Raccoon Play
On Election Day 2024, in a Danville, OH living room, CB watches an overwhelming TikTok video about a school shooting not too far away. The poster, Erica, warns small towns about potential false flag shootings in their community. As the rest of the Danville, OH Lions Club (President Sandy, Vice President Pat, CC, Erica, and Tomi) arrive, there are three massive red flags: The bank account is empty, everyone has been lying about different issues going on between group members, and they don’t have any raccoons for the 79th Annual Raccoon Dinner - the community’s primary fundraiser.
Meanwhile, in the basement, President Sly Cooper, a literal Raccoon, addresses the Danville, OH Raccoon Club after declaring martial law due to dubious election results. Facing an insurrection and a mole in their camp, Sly and her minions must find a way to bring their population to heel. Raccoon Play is a satire examining how conspiracy theories have destroyed Midwest towns and how the alt-right will never be satisfied.
Read the current draft of the play here.
CURRENTLY
Raccoon Play will be part of Script Club for The Red Theater in Chicago. The play will be discussed on March 11, 2026.
Script Club is a book club in which participants read a new, unpublished play, and then meet digitally to discuss the themes and ideas the play is centered on. More information will be announced soon.
DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
The Workshop Premiere of Raccoon Play played at The Tank from August 12-14, 2022, including two sold-out performances. The cast featured Anne-Marie Pietersma, Daniel Kunkel, Henri Sudy, Zoe Nebraska Feldman, Abby Messina, and Madeleine Norton. The workshop featured Intimacy Direction by Zoe Nebraska Feldman, Fight Direction by Daniel Kunkel, stage management by Gracie Greggains, and voiceovers from Kayla Zanakis. Check out the program for this workshop production here. Read reviews of the 2022 Workshop Production here.
Raccoon Play was selected for development through the 2022-2023 Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellowship.
A staged reading of Raccoon Play was held during Philly Theatre Week on April 1 & 2, 2023, at the Hamilton Family Arts Center at The Arden Theatre. Directed by Nick Hatcher, the cast featured Zoe Nebraska Feldman, Sheridan Merrick, Anne-Marie Pietersma, Stephen Perkins, Abby Messina, Mary Callahan, & River von Waldron. The reading was produced by Monti Cerabino & Taj Rauch.
Raccoon Play was a semifinalist for the 2023 National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. SMJ was in residence with New York Stage and Film from July 25 to August 2, 2023.
An equity reading of Raccoon Play was presented by the Dramatists Guild Foundation on September 18, 2023. The reading was directed by Martavius Parrish. The cast featured Taylor Trensch, Marina Shay, Hawley Gould, Kayli Carter, Ema Zivkovic, and Meghan McLeod.
An excerpt of Raccoon Play was presented by the Dramatists Guild Foundation during the Fellows Showcase on November 20, 2023, at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. The evening was directed by Candis C. Jones. The cast included Taylor Trensch, Marina Shay, Hawley Gould, Kayli Carter, & Meghan McLeod.
Raccoon Play was a semifinalist for the 2024 National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and a Finalist for the 2025 Pegasus PlayLab at the University of Central Florida.
“Untitled Raccoon Play is a satirical glimpse into queer conservatism, anti-vax ideals and alt-right ideologies in the face of a pandemic. ... Untitled Raccoon Play is memorable, timely and immensely funny.”
“Untitled Raccoon Play is a strong piece that discusses the dangers of the conservative movement and the nefarious nature of what lies below the adult adolescents parroting what they watched on Fox News.”
“I for one will be in the front row when this piece re-emerges again. ”
DGF Fellows Presentation, November 2023
Workshop at The Tank, August 2022
Sizzle Reel of the 2022 Workshop Production