GRACE'S LAND 2.0

 by Sarah Bierstock

A teenage Grace is drowning under her mother's Coronavirus induced micro-managing gaze. A talented poet and rapper, she spends her time winning beatboxing competitions, but finds herself unable to complete the basic task of writing a single poetry assignment for school. She leans on the help of her equally talented friends Greta, a virtuoso pianist and academic stellar, and fraternal twins Jana and Dana (hip hop dancer and visual artist extraordinaires). The girls build a world where they are free from their anxieties. Together they learn to bring the peace they find in Graceland back into their real lives.

Production Notes:

CHARACTER INFORMATION

GRACE 14-18, Any race (but likely African American / Black), Female-Sick of being home with her smothering mom. She feels trapped physically and under the scrutiny and expectation of her family. Her intelligence is sometimes masked by her sensitivity and can appear reserved- until she starts rapping. She’s gifted at spoken word.

GRETA 14-18, Any Race/but likely Asian, a cis Female-Super smart, funny, problem solver. She’s a loyal friend, the class president with the mostest, ready to help and conquer the world. She’s a virtuoso pianist with a secret hand-washing OCD. Loves to sing and has a terrible voice.

JANA 14-18, Array, (assigned female at birth) Non-binary-Fraternal twin sister to Dana, clever, tom-boyish girl with a fascination with transgenderism and lesbian tendencies. She is actively reshaping her ideas based on gender. A fierce hip-hop dancer.

DANA 13-18, Any, (assigned female at birth - plot relevant)-Fraternal twin sister to Jana. A direct, no nonsense, unpretentious kind of gal. A great visual artist (draws really well).

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY

Reading, The Hewett School , 2021

Reading, 50/50 An Arts Production Company, 2021

AWARDS

Semi-Finalist, New Work Presentation at Columbia College Chicago, 2021

INFO FROM: NPX

Author

Sarah Bierstock

Sarah has been nominated for the Blackburn Prize and Primus Prize and is a proud member of both thePlaywrights Collective at Florida Studio Theater (FST) the Dorset Theatre Festival’s Women ArtistsWriting group (DTFWAW). She has received commissions from Center Stage (Baltimore), the Neo-Political Cowgirls, and FST for her play, Pandora and her Top Secret and Exceptionally ImportantScientific Mission, which will have its world premiere at Florida Studio Theater in the fall 2022. Pandorawas featured at the Children’s Reading Series at The Boise Contemporary Theater (Boise, Idaho) and willhave a workshop production this summer (2022) at the Theater at Monmouth (Monmouth, ME.)Her first play, Honor Killing, received initial development through the John Drew Theater Lab at GuildHall (East Hampton). It went on to a world premiere that ran for eight weeks at Florida Studio Theatre(FST) to full capacity audiences. It received its second production at Athena Project in Denver, CO.Honor Killing was read at WAM Theater in West Stockbridge, CT, as part of the Fresh Takes Series. In2017, it was one of three plays featured in the New Works Reading Series at the Athena Theater, FST’sSarasota Festival of New Plays, and the PROJECT W Festival at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New YorkCity (InProximity Theater). Sarah received the award for Runner up for The Woodward InternationalPlaywriting Prize at the University of New Hampshire earlier in 2017, where two readings of HonorKilling were conducted both at the University of New Hampshire and the 3S Artspace in... [FULL BIO]