Blake Hackler

A modern, loose adaptation of Ibsen's Enemy of the People set in West Texas. Tom, an intrepid urban planner, suspects that a new city-sponsored hot springs project may be more dangerous than the local government is willing to admit. But when Tom speaks out against the project, he is met with resistance from several unexpected sources. The divide between right and wrong proves to be anything but black and white, and Tom finds himself risking everything for a town that doesn’t seem to want his help.

"It screams. It provokes. It maddens. It antagonizes." TheatreJones

"Enemies/People is the perfect pinch of sizzle needed to amp up your already hot summer." Selig Film News

Esther's quiet Brighton Beach existence is upended when a mysterious woman arrives at her door. It seems Esther's sister, Laila, has been kidnapped by a dybbuk, who's taking people's stories. Soon Esther is on her way to Japan to do battle with the dybbuk and her past. And she's going to bring Laila home, no matter the cost.

Set in East Texas over a span of 20 years, What We Were traces the lives of three sisters, Nell, Tessa, and Carlin, whose adult lives have all been impacted by a childhood of abuse.

After disappearing 17 years ago, Tessa, the youngest sister, resurfaces. It seems she has spent her adult life on the run, moving from state to state and foster family to foster family, pretending to be a teenage girl. When Nell gets word that Tessa, now 35, has finally been found out, Nell must decide how much of her past she’s willing to face in order to save her sister.

Weaving scenes from the past and present, What We Were is a meditation on responsibility, on what we do to cope, and on the very difficult work of healing.

The Necessities, set in East Texas, explores the universal and sometimes devastating search for connection. Debbie, a woman desperate to escape her past and make a new start, meets Peter, a former minister looking to do the same. They strike up a friendship that quickly grows into something more. But Debbie also meets Carly, a single mom and Reiki therapist. And Peter meets Ward, Carly’s 17 year-old son, who thinks there’s a wormhole on the edge of the town that can transport him to another time and place. As Debbie and Carly become closer, so do Peter and Ward. But the center can’t hold, at least not in a town like this, and soon everyone will decide how much they are willing to give to get what they need.

Based loosely on an actual event, This Sweet Affliction tells the story of Anna, a 17 year old girl stuck in a tiny town in Texas. With a mother that works 80 hours a week and a best friend who has defected to the "popular girls, " Anna longs for a way to be seen - to be noticed. When her one chance at getting out and moving on is dashed, , Anna decides to fake a mysterious illness, a choice that brings her much wanted attention at first, but soon spins dangerously out of control. As her friends, family, and her own body turn against her, Anna is forced to ask how far she is willing to go to be seen.

Using video, dance, and cheerleading (yes, that's right, cheerleading) This Sweet Affliction creates a face-paced mediated world that investigates our need to be noticed, at any cost.

Workshop, Primary Stages, NYC - DRILLS Festival
Finalist, ATHE Playwriting Award
Great Plains Theatre Conference, 2016

Raised from a young age to believe she is a servant of God, Laura now lives in seclusion with her mother in the middle of nowhere. When Aaron, a journalist who's writing a book about faith healers, arrives to interview Laura, he finds his ideas about faith and belief challenged in ways he never expected.