Artistic Statement
Whether I’m writing about superheroes, sex robots, or Internet subcultures, my work is overwhelmingly honest. I’m not afraid to tap into the raw, messy human emotions that complicate and drive even the most outlandish of situations. My plays examine competition and compassion among four versions of the same disabled superhero (RETCONtroversy at The Brick’s Comic Book Theater Festival and Otherworld Theatre Company’s Paragon Festival); “friends with benefits” via a sex robot and his compartmentalizing human owner (A Real Boy at Caps Lock Theatre’s Sex With Robots Festival); consent and play among kinksters and larpers (Denial and Other Safe Spaces, developed at Fresh Ground Pepper’s BRB Retreat); relationship issues and gaslighting through a time traveler’s girlfriend who gets to travel on her own (Split Second, developed during the Amtrak Residency in 2017). I’ve always been drawn to depicting female dynamics--competition, attraction/love, self-identity--and even when I write men and women, there’s usually a feminist bent. I’m interested in stories and tropes that span across time, from speculative near-futures plagued by current issues, to layering modern-day celebrities over historical figures. My plays are dark, but with enough humor to keep audiences engaged (and occasionally throw them off-balance).
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Natalie Zutter
Artistic Statement
Whether I’m writing about superheroes, sex robots, or Internet subcultures, my work is overwhelmingly honest. I’m not afraid to tap into the raw, messy human emotions that complicate and drive even the most outlandish of situations. My plays examine competition and compassion among four versions of the same disabled superhero (RETCONtroversy at The Brick’s Comic Book Theater Festival and Otherworld Theatre Company’s Paragon Festival); “friends with benefits” via a sex robot and his compartmentalizing human owner (A Real Boy at Caps Lock Theatre’s Sex With Robots Festival); consent and play among kinksters and larpers (Denial and Other Safe Spaces, developed at Fresh Ground Pepper’s BRB Retreat); relationship issues and gaslighting through a time traveler’s girlfriend who gets to travel on her own (Split Second, developed during the Amtrak Residency in 2017). I’ve always been drawn to depicting female dynamics--competition, attraction/love, self-identity--and even when I write men and women, there’s usually a feminist bent. I’m interested in stories and tropes that span across time, from speculative near-futures plagued by current issues, to layering modern-day celebrities over historical figures. My plays are dark, but with enough humor to keep audiences engaged (and occasionally throw them off-balance).