Gina Femia

Gina Femia

Gina Femia is an award-winning playwright and performer whose work has been seen/developed at The Goodman Theater, MCC Theater, Playwrights Horizons, EST, Page 73, New Georges, The Playwrights Center, CTG, Theater of NOTE, Rivendell Theater, Cape Cod Theater Project, Bag&Baggage, Mirrorbox Theater, among others. Selected honors include The Kilroys List, Leah Ryan Prize, Doric Wilson Award, the Otis Guernsey...
Gina Femia is an award-winning playwright and performer whose work has been seen/developed at The Goodman Theater, MCC Theater, Playwrights Horizons, EST, Page 73, New Georges, The Playwrights Center, CTG, Theater of NOTE, Rivendell Theater, Cape Cod Theater Project, Bag&Baggage, Mirrorbox Theater, among others. Selected honors include The Kilroys List, Leah Ryan Prize, Doric Wilson Award, the Otis Guernsey New Voices Award and the Neukom Award in Playwriting, nominations for Drama League and NYIT. Gina is a former Core Writer with the Playwrights Center, and an Alum of EST Youngblood, Page73's Interstate 73, Pipeline Theatre’s PlayLab, New Georges' Audrey Residency, the Ingram New Play Lab at Nashville Rep and Parsnip Ship's Radio Roots Writer's Group. Gina’s a New Georges Affiliated Artist and has received residencies with Page73, Powerhouse, NTI at the O’Neill, SPACE on Ryder Farm, and Fresh Ground Pepper. As a teacher, Gina has worked with The Playwrights Center, Primary Stages ESPA, among others. Gina's debut YA novel, Alondra was named a Best Book for Teens in 2023 and is a Finalist for a Golden Kite award. Learn more: www.femiagina.com.

Plays

  • The Violet Sisters by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 43
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: hurricane Sandy, Sisters + 3 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: hurricane Sandy, Sisters, two sisters, Brooklyn, trauma
    In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Pam comes home to Brooklyn to attend her father’s funeral. When she arrives, she is greeted by an angry sister, a dilapidated house and a past that she can’t escape. Despite all of her best intentions, the conversation quickly turns tense and the two sisters are forced to deal with all that they have let slip away, all the words that have been left unsaid for years. A two-person...
    In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Pam comes home to Brooklyn to attend her father’s funeral. When she arrives, she is greeted by an angry sister, a dilapidated house and a past that she can’t escape. Despite all of her best intentions, the conversation quickly turns tense and the two sisters are forced to deal with all that they have let slip away, all the words that have been left unsaid for years. A two-person, one set, real time play, The Violet Sisters is a play about forgiving when you cannot bring yourself to forget.

  • THIS HAPPENED ONCE AT THE ROMANCE DEPOT OFF THE 1-87 IN WESTCHESTER by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 29
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: comedy, drama
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    Keyword: female sexuality, sex shop + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: female sexuality, sex shop, loneliness, Sex, funny, trauma, humor
    Kevin owns a Romance Depot. Beth needs a vibrator. The two of them form an unlikely relationship that straddles the line between friendship and romance. What happens when two lonely people find one another?
  • The Virtuous Fall of the Girls from Our Lady of Sorrows by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 14
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    Cast: 
    7
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    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: teenagers, LGBTQ + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, period
    Keyword: teenagers, LGBTQ, queer, coming of age, sexuality, female sexuality, high school, large cast
    The Virtuous Fall of the Girls from Our Lady of Sorrows, is an exploration of teenage revolution in the face of petty authoritarianism. Set in a Catholic girls’ school, the play recounts the ripple effects caused by one student's decision to produce M4M2, a controversial sequel to Measure for Measure.
  • MERCUTIO LOVES ROMEO LOVES JULIET LOVES by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 5
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: adaptation, comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: high school, queer + 2 more
    Genre: adaptation, comedy, drama
    Keyword: high school, queer, Shakespeare, small cast
    Ellie and Britt have been lifelong friends, lifelong haters of cheerleaders and lifelong drama geeks so when their All Girls Catholic School's drama club does Romeo and Juliet, obviously they'll be a part of it. But when Amber, a cheerleader with an injury unexpectedly gets the lead across from Britt, Ellie's heart is turned upside down. Actually, all their hearts are. A new queer kinda adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
  • the wild ones by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 9
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    Cast: 
    8
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    Genre: adaptation, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: queer, LGBT + 1 more
    Genre: adaptation, drama, experimental
    Keyword: queer, LGBT, adaptation
    an "Adaptation" of Little Women =)
  • I HATE SHAKESPEARE by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 9
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    Cast: 
    1
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    Genre: biography, comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: Shakespeare, abusive relationship + 2 more
    Genre: biography, comedy, drama, experimental
    Keyword: Shakespeare, abusive relationship, coming of age, playwriting
    Gina Femia is a playwright. William Shakespeare is a playwright, too - maybe you've heard of him? Through the lens of different Shakespeare plays, and juxtaposing him with the abusive relationships that defined her coming of age, Gina discusses how her experience with the Bard has shaped her origin story as a playwright.
  • you know, that Bakery out in Bensonhurst by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 7
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Dell and Micki are sisters who work in a bakery. Been working there their whole lives, their mom owns the place. Even though they’re only four years apart, it may as well be 40, they’re that different. Dell is sixteen going on sixty, an old soul struggling to understand why their father died – he definitely didn’t kill himself, even if that’s what they all say. Micki is twenty going on sixteen, excited to...
    Dell and Micki are sisters who work in a bakery. Been working there their whole lives, their mom owns the place. Even though they’re only four years apart, it may as well be 40, they’re that different. Dell is sixteen going on sixty, an old soul struggling to understand why their father died – he definitely didn’t kill himself, even if that’s what they all say. Micki is twenty going on sixteen, excited to be embarking on a new relationship – even if she ain’t supposed to. No matter, at least Dell’s got Eden, her new friend opening her up to new experiences like blow jobs and alcohol. When Micki leaves her family, the girls’ lives are twisted into a turmoil neither could’ve ever predicted.
  • meet you at the Galaxy Diner. by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 11
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: drama, science fiction
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    Keyword: AIM, technology + 4 more
    Genre: drama, science fiction
    Keyword: AIM, technology, nostalgia, sadness, Depression, Mental Health
    Bill is in Alaska and AG is in NY. They're old High School pals who have nearly forgotten about one another. When they reconnect over AIM after not speaking for 20 years, they find that looking back might help them remember who they are.
  • the thing about air by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    9
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama
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    Keyword: halloween
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: halloween
    October 2001, Brooklyn. Uncertainty lingers in the air, but nothing stops Halloween - not even the fact storeowner Rocky hasn't heard from her new boyfriend or ex-husband for the last few weeks. Not even for her daughter Bernie's period or blossoming friendship with the much older Josh, not even for her daughter JJ's blossoming feelings for her new friend Lav. A play about how we move on in...
    October 2001, Brooklyn. Uncertainty lingers in the air, but nothing stops Halloween - not even the fact storeowner Rocky hasn't heard from her new boyfriend or ex-husband for the last few weeks. Not even for her daughter Bernie's period or blossoming friendship with the much older Josh, not even for her daughter JJ's blossoming feelings for her new friend Lav. A play about how we move on in the face of the unimaginable and how we come to term with what we lost.
  • HURRICANE(S) by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: hurricane, Politics
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, experimental
    Keyword: hurricane, Politics
    Dan is married to Jan and Stan is married to Ann. They're all good friends, living in a retirement community in Florida. The four of them have gathered for a hurricane party at Dan and Jan's house where the men watch football and the women gab in the kitchen to talk about their daughters, their sons, and the neighbors. As the storm grows stronger outside, their conversations become more and more...
    Dan is married to Jan and Stan is married to Ann. They're all good friends, living in a retirement community in Florida. The four of them have gathered for a hurricane party at Dan and Jan's house where the men watch football and the women gab in the kitchen to talk about their daughters, their sons, and the neighbors. As the storm grows stronger outside, their conversations become more and more revealing as secrets are uncovered and normalcy is called into question.
  • SAVINGS! by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 4
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    Cast: 
    6–13
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: community, food desert + 6 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: community, food desert, Supermarket, gentrification, displacement, forgiveness, Survival, friendship
    The local supermarket is going out of business and the community is upset — no one more than longtime employee Mo, not that she’d ever let anyone know. When her long-lost daughter comes home for something more than a visit, Mo will have to ask herself if she’s worth saving, too.
  • STAFF RETREAT by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 9
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    Cast: 
    11
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    Genre: comedy, drama
    Genre: comedy, drama
    A staff at a non-profit goes on a retreat to do some team building amidst a scandal nobody seems to want to talk about.
  • Alond(R)a by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 25
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    Cast: 
    7
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    Genre: adventure, drama + 3 more
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    Keyword: wrestling, bisexuality + 5 more
    Genre: adventure, drama, experimental, fantasy, movement/physical
    Keyword: wrestling, bisexuality, coming of age, LGBTQ, NYC, Brooklyn, Coney Island
    ALOND(R)A tells the story of Alonda and her friends as they wrestle their way through the summer - sometimes it's on the playgrounds in the projects of Coney Island, sometimes it's with their feelings and often it's at home. A coming of age story about friendship and heartache, ALOND(R)A asks how much is too much to fight for?
  • The Mermaids' Parade by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 20
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    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: drama, experimental + 4 more
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    Keyword: rape, Coney Island + 7 more
    Genre: drama, experimental, fable/folktale, fantasy, movement/physical, political
    Keyword: rape, Coney Island, war, soldiers, survivor, mermaids, Iraq war, Fantasy, magical realism
    Biron has been deployed to Iraq and Islande is stuck in Coney Island. A fable of a mermaid connects them both as they are forced to confront their personal horrors in order to try to find one another and themselves during a time of war.
  • We Are A Masterpiece by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 12
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    Cast: 
    8–12
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    Genre: drama, period + 1 more
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    Keyword: HIV/AIDS, sexuality + 4 more
    Genre: drama, period, political
    Keyword: HIV/AIDS, sexuality, LGBTQ, survivor, Art and Artists, History
    WE ARE A MASTERPIECE takes place at the dawn of the AIDS crisis, when the disease was still a mystery. In Kalamazoo, Michigan, Joan, a no-nonsense nurse, becomes a sort of fairy godmother to the town’s gay community when no one else will step up to care for them as they die one by one. She becomes their friend, their mother, their sister, as they navigate life and death with this new plague. Out of the ashes of...
    WE ARE A MASTERPIECE takes place at the dawn of the AIDS crisis, when the disease was still a mystery. In Kalamazoo, Michigan, Joan, a no-nonsense nurse, becomes a sort of fairy godmother to the town’s gay community when no one else will step up to care for them as they die one by one. She becomes their friend, their mother, their sister, as they navigate life and death with this new plague. Out of the ashes of their collective lives, lifelong bonds are forged and beauty is found even at the darkest of moments.
  • Things I Don't Want to Talk About: a hero(ine)'s journey by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 9
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    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: biography, dark comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: women, LGBTQ + 2 more
    Genre: biography, dark comedy, drama, experimental, movement/physical
    Keyword: women, LGBTQ, sexual assault, Survival
    Come, take a journey with Gina as she goes on an epic adventure to save a trapped princess from the inner most depths of her mind! Along the way, she encounters sketchy men on the subway, is forced to confront past loves and remembers things she wishes she can forget. A solo show that explores how past encounters with relationships and sex shape sexuality, Things I Don’t Want to Talk About breaks down how...
    Come, take a journey with Gina as she goes on an epic adventure to save a trapped princess from the inner most depths of her mind! Along the way, she encounters sketchy men on the subway, is forced to confront past loves and remembers things she wishes she can forget. A solo show that explores how past encounters with relationships and sex shape sexuality, Things I Don’t Want to Talk About breaks down how stories, sexuality, and sexual assault shape a woman's life.

    **Trigger warning, sexual assault and rape**
  • For The Love Of (or, the Roller Derby Play) by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 8
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    Cast: 
    9
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    Genre: drama, experimental + 1 more
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    Keyword: roller derby, Brooklyn + 1 more
    Genre: drama, experimental, movement/physical
    Keyword: roller derby, Brooklyn, LGBTQ
    When Joy gets on the Brooklyn Scallywags and meets the star, Lizzie Lightning, she and her long term partner Michelle find their lives turned upside down. For The Love Of asks how much you’re willing to sacrifice – or lose – in order to follow your heart.
  • Super, or, How Clark Graves Learned to Fly by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 5
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: drama, fantasy + 1 more
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    Keyword: superhero, comic books + 1 more
    Genre: drama, fantasy, science fiction
    Keyword: superhero, comic books, hunger in america
    SUPER, OR, HOW CLARK GRAVES LEARNED TO FLY is about the shrinking of the middle class as seen through the eyes of a typical American Family –The Graves. Father Samuel has lost his once thriving construction business, forcing the family to downsize significantly. Each member is coping with their personal loss of power differently; Mother Mary is addicted to scratch-off lotto tickets, sister Dot cannot stop...
    SUPER, OR, HOW CLARK GRAVES LEARNED TO FLY is about the shrinking of the middle class as seen through the eyes of a typical American Family –The Graves. Father Samuel has lost his once thriving construction business, forcing the family to downsize significantly. Each member is coping with their personal loss of power differently; Mother Mary is addicted to scratch-off lotto tickets, sister Dot cannot stop picking her skin, Father Samuel has gotten mean and Clark –well, Clark is trying to be everyone’s hero, including his new girlfriend, Laney.

    When Laney’s dreams of running away begin to seem like they’ll become a reality, Clark must choose between his family and his chance at happiness. Intercut with scenes from Clark’s comic book world, Super, or, How Clark Graves Learned to Fly explores the increasing hunger crisis as it spreads across America, asking the questions How do we learn to Fly? and What does it really mean to be Super?
  • Mahogany Brown and the Case of the Disappearing Kid by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 8
    ·
    Cast: 
    5–7
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 5 more
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    Keyword: noir, comic books + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental, fantasy, movement/physical, mystery/thriller
    Keyword: noir, comic books, mystery, Mental Health, stylized, design
    It was a day like any other, except different. It was different. The air was a little bit too still and the trees were a bit too tall. That day. The day Jimmy Jones' little boy disappeared. Follow Private Eye Mahogany Brown as she searches for the child supposedly taken by “The Nameless”. As the case progresses, clues appear to reveal more about Mahogany Brown than she is ready to handle.
  • Accidental Burlesque by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    9
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: burlesque, sexuality + 2 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, experimental
    Keyword: burlesque, sexuality, bisexuality, LGBTQ
    Accidental Burlesque is a burlesque incorporated theatre piece. It intertwines dance and burlesque within the story of a play. These moments of movement push forward the story and parallel the inner action of the characters’ journeys as they explore love, romance, sexuality and lust.

    Accidental Burlesque was developed during New Georges' 2014/2015 Audrey Residency
  • REBELS TIL DEATH by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 5
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: drama, experimental
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    Keyword: queer, LGBTQ + 4 more
    Genre: drama, experimental
    Keyword: queer, LGBTQ, trauma, sexuality, Coney Island, Rebels
    Azul and Sweetie are lifelong friends and long time rebels, living in the projects in Coney Island. When they start keeping secrets from one another and Sweetie starts to uncover buried secrets from his past, will their world fall apart?
  • FLY, BABY by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 12
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    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, fantasy + 2 more
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    Keyword: LGBTQ, Brooklyn + 1 more
    Genre: dark comedy, fantasy, holiday, political
    Keyword: LGBTQ, Brooklyn, new year's eve
    It's New Year's Eve and Ariel wants to watch the fireworks on her rooftop in Brooklyn. When her friend Miranda joins her, conversations about resolutions turns serious. Can Santa and the Toothfairy help?
  • More Than the Animals by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 16
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    Cast: 
    1
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    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: LGBTQ, religion + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, faith-based
    Keyword: LGBTQ, religion, gay, rant, queer, qlgbt
    After Father Anthony calls her into his office to discuss the nuns' concerns, Imogenene talks to God.
  • Bev. by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 10
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: mermaids, death + 2 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: mermaids, death, Sisters, east siberian sea
    When two sisters lose a paddle in the East Siberian sea after promising to spread their sister's ashes, the presence of a mermaid forces them to choose between each other or life.
  • Mirrors by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 13
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: rape, rape culture + 3 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: rape, rape culture, sexual assault, women, women's issues
    A mother and daughter discover they have more in common than they realized.
  • JUMP by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 7
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: LGBTQ, grief + 4 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: LGBTQ, grief, Mourning, Coney Island, suicide, mermaids
    Two friends come together at Coney Island to remember their friend who passed away.
    Both characters are non-white; they may be played by any race that is not white.
  • BROKE/FIX by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: drama, fantasy
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    Keyword: angels, NYC + 1 more
    Genre: drama, fantasy
    Keyword: angels, NYC, magical realism
    In the midst of a fight at midnight, Joan and Jessi find an angel who needs a little help.
  • Pussygrabber by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 17
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    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: biography, drama + 2 more
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    Keyword: Presidential Election, president elect + 1 more
    Genre: biography, drama, experimental, political
    Keyword: Presidential Election, president elect, sexual assault
    A monologue that shifts between 2 moments of time - 1. from October through the presidential election 2. from a moment of sexual assault in 2010. Trigger warning for sexual assault. A work in progress!
  • Truth. by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 5
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    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama, melodrama
    ·
    Keyword: LGBTQ
    Genre: drama, melodrama
    Keyword: LGBTQ
    Lily and Rosie play a game of truth or dare - high on the truth, higher on the dare.
  • POP POP WAS A WAR HERO by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 7
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: trauma, abuse + 4 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: trauma, abuse, Childhood, remembrance, war, veterans
    When Hilary and her daughter clean out the garage, they unearth some memories that are better left forgotten.
  • Pieces of Penelope by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: adventure, drama + 3 more
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    Keyword: mythology, war + 4 more
    Genre: adventure, drama, experimental, fable/folktale, fantasy
    Keyword: mythology, war, Iraq war, technology, Penelope, odyssey
    Odysseus fought a war and got lost on an adventure; Penelope waited. Owen is fighting a war; Penny waits. Men have been going off to have adventures since the beginning of time; and the women have often been the ones who are left behind. What makes the wait- and the fight - worthwhile? Pieces of Penelope is the story of how four women’s stories are intertwined throughout the course of history.
  • Bones Like Dust by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama, faith-based + 1 more
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    Keyword: ghosts, Nebraska + 1 more
    Genre: drama, faith-based, mystery/thriller
    Keyword: ghosts, Nebraska, science
    **A work in progress

    Worlds collide when Richard, a pedologist, comes to Jeni's rural shack to study her dirt. When an unexpected storm hits, trapping Richard on her porch, secrets and ghosts are revealed. Bones Like Dust is a 2-person, real time piece that explores art, faith and science and wonders what happens when home disappears.
  • Undead Anonymous by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 3 more
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    Keyword: zombies, mummy + 5 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, experimental, fantasy, horror
    Keyword: zombies, mummy, undead, vampire, ghosts, support group, mental illness
    Welcome to Undead Anonymous, a place for those struggling to find life among the living.
    Whether you are a vampire, ghost, zombie, mummy or just cursed with eternal life, this is a
    supportive environment to vent your frustrations, find new connections and discover you are not
    truly alone.

    At least, that's Sarah's dream - to create a group for people like her. But will it work?
  • PRACTICE by Gina Femia
    Recommendations: 6
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    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: kissing, LGBTQ + 1 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: kissing, LGBTQ, short
    Two girls practice softball and also kissing. A play that slips through time, about a first time and the next.