Emma James.png
Emma James.png

The Self-Destruction of Emma James

$17.00

Play, 3f 1m

Emma James is a mother of two young children who is trying to survive the day and reenter the workforce. But to land the new opportunity she seeks, she may have to make a deal with the devil, or herself, or possibly both. But what could go wrong when she finally gets everything she ever wanted?

Groundhog’s Day meets Faust in this new play about the lengths we go to protect our children and the risks we take to preserve ourselves, the devil we know and the devil we haven’t met yet, and the unending ever-elusive search for work/life balance.

Play, 3f 1m

Emma James is a mother of two young children who is trying to survive the day and reenter the workforce. But to land the new opportunity she seeks, she may have to make a deal with the devil, or herself, or possibly both. But what could go wrong when she finally gets everything she ever wanted?

Groundhog’s Day meets Faust in this new play about the lengths we go to protect our children and the risks we take to preserve ourselves, the devil we know and the devil we haven’t met yet, and the unending ever-elusive search for work/life balance.

About the Author

Kate Brennan is an artist, educator and creator. She has written a dozen plays and musicals and has taught across the country.

Her plays include: What’s in Store: A Swedish Dramedy (University of Central Florida’s Pegasus PlayLab,) #notacult or Camp Hope (Coalescence Theatre Project), The Self-Destruction of Emma James (Lamar University), The Marginals (Montgomery County Community College) and The Wonder in Alice (DreamWrights Center for Community Arts). Her solo musicals include Lost Boys (Dreamwrights), ELFuego (BCKSEET), and Some Assembly Required (BCKSEET).

Other works include the Brennan & White projects Book of Wonder (In the Works In the Woods Festival @ Forestburg Playhouse), Anatomy of a Flood (Arcadia University), ALiEN8 (Drexel University’s MPiRP), Clean Slate (Rider University & Passage Theatre Company), Illuminate, and The Bleeding Heart Academy for Girls Presents… (Steel River Playhouse).

Accolades include: The Infinity Trilogy (Map Fund Grant), The Self-Destruction of Emma James (O’Neill Semifinalist) What’s in Store (B Street New Comedy Finalist, O’Neill Semifinalist, Princess Grace Finalist), #notacult or Camp Hope (Judith Royer & Jane Chambers Finalist), The Marginals (Lanford Wilson Finalist) and Lost Boys (O’Neill Semifinalist). She was also named a Finalist for the Jonathan Larson Grant & the Cultural Innovator Award.

Publications: ALiEN8 (YouthPLAYS), elevated thoughts, (Literati Press), McSweeney’s, Dramatist, Howlround, The Offing, Slackjaw, Belladonna, Human Parts, Jane Austen’s Wastebasket, Frazzled, The Narrative Arc & more.

Member: Dramatist Guild & AEA. Kate is a Designated Linklater Teacher and holds an MFA from UVA. www.katebrennan.org