with script, though Cal's gender is not fixed.