Ally Sass

Incels and Other Myths revolves around a mother, Elaine, and her son Avery, who embark on an epic journey into online realms of gender, power, and mythology. Elaine, a teacher of Women in Mythology, grows concerned when Avery spends extensive time playing the online game "Oracle," which involves him partaking in the misogynistic "incel" community. Through their descent into fraught online territory, Avery and Elaine discover unexpected and intoxicating new realities that shape how they see their own worlds.

Commissioned to write a personal essay for The New York Times, celebrated author Raina seeks out her old high school friend, Julie, to revisit a complicated memory of their shared past. The reunion exposes the starkly different choices that have defined them as women, artists and friends, forcing Raina to re-consider what is fit for print.

Mira has recently returned home to New York after her trip on Birthright: A program for young American Jews to see Israel. Her family welcomes her home, eager to hear about her journey, though is blindsided when she announces that due to certain experiences during her travels, she will be moving to Palestine. As we journey along with Mira in her navigating this tense family discussion, we jump back in time to the story of her grandmother Esther, and her emigration to Israel in the first year of its existence. Zygote dissects family, legacy, loyalty, and an the conflicts we face when discussing conflicts.

Ally is a young woman grappling with her heterosexuality as she navigates a world that does not mirror the very liberal, very gay one exposed to her from an early age by her trailblazing mothers. Her largely joyous childhood of Boston Pride parades, drag parties, and 0 male authority figures did not prepare her for a deeply gendered world and a series of relationships with piercingly straight men.

In my autobiographical account of growing up in Boston with two moms, “Ally” takes us on a journey of what this experience has meant and currently means for her, as well as the experiences of other members of her family. With the use of direct-address, a modern Greek Chorus, and jumps in the timeline of Ally’s life, The Gayest Life will dissect Boston’s conflicting queer and hetero communities while tackling hard truths specific to Ally’s family.

Set in a porn shop in New Hampshire, Late Night at The Serpent is a drama about an accidental run-in between two former high school friends and the secrets revealed when an intense snowstorm traps them in the store. The play is a one-act drama that explores the male code, sexual identity and a chance encounter.

O'Leary's Tavern follows the journey of Shannon, a Boston bartender as she balances family and her education while trying to make ends meet. As Shannon forms an unexpected kinship with customer and linguistic anthropologist, Theresa new doors are opened for her. Through self-discovery, language, and ghosts, she begins to understand the power she has to change the course of her life.

Young writer/actress, Gabby, has recently taken up a job nannying for the affluent Wharton family in Manhattan’s West Village. She quickly learns to navigate working under a perfectionist mother, a daydreaming father, and unruly children. As her involvement with this family deepens, Gabby finds opportunities to take certain circumstances within the Wharton household and manifest them into material for a new play. Though soon into this experiment, it becomes clear to the parents what Gabby is up to. Gabby and the Whartons must come face to face with the roles they are all playing.

The Cleanout is a one-act comedy about four female artists who live together in Brooklyn, New York and the tensions that arise when a meatball sub is found in their strictly vegan refrigerator. This triggering incident leads to a cleanout of the fridge, which only ignites existing discrepancies between the women. The play tackles the often elitist views on art, food, and femininity that exist within the culture of ultra-liberal Brooklyn women.

A 10-minute drama about the relationship between a retired art professor, Raquel, and her much younger partner, Mira. Mira and Raquel discuss life, love, and death, all the while painting pumpkins together on their porch for a halloween festival.

Chad, Connor and Sebby are three boys in their early teens who gather in Chad's dark suburban basement to play City of Sin; a video game packed with explosive violence and hedonistic pleasures. Their coveted playing time frequently gets disrupted by tense arguments between Chad and his mother. This play explores themes of teenage friendship, the male code, and the peculiar ways familial anger can manifest.

It’s 1973. Four elderly World War I vets lie in a hospital ward. They bond, argue, reminisce, share dreams, discuss death. Donald, the patient closest to the window, generously narrates to the others what’s passing by in the outside world. All the men are entertained by this except for Sam, a disgruntled patient who has been secretly plotting ways he can takeover the position by the window and finally see the world for himself.