Close to Home

by Sharifa Yazmeen

Three southerners explore whether the second chances they are desperately seeking might be found with one another. Witty and resilient teenage trans femme Zara, rough-edged builder Colt, and protective Muslim immigrant Kaysar are each on their own journeys through landscapes of hope, survival, trauma, and the persistent call of joy. When their paths intertwine, new possibilities emerge for what the trio might...

Three southerners explore whether the second chances they are desperately seeking might be found with one another. Witty and resilient teenage trans femme Zara, rough-edged builder Colt, and protective Muslim immigrant Kaysar are each on their own journeys through landscapes of hope, survival, trauma, and the persistent call of joy. When their paths intertwine, new possibilities emerge for what the trio might mean to each other in this fresh, deeply felt comedic drama about belonging.

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Close to Home

Recommended by

  • Jenny Connell Davis: Close to Home by Sharifa Yazmeen
    “

    Such well-drawn characters, with such beautiful visual metaphor. Yazmeen manages to be tender without pulling her punches in a way that is hard to pull off. It's funny, it's compelling, and it's very humane. I really would love to see this in production.

    Such well-drawn characters, with such beautiful visual metaphor. Yazmeen manages to be tender without pulling her punches in a way that is hard to pull off. It's funny, it's compelling, and it's very humane. I really would love to see this in production.

    ”
  • Fig Lefevre: Close to Home by Sharifa Yazmeen
    “

    Heart-filling. Three poignant, well-rounded, juicy characters that actors would eat up. A touching, funny, and heart-felt piece that builds slowly, like the house at the center.

    Heart-filling. Three poignant, well-rounded, juicy characters that actors would eat up. A touching, funny, and heart-felt piece that builds slowly, like the house at the center.

    ”
  • Quinn Gilchrist: Close to Home by Sharifa Yazmeen
    “

    A beautiful piece about found family and building a home (both figuratively and literally) with compelling characters and witty dialogue. I read this as part of the literary council for Bay Area Playwrights Festival 45 and can’t wait to see where it goes next!

    A beautiful piece about found family and building a home (both figuratively and literally) with compelling characters and witty dialogue. I read this as part of the literary council for Bay Area Playwrights Festival 45 and can’t wait to see where it goes next!

    ”
View all 8 recommendations
ZARA - She/Her. Trans AMAB. Of Middle Eastern, North African or South Asian descent. Late teens. Raised Muslim. Zara, a high school junior, is independent, strong-willed, and fiercely intelligent. Her quick wit and sharp tongue mask the vulnerability and hurt she feels after being disowned by her family because of her gender identity.
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COLT - He/Him. White. Thirties. Born and raised in rural South Carolina, Colt is a rugged and solitary construction worker with a predilection for dark liquor. He's a firm believer in self-reliance, but beneath his rough exterior, Colt has a profound empathy for Zara and her situation that surprises even him.
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KAYSAR - He/Him. Arab. Thirties. Muslim. An Egyptian immigrant who now works as a chef, Kaysar is warm, kind and loyal. He doesn’t trust people blindly, but when he loves someone, he does so deeply and fiercely. But that caring can become overbearing and judgemental, and his desire to help others often creates more chaos than resolution.

Development History

  • Workshop, Uprising Theatre Company, 2021
  • Workshop, , 2021