Rachel Luann Strayer

Rachel Luann Strayer

Rachel Luann Strayer (she/her/hers) is a Pennsylvania playwright with an MFA in Creative Writing from Wilkes University. She has three unproduced full-length plays, including THE LAST DAUGHTER, a finalist for the 2020 Jane Chambers Playwriting Award; SONGBIRD, which was featured in The Bechdel Group's 2019 Fall Reading series and is one of five finalists to receive a reading with Premiere Stages at Kean...
Rachel Luann Strayer (she/her/hers) is a Pennsylvania playwright with an MFA in Creative Writing from Wilkes University. She has three unproduced full-length plays, including THE LAST DAUGHTER, a finalist for the 2020 Jane Chambers Playwriting Award; SONGBIRD, which was featured in The Bechdel Group's 2019 Fall Reading series and is one of five finalists to receive a reading with Premiere Stages at Kean University in 2021; and her first play for teens, A DECAMERON FOR THE APOCALYPSE. Produced full-length plays include DROWNING OPHELIA (Repurposed Theatre, Gaslight Theatre Company, Philadelphia Fringe Festival, & University of Idaho) and her theatrical adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe short stories and poems, THE POE ASYLUM (Scranton Fringe Festival & Keystone College). Rachel's short plays have been produced by several regional theatre companies in northeast Pennsylvania, as well as receiving online productions during the COVID-19 quarantine. Short plays include: EMPATHY, A CLEAN BATHROOM, THE NEXT STEP, IN THE DARK, IT’S ENOUGH, SAFE AS HOUSES, SISTERS, and GHOST STORY (Gaslight Theatre Company PlayRoom Series); GHOST IN THE WALL, STILL LIFE, and QUARANTINE EATING (Theatre is the Cure); I'LL BE ZOOMING YOU and LIGHT THE WAY BACK (Millersville University); and LIGHT (One-Minute Play Festival). Rachel has been a member of the Dramatists Guild since 2015.

Plays

  • Work in Progress: A Decameron for the Apocalypse by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Cast: 
    10–30
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: teenagers, Mental Health + 7 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, fantasy, movement/physical
    Keyword: teenagers, Mental Health, anxiety, sexual assault, Learning Disabilities, transgender issues, faith, apocalypse, pandemic
    FULL-LENGTH PLAY FOR TEENS. Seven teenagers find themselves trapped with their creative writing teacher in a library basement during the apocalypse. One by one, they tell stories to pass the time, each one unraveling truths about the wars they're fighting within and, in some cases, the battles they're fighting with each other. But the apocalypse above is about to intrude on their solitary world and...
    FULL-LENGTH PLAY FOR TEENS. Seven teenagers find themselves trapped with their creative writing teacher in a library basement during the apocalypse. One by one, they tell stories to pass the time, each one unraveling truths about the wars they're fighting within and, in some cases, the battles they're fighting with each other. But the apocalypse above is about to intrude on their solitary world and the way they respond will change each of them forever.

    *This draft is still under revision. Feedback is welcome!
  • Songbird by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: Selective mutism, silence + 8 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: Selective mutism, silence, trauma, metoo, sexual assault, rape, child abuse, sibling dynamics, friendship, Hope
    FULL-LENGTH PLAY WITH SONGS. Jess is an up-and-coming singer/songwriter who doesn't want to talk about why she abandoned her career. In fact, she doesn't want to talk about it so badly that she hasn't spoken or sung about anything in months. Jess's sister, Brit, thinks a beach trip to their old family vacation spot is just the trick to get Jess to open up. What Brit doesn't expect is...
    FULL-LENGTH PLAY WITH SONGS. Jess is an up-and-coming singer/songwriter who doesn't want to talk about why she abandoned her career. In fact, she doesn't want to talk about it so badly that she hasn't spoken or sung about anything in months. Jess's sister, Brit, thinks a beach trip to their old family vacation spot is just the trick to get Jess to open up. What Brit doesn't expect is for her sister to stay silent, while also making friends with a young teenager who breaks into their beach house. Jess is haunted by the events that led up to her vow of silence, even as she is battered by her sister's insecurities and troubled by signs of abuse marking her new friend's face. As tensions rise, Jess knows there are words that have to be spoken; she's just hoping she has the right ones.
  • The Last Daughter by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: choice, Reproductive Rights + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, science fiction
    Keyword: choice, Reproductive Rights, reproductive freedom, childbearing, fertility, feminism
    FULL-LENGTH PLAY. Finalist for the 2020 Jane Chambers Playwriting Award. What if the last fertile woman on earth didn't want to have children? When Eve discovers she is the only known woman still able to conceive a child, she has no idea how radically her life is about to change. Immediately, Eve is put into a box - a literal, bulletproof, could-withstand-a-nuclear-blast-box - where she is looked after by...
    FULL-LENGTH PLAY. Finalist for the 2020 Jane Chambers Playwriting Award. What if the last fertile woman on earth didn't want to have children? When Eve discovers she is the only known woman still able to conceive a child, she has no idea how radically her life is about to change. Immediately, Eve is put into a box - a literal, bulletproof, could-withstand-a-nuclear-blast-box - where she is looked after by a vaguely charming (and terribly un-funny) doctor and spied on by an ever-present Very Important Person. Eve's ecstatic mother is on hand, with a parade of horrid would-be suitors, intent on impregnating the very last of the Last Daughters. In this environment, it's impossible for Eve to figure out if she actually wants to have children, not that anyone cares what she wants. But can Eve really look into the face of her barren sister, Elizabeth, and reject what her sister so desperately desires?
  • Drowning Ophelia by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: metoo, memory + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: metoo, memory, sexual abuse, Shakespeare, Hamlet
    FULL-LENGTH PLAY. Jane doesn’t know what to do with the literary character who has taken up residence in her bathtub. She doesn’t want Ophelia interrupting the obsessive order of her life with obnoxious songs about death and valentines. She doesn’t want Ophelia disrupting her relationship with Edmund, the oddly charming actor who might show up for dinner in a suit…or a suit of armor. And she most definitely...
    FULL-LENGTH PLAY. Jane doesn’t know what to do with the literary character who has taken up residence in her bathtub. She doesn’t want Ophelia interrupting the obsessive order of her life with obnoxious songs about death and valentines. She doesn’t want Ophelia disrupting her relationship with Edmund, the oddly charming actor who might show up for dinner in a suit…or a suit of armor. And she most definitely doesn’t want Ophelia stirring up memories of a brother she would rather forget. But Ophelia doesn’t care about what Jane wants so much as what she needs. As Jane’s past intrudes dangerously on her present, it becomes clear that Ophelia is not simply a character from "Hamlet," but a long-forgotten messenger with a question from Jane’s own troubled mind: How do you move on when reconciliation is not an option?

    "Drowning Ophelia" is a dark comedy performed in one act about the long-term consequences of childhood abuse, and a love letter to those who have suffered. There is always hope.
  • The Poe Asylum by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    4–16
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, drama + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: Edgar Allan Poe, Mental Health + 3 more
    Genre: adaptation, drama, experimental, horror, immersive, movement/physical, mystery/thriller
    Keyword: Edgar Allan Poe, Mental Health, mental illness, horror, halloween
    FULL-LENGTH PLAY. THE POE ASYLUM is an immersive theatrical adaptation based on four terrifying short stories and one tragic poem by master of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe. Audience members move from room to room in the asylum, watching and listening as stories of horror unfold. A captive recounts their imprisonment and torture. A woman calls out for her lost daughter, only to be answered by an enigmatic raven...
    FULL-LENGTH PLAY. THE POE ASYLUM is an immersive theatrical adaptation based on four terrifying short stories and one tragic poem by master of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe. Audience members move from room to room in the asylum, watching and listening as stories of horror unfold. A captive recounts their imprisonment and torture. A woman calls out for her lost daughter, only to be answered by an enigmatic raven. Another patient fights with the uncontrollable and irrational desire to commit murder. But these are merely stories told by troubled minds. What is the true pain lurking behind the tales these men and women tell? The audience will have to ponder if these individuals are really patients in a mental asylum, or if they are simply trapped in their own minds by the demons they created. And then comes the greatest question of all: where is hope?

    THE POE ASYLUM may be performed as an immersive piece, or traditionally staged on a proscenium at the director's discretion. While there are five scenes in total, rights may be acquired to perform fewer scenes.

    If performed in full as an immersive piece, cast size may be as few as 9 with doubling, or as many as 16+.
    If performed on a stage with scene breaks, cast size may be as few as 4 with doubling.
  • Light the Way Back by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Cast: 
    2–10
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: ghostlight, theatre + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, fantasy, movement/physical
    Keyword: ghostlight, theatre, Quarantine, pandemic, covid19, coronavirus, Hand Sanitizer, apocalypse, Hope
    TEN-MINUTE PLAY. In the year 2082, teenagers Jamie and Cam break into an abandoned theatre, looking for relics of the past. What they find is the haunting presence of a world humankind has lost. Still, something magical lingers among the dusty remains, along with the hope that we can find our way back.
  • I'll Be Zooming You by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: zoom, Quarantine + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, experimental, romantic comedy
    Keyword: zoom, Quarantine, Self-quarantine, self-isolation, dating, Relationships, Long-distance love
    TEN-MINUTE PLAY. Distance is a challenge for any relationship, even with technology to bridge the gap. Clea and Riff are struggling through their "second date" on Zoom, but more than that, they're struggling to figure whether or not their relationship works when distance is no longer an option. Written specifically to be performed through the Zoom platform, I'LL BE ZOOMING YOU could also be...
    TEN-MINUTE PLAY. Distance is a challenge for any relationship, even with technology to bridge the gap. Clea and Riff are struggling through their "second date" on Zoom, but more than that, they're struggling to figure whether or not their relationship works when distance is no longer an option. Written specifically to be performed through the Zoom platform, I'LL BE ZOOMING YOU could also be creatively staged in a theatre with or without the inclusion of multimedia elements.

  • Writing a Play for the Quarantine Bake Off by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: Quarantine, COVID 19 + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: Quarantine, COVID 19, self-isolation, Relationships, writing, creating
    TEN-MINUTE PLAY. Self-isolating with another person can be a challenge, even if it's a person you love.
  • Ghost Story by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: death, ghost story + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, holiday, horror
    Keyword: death, ghost story, christmas, family, loss, death of a parent, Relationships, fear
    TEN-MINUTE PLAY. Natalie is committed to her favorite holiday tradition - reading ghost stories on Christmas Eve - but her husband, Doug, very much wants to decorate the Christmas tree, drink hot chocolate, and watch something safe, like "Snoopy Saves Christmas." As Natalie persists in her reading endeavor (despite Doug's numerous distractions), an unexpected guest invades their home, bringing...
    TEN-MINUTE PLAY. Natalie is committed to her favorite holiday tradition - reading ghost stories on Christmas Eve - but her husband, Doug, very much wants to decorate the Christmas tree, drink hot chocolate, and watch something safe, like "Snoopy Saves Christmas." As Natalie persists in her reading endeavor (despite Doug's numerous distractions), an unexpected guest invades their home, bringing emotions to the surface that Natalie needs so desperately to deal with.
  • Sisters by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: family, Relationships + 1 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: family, Relationships, friendship
    TEN-MINUTE PLAY. What can you do when your sisters are driving you crazy? Stab one in the eye with a knitting needle? Threaten to chop their heads off with a paper cutter? Tell them for once and for all that NO YOU DO NOT WANT TO SCRAPBOOK? Shoshana might be considering all these things, but her friend Rose is about to turn Shoshana's problem on it's head. Which is worse; having sisters you can't...
    TEN-MINUTE PLAY. What can you do when your sisters are driving you crazy? Stab one in the eye with a knitting needle? Threaten to chop their heads off with a paper cutter? Tell them for once and for all that NO YOU DO NOT WANT TO SCRAPBOOK? Shoshana might be considering all these things, but her friend Rose is about to turn Shoshana's problem on it's head. Which is worse; having sisters you can't stand or not having any at all? First commissioned and performed by Gaslight Theatre Company as part of their PlayRoom Series.
  • Safe as Houses by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: zombies, mother daughter relationship + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, fantasy, horror, science fiction
    Keyword: zombies, mother daughter relationship, facing reality
    TEN-MINUTE PLAY. Surviving the zombie apocalypse is hard, especially with a teenage daughter in tow. When Rashida and her daughter Kella stumble upon a surprisingly unfazed survivor still playing house, they take a moment to face the reality that some people just, well, won't. First commissioned and performed by Gaslight Theatre Company for their PlayRoom Series.
  • It's Enough by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: loss, family + 3 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: loss, family, absent father, homelessness, dance
    TEN-MINUTE PLAY. When a homeless woman wanders into her garage, Barb is surprised not just by the woman's presence, but also her intimate understanding of Barb's childhood. Of particular interest to the homeless woman is a music box given to Barb by her absent father...a gift that may be the key to a brighter future for both of them. First commissioned and performed by Gaslight Theatre Company for their PlayRoom Series.
  • In the Dark by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: fear, loneliness + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, horror
    Keyword: fear, loneliness, insecurity
    TEN-MINUTE PLAY. An unwelcome visitor invades Sola’s bedroom in the middle of the night, awakening her deep-rooted fears and forcing her toward surprising introspection. First commissioned and performed by Gaslight Theatre Company for their PlayRoom Series.
  • The Next Step by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: dead body, murder + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: dead body, murder, attic, writers, family, insecurity
    TEN-MINUTE PLAY. Hiding a dead body is not an easy task, especially when you're in a tiny attic while your extended family is cheerfully eating dinner downstairs. Fortunately, the dead body has some ideas of their own on how they would like to be disposed of, along with some life advice for our hapless "killer." Commissioned and performed by Gaslight Theatre Company for their PlayRoom Series in...
    TEN-MINUTE PLAY. Hiding a dead body is not an easy task, especially when you're in a tiny attic while your extended family is cheerfully eating dinner downstairs. Fortunately, the dead body has some ideas of their own on how they would like to be disposed of, along with some life advice for our hapless "killer." Commissioned and performed by Gaslight Theatre Company for their PlayRoom Series in 2014. Revised for a reading with Millersville University students in 2020.
  • A Clean Bathroom by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: affair, marriage + 1 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: affair, marriage, forgiveness
    TEN-MINUTE PLAY. Charlize won't let her husband Roy use the bathroom while she's cleaning. Which sucks for Roy, since he REALLY has to pee. But the real conflict has less to do with a clean bathroom, and more to do with accepting what can't be scrubbed away. First commissioned and performed by Gaslight Theatre Company for their PlayRoom Series.
  • Empathy by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Cast: 
    4–5
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: PTSD, grief + 1 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: PTSD, grief, loss of a child
    TEN-MINUTE PLAY. In the wake of terrible news, Imogen can't understand why her husband continues to open and close their refrigerator door while refusing to eat anything, why he won't shower or pick up a knife, or why he shudders when the water turns on. If she learns the truth, will she empathize with what he's suffering? And is that what she really wants? First commissioned and performed by...
    TEN-MINUTE PLAY. In the wake of terrible news, Imogen can't understand why her husband continues to open and close their refrigerator door while refusing to eat anything, why he won't shower or pick up a knife, or why he shudders when the water turns on. If she learns the truth, will she empathize with what he's suffering? And is that what she really wants? First commissioned and performed by Gaslight Theatre Company as part of their PlayRoom Series.
  • Balconies by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: love, Temptation + 1 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: love, Temptation, desire
    THREE-MINUTE PLAY. A man and a woman stand right next to each other, but a million miles apart. What does it take to get what you want? A 3-minute play about the things we don't reach for, no matter how close.
  • Light by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: ghostlight, college theatre + 6 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: ghostlight, college theatre, Quarantine, pandemic, covid19, coronavirus, isolation, Hope
    ONE-MINUTE PLAY. When a pandemic shuts down the theatre on school campus, the director fights to keep a light on.
  • Quarantine Eating by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: eating disorder, men with eating disorders + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: eating disorder, men with eating disorders, Relationships, parenthood, spouses
    MONOLOGUE. When Mark tells his wife to "stop eating" he wasn't making a comment about her weight. He was only trying to be helpful the way his dad helped him when he was an overweight child. But the more Mark thinks about his father's approach to "healthy eating," the more he realizes that maybe it wasn't helpful after all.
  • Still Life by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: centers female character, lighthearted
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: centers female character, lighthearted
    MONOLOGUE. Marian just needs someone to pose for ten pictures in the park for a school project. When she finds the perfect subject, a little bit of chaos ensues.
  • Ghost in the Wall by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
    ·
    Keyword: ghost, ghost story + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
    Keyword: ghost, ghost story, isolation, drinking, Alcohol, separation, breaking up, grief
    MONOLOGUE. Clara's all alone, with only a ghost in her wall to keep her company. As she puzzles her way through the events leading up to her isolation, she begins to wonder if the ghostly presence she perceives is actually there at all.
  • Itch by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: choice, women's rights + 1 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: choice, women's rights, family
    MONOLOGUE. What did you want to be when you grew up? Eve recalls her childhood desire to be an archaeologist - among other things - and the cruel reality that you don't always get to pursue what you want. This reality comes into sharp relief even now, as Eve finds herself trapped in a literal box, waiting for the life that the world has chosen for her while itching for the life she cannot have. *ITCH is a...
    MONOLOGUE. What did you want to be when you grew up? Eve recalls her childhood desire to be an archaeologist - among other things - and the cruel reality that you don't always get to pursue what you want. This reality comes into sharp relief even now, as Eve finds herself trapped in a literal box, waiting for the life that the world has chosen for her while itching for the life she cannot have. *ITCH is a monologue adapted from my full-length play, THE LAST DAUGHTER.*
  • Photos with my Rapist (2 min) by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: sexual assault, rape + 2 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: sexual assault, rape, family, metoo
    TWO-MINUTE MONOLOGUE. No one would get together with their rapist every year and take a photo, unless, of course, that person was a part of their family. A brief monologue about the way victims of familial abuse suffer, no matter how long it has been since the original assault.
  • Photos with my Rapist (1 min) by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Recommendations: 13
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: sexual assault, rape + 2 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: sexual assault, rape, family, metoo
    ONE-MINUTE MONOLOGUE. No one would get together with their rapist every year and take a photo, unless, of course, that person was a part of their family. A brief monologue about the way victims of familial abuse suffer, no matter how long it has been since the original assault.

    *Revised from two-minute version. Perfect for one-minute audition or competition piece.
  • Tooth Fairy from Hell by Rachel Luann Strayer
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: family, Sisters + 4 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: family, Sisters, wedding, Bridesmaid Dresses, bridesmaid, love
    MONOLOGUE. Sometimes its hard to love family unconditionally, especially when their love seems oh-so-conditional on most occasions. Faced with wearing the ugliest dress in creation for her sister's wedding, a woman ponders what her priorities are and whether or not unconditional love for family is all its cracked up to be.