Wendy Herlich

Wendy Herlich

Raised in Seattle by native New Yorkers, Wendy Herlich grew up accustomed to having a foot in two worlds. Her plays include Wasabia, Territory 4, Played in China, her Awkward Romance series (An Evening of Awkward Romance, Another Evening of Awkward Romance, and Awkward Romance: The Third Evening), and FAULTY: HITCH. Her work has been performed and read at Centenary Stage Company, Arts Fort Worth, The New York...
Raised in Seattle by native New Yorkers, Wendy Herlich grew up accustomed to having a foot in two worlds. Her plays include Wasabia, Territory 4, Played in China, her Awkward Romance series (An Evening of Awkward Romance, Another Evening of Awkward Romance, and Awkward Romance: The Third Evening), and FAULTY: HITCH. Her work has been performed and read at Centenary Stage Company, Arts Fort Worth, The New York International Fringe Festival, The Tank, The Barrow Group mainstage, TBG Arts Center, and the PIT.

Wasabia is a finalist for the Susan Glaspell Award in the Women Playwrights Series at Centenary Stage Company, and Played in China was a semi-finalist for the Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference. Another Evening of Awkward Romance and Awkward Romance: The Third Evening were selected by Indie Theater Now for publication as part of their FringeNYC Fringe Collection.

Wendy is also a fiction writer; her short story "Silence Is Golden" received a special mention in the 2019 Pushcart Anthology and was a finalist in the Mississippi Review's annual contest. Other short fiction has appeared in The Laurel Review, the Berkeley Fiction Review, and the Hawaii Review.

As an Equity actor and improviser, she has performed regionally and internationally. She currently calls the Philly area home, where she lives with her husband and daughter.

Plays

  • Wasabia by Wendy Herlich
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
    Vivian, staring down the barrel of dementia, and Carla, desperate to shine as a young hospice volunteer, strike up an unlikely friendship, which is thrown into question when Vivian enlists Carla’s help in getting life-ending drugs from a hapless musician. The drugs themselves are characters in this dark comedy, which alternates between naturalism and the surreal as it explores one woman’s experience with medically assisted dying.
  • Territory 4 by Wendy Herlich
    Cast: 
    9
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: satire, comedy + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, satire
    Keyword: satire, comedy, corporate, women, future society, social commentary
    In a sterile conference room, with clients watching through a one-way mirror, Danielle, reeling from a run-in with her ex, moderates a focus group of six small business owners to get feedback that will influence the launch of a new credit card. In this satire, marketing and technology have come together to rule society, and Danielle finds herself resorting to more and more desperate tactics to get insights....
    In a sterile conference room, with clients watching through a one-way mirror, Danielle, reeling from a run-in with her ex, moderates a focus group of six small business owners to get feedback that will influence the launch of a new credit card. In this satire, marketing and technology have come together to rule society, and Danielle finds herself resorting to more and more desperate tactics to get insights. Over the course of the evening, the world turns upside down, until even a premium airport lounge isn't what it seems.

    Territory 4 explores the lengths to which we'll go for convenience and comfort in the modern age.
  • Played in China by Wendy Herlich
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    11
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: gaming, multimedia + 3 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: gaming, multimedia, China, video games, multiculturalism
    Gwen, a stay-at-home mom concerned about her estranged, video-game obsessed son, dives into the massive multi-player role-playing game Progeny of the Revolution in the hopes of connecting with him anonymously. In the process, she hires Liu, a young Chinese woman who is working in the black market industry of “gold farming,” to level her up so she can play with him. When Gwen gets more information than she...
    Gwen, a stay-at-home mom concerned about her estranged, video-game obsessed son, dives into the massive multi-player role-playing game Progeny of the Revolution in the hopes of connecting with him anonymously. In the process, she hires Liu, a young Chinese woman who is working in the black market industry of “gold farming,” to level her up so she can play with him. When Gwen gets more information than she bargained for, and Liu sees an opportunity to raise her station in life, the women become entwined in a dance of hope, resentment, and something resembling friendship.
  • An Evening of Awkward Romance by Wendy Herlich
    Cast: 
    2–12
    ·
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
    ·
    Keyword: quirky, comedy + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
    Keyword: quirky, comedy, romance, video, awkward relationships
    AN EVENING OF AWKWARD ROMANCE introduces a collection of oddball characters on their quest to find love. An office romance at an ad agency sours over excessive jargon; a woman with a movie-related “affliction” finds her Prince Charming; a couple of misfits find true love at a funeral home. These and other vignettes are interwoven to create a hilarious (and at times poignant) celebration of the search for the elusive “soul mate.”
  • Another Evening of Awkward Romance by Wendy Herlich
    Cast: 
    2–14
    ·
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
    ·
    Keyword: quirky, comedy + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
    Keyword: quirky, comedy, romance, video, awkward relationships
    The second in a series, ANOTHER EVENING OF AWKWARD ROMANCE features seven vignettes, including a chronic sinus infection sufferer who is infatuated with her pharmacist, a pair of lovelorn auctioneers, and a teenager who wants nothing more than for her boyfriend to notice her physical flaws. This two-person comedy offers an unvarnished take on the search for love, and celebrates human beings at our most odd, endearing, and vulnerable.
  • Awkward Romance: the Third Evening by Wendy Herlich
    Cast: 
    2–12
    ·
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
    ·
    Keyword: quirky, comedy + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
    Keyword: quirky, comedy, romance, video, awkward relationships
    The third in a series featuring characters bungling their way through love, AWKWARD ROMANCE: THE THIRD EVENING centers on the story of two movie sidekicks yearning to change their fates. As they struggle to cross space and time, other misfits contend with their own challenges, including a babytalker trying to kick the habit, a hip-hop–loving phone solicitor who can’t stop dancing at a wedding, and a lonely, yet...
    The third in a series featuring characters bungling their way through love, AWKWARD ROMANCE: THE THIRD EVENING centers on the story of two movie sidekicks yearning to change their fates. As they struggle to cross space and time, other misfits contend with their own challenges, including a babytalker trying to kick the habit, a hip-hop–loving phone solicitor who can’t stop dancing at a wedding, and a lonely, yet powerfully persuasive employee at a holiday store.
  • FAULTY:HITCH by Wendy Herlich
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    Genre: comedy
    Louise shares the secrets to her success in getting the perfect SAT score. But she isn't in high school, she's 35 years old. And she's taken it nine other times. FAULTY:HITCH is the story of one woman's struggle to connect with her estranged son and find faith in herself.