Erika Phoebus

Erika Phoebus (she/her) is a queer, neurodivergent playwright whose work orbits around pleasure, autonomy, and all things magical, strange, and a little horrific. Her work has been developed and/or produced at the Great Plains Theatre Conference, The Workshop Theater, New Ohio Theatre, Atlantic Theater Company Conservatory, Primary Stages ESPA, Torn Page, Theatre 4the People, Actors Theatre of NY, and the McKittrick Hotel (home of Sleep No More). She's received residencies through Fresh Ground Pepper’s BRB retreat and Theatre 4the People @theBarn and was a winner of the Samuel French OOB festival, with the winning play, Shark Week, now published and licensed by Concord Theatricals. She was named a Finalist for the Soho Rep Writer Director Lab (2022-23) and the Seven Devils Playwrights...

Erika Phoebus (she/her) is a queer, neurodivergent playwright whose work orbits around pleasure, autonomy, and all things magical, strange, and a little horrific. Her work has been developed and/or produced at the Great Plains Theatre Conference, The Workshop Theater, New Ohio Theatre, Atlantic Theater Company Conservatory, Primary Stages ESPA, Torn Page, Theatre 4the People, Actors Theatre of NY, and the McKittrick Hotel (home of Sleep No More). She's received residencies through Fresh Ground Pepper’s BRB retreat and Theatre 4the People @theBarn and was a winner of the Samuel French OOB festival, with the winning play, Shark Week, now published and licensed by Concord Theatricals. She was named a Finalist for the Soho Rep Writer Director Lab (2022-23) and the Seven Devils Playwrights Conference (2023), and an O'Neill National Playwrights Conference Semi-Finalist (2025). She's taught playwriting at Bowie High School (Austin, TX), Westerly High School (Westerly, RI), Arizona Actors Academy (Phoenix, AZ), and offers playwriting workshops, script consultations, and dramaturgical support online and in NYC. B.F.A. Creative Writing from Brooklyn College. www.erikaphoebus.com IG: @ephoebs

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Scripts

hercules actually f*cking sucks (!?)

by Erika Phoebus

Cast Size
4
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
satire

A tale about gladiators… I mean football players… though one may or may not be the mythological spirit of Britney Spears, the gladiator of our time (jk LEAVE HER ALONE!)— did I mention this is a tale told by a bunch of women/trans/non-binary folks in drags? hercules actually f*cking sucks is a satirical exploration of what we demand of those who entertain us, and ultimately asks… are the bois okay??

A tale about gladiators… I mean football players… though one may or may not be the mythological spirit of Britney Spears, the gladiator of our time (jk LEAVE HER ALONE!)— did I mention this is a tale told by a bunch of women/trans/non-binary folks in drags? hercules actually f*cking sucks is a satirical exploration of what we demand of those who entertain us, and ultimately asks… are the bois okay??

witch play

by Erika Phoebus

5
Cast Size
7
Genre
comedy,
drama,
period

It's 1563...ish, and Anny Chapman wants to get pregnant. No wait, sorry, Anny Chapman MUST get pregnant, or else she could be tried as a witch. As secret fertility treatments from the local alewife, Besse, births an unexpected love between them, the world outside threatens to knock down their door. Meanwhile, the Virgin Mary has arrived on the scene, and she wants her autonomy back… A dark comedy, a love story...

It's 1563...ish, and Anny Chapman wants to get pregnant. No wait, sorry, Anny Chapman MUST get pregnant, or else she could be tried as a witch. As secret fertility treatments from the local alewife, Besse, births an unexpected love between them, the world outside threatens to knock down their door. Meanwhile, the Virgin Mary has arrived on the scene, and she wants her autonomy back… A dark comedy, a love story, a ritual, a spell; witch play searches for all the places our pleasure may go, after we’ve chosen to unleash it.

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let's pretend

by Erika Phoebus

Cast Size
3
Genre
dark comedy,
drama

Maddie and Tyler are best friends. Best friends mend each other's wounds. But then Maddie and Tyler go to a party, and something happens to Maddie... and something happens to Tyler... and these wounds are ones they don't know how to mend. So they run away to an abandoned fairground to play pretend under a rollercoaster for the rest of their days. But something's watching Maddie. And Tyler can't stop drinking...

Maddie and Tyler are best friends. Best friends mend each other's wounds. But then Maddie and Tyler go to a party, and something happens to Maddie... and something happens to Tyler... and these wounds are ones they don't know how to mend. So they run away to an abandoned fairground to play pretend under a rollercoaster for the rest of their days. But something's watching Maddie. And Tyler can't stop drinking. And all this role-playing kind of makes them feel like more than just friends?? A modern retelling of Peter Pan, Let’s Pretend explores the ways in which attraction, desire, and survival may function after trauma, and wonders what power to rebuild might be found in make believe.

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Shark Week (short play)

by Erika Phoebus

8
Cast Size
4
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
fantasy,
satire

Kyri and Alex are synced. Like literally. They always get their periods at the same time. But Kyri’s got a secret, and it’s going to take a post-storm ocean, forgotten tampons, and a little help from a drag queen shark, to finally be able to say what’s right for her body and for her life.

Kyri and Alex are synced. Like literally. They always get their periods at the same time. But Kyri’s got a secret, and it’s going to take a post-storm ocean, forgotten tampons, and a little help from a drag queen shark, to finally be able to say what’s right for her body and for her life.

dumpster jam & other renewable things (short play)

by Erika Phoebus

Cast Size
2
Genre
comedy,
drama

in a dumpster, behind a fast food joint, between where we were and where we're going.
jasmin has lost something very important. sharon sells jam on etsy made from discarded fruit.
as they dig through the trash, will they find what they're looking for?

in a dumpster, behind a fast food joint, between where we were and where we're going.
jasmin has lost something very important. sharon sells jam on etsy made from discarded fruit.
as they dig through the trash, will they find what they're looking for?

Rosaline & Juliet (short play)

by Erika Phoebus

1
Cast Size
5
Genre
comedy,
satire

Juliet's trapped inside the play. Rosaline's trapped outside the play. It IS Romeo's play GODDAMMIT!... until the play starts looping in on itself.

Juliet's trapped inside the play. Rosaline's trapped outside the play. It IS Romeo's play GODDAMMIT!... until the play starts looping in on itself.