small town icons

It’s the night before the opening night of Mount Vernon, Ohio’s next community theater production: a barely legal adaptation of OUR TOWN. The production’s “Emily,” Sabrina, is stuck at home, trying to rehearse. A mob sits outside of her house, demanding an answer for the disappearance of Mr. K, a popular science teacher… who burned Sabrina during a class experiment. Sabrina’s “George,” Kimberly, arrives to help Sabrina deal with the threat of danger outside. All hell breaks loose when their former friend and the daughter of the science teacher, Kelly, invites herself over to bury the hatchet… and to figure out where her missing father could be. To make things even worse, the girl that Kelly bullied into the hospital, Willow, is discharged and arrives at Sabrina’s house. As the night goes on, the tension builds between the girls as secrets are revealed: bullying, evidence being destroyed, and poisoned cookies. Seemingly alone after a crazy night, Sabrina, Willow, & Kimberly are thrust into Grover’s Corners and an uncertain future. small town icons is an unflinching look at poverty, bullying, friendship, and the agonizing pursuit of a picture-perfect life.

Read the current draft here.

CURRENTLY

small town icons is currently a Semifinalist for the 2026 National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and a Long List Selection for the 2026 Distillery New Works Festival at the Seattle Public Theater.

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY

small town icons was presented as a workshop in the Breaking & Entering Theatre Collective’s Pre-Emerging Artists Festival at the Chain Theatre on December 5, 2019. The workshop was directed by Alex Church-Gonzales, stage managed by William Vonda, dramaturgy by Shay Thomas, with lighting design by Reilly Cavanaugh and sound design by Ethan Wintgens. The cast featured Danielle Truss, Nina Roy, Tristan Rose Gillia, and Maggie Marie Rodgers.

small town icons had a workshop and presented as Zoom reading through Permafrost Theatre Collective on June 14, 2020. The workshop was directed by Enid Brain. The reading featured Hawley Gould, Danielle Truss, Annie Fang, Dani Schlenker, and Henri Sudy.

small town icons was selected for a reading with the Play Incubation Collective based out of Northampton, MA on January 28, 2021.

small town icons was presented as a part of the student-run FESTIVAL at Otterbein University on February 10, 2021. The virtual performance was directed by Michelle Silva and featured Logan Reeder, Ava Reid Gregory, Margaret Feduccia, and Amelia Elias.

small town icons was the Resident Artist play with The Citadel of Playwrights for March & April 2022. An online reading was presented on May 1, 2022. Kristen Ashley Ragusa, Stephanie Fongheiser, Madeleine Norton, Joan Milburn, and Henri Sudy were the actors.

small town icons had a staged reading at The Dream Center Harlem by The Uptown Collective on December 6, 2022. The reading was directed by Britt Berke and featured Fran Mae, Destini Stewart, Jolie Cloutier, Julia Crowley, & Kayla Zanakis.

small town icons was a semifinalist for The Strides Collective’s 2023 Emerging Playwrights Program.

small town icons had a workshop reading produced by The Uptown Collective at the Dramatists Guild Foundation on September 23, 2023. Britt Berke directed the reading. The cast featured Sami Ma, Destini Stewart, Emma Pftizer Price, and Ann Dang.

small town icons was a Finalist for Illinois State University’s 2024 Diverse Voices Playwriting Initiative.

A private reading of small town icons was held with stroller scene on May 31, 2024. Megan Lomax, Simi Bal, Dorothea Gloria, Sam Walsh, and Jaye Hunt were the readers.

small town icons was featured in the Frontera Reading Series produced by Ryan Duncan-Ayala. The reading was held at The Tank on July 8, 2024. Mackenna Goodrich directed the reading. The cast featured Megan Lomax, Stephanie Orta-Vázquez, Sierra Lancaster, Sophia Drapeau, and Natalia Mar Urzua.

The first ten pages of small town icons were read during the Big Bang Series at Judson Church on September 18, 2024.

small town icons had a workshop with Off The / Lane as a part of their ColLab Series on May 30 & 31, 2025. Mackenna Goodrich directed an ensemble of Megan Lomax, Stephanie Orta-Vázquez, Vanessa Vivas, & Grace Guichard at the Meaux Space in NYC.

small town icons was a Finalist for the 2025 Pegasus PlayLab at the University of Central Florida, a Short List Selection for the 2025 Distillery New Works Festival at the Seattle Public Theater, and a short list selection for Epiphanies New Play Festival 2025.