←Recommendations of A Day in the Life of a Former Zombie

As writers, we see it all the time: actors refusing a role because they don't agree with a character's politics or audiences demonizing an author for writing characters with radical views. This play serves as a fantastic metaphor for the death of media literacy in today's society—and makes a subtle statement about cancel culture and the ways we ignore learning and growth in favor of creating monsters. Truthfully, I can't even blame Deirdre, a retail worker, for her actions! She's not being paid enough! This play is scary, and that has nothing (or everything?) to do with Zombies!

I have no way of knowing if this story is based on a real incident, but sad to say I think it could be. It makes me wonder if we have reached a point in which what is depicted as fantasy has an impact on someone's real life. It would be easy to dismiss this situation as just social issues run amok and those who take issues as ridiculous, but the way things are...

DC Cathro's depiction of the situation is level-headed, maddening, and therefore supremely hard-hitting.

One of DC Cathro's many talents is his ability to keep you thinking about his plays long after the final blackout. "A Day in the Life of a Former Zombie" poses a difficult moral question with no easy answers: Should a worker get fired for things he depicted in a movie years ago?
Before you answer, read the play. Better yet, produce the play, so audiences can experience this compelling, tense drama and ponder its conclusion for themselves.

I’m learning that the word Zombie in a title doesn’t mean a play will align with my preconceived ideas. And that’s a good thing! DC Cathro has created a thoughtful story of workplace conflict around a male colleague whose long ago appearance in an obscure zombie movie serves as a trigger for some of his female coworkers. His confusion, their trauma, and the supervisor’s predicament are all absolutely real. There are no easy answers, and Cathro smartly leaves us to ponder and discuss. A must read/stage!

Wow. Just wow. Cathro does it again with this piece. Each play I read I just get drawn in more and more. The conversation in this piece is so real and demanding, it really leaves the audience to ponder what the solution is.

A fascinating complicated scenario in which a man’s past performance comes to haunt him. This play raises interesting questions of what art can do, and the impact that comes when we say yes to a certain type of collaboration. You may not be the character you played, but you are the person who agreed to play them.

Terrific short play which touches on the subject of “cancel culture”, the responsibility performers bear for the material they present to the world, and the unforeseen effects that material may have on others.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A FORMER ZOMBIE by DC Cathro is a show that will stay with you. It's a show that raises real questions and doesn't present any easy answers. It's a preface of a conversation we all should be having. This show deals with triggers, trauma, and the fallout of both. It deals with the complex topic of protecting those who have been traumatized while asking the question of what blame, if any, can be placed on performers portraying a character in fiction. It approaches difficult issues in an honest and neutral way.

Wow. There is so much to unpack in this 10 min play. So much to think about, because trauma is real. And movies are not. But the people who are IN the movies are real. And even though you know it is fiction, sometimes it is hard to separate the performer from the trauma in your own past. I think I will be pondering this story for a very long time. No one is right or wrong in this scenario. It is all difficult and real. Bravo on a very well crafted story about difficult issues.