D.L. Siegel

D.L. Siegel received her BA in English and Theater from Princeton University and her MFA in Playwriting from The New School for Drama. She was a member of The Amoralists' inaugural playwriting residency, 'Wright Club, and is currently the Playwright Mentor for Staten Island Shakespeare Theatre’s Women's Playwright Collective. Her plays have been produced nationally and internationally with Cherry Lane Theater, HERE Arts Center, Pier One Theatre, Silver Spring Stage, Ivoryton Playhouse, Kairos Italy Theater, Magnetic Theatre, Live Arts, Artemisia, Wyoming Theater Festival, Flush Ink Productions, The Gallery Players, Eclectic Full Contact Theater, Fringe NYC, and many others. A born and raised New Yorker and forever city mouse, D.L. lives in Brooklyn with her writer husband, Corey Pajka...

D.L. Siegel received her BA in English and Theater from Princeton University and her MFA in Playwriting from The New School for Drama. She was a member of The Amoralists' inaugural playwriting residency, 'Wright Club, and is currently the Playwright Mentor for Staten Island Shakespeare Theatre’s Women's Playwright Collective. Her plays have been produced nationally and internationally with Cherry Lane Theater, HERE Arts Center, Pier One Theatre, Silver Spring Stage, Ivoryton Playhouse, Kairos Italy Theater, Magnetic Theatre, Live Arts, Artemisia, Wyoming Theater Festival, Flush Ink Productions, The Gallery Players, Eclectic Full Contact Theater, Fringe NYC, and many others. A born and raised New Yorker and forever city mouse, D.L. lives in Brooklyn with her writer husband, Corey Pajka. When not writing, she leads the technical program management function for a New York-based health tech company.

Scripts

Heartbeat Ophelia

by D.L. Siegel

Synopsis

Ophelia finds herself marooned in Texas during unprecedented times…or is it Denmark? Caught between centuries of male control and contemporary legislation that governs her body, she navigates fear, desire, shame, and defiance while others attempt to dictate her fate. This radical deconstruction of Hamlet reframes Ophelia not as a doomed ingénue, but as a young woman forcibly claiming agency in a world that would...

Ophelia finds herself marooned in Texas during unprecedented times…or is it Denmark? Caught between centuries of male control and contemporary legislation that governs her body, she navigates fear, desire, shame, and defiance while others attempt to dictate her fate. This radical deconstruction of Hamlet reframes Ophelia not as a doomed ingénue, but as a young woman forcibly claiming agency in a world that would prefer for her to stay a minor character.

Cuts

by D.L. Siegel

Synopsis

Running a community theater during fascist times is a tall order, and the staff of The Bell are reeling from the implications of the latest set of content-censoring mandates. But theater people are nothing if not creative, and The Bell refuses to die by a thousand cuts. A play about community, about taking a stand, and about reconnecting with why we produce art at all.

Running a community theater during fascist times is a tall order, and the staff of The Bell are reeling from the implications of the latest set of content-censoring mandates. But theater people are nothing if not creative, and The Bell refuses to die by a thousand cuts. A play about community, about taking a stand, and about reconnecting with why we produce art at all.

It's the End of the World and the Rats are Winning

by D.L. Siegel

Synopsis

Attempting to find some joy and normalcy after a tough year, Evie and Mike are throwing a casual housewarming party for a few friends in their new Brooklyn high-rise apartment. Unfortunately, the rats have other ideas. Which are worse, Mike's pretentious friends or the creatures slowly taking over the apartment? It's the End of the World And the Rats Are Winning lives in the intersection of Neil Simon and...

Attempting to find some joy and normalcy after a tough year, Evie and Mike are throwing a casual housewarming party for a few friends in their new Brooklyn high-rise apartment. Unfortunately, the rats have other ideas. Which are worse, Mike's pretentious friends or the creatures slowly taking over the apartment? It's the End of the World And the Rats Are Winning lives in the intersection of Neil Simon and Ionesco and tells the story of a couple just doing their best to keep laughing no matter what the world throws at them.

Signs of the Times

by D.L. Siegel

Synopsis

A chance meeting on the ferry gives Mina and Lex an unexpected opportunity for a happy-ever-after. What if we could choose hope and love despite all the risks? What if we could beat back despair one pure, authentic love story at a time?

A chance meeting on the ferry gives Mina and Lex an unexpected opportunity for a happy-ever-after. What if we could choose hope and love despite all the risks? What if we could beat back despair one pure, authentic love story at a time?

Grown-Up Stuff

by D.L. Siegel

Synopsis

Ru and Cal are appalled when their biracial, Jewish daughter comes home from school with a swastika drawn on her backpack. But they are forced to confront failures of their own parenting when they realize she drew it herself.

Ru and Cal are appalled when their biracial, Jewish daughter comes home from school with a swastika drawn on her backpack. But they are forced to confront failures of their own parenting when they realize she drew it herself.

FA(A)NG

by D.L. Siegel

Synopsis

Ronnie needs to crush this job interview or she's facing a move back to her parents' basement. But how can she recover from her high school mean girl past becoming the main interview topic? A play about redemption, regrets, and the volatility of the tech industry.

Ronnie needs to crush this job interview or she's facing a move back to her parents' basement. But how can she recover from her high school mean girl past becoming the main interview topic? A play about redemption, regrets, and the volatility of the tech industry.

Monster Love

by D.L. Siegel

Synopsis

As the daughter of Victor Frankenstein, Bonnie knows to expect the unexpected from her Dad. But some experiments hit a little too close to home and (literally) unearth what should have stayed buried.

As the daughter of Victor Frankenstein, Bonnie knows to expect the unexpected from her Dad. But some experiments hit a little too close to home and (literally) unearth what should have stayed buried.

The Principles of Magic

by D.L. Siegel

Synopsis

Poly Barry is an ambitious over-achiever who never thought she'd go home again. But a meltdown at work forces her to return to her quirky family - including her magician father - in Northeastern Pennsylvania. When logic and reason and the letter of the law fail her, the principles of magic (and a series of taxidermy rabbits) might be just what Poly needs to find her way back to herself.

Poly Barry is an ambitious over-achiever who never thought she'd go home again. But a meltdown at work forces her to return to her quirky family - including her magician father - in Northeastern Pennsylvania. When logic and reason and the letter of the law fail her, the principles of magic (and a series of taxidermy rabbits) might be just what Poly needs to find her way back to herself.

...but where would they live?

by D.L. Siegel

Synopsis

A bird may love a fish, but where would they live? No, really. These two star-crossed pet store residents would love to know before they proceed.

A bird may love a fish, but where would they live? No, really. These two star-crossed pet store residents would love to know before they proceed.

Like the Last

by D.L. Siegel

Synopsis

Women in Kokoro's family don't make it to their 30th birthdays. So at 29 and counting, she is on a mission to make every moment count while leaving as few grieving hearts behind as possible. But as the countdown nears, Kokoro must re-think what it really means to live every moment like your last.

Women in Kokoro's family don't make it to their 30th birthdays. So at 29 and counting, she is on a mission to make every moment count while leaving as few grieving hearts behind as possible. But as the countdown nears, Kokoro must re-think what it really means to live every moment like your last.

Members Only

by D.L. Siegel

Synopsis

On the verge of a breakthrough, Cove is welcomed into an ancient circle she never knew existed. But the bonds of sisterhood are only as strong as we make them, and every club has its rules.

On the verge of a breakthrough, Cove is welcomed into an ancient circle she never knew existed. But the bonds of sisterhood are only as strong as we make them, and every club has its rules.

Gingerbread

by D.L. Siegel

Synopsis

On a hot summer day at The Talk of the Town tavern, bartender Vinny constructs a
gingerbread house for the rockette-wannabe he loves. But not all dreams come true, and
sometimes the weight of a life in the suburbs can crush all chances of big city success.

On a hot summer day at The Talk of the Town tavern, bartender Vinny constructs a
gingerbread house for the rockette-wannabe he loves. But not all dreams come true, and
sometimes the weight of a life in the suburbs can crush all chances of big city success.

Untouched

by D.L. Siegel

Synopsis

Set in in the shadow of an economic collapse, Untouched takes us to The Pantheon: a once popular bookstore turned brothel in Astoria, New York. In this bleak landscape, Lady Lazarus and her shop girls are forced to turn more profit by turning tricks, but the homecoming of Lady Lazarus’ young ward, Kira, highlights the growing divide between what once was and what now must be. As Kira struggles to learn the rules...

Set in in the shadow of an economic collapse, Untouched takes us to The Pantheon: a once popular bookstore turned brothel in Astoria, New York. In this bleak landscape, Lady Lazarus and her shop girls are forced to turn more profit by turning tricks, but the homecoming of Lady Lazarus’ young ward, Kira, highlights the growing divide between what once was and what now must be. As Kira struggles to learn the rules and dangers of this new world in which sex is the only commodity worth selling, she must decide how much she is willing to sacrifice for family.

Atalanta K.O.

by D.L. Siegel

Synopsis

Atalanta is a fearsome amateur boxer, hungry for a professional career. Abandoned at birth, Atalanta trusts no one save her faithful trainer, Samir. But when she goes head-to-head with "The Boar of Bushwick" in a highly publicized fight, Atalanta attracts the attention of her long-absent father who will stop at nothing to get her back. How does a woman whose life depends on her fearlessness contend with the one...

Atalanta is a fearsome amateur boxer, hungry for a professional career. Abandoned at birth, Atalanta trusts no one save her faithful trainer, Samir. But when she goes head-to-head with "The Boar of Bushwick" in a highly publicized fight, Atalanta attracts the attention of her long-absent father who will stop at nothing to get her back. How does a woman whose life depends on her fearlessness contend with the one person in the world who makes her feel vulnerable? Inspired by an ancient Greek myth, Atalanta K.O. is the story of one woman's struggle to overcome her tragic past and be the heroine she was destined to be.

Chosen

by D.L. Siegel

Synopsis

Will and Dee are young and in love, but their interracial/interfaith relationship isn’t exactly good news for Dee’s parents. Told as a series of satirical vignettes, the play takes us through the history of Dee's strict Jewish family, unearthing a surprising cultural legacy.

Will and Dee are young and in love, but their interracial/interfaith relationship isn’t exactly good news for Dee’s parents. Told as a series of satirical vignettes, the play takes us through the history of Dee's strict Jewish family, unearthing a surprising cultural legacy.