She Eats Apples
5 women & 1 man
2015 NAPAT Excellence in Playwriting Award
She Eats Apples is a nonlinear exploration of rape culture as seen through the eyes for four teenagers embroiled in the complexities of growing up. When sixteen-year-old Ashley realizes her first time was significantly less than perfect, her slut-fabulous best friend Lily encourages her to reconcile with her boyfriend. Feeling betrayed, Ashley seeks out the advice of a survivor of sexual assault who’s been alienated from the rest of the group. Meanwhile, Lily and Ashley’s nice-guy boyfriend, Ben, undertake a quest to get Ashley back on their side before their relationships crumble. Reality and fantasy intertwine as Ashley finds the breadcrumbs of her experience in biology lessons, hopscotch rhymes, fairytales and art history.
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Recent and Upcoming:
She Eats Apples is the centerpiece of the third installment of the discussion series "Sexual Assault: Let's Talk About It" at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Selected scenes will be presented by Students Against Sexism in Society to promote discussion of the school's new Title IX policies. An excerpt of She Eats Apples was be presented at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on April 15-16, 2015. |
Workshop Production:Boston Playwrights’ Theatre &
Boston University Studio 102 October 10-15, 2014 |
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Directed by Adrienne Boris
Photos by Kalman Zaborsky
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Educational Outreach:Abridged Educational Production
Breaking Barriers Strath Haven High School, Philadelphia, PA November 4, 2014 Directors: Lauren Thomas and Joseph Ahmed Students Say:
"Great representation of the gray area between consent and refusal."
"It taught me to communicate properly and not assume anything."
"WOW just incredible. I think that we should have this amazing presentation for the whole school. Very good message. Powerful. Thank you so much."
"The play was awesome. I would love to see other performances. It tackled real life issues and things anyone could use."
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Characters:
ASHLEY, female, 16, book smart and kind of a good girl, but being good means filling certain roles. LILY, female, 16, the best friend, a self-styled slut, perky, flirty, the evolution of Emily Post. BEN, male, 16, the boyfriend, He's a dreamboat, but he thinks he's a sidekick. SHE, female, 16, the outcast, the group-styled slut, Jeanne d’Arc suffragette, victim of the rumor mill... and maybe more. GIRL 1: a transformative character played by a woman. Sarah, female, 8, Stranger Danger poster child, Just Say No, DARE Mason, male, 16, Ben’s friend, the bra. Teacher, female, 37. The Pink Lady, female, ageless. Psychiatrist, female, 35-65. GIRL 2: a transformative character played by a woman. Becky, female, 8, precocious, like fucking Merida, but an apple tart will melt her heart. Trevor, male, 16, Ben’s friend, his life is a performance, authenticity is to be mocked. Granny Smith, female, ageless. Police Officer, Male, 35-65. |
Excerpt:
BEN I just want to make things better. ASHLEY No. You want to make things better for you. BEN For both of us. We could be-- ASHLEY Don’t!—say that. Don’t think that. We’re not anything. Not boyfriend-girlfriend. Not friends. Not classmates. We’re not those things. BEN Then what are we? ASHLEY Nothing. Thing without a name. Thing that doesn’t exist—thing that doesn’t have a right to exist. BEN A monster. ASHLEY No. We’re not the monster. |
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Excerpt:
ASHLEY He was on me really fast and I didn’t know what was happening. It was like my brain stopped. But not stopped. It was like my brain was going in slow motion but more like with strobe lights on or something. How even though it’s loud and everyone’s dancing and moving everything kinda blurs. Everything’s kinda still and then. Flash. You see it like a picture. |
