SCENES FROM an APOCALYPSE

by Germaine Shames

Arlene Abelman — wife, mother, and theatre director — braces for her 60th birthday amid a gathering apocalypse. An intimate slice-of-life portrait of a woman grappling for a toehold in an era of accelerating flux and burgeoning ambiguity.

First Place, LTA 47th annual Playwriting Competition
Finalist, Voices of Women Festival 2023
Finalist, Trinity New Works 2024

Arlene Abelman — wife, mother, and theatre director — braces for her 60th birthday amid a gathering apocalypse. An intimate slice-of-life portrait of a woman grappling for a toehold in an era of accelerating flux and burgeoning ambiguity.

First Place, LTA 47th annual Playwriting Competition
Finalist, Voices of Women Festival 2023
Finalist, Trinity New Works 2024

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SCENES FROM an APOCALYPSE

—Arlene Abelman: a wife, mother and former Dead Head trying to do the right thing but seldom certain what that is; late 50s to 60s; Jewish

—Larissa Thompson: a loyal, recently retired and widowed woman of faith, forging a new path for herself and her daughter; 60s to early 70s; African-American

—David Abelman: a husband, father and former Dead Head trying to be a man but uncertain what that means; late 50s to 60s; Jewish

—Shana Abelman: High-achieving civic-minded daughter of Arlene and David; 25; most likely Jewish

—Salesperson/Stranger: a superficially amiable person with something dark and vaguely menacing at their core; age, race and gender flexible


* The playwright encourages inclusive casting.

Development History

  • Reading, Little Theatre of Alexandria, 2026
  • Reading, Powerstories Theatre, Voice of Women finalist, 2024