Paige Zubel

Paige Zubel

Paige Zubel (she/they) is a Philadelphia-based playwright, dramaturg, and producer. Their plays have been developed and produced by 50+ companies internationally, including Berridge Conservatory (AMOS AND THE STARS, France), Normal Ave (DEAD MEAT, NYC), and What If? Productions (A STRING BETWEEN MAN AND THE WORLD, NC). Her plays and prose have been published by houses including Smith & Krause, One Act Play...
Paige Zubel (she/they) is a Philadelphia-based playwright, dramaturg, and producer. Their plays have been developed and produced by 50+ companies internationally, including Berridge Conservatory (AMOS AND THE STARS, France), Normal Ave (DEAD MEAT, NYC), and What If? Productions (A STRING BETWEEN MAN AND THE WORLD, NC). Her plays and prose have been published by houses including Smith & Krause, One Act Play Depot, and Hashtag Queer. Commissions include companies Tiny Dynamite (PA), Revolution Shakespeare (PA), and Normal Ave (NYC). In the 2018-2019 season, they were the National New Play Network Producer in Residence at InterAct Theatre Company. She is the Associate Artistic Director of Shakespeare in Clark Park and Resident Dramaturg of Paper Doll Ensemble. They sit on the Artistic Advisory Board of Paper Doll Ensemble. Writer’s groups: PlayPenn’s The Foundry, class of 2020; InterAct Theatre Company Core Playwright, class of 2021; Philadelphia Theatre Company Playwriting Fellow, 2021.

Plays

  • Dead Meat by Paige Zubel
    Recommendations: 8
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: apocalypse, intersex + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, science fiction
    Keyword: apocalypse, intersex, masculinity, end of the world, zombies, barbecue, twinkies
    70 minutes, no intermission.

    It’s the end of the world. A once-promising medication goes awry, mutating 51% of the world’s population into shells of human beings, with only the basic motor functions left to chase, bite, and kill. (Yep. They’re zombies.)

    Three men—seemingly alone in the apocalypse—honestly are pretty all right with it. With all the women gone, they can finally kick...
    70 minutes, no intermission.

    It’s the end of the world. A once-promising medication goes awry, mutating 51% of the world’s population into shells of human beings, with only the basic motor functions left to chase, bite, and kill. (Yep. They’re zombies.)

    Three men—seemingly alone in the apocalypse—honestly are pretty all right with it. With all the women gone, they can finally kick back, relax, and get back to their men-only BBQ.

    Until Alex—an intersex woman—distorts the dichotomies in which they view their black-and-white world. How is Alex alive? Is Alex's life worth saving? And—ultimately—how can the men go about saving Alex when women are strictly against the BBQ rules?

    In a quest for survival, adaptation is necessary. Will masculinity bend for a new world, or is the pull of the routines of a lost time too strong to resist?
  • Actually, Honestly Going to Fucking Die by Paige Zubel
    Recommendations: 7
    ·
    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: adventure, comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: area 51, aliens + 6 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, dark comedy, drama, fantasy
    Keyword: area 51, aliens, queer, LGBTQ, ABSURD LGBTQ, Addiction Recovery, sobriety, alcoholism
    80 minutes, no intermission.

    *still in development*

    A talking ice cream truck. Sand that breathes. Everyone's gay. And aliens. An Alice-in-Wonderland-esque exploration of addiction and early sobriety in young adults in America.
  • How to Kill a Water Bear by Paige Zubel
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: drama, tragedy
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    Keyword: queer, LGBT + 5 more
    Genre: drama, tragedy
    Keyword: queer, LGBT, non binary lead, assault, cyclical trauma, Texas, college age
    65 minutes, no intermission.

    *still in development*

    Two months ago, Erin stopped going to class. They stopped leaving the house, actually. Their partner Liv’s been sleeping on the couch, hoping that space will do the trick. Their roommate Jo thinks they just need to get laid. The clouds are gathering, and Erin’s just trying to find their way through the storm. In this tender new...
    65 minutes, no intermission.

    *still in development*

    Two months ago, Erin stopped going to class. They stopped leaving the house, actually. Their partner Liv’s been sleeping on the couch, hoping that space will do the trick. Their roommate Jo thinks they just need to get laid. The clouds are gathering, and Erin’s just trying to find their way through the storm. In this tender new drama, a group of friends grapple with the ripple effects of trauma and the tumultuous path to healing. CW: sexual assault
  • A New Kind of Whole by Paige Zubel
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: Depression, Mental Health + 6 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: Depression, Mental Health, LGBTQ, Lesbian, queer, suicide, Surreal, medicine
    70 minutes, no intermission.

    *still in development* As Lea, a college freshman, navigates the line between what is real and what is a projection of her deteriorating mental health, reality distorts and blurs.

    cw: depictions of depression and discussion of suicide
  • I Liked Bill Cosby as a Kid and Now I Feel Guilty by Paige Zubel
    Cast: 
    7
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: Quarantine, Bill Cosby + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental
    Keyword: Quarantine, Bill Cosby, powerpoint, Game Of Thrones
    A 10 minute play written for Zoom. Commissioned by Normal Ave.

    In the midst of quarantine, 7 friends gather for a virtual PowerPoint Party.

    *A 63-slide Game of Thrones powerpoint does exist. Reach out to me if you'd like it.
  • In Full Bloom by Paige Zubel
    Recommendations: 6
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: grief, loss + 6 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: grief, loss, planning, event, children, baby, couples, Relationships
    10 minutes.

    Roger and Beth struggle to agree on the details of the most consuming event of their lives.

    A film adaptation of this piece produced by RPR Studios was released in 2021 under the title BROKEN LILIES.
  • Gel Us by Paige Zubel
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy
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    Keyword: marathon, friends + 5 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: marathon, friends, wine, running, exercise, friendship, motherhood
    10 minutes.

    Friends Laura and Kathy realize that running a marathon is a lot like some relationships: not worth it.
  • One Mourning at a Time by Paige Zubel
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: drama, experimental + 1 more
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    Keyword: grief, loss + 4 more
    Genre: drama, experimental, movement/physical
    Keyword: grief, loss, death, lgbtq youth, siblings, movement play
    Four young siblings grapple with loss, flower crowns, and how to properly do the renegade.
  • Troupe 98 by Paige Zubel
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    2–4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: cancer, mortality + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental
    Keyword: cancer, mortality, death, Girl Scouts, coming of age, non-linear, episodic
    10 minutes.

    Four young Girl Scouts named Sarah grapple with individuality, mortality, and trying to win the Big Blue Excalibur Mountain Bike.
  • A String Between Man and the World by Paige Zubel
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: NASA, space + 6 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: NASA, space, great beyond, Mental Health, insanity, space race, sputnik, god
    75 minutes, no intermission.

    Miles Alloway, a patient in a mental health facility, appeals for his release to an unseen panel of doctors (the audience). He claims his admittance was all one giant misunderstanding. His story of how he came to be there grows wilder and wilder, from timelines that don't add up, to government conspiracy theories, to a revelation on God himself. Ultimately,...
    75 minutes, no intermission.

    Miles Alloway, a patient in a mental health facility, appeals for his release to an unseen panel of doctors (the audience). He claims his admittance was all one giant misunderstanding. His story of how he came to be there grows wilder and wilder, from timelines that don't add up, to government conspiracy theories, to a revelation on God himself. Ultimately, unbelieved, Miles breaks. We're left to decide for ourselves if he really is insane or if maybe--just maybe--everything he said could be true.
  • Made of Glass by Paige Zubel
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: disability, Down's Syndrome + 5 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: disability, Down's Syndrome, parenthood, family, children, toddlers, Realism
    90 minutes, one intermission.

    When Amy, an 18 year old with Down syndrome, leaves home for the first time in her life, her parents Margie and Jeff are left alone to stare their crumbling marriage in the face. How do we salvage our relationships, protect our loved ones, and keep our lives as we know them from shattering all around us?
  • The Pull of the Moon by Paige Zubel
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: trauma, grief + 6 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: trauma, grief, New Orleans, water, moon, rape, sexual assault, non-linear
    30 minutes.

    College couple Erin and Kaleb struggle with the lasting effects of trauma. Simultaneously, Peter, a college professor, gives a lecture on the cycle of waves. Peter insists there is no such thing as rebirth in the water, but Erin and Kaleb have to find a way to rebuild once their emotional waves crash down around them.

    This script has been published through One Act Play Depot.