Shoshannah Boray

Shoshannah Boray

Playwright Shoshannah Boray writes plays about timeless human struggles in the context of our social and political world. Her stories take place in the mountains of Vermont, the conflict torn Middle East, in the corner deli. Many travel through memory, imagination and time as they explore characters' innermost desires and fears. She is interested in finding what brings her characters through heartache to...
Playwright Shoshannah Boray writes plays about timeless human struggles in the context of our social and political world. Her stories take place in the mountains of Vermont, the conflict torn Middle East, in the corner deli. Many travel through memory, imagination and time as they explore characters' innermost desires and fears. She is interested in finding what brings her characters through heartache to a place of courage, and through the inevitable doubt and confusion of life's choices to a place of strength.

Boray's plays have been produced and staged in professional theaters nationwide, including "Escaping Warsaw" (New York City, Sage Theatre Company; LA's Sefira Theatre; UVM's Royal Tyler Theatre/ Annual Gathering of Holocaust Survivor Families); "Water People" (Maryland One-Act Festival, Best Original Script; Growling Pup Festival, VT); "Mensch" (JET Festival of New Plays, Detroit); "Laughing Under the Sea" (Flynn NASA Grant, Finalist Princess Grace Awards); "Coyote Dreams" (135 Pearl St, VT; Clauder Competition State Winner); "Witches' Brew" (Shoestring Theatre, VT); and one acts in San Francisco, Louisville, Portland, Seattle, NYC. She has also written a play series for youth based on the the myths and histories of cultures from around the world, and produced locally in Vermont schools.

Plays

  • The Phlebotomist's Feast by Shoshannah Boray
    Cast: 
    8
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 5 more
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    Keyword: school shooting, trauma + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, farce, holiday, political, satire
    Keyword: school shooting, trauma, family, food, Thanksgiving, dysfunctional holidays, Holidays
    A teacher has given up teaching middle school English to be a Phlebotomist. Now it’s time to tell everyone—at Thanksgiving.

    Thanks·giv·ing: /ˌTHaNGksˈɡiviNG/noun
    • 1. the expression of gratitude, heartfelt and not
    • 2.(in North America) an annual national holiday marked by familial tensions
    • 3. A tussle over food that masks political differences
    • 4. Turkey, Pie,...
    A teacher has given up teaching middle school English to be a Phlebotomist. Now it’s time to tell everyone—at Thanksgiving.

    Thanks·giv·ing: /ˌTHaNGksˈɡiviNG/noun
    • 1. the expression of gratitude, heartfelt and not
    • 2.(in North America) an annual national holiday marked by familial tensions
    • 3. A tussle over food that masks political differences
    • 4. Turkey, Pie, and the traumatic offenses of family and strangers
    • 5. Adulting in one’s childhood home
  • The First Sister Trip by Shoshannah Boray
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: Sisters, siblings + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: Sisters, siblings, family
    Three sisters are stuck on a long flight with their mother's ashes in an urn. They've been changing alliances, keeping secrets and trading insults among the three of them for more than 50 years. The First Sister Trip is about what it means to be a sister, a parent, a spouse, and the ways we love and understand one another.
  • The Tortoise and The Hare by Shoshannah Boray
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: siblings, addiction + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: siblings, addiction, differences, pills, Ambition, urban/suburban
    When Aaron comes to find out why his brilliant but wildly irresponsible sister Miri's phone has been disconnected, he finds things are much worse than he expected-- and he expected them to be bad. Now he has to choose whether or not to rescue her from her own demons, again. Or is it Miri rescuing Aaron from his descent into life’s dreariness? A play about siblings, addiction, and the pressure of being...
    When Aaron comes to find out why his brilliant but wildly irresponsible sister Miri's phone has been disconnected, he finds things are much worse than he expected-- and he expected them to be bad. Now he has to choose whether or not to rescue her from her own demons, again. Or is it Miri rescuing Aaron from his descent into life’s dreariness? A play about siblings, addiction, and the pressure of being 30something in today's world.
  • Stuffed (Thank you for the Food) by Shoshannah Boray
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: family, comedy
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, political, radio drama
    Keyword: family, comedy
    It’s that time of year again: Thanksgiving. Food, Gluttony, and the traumatic verbal offenses of family and strangers.
  • The Butterfly and the Wasp by Shoshannah Boray
    Cast: 
    5–6
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: secrets, sibling rivalry + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: secrets, sibling rivalry, forgiveness
    Only 9 months apart, Cece and Earl haven't spoken in nearly 70 years. He doesn't suspect that his successful, sharp, capable of anything older sister cannot leave the chair she greets him in without assistance. She has never suspected the betrayals and secrets her beloved younger brother has kept from her. How long is too long to wait to ask for forgiveness? How old do we have to be to see what is plainly in front of us?
  • The Most Important Thing in the World by Shoshannah Boray
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: siblings, love
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: siblings, love
    Benny and Andy take care of one another, that's what siblings do. Especially when it's just the two of them, against the world, which shouldn't happen when you're teenagers, but.. here they are. But when Benny steals Andy's beloved piggy bank-- the only thing he has left from their mother-- well, what do you do when the only person you count on in life steals the one thing you care most about?
  • Strawberry Moon by Shoshannah Boray
    Cast: 
    7–10
    ·
    Genre: drama, experimental + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: pregnancy, abortion + 6 more
    Genre: drama, experimental, political
    Keyword: pregnancy, abortion, Reproductive Rights, reproductive freedom, friendship, marriage, female friendship, abortion politics
    Maddie, Evan, George and Helen have been friends forever. But they didn't expect the choices they'd have to make as adults. What do we sacrifice for the people we love? When do political ideas not translate to our personal lives? What do you when everything you thought you wanted stops making sense? Strawberry Moon is a play that is both intimate and experimental in form, questioning ideas about perspective and absolutes.
  • Step Sisters by Shoshannah Boray
    Cast: 
    8–10
    ·
    Genre: comedy, farce + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: disability, misfits + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, farce, romantic comedy
    Keyword: disability, misfits, outsiders, Sisters, love, gender identity, special needs, step children, contemporary fairy tale
    Using whimsy and theatricality, Step-Sisters is about shifting our perspective on disability, difference, and identity politics. Penny, who is cognitively disabled, is at the heart of the story about two step sisters who definitely don't fit in and are the opposite of their parents' favorite. With the help, and hindrance, of Mom, Dad, two out of practice fairy god parents, this band of misguided and...
    Using whimsy and theatricality, Step-Sisters is about shifting our perspective on disability, difference, and identity politics. Penny, who is cognitively disabled, is at the heart of the story about two step sisters who definitely don't fit in and are the opposite of their parents' favorite. With the help, and hindrance, of Mom, Dad, two out of practice fairy god parents, this band of misguided and misfitted friends will find wisdom, love, and courage where they least expect it.
  • Me Talking 2 Me by Shoshannah Boray
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: a short Zoom play, coming of age + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, zoom
    Keyword: a short Zoom play, coming of age, life truths
    A woman contacts her younger self through zoom.
  • Water People by Shoshannah Boray
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: love, life choices + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: love, life choices, safety, risk
    Anna and David live a safe, content life in their cozy home nestled in the green mountains of Vermont. Then, one summer, her old friend and his teenage son, separately, and suddenly, move in with them, brandishing their daring choices and bitter challenges to Anna’s and David’s life together. The story of the play takes place as much in the flight of the characters’ minds as in the actual events of the summer...
    Anna and David live a safe, content life in their cozy home nestled in the green mountains of Vermont. Then, one summer, her old friend and his teenage son, separately, and suddenly, move in with them, brandishing their daring choices and bitter challenges to Anna’s and David’s life together. The story of the play takes place as much in the flight of the characters’ minds as in the actual events of the summer, so much so, in fact, that at the end, the entire episode—or just parts of it-- may—or may not—have been a dream, leaving Anna and David with a choice to make. (70min.; 2M;2W)
  • Apples and Stones, a dinner party by Shoshannah Boray
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: betrayal, love + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, farce, romantic comedy
    Keyword: betrayal, love, Morals
    What would you do if your girlfriend had a meaningless affair? Your charming and devoted husband lived by his own set of rules? Your wife always made her opinion known in public? Your lover never got angry? Your country was about to go to war? An unusual dinner party. An unusual party game. (1.5hr. 2W, 2M)
  • The Natural Order of Opposites by Shoshannah Boray
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: urban/rural divide, urban/rural + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, political
    Keyword: urban/rural divide, urban/rural, love, siblings, Adult Siblings
    Two sets of siblings struggle amid inequities and competition around age order, gender, conformity and plain old difference: in other words, classic sibling rivalry. Approaching 90 years old, one pair fought through World War 2; not yet 20, the next is struggling through a worldwide pandemic. But it is the love Cece and Earl, and then Jordie and Alex, have for one another, the ways they support and fail and...
    Two sets of siblings struggle amid inequities and competition around age order, gender, conformity and plain old difference: in other words, classic sibling rivalry. Approaching 90 years old, one pair fought through World War 2; not yet 20, the next is struggling through a worldwide pandemic. But it is the love Cece and Earl, and then Jordie and Alex, have for one another, the ways they support and fail and betray one another, and the divergent experiences they have as siblings growing up together that tell this American story that crosses the social barriers that divide us.
  • Momo No Kawa: Peach River by Shoshannah Boray
    Cast: 
    12–50
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, drama + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: Japanese, folktale + 4 more
    Genre: adaptation, drama, fable/folktale, young audiences
    Keyword: Japanese, folktale, courage, cooperation, Classic, adaptation
    Twins Momotaro and Momoko have decided it's time. Time to vanquish the Oni (Ogres) that have been pillaging, vandalizing and polluting the countryside their village for as long as anyone can remember. But the twins know they cannot do it alone, and as they travel to Oni Island, they encounter the fierce Inu (Dogs), the clever and slapstick Saru (Monkeys), and the intellectual and ephemeral Kijii (Birds)....
    Twins Momotaro and Momoko have decided it's time. Time to vanquish the Oni (Ogres) that have been pillaging, vandalizing and polluting the countryside their village for as long as anyone can remember. But the twins know they cannot do it alone, and as they travel to Oni Island, they encounter the fierce Inu (Dogs), the clever and slapstick Saru (Monkeys), and the intellectual and ephemeral Kijii (Birds). To have any chance of overcoming the fierce Oni, they’ll have to overcome their differences first. Can they work together to return peace and freedom to their homes? Traditional festival music, folk dance, drumming and Japanese language are part of this colorful adaptation of the classic Japanese folktale MOMOTARO.
  • Mandolin by Shoshannah Boray
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: love, love and money + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, political
    Keyword: love, love and money, poverty, life choices
    He loves her unconditionally, without worrying about practicalities; she wants to know where their next meal is coming from. What is the test of true love?
  • A Sibling Quartet by Shoshannah Boray
    Cast: 
    9–12
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: rural/urban divide, Adult Siblings + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, political, radio drama
    Keyword: rural/urban divide, Adult Siblings, sibling rivalry, familial love
    4 sets of blood siblings struggle with their bonds of love and opposition, competition and difference: classic sibling rivalry. Concerned with the ways we love and experience one another, the play asks if it is possible to put aside our assumptions, and our differences, in order to care for one another, and perhaps understand one another, -- not just as siblings, but as friends, country(men), and fellow humans.
  • The Cassandra Syndrome by Shoshannah Boray
    Cast: 
    12
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, adventure + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: activism, guns + 5 more
    Genre: adaptation, adventure, comedy, political, young audiences
    Keyword: activism, guns, gun rights, youth, better tomorrow, future, greek myth updated
    Set in Ancient Greece, full of egotistical and childish Greek Gods, noble and war-mongering monarchs and soldiers, the dapper Paris and savvy Helen, and with references to and inspiration from some of today's amazing young activists, The Cassandra Syndrome is a call to action for today's youth to step up and make a better tomorrow.
  • Witches' Brew, a re-imagining of MacBeth by Shoshannah Boray
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, comedy + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: humor, contemporary satire + 1 more
    Genre: adaptation, comedy, dark comedy, political, satire
    Keyword: humor, contemporary satire, Shakespeare
    In a medieval nightclub, three witches concoct a scheme to disrupt all that is honorable in humankind. It begins with a politician, a sign of fate, and his trusted wife, encouraging him to put his calling above the law. The witches stir the pot.

    Witche's Brew is a re-imagining of the original tale of power and greed-- Shakespeare’s Macbeth-- in a time not unlike our own. With original music.
  • Past, Present, Perfect by Shoshannah Boray
    Cast: 
    7
    ·
    Genre: drama, experimental + 1 more
    Genre: drama, experimental, political
    Four friends grapple with adult life, the dreams of their youth, and unexpected, difficult decisions. What are the sacrifices you make for the ones you love?  Past, Present, Perfect is a play that is both intimate and experimental in form, questioning ideas about perspective and absolutes.
  • Philo/Love + Dendrun/To Be Firm by Shoshannah Boray
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: mother/daughter, growing up
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: mother/daughter, growing up
    Helen stands up to her Mother by getting a plant.