Wendy A. Schmidt

Wendy A. Schmidt

Wendy A. Schmidt is a cis-female, bi+ playwright from the Evangelical Midwest. Her one-woman play Maker of Worlds was produced in Theater for the New City’s Dream-Up Festival in New York in 2019. During lockdown, her shorts Charles Darwin and Modernity of the Soul were produced in the Planet Connections (NYC) Zoomfest, and she created short films as part of the TUTA Lab Global One Minute Project. She is an...
Wendy A. Schmidt is a cis-female, bi+ playwright from the Evangelical Midwest. Her one-woman play Maker of Worlds was produced in Theater for the New City’s Dream-Up Festival in New York in 2019. During lockdown, her shorts Charles Darwin and Modernity of the Soul were produced in the Planet Connections (NYC) Zoomfest, and she created short films as part of the TUTA Lab Global One Minute Project. She is an alumn of the La MaMa Umbria International Playwrights Retreat, 2021 (Sharon Bridgforth), 2020 (Nambi Kelly) and 2017 (Erik Ehn). Her play Veda in Time had a staged reading at La MaMa Galleria in January 2018. Her full-length play Marvelous Madeleines was produced at Berger Park in Chicago by Three Cat Productions in November 2016. Her play The New Republic had a staged reading in Chicago Dramatists’ Saturday Series in February 2015, and in January 2015, The Newlyweds was included in 20% Theater Company’s Dark Room workshop series. Her ten-minute play Tornado Alley was a finalist for the 2015 Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Heideman Award. Her radio play Goose Noir was recorded live at Chicago Dramatists in the February 2013 episode of Small Fish Radio. As literary manager of Three Cat, she curated the Chicago New Work Festival and Next Draft Series from 2017-2019. Wendy has studied at Chicago Dramatists, Piven Theatre Workshop, TUTA, and Green Shirt Studios, and has a BFA from Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design.

Plays

  • This Music Should Not Be
    A millionaire's wife is forced to learn a new language for her hobby job. It's hard at first, but the more proficient she becomes, the more she loses interest in certain activities that used to be important to her. Like breathing. Her friend Donna tries to warn her of the threat of not breathing. Will she remember to care before it's too late?

    Part One in The Filigree Trilogy
  • The Filigree Trilogy
    A millionaire's wife is forced to learn a new language for her job. Facing sub-zero temps, two homeless former CEOs are offered the opportunity of a lifetime by the billionaire Filigree. Three programmers start out with a plan to save the world, but end up ruling it. The Filigree Trilogy is a full length play in three parts, connected only by a sinister, pith-helmet wearing dude named Filigree, and the...
    A millionaire's wife is forced to learn a new language for her job. Facing sub-zero temps, two homeless former CEOs are offered the opportunity of a lifetime by the billionaire Filigree. Three programmers start out with a plan to save the world, but end up ruling it. The Filigree Trilogy is a full length play in three parts, connected only by a sinister, pith-helmet wearing dude named Filigree, and the theme of tech as the new colonialism.
  • Maker of Worlds
    Martha, a deity, decides to destroy the world and start over, but discovers her husband, Warren, is the one who built the system that's ruining it. Warren's secretary, Tiffany, is trapped between Martha, Warren, and another deity named Liz, a yoga instructor who only cares about saving the world from Martha and Rupert Murdoch. Jim Morrison spends eternity contemplating himself, and Martha's best...
    Martha, a deity, decides to destroy the world and start over, but discovers her husband, Warren, is the one who built the system that's ruining it. Warren's secretary, Tiffany, is trapped between Martha, Warren, and another deity named Liz, a yoga instructor who only cares about saving the world from Martha and Rupert Murdoch. Jim Morrison spends eternity contemplating himself, and Martha's best friend, Edith, has a message for her from across time. A play about creation and the past catching up to you.
  • Strays
    Facing below zero temps, two currently unhoused former CEOs are offered the opportunity of a lifetime by the billionaire Filigree and his assistant Liniment. It's easy and the benefits are enormous but you have to go down the hall to pee.

    Part Two in The Filigree Trilogy
  • The Bun
    Thank God Neato warned us of The LASIKS way back in 1999, otherwise we'd be living in McMansions in Zion, Illinois, eating protein porridge and giving our life force to power the machines, like D batteries. Sidekicks Mortgage and Travertine have been free to live out their lives as real Home Grown Humans, fighting the agents. But as they approach retirement, Travertine and Mortgage find out the hard way...
    Thank God Neato warned us of The LASIKS way back in 1999, otherwise we'd be living in McMansions in Zion, Illinois, eating protein porridge and giving our life force to power the machines, like D batteries. Sidekicks Mortgage and Travertine have been free to live out their lives as real Home Grown Humans, fighting the agents. But as they approach retirement, Travertine and Mortgage find out the hard way that Neato is not the hacker superhero played by Keanu Reeves they thought he was all along—and neither is The LASIKS.
  • Amy's Body
    Catalina studies the life form Amy. Amy tries to get Catalina to give her a life.
  • Charles Darwin
    Charles Darwin visits the Garden of Eden and tempts Eve and Adam with *gasp* knowledge. Meanwhile, The Earth Queen has had about enough of a skin infection. A short history of the fall of the human race.
  • The Newlyweds
    A mysterious guest arrives at a wedding, and in short order gets promoted to bridesmaid. Believing hard work and talent will be enough to win her lifelong ambition of becoming bride, The Bridesmaid convinces the wedding’s manager, Mr. Colander, to mentor her. Threatened, the current Bride and Groom try to get her fired, The Maid of Honor, Best Man, and Groomsman all pursue plots of their own to win the top...
    A mysterious guest arrives at a wedding, and in short order gets promoted to bridesmaid. Believing hard work and talent will be enough to win her lifelong ambition of becoming bride, The Bridesmaid convinces the wedding’s manager, Mr. Colander, to mentor her. Threatened, the current Bride and Groom try to get her fired, The Maid of Honor, Best Man, and Groomsman all pursue plots of their own to win the top spots, and Mr. Colander backpedals on his promises when push comes to shove. But the more The Bridesmaid learns of how the wedding is run, the less sure she is it meets her standards. Can her dream — or anyone else’s — of being young and beautiful forever really come true?
  • We Moved to Fifth Avenue
    A family moves from the East Sixties to Fifth Avenue. As told by a puppet. The rich get richer, and the world gets weirder.
  • Veda in Time
    A Christian yoga teacher must face the damage of her fundamentalist upbringing when Tree, Pigeon, Fish, Crow and corpse pose arrive at her class in person. A culture-hopping story-theater comedy, featuring St. Francis of Assisi, a chalkboard-toting Pastor, and a giant, decorated heart.
  • Marvelous Madeleines
    Marvelous Madeleines and National Cookies are perfect for each other. Luckily, they live in a world where it’s legal for companies to get married, but not people. Beginning with a chance encounter at a Paris café, the chemistry among their employees – especially between genius madeleine chef Astrid-Noémi and National Cookies marketing enfant-terrible Tom - is enough to carry them through a whirlwind courtship...
    Marvelous Madeleines and National Cookies are perfect for each other. Luckily, they live in a world where it’s legal for companies to get married, but not people. Beginning with a chance encounter at a Paris café, the chemistry among their employees – especially between genius madeleine chef Astrid-Noémi and National Cookies marketing enfant-terrible Tom - is enough to carry them through a whirlwind courtship and marriage. But after moving to National Cookie’s headquarters in Montana, things begin to unravel. Astrid-Noémi’s inspiration evaporates, bringing the companies near financial ruin. Marvelous Madeleines CEO Simone wants to have a child company, but National Cookies captain Harold will have none of it. Harold’s loyal but overworked assistant Sandy is learning the power of the worker from Simone’s accountant Rémy. As their corporate marriage speeds towards collapse, the individual employees are forced to consider scarier possibilities – but ones that just might be more fulfilling. A romantic comedy for the Citizen’s United age, Marvelous Madeleines dares to ask what makes people happy, and what if it isn’t global Capitalism?
  • The Serenity Update
    Step two in a twelve-step program for imposters throws the members into crisis. A full length play for Zoom about technology, identity, and learning to love ourselves.
  • The Yays
    A very short legislative farce.
  • Love In The Time Of Automated Forced Labor Human Economic System, or AFLHES
    A boy and girl meet in traditional office romance style, only to be attacked by their Automated Management Unit.
  • Mojave
    Upgrade to Mojave! A short play about technology, and the cost of being able to do anything.
  • Tornado Alley
    A man at an office party believes a tornado has struck. Perhaps it's just his heart.
  • Eat
    I dare someone to produce this.