Marilyn Schotland

Marilyn Schotland is a poet and playwright from Ann Arbor, Michigan, by way of Philadelphia.

Marilyn’s plays have been presented by Jewish Plays Project, The Ebell of Los Angeles, Villa Aurora, and First Kiss Theatre. Their play, Perihelion, was a recipient of the 2023 National Partners of the American Theatre Julie Jensen Playwriting Award and was a 2025 semi-finalist for the Ojai Playwrights Conference and the 47th Bay Area Playwrights Festival.

Marilyn is a Lambda Literary Fellow and a member of the Dramatist’s Guild of America. They hold an MFA in Dramatic Writing from the University of Southern California and a BA in History of Art and French from the University of Michigan.

Marilyn Schotland is a poet and playwright from Ann Arbor, Michigan, by way of Philadelphia.

Marilyn’s plays have been presented by Jewish Plays Project, The Ebell of Los Angeles, Villa Aurora, and First Kiss Theatre. Their play, Perihelion, was a recipient of the 2023 National Partners of the American Theatre Julie Jensen Playwriting Award and was a 2025 semi-finalist for the Ojai Playwrights Conference and the 47th Bay Area Playwrights Festival.

Marilyn is a Lambda Literary Fellow and a member of the Dramatist’s Guild of America. They hold an MFA in Dramatic Writing from the University of Southern California and a BA in History of Art and French from the University of Michigan.

Scripts

Perihelion

by Marilyn Schotland

3
Cast Size
6
Genre
docudrama/historic,
drama,
period

An astronomer, a medievalist, and a psychic are on the hunt for a comet in Paris on the eve of World War II. When a devastating betrayal splinters their group, the resulting fallout ripples across time in unexpected ways. A meditation on academia, queer kinship, and longing, Perihelion asks us to consider what we owe each other, and what happens when love isn’t enough.

An astronomer, a medievalist, and a psychic are on the hunt for a comet in Paris on the eve of World War II. When a devastating betrayal splinters their group, the resulting fallout ripples across time in unexpected ways. A meditation on academia, queer kinship, and longing, Perihelion asks us to consider what we owe each other, and what happens when love isn’t enough.

Somewhere Someone is Traveling Furiously Toward You

by Marilyn Schotland

2
Cast Size
5
Genre
dark comedy,
drama

Mourning her wife after a tragic accident, a recovering alcoholic and her nephew drive up the spine of Michigan to destroy the angel that killed her. Escaping their vengeance, the angel catches a ride with an ex-grad student searching for identity in the wake of his own loss. As the cars crisscross on the road, the world around them begins to collapse. Has all of this happened before? Will it be destined to...

Mourning her wife after a tragic accident, a recovering alcoholic and her nephew drive up the spine of Michigan to destroy the angel that killed her. Escaping their vengeance, the angel catches a ride with an ex-grad student searching for identity in the wake of his own loss. As the cars crisscross on the road, the world around them begins to collapse. Has all of this happened before? Will it be destined to repeat itself? A midwestern gothic exploring guilt and queer time, Somewhere Someone is Traveling Furiously Toward You is a play for every gay person who never learned how to drive.

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The Dybbuk on Orchard

by Marilyn Schotland

2
Cast Size
9
Genre
adaptation,
comedy,
drama,
period

In 1936 New York, mercurial ex-yeshiva boy Val Kaufmann owns a tea shop on Orchard Street. When not telling fortunes to the local Yiddish theater director or fencing stolen goods, he carries on a relationship with Misha Olkhovsky, a grumpy Russian-American P.I. with a past. Their precarious dynamic is put to the test with the simultaneous arrivals of Val's cousin from Nazi Germany and a glamorous starlet fleeing...

In 1936 New York, mercurial ex-yeshiva boy Val Kaufmann owns a tea shop on Orchard Street. When not telling fortunes to the local Yiddish theater director or fencing stolen goods, he carries on a relationship with Misha Olkhovsky, a grumpy Russian-American P.I. with a past. Their precarious dynamic is put to the test with the simultaneous arrivals of Val's cousin from Nazi Germany and a glamorous starlet fleeing scandal in Hollywood. Blending elements of noir, queer history, Shakespeare, and Jewish identity, 'The Dybbuk on Orchard' examines what thieves and lovers get up to in the dark.

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Zay Gezunt, Havana!

by Marilyn Schotland

2
Cast Size
2
Genre
comedy,
drama,
period

On the cusp of immigrating to America in 1965, Dora asks her best friend Zelda to help smuggle her husband's medical school diploma out of Cuba.

On the cusp of immigrating to America in 1965, Dora asks her best friend Zelda to help smuggle her husband's medical school diploma out of Cuba.

mushrooms & frogs & sh*t

by Marilyn Schotland

1
Cast Size
3
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
satire

Two students confront their professor about an incident in class. A ten minute play about microagressions, miscommunication, and cottagecore.

Two students confront their professor about an incident in class. A ten minute play about microagressions, miscommunication, and cottagecore.

Hell's Bells

by Marilyn Schotland

1
Cast Size
3
Genre
dark comedy,
farce

Recently deceased court composer Fredemund is sent to Hell. His punishment? To write music, forever, on the posterior of another sinner. A demon torments them both. A five minute riff on Hieronymus Bosch's 'The Garden of Earthly Delights.'

Recently deceased court composer Fredemund is sent to Hell. His punishment? To write music, forever, on the posterior of another sinner. A demon torments them both. A five minute riff on Hieronymus Bosch's 'The Garden of Earthly Delights.'