Samantha Cooper

Samantha Cooper is a NYC based playwright, theatre maker, and creative consultant. She has been affiliated with organizations such as: Bay Area Playwrights Festival (2017 & 2023 Semifinalist), Blood Ensemble, Columbia@Roundabout (2018 Finalist), Book-It Repertory Theatre, Crashbox Theatre Company, HERON Ensemble, Last Frontier Theatre Conference (2015 Play Lab), Macha Theatre Works, Northwest Playwrights Alliance, O'Neill National Playwrights Festival (2017 Semifinalist), Princess Grace Awards (2017 Semifinalist), Project Y Writer's Group, Samuel French OOB Festival (2016 Final 30), Seattle Repertory Theatre, Unicorn Theatre (2017-18 New Play Series Semifinalist), and Western Washington University (WWU). BA: WWU MFA: Columbia University. Find her online at http://www.samanthajcooper.com/...

Samantha Cooper is a NYC based playwright, theatre maker, and creative consultant. She has been affiliated with organizations such as: Bay Area Playwrights Festival (2017 & 2023 Semifinalist), Blood Ensemble, Columbia@Roundabout (2018 Finalist), Book-It Repertory Theatre, Crashbox Theatre Company, HERON Ensemble, Last Frontier Theatre Conference (2015 Play Lab), Macha Theatre Works, Northwest Playwrights Alliance, O'Neill National Playwrights Festival (2017 Semifinalist), Princess Grace Awards (2017 Semifinalist), Project Y Writer's Group, Samuel French OOB Festival (2016 Final 30), Seattle Repertory Theatre, Unicorn Theatre (2017-18 New Play Series Semifinalist), and Western Washington University (WWU). BA: WWU MFA: Columbia University. Find her online at http://www.samanthajcooper.com/ and read her newsletter at https://samjeancoop.substack.com/.

In partnership with New Light Theatre Project, Invincible Ones was recorded as a radio play in October 2020 and released in early 2021. You can list to that version here: https://www.newlighttheaterproject.com/invincibleones.

Scripts

She Lives with a Shrine

by Samantha Cooper

Synopsis

Elle is pretty sure her life is going in exactly the right direction; she's got a great promotion, fun and drunk friends, a hot and heavy relationship on the horizon, and a fancy apartment she never fully unpacked. But with an unpredictable sibling and a family always on high alert, distraction is a constant. As the bad news piles up, Elle quickly starts to lose hold of everything she worked so hard for. Making...

Elle is pretty sure her life is going in exactly the right direction; she's got a great promotion, fun and drunk friends, a hot and heavy relationship on the horizon, and a fancy apartment she never fully unpacked. But with an unpredictable sibling and a family always on high alert, distraction is a constant. As the bad news piles up, Elle quickly starts to lose hold of everything she worked so hard for. Making concessions to protect those around her, Elle must ultimately ask herself who those sacrifices help and who they harm.

...and a dog named Jesus

by Samantha Cooper

Synopsis

Lilith is the pastor of Seattle megachurch Passionate Grace. Well, okay, the church is actually a front for a drug running and rave business. A business which is going incredibly well…until the local alt-rag catches wind of “misuse of church funds” and sends a bumbling reporter to investigate. When the investigation turns to romance and the bottom falls out of the church, Lilith’s real motivations send her...

Lilith is the pastor of Seattle megachurch Passionate Grace. Well, okay, the church is actually a front for a drug running and rave business. A business which is going incredibly well…until the local alt-rag catches wind of “misuse of church funds” and sends a bumbling reporter to investigate. When the investigation turns to romance and the bottom falls out of the church, Lilith’s real motivations send her kingdom hurtling towards an explosive end. …a dog named Jesus is part drug thriller, part romcom, and part dark com(edy) that is ultimately exploring the connections between faith, home, and the destructive effects of the modern opioid crisis.

Invincible Ones

by Samantha Cooper

Synopsis

Reeling from their best friend's death, a group of women face what their lives look like in the aftermath. In the wake of loss, they each attempt to answer seemingly unanswerable questions: Who will give the eulogy? Will they ever be able to live alone? Why did that girl’s brother show up? Drawing on roller derby culture, Invincible Ones explores the way we handle grief, guilt, and a constant drip from the...

Reeling from their best friend's death, a group of women face what their lives look like in the aftermath. In the wake of loss, they each attempt to answer seemingly unanswerable questions: Who will give the eulogy? Will they ever be able to live alone? Why did that girl’s brother show up? Drawing on roller derby culture, Invincible Ones explores the way we handle grief, guilt, and a constant drip from the heavens (apartment) above.

In partnership with New Light Theatre Project, Invincible Ones was recorded as a radio play in October 2020 and released in January of 2021. You can list to that version here: https://www.newlighttheaterproject.com/invincibleones.

and Isabella Bootlegs

by Samantha Cooper

Synopsis

Brooklyn has just graduated college when her mother, Tilly, makes an odd request: that Brooklyn and her father stay locked in the house with Tilly for one year. As Brooklyn investigates the murky past behind her mother’s strange paranoia, she uncovers more family mysteries than she ever could have imagined. and, and, and Isabella Bootlegs tells the story of four generations of women who, in order to move forward...

Brooklyn has just graduated college when her mother, Tilly, makes an odd request: that Brooklyn and her father stay locked in the house with Tilly for one year. As Brooklyn investigates the murky past behind her mother’s strange paranoia, she uncovers more family mysteries than she ever could have imagined. and, and, and Isabella Bootlegs tells the story of four generations of women who, in order to move forward, must first delve into the secrets of their lineage.

These Mistakes

by Samantha Cooper

Synopsis

After the second botched suicide attempt by their matriarch Renee, the Rudin family agrees to return to their beloved family orchard in an effort to reclaim their original ownership of the land. But during their journey they are all confronted with the harsh realities of recovery and each must learn in their own way: delusion doesn't win back property.

After the second botched suicide attempt by their matriarch Renee, the Rudin family agrees to return to their beloved family orchard in an effort to reclaim their original ownership of the land. But during their journey they are all confronted with the harsh realities of recovery and each must learn in their own way: delusion doesn't win back property.

The Earth Shakes

by Samantha Cooper

Synopsis

Equal parts pithy and poetic, hilarious and heartbreaking, The Earth Shakes reimagines the infamous couple Antony and Cleopatra as they set a time-hopping collision-course toward each other, hurdling in the direction of a future as catastrophic as it is inevitable.

Equal parts pithy and poetic, hilarious and heartbreaking, The Earth Shakes reimagines the infamous couple Antony and Cleopatra as they set a time-hopping collision-course toward each other, hurdling in the direction of a future as catastrophic as it is inevitable.

Illegal Activities

by Samantha Cooper

Synopsis

Five years does not make death any more real for this group of lady Robin Hoods, but they gather to celebrate the anniversary regardless. Despite the long-needed reunion, the secrets at the heart of their past soon ignite the air. When the fire is lit, will they run towards the flames or to higher ground?

Five years does not make death any more real for this group of lady Robin Hoods, but they gather to celebrate the anniversary regardless. Despite the long-needed reunion, the secrets at the heart of their past soon ignite the air. When the fire is lit, will they run towards the flames or to higher ground?

Disgusting Temptations

by Samantha Cooper

Synopsis

A retelling of the return of Agamemnon against the backdrop of modern warfare and a rusty trailer in the middle of nowhere.

A retelling of the return of Agamemnon against the backdrop of modern warfare and a rusty trailer in the middle of nowhere.

Fog

by Samantha Cooper

Synopsis

Getting ready for a date is complicated by the presence of a Victorian spectre stuck in a corset. Fog investigates the terrors and barriers of intimacy across generations.

Getting ready for a date is complicated by the presence of a Victorian spectre stuck in a corset. Fog investigates the terrors and barriers of intimacy across generations.

The Woman American

by Samantha Cooper

Synopsis

A look at the life of a group of 1950s housewives on an average Thursday which is, of course, bridge day. While the day progresses somewhat normally for a while, it is quickly clear that this particular bridge day is a little more bloody than others.

A look at the life of a group of 1950s housewives on an average Thursday which is, of course, bridge day. While the day progresses somewhat normally for a while, it is quickly clear that this particular bridge day is a little more bloody than others.

The Man Who Cries Fire and Others

by Samantha Cooper

Synopsis

In a chaotic reimagining of the death of the Romanov family, what happens to those who are simply following orders?

In a chaotic reimagining of the death of the Romanov family, what happens to those who are simply following orders?

Retch Gag Spew Hurl Heave Eject

by Samantha Cooper

Synopsis

The story inside that wants to get out.

The story inside that wants to get out.

Stand Still

by Samantha Cooper

Synopsis

Rachel encounters a bear on her honeymoon.

Rachel encounters a bear on her honeymoon.