Megan Schumacher

Megan Schumacher

Megan Schumacher is a Philadelphia-based playwright, director, and dramaturg, whose work explores those who are marginalized and the pursuit of justice. She is a member of Simpatico Theatre’s Jouska PlayWorks and The Foundry at PlayPenn. Her play Superlosers was produced for the 2018 Philadelphia Fringe Festival, and Monster Mash was performed as part of the Going Viral Festival on Facebook. She served as a...
Megan Schumacher is a Philadelphia-based playwright, director, and dramaturg, whose work explores those who are marginalized and the pursuit of justice. She is a member of Simpatico Theatre’s Jouska PlayWorks and The Foundry at PlayPenn. Her play Superlosers was produced for the 2018 Philadelphia Fringe Festival, and Monster Mash was performed as part of the Going Viral Festival on Facebook. She served as a production dramaturg for Quintessence Theatre’s performance of Angelina Weld Grimké’s Rachel and directed Out of the Shadows by Marissa Kennedy ‘18, at the 2019 Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Her play, Lowndes made its debut at the Philadelphia Women’s Theatre Festival in the fall of 2020, and her adaptation of Euripides’ The Bakkhai, Dionté and Khai Do Dinner, premiered virtually as part of Villanova Theatre’s 2020-21 season.

Plays

  • Laundry by Megan Schumacher
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: drama, fantasy + 2 more
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    Keyword: Dystopia, post-apocalyptic + 3 more
    Genre: drama, fantasy, political, science fiction
    Keyword: Dystopia, post-apocalyptic, feminist, empowerment, sisterhood
    In a dystopian world, five female clones arrive for their daily work in a laundry facility. This work is routine for all with the exception of one, who struggles to fulfill her duties. On this particular day, a rumor of a selection process and a disturbing event from the night before, have them excited. As the play progresses, however, their excitement turns to fear, as lives are lost and escape becomes key.
  • Dionté and Khai Do Dinner by Megan Schumacher
    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: adaptation, comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: racism, housing segregation + 2 more
    Genre: adaptation, comedy, political, satire
    Keyword: racism, housing segregation, Euripides, Dionysus
    In Dionté and Khai Do Dinner, Dionysus and Pentheus are not god and king, but rather a new-in-town Black professor and his nosy White neighbor. When Penn invites Dionté and his wife Khai to dinner, he soon discovers that his forward-thinking guests might be more than he bargained for, as their civilized conversation quickly devolves into a less-than-civil war of words. Inspired by Anne Carson's translation...
    In Dionté and Khai Do Dinner, Dionysus and Pentheus are not god and king, but rather a new-in-town Black professor and his nosy White neighbor. When Penn invites Dionté and his wife Khai to dinner, he soon discovers that his forward-thinking guests might be more than he bargained for, as their civilized conversation quickly devolves into a less-than-civil war of words. Inspired by Anne Carson's translation of Euripides' The Bakkhai.
  • ...and Stones by Megan Schumacher
    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: antilynching, justice + 2 more
    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama, political
    Keyword: antilynching, justice, Elizabeth Lawrence, poetry
    In the summer of 1933 just outside of Birmingham, AL, schoolteacher Elizabeth Lawrence was lynched for scolding a group of white children who had been throwing stones at her. Through a contemporary lens using Angelina Weld Grimké's "Tenebris" and a split stage, this play imagines her son's pursuit of justice for his mother and considers the courageous pursuit of equity by all Black bodies in the face of racism.
  • Lowndes by Megan Schumacher
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: Civil Rights Movement, justice + 3 more
    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama, political
    Keyword: Civil Rights Movement, justice, black lives matter, voting rights, SNCC
    In 1965, even after the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, millions of black folks in the South were still unregistered to vote because of racial terrorism. Lowndes County in Alabama was a model for such disenfranchisement. Not one black person had registered to vote in a county where blacks outnumbered whites 4:1. Lowndes imagines two SNCC members canvassing the county to encourage terrified residents to register.
  • Unprecedented by Megan Schumacher
    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: dark comedy
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    Keyword: racism, humor + 2 more
    Genre: dark comedy
    Keyword: racism, humor, semi-autobiographical, microagressions
    Unprecedented is a dark comedy about a subtle moment of racism, the microaggression that can haunt one for perpetuity. It follows a Black woman, who with the help of her anthropomorphized conscience, tries to understand her response to a discriminatory act. Through the constant rehashing of the traumatic moment, the play asks the questions: “How does our conscience both serve and undermine us?” and “What...
    Unprecedented is a dark comedy about a subtle moment of racism, the microaggression that can haunt one for perpetuity. It follows a Black woman, who with the help of her anthropomorphized conscience, tries to understand her response to a discriminatory act. Through the constant rehashing of the traumatic moment, the play asks the questions: “How does our conscience both serve and undermine us?” and “What happens if given a second, third or fourth chance? Do we ever get it right?”
  • Sanctuary by Megan Schumacher
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: drama, political
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    Keyword: terrorism, Muslim + 2 more
    Genre: drama, political
    Keyword: terrorism, Muslim, Catholic, christianity
    Who gets to define terrorism is at the heart of Sanctuary, which follows the story of Yaghoub, a young man on the run from authorities who searches for sanctuary in a Catholic Church. While Yaghoub is searching for sanctuary, his wife, Samira, is interrogated by the police.
  • Superlosers by Megan Schumacher
    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: comedy, fantasy + 1 more
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    Keyword: superhero, geek culture + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, fantasy, parody/spoof
    Keyword: superhero, geek culture, supervillain
    Snake, Busy, and Gilly are regular folks by day, or so it would seem. Follow these three losers as they plot to use their lame superpowers to take down some superheroes and become celebrated supervillains.
  • Monster Mash by Megan Schumacher
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: comedy, fantasy
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    Keyword: humor, monsters + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, fantasy
    Keyword: humor, monsters, silly humor, music
    A woman is just looking forward to snuggling into bed for a good night's sleep when she is visited by a monster who has another idea in mind. This fun little play is all about joy and some good music.
  • 3 Monologues (Summer's Welcome; Pity-Wanting Pain; and, Mirror, Mirror) by Megan Schumacher
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    1–3
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    Genre: adaptation
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    Keyword: Shakespeare, sonnets + 2 more
    Genre: adaptation
    Keyword: Shakespeare, sonnets, monologues, love
    Inspired by Shakespeare's Sonnets 56, 62, and 140, these three monologues capture the broken-hearted, lost love, longing, and a little narcissism.