Samantha Cooper

Samantha Cooper

Samantha Cooper is a NYC based playwright and theatre maker. She has been affiliated with organizations such as: Bay Area Playwrights Festival (2017 & 2023 Semifinalist), Blood Ensemble, Columbia@Roundabout (2018 Finalist), Crashbox Theatre Company, HERON Ensemble, Last Frontier Theatre Conference (2015 Play Lab), Macha Theatre Works, Northwest Playwrights Alliance, O'Neill National Playwrights...
Samantha Cooper is a NYC based playwright and theatre maker. She has been affiliated with organizations such as: Bay Area Playwrights Festival (2017 & 2023 Semifinalist), Blood Ensemble, Columbia@Roundabout (2018 Finalist), 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/.

Plays

  • She Lives with a Shrine by Samantha Cooper
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    8
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama
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    Keyword: family issues, addiction + 4 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: family issues, addiction, Mental Health, queer love, self-destruction, banter
    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....
    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
    Recommendations: 7
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    Cast: 
    8
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    Genre: dark comedy, farce + 2 more
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    Keyword: drug addiction, destructive religion + 8 more
    Genre: dark comedy, farce, romantic comedy, tragedy
    Keyword: drug addiction, destructive religion, journalism, adult comedy, lgbtqia, Non-Binary, dogs, queer, faith, romantic comedy
    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
    Recommendations: 9
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    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: roller derby, feminism + 7 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, tragedy
    Keyword: roller derby, feminism, New York City, death, Mourning, grief, siblings, women, blood
    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.
  • and, and, and Isabella Bootlegs by Samantha Cooper
    Recommendations: 7
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
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    Keyword: prohibition, Vietnam War + 8 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
    Keyword: prohibition, Vietnam War, spiritual, family, History, family ghosts, maps, Whiskey, women, small town
    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...
    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
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: Chekhov, Economics + 4 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, political
    Keyword: Chekhov, Economics, imperialism, delusion, family, poetry
    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
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: adaptation, docudrama/historic + 2 more
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    Keyword: political upheaval, Shakespeare-inspired + 5 more
    Genre: adaptation, docudrama/historic, drama, tragedy
    Keyword: political upheaval, Shakespeare-inspired, Antony and Cleopatra, alternate timelines, war, love, destruction
    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
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: criminal activity, grief + 2 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, immersive
    Keyword: criminal activity, grief, Mental Health, Sisters
    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
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: adaptation, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: Greek mythology, southern gothic + 2 more
    Genre: adaptation, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: Greek mythology, southern gothic, Agamemnon, war
    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
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: dark comedy, period + 1 more
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    Keyword: intimacy, date + 1 more
    Genre: dark comedy, period, romantic comedy
    Keyword: intimacy, date, Vulnerability
    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
    Recommendations: 7
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: dark comedy, period + 1 more
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    Keyword: 1950s, gender politics
    Genre: dark comedy, period, political
    Keyword: 1950s, gender politics
    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
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: adaptation, dark comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: History, revolution + 2 more
    Genre: adaptation, dark comedy, experimental, period, political
    Keyword: History, revolution, ghosts, Shakespeare
    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
    Recommendations: 10
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    Cast: 
    1
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    Genre: drama, experimental
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    Keyword: bodily functions, Greek mythology
    Genre: drama, experimental
    Keyword: bodily functions, Greek mythology
    The story inside that wants to get out.
  • Stand Still by Samantha Cooper
    Recommendations: 6
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    Cast: 
    1
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    Genre: adventure, period
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    Keyword: suspense
    Genre: adventure, period
    Keyword: suspense
    Rachel encounters a bear on her honeymoon.