Megan Schumacher
Playwright Director Dramaturg
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Dionté and Khai Do Dinner
1W 2M
In Dionté and Khai Do Dinner, Dionysus and Pentheus are not god and king, but rather a new-in-town Black professor and his nosy White neighbor. When Penn invites Dionté and his wife Khai to dinner, he soon discovers that his forward-thinking guests might be more than he bargained for, as their civilized conversation quickly devolves into a less-than-civil war of words. Inspired by Anne Carson's translation of Euripides' The Bakkhai.
...and Stones
1W 2M
In the summer of 1933 just outside of Birmingham, AL, schoolteacher Elizabeth Lawrence was lynched for scolding a group of white children who had been throwing stones at her. Through a contemporary lens using Angelina Weld Grimké's "Tenebris" and a split stage, this play imagines her son's pursuit of justice for his mother and considers the courageous pursuit of equity by all Black bodies in the face of racism.
Lowdnes
2W 2M
In 1965, even after the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, millions of black folks in the South were still unregistered to vote because of racial terrorism. Lowndes County in Alabama was a model for such disenfranchisement. Not one black person had registered to vote in a county where blacks outnumbered whites 4:1. Lowndes imagines two SNCC members canvassing the county to encourage terrified residents to register.
Laundry
5W
In a dystopian world, five female clones arrive for their daily work in a laundry facility. This work is routine for all except one, who struggles to fulfill her duties. On this particular day, a rumor of a selection process and a disturbing event from the night before, have them excited. As the play progresses, however, their excitement turns to fear, as lives are lost and escape becomes key.
Sanctuary
2W 2M
Who gets to define terrorism is at the heart of Sanctuary, which follows the story of Yaghoub, a young man on the run from authorities who searches for sanctuary in a Catholic Church. While Yaghoub is searching for sanctuary, his wife, Samira, is interrogated by the police.
Superlosers
2W 1M
Snake, Busy, and Gilly are regular folks by day, or so it would seem. Follow these three losers as they plot to use their lame superpowers to take down some superheroes and become celebrated supervillains.
Monster Mash
1W 2(Any Gender)
A woman is just looking forward to snuggling into bed for a good night's sleep when she is visited by a monster who has another idea in mind. This fun little play is all about joy and some good music.
3 Monologues (Summer's Welcome; Pity-Wanting Pain; and, Mirror, Mirror)
1M 2(Any Gender)
Inspired by Shakespeare's Sonnets 56, 62, and 140, these three monologues capture the broken-hearted, lost love, longing, and a little narcissism.
Unprecedented
1M 2F 2(Any Gender)
Unprecedented origins stem from the overuse of the word "unprecedented" and an event that happened to me in NYC while walking around Soho. An older white couple stopped me and accused me of dropping an empty water bottle on the sidewalk. I didn't, but being the bigger person, or so I thought, I picked it up and threw it away. Afterwards, I spent too much time imagining what would have happened if I had made a different choice. This play pursues those musings.