WE ARE BLOOD

by Ryan Bernsten

Is family forever? A recently widowed New Yorker and her son return to rural Missouri to evict her estranged sister from their childhood home. Discovering the house in disrepair and the inhabitants experimenting with occult magic, the family is forced to exorcise demons from their past.

William Jewell College (University Production, 2024)
ScreenCraft Stage Play Competition (Finalist, 2023)
Jewish Theatre...

Is family forever? A recently widowed New Yorker and her son return to rural Missouri to evict her estranged sister from their childhood home. Discovering the house in disrepair and the inhabitants experimenting with occult magic, the family is forced to exorcise demons from their past.

William Jewell College (University Production, 2024)
ScreenCraft Stage Play Competition (Finalist, 2023)
Jewish Theatre Project Play Competition (Semifinalist, 2023)
Olathe Civic Theatre Association (Spotlight Series Developmental Production, 2023)
Angels Theatre Company (Reading, 2023)
CoverFly RedList (#1 Horror Stage Play, 2022)
Ashland New Play Festival (Semifinalist, 2022)
Kansas City Public Theatre (Theatre Lab, 2021)
Northwestern University (Faculty Reading, 2020)
Austin Film Festival (Semifinalist, 2020)
Rave Theatre Festival (Finalist, 2020)
Kansas City Script Circle (2020)
University of Oxford (Workshop, 2019)

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WE ARE BLOOD

Recommended by

  • Jessie Salsbury: WE ARE BLOOD by Ryan Bernsten
    “

    Had the privilege of watching this as part of KC PUBLIC’S theatre lab series. The audience was engaged and holding their breath in the final scenes. Ryan is an exceptional story teller and I look forward to a fully realized production of this glorious play. There is a lot for actors and technicians to mine in this script for inspiration.

    Had the privilege of watching this as part of KC PUBLIC’S theatre lab series. The audience was engaged and holding their breath in the final scenes. Ryan is an exceptional story teller and I look forward to a fully realized production of this glorious play. There is a lot for actors and technicians to mine in this script for inspiration.

    ”
  • Beau Ryan McCoy: WE ARE BLOOD by Ryan Bernsten
    “

    A horror play in the vein of Ari Aster's 'Hereditary', Bernsten manages to take the tired tropes of 'family drama' and twist it into something both exquisitely haunting while at the same time, deeply moving. That idea of being hunted by your past is disturbing on any number of levels but to then couple it with deep-seated feelings of inadequacy, misdirection, loneliness, and isolation... a play that by the end might read as 'improbable' to some feels anything but. That the only way to overcome one's circumstances is by transcending them.

    A horror play in the vein of Ari Aster's 'Hereditary', Bernsten manages to take the tired tropes of 'family drama' and twist it into something both exquisitely haunting while at the same time, deeply moving. That idea of being hunted by your past is disturbing on any number of levels but to then couple it with deep-seated feelings of inadequacy, misdirection, loneliness, and isolation... a play that by the end might read as 'improbable' to some feels anything but. That the only way to overcome one's circumstances is by transcending them.

    ”

Character Information

Kathleen - (female, late 40s-50s) a widow. a socialite. a skeptic.
Raymond - (male, 20s) a graduate. a disappointment. a desperate believer.
Nance - (female, late 40s-50s) a zealot. a freethinker. a host.
Lydia - (female, 20s) a daughter. a harlot. a conjurer.

Gran - (female, 80s) a secret.

The actor playing Nance may also play Gran.
  • Kathleen
    a widow. a socialite. a skeptic.
    40s-50s
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      40s,
      50s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • Raymond
    a graduate. a disappointment. a desperate believer.
    20s
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Man
  • Nance
    a zealot. a freethinker. a host.
    40s-50s
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      40s,
      50s,
      60s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • Lydia
    20s, a daughter. a harlot. a conjurer.
    20s
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • Gran
    a secret
    50s-80s
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      50s,
      60s,
      70s+
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman

Development History

  • Reading, Kansas City Public Theatre, 2021
  • Reading, Northwestern University, 2020
  • Workshop, University of Oxford, 2019

Production History

  • University, William Jewell College, 2024
  • Workshop, Olathe Civic Theatre Association, 2023

Awards

  • Semi-Finalist
    Ashland New Plays Festival
    Semi-Finalist
    2022
  • Austin Film Festival Second Rounder
    Semi-Finalist
    2020
  • Corkscrew Theatre Festival
    Semi-Finalist
    2020
  • Rave Theatre Festival
    Finalist
    2020