Sunny Days

by Katherine Varga

FULL LENGTH: Life is looking sunny for 17-year-old Carly. Her BFF Mike E and his cool mom just moved in. The fandom website she made for her celebrity crush is blowing up. And the mysterious fan she’s been talking to online just might be the object of her affections. The one catch – her crush is a serial killer, and his murders are getting closer to her home. Sunny Days explores the gap between our online and...

FULL LENGTH: Life is looking sunny for 17-year-old Carly. Her BFF Mike E and his cool mom just moved in. The fandom website she made for her celebrity crush is blowing up. And the mysterious fan she’s been talking to online just might be the object of her affections. The one catch – her crush is a serial killer, and his murders are getting closer to her home. Sunny Days explores the gap between our online and offline selves, the cultural effects of toxic masculinity, and how far women will go to save the people they love.

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Sunny Days

Recommended by

  • Jordan Ramirez Puckett: Sunny Days

    I had the absolute pleasure of seeing a production of SUNNY DAYS at Ohio University. This play made me gasp, laugh out loud, and cry , sometimes all in the same five minutes. This beautifully drawn play about teenage/parent relationships and the difference between our online and real life personas is definitely worth a read.

    I had the absolute pleasure of seeing a production of SUNNY DAYS at Ohio University. This play made me gasp, laugh out loud, and cry , sometimes all in the same five minutes. This beautifully drawn play about teenage/parent relationships and the difference between our online and real life personas is definitely worth a read.

  • Olivia Matthews: Sunny Days

    Sunny Days is delightful! Varga perfectly captures the voices of teens looking to belong while also giving them agency. The parents are well drawn, familiar yet complicated. The use of a sock puppet to portray a serial killer/forum avatar is some of the best theatricality I’ve seen onstage. This is a play that keeps you on the edge of your seat with danger but remains laugh out loud funny throughout. Please read, recommend, and produce. I wish more were plays about teens and this play is a strong, wonderful addition to the canon.

    Sunny Days is delightful! Varga perfectly captures the voices of teens looking to belong while also giving them agency. The parents are well drawn, familiar yet complicated. The use of a sock puppet to portray a serial killer/forum avatar is some of the best theatricality I’ve seen onstage. This is a play that keeps you on the edge of your seat with danger but remains laugh out loud funny throughout. Please read, recommend, and produce. I wish more were plays about teens and this play is a strong, wonderful addition to the canon.

  • Skye Robinson Hillis: Sunny Days

    A beautifully unconventional story about a mother-daughter relationship wrapped in the thrilling guise of a serial killer thriller. This is a surprising, compelling, and thoroughly moving play, and I'm thrilled I had the opportunity to see it at Ohio University.

    A beautifully unconventional story about a mother-daughter relationship wrapped in the thrilling guise of a serial killer thriller. This is a surprising, compelling, and thoroughly moving play, and I'm thrilled I had the opportunity to see it at Ohio University.

View all 4 recommendations

Character Information

  • Carly
    Enjoys pretty dresses and watching true crime, maybe a bit too much. (Slytherin.) Same race/ethnicity as Marie.
    Character Age
    17
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Marie
    Carly's mother. Loves kale. A survivor. (Gryffindor.)
    Character Age
    40s
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • Mikey
    Very pure. (Hufflepuff.) Same race/ethnicity as Jenna.
    Character Age
    17
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • Jenna
    Mikey's mom and BFF. Investigative journalist who loves bad puns. (Ravenclaw.)
    Character Age
    40s - 50s
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • The White Sock Puppet
    Goes by Paula. (Serial killers don't read Harry Potter.)
    Character Age
    20 - 50
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    White
    Character Gender Identity
    Male

Development History

  • Type Workshop, Organization Ohio University Seabury Quinn Playwrights Festival, thesis production, Year 2019

Awards

  • Activate: Midwest
    Semi-Finalist
    2019