Cockroaches
by Emma Schillage
Play, 4f 1m
Cockroaches is a Southern Gothic dark comedy about three sisters trapped in their childhood home grappling with their mother's most recent suicide attempt. Momma has been acting strange since coming home from the hospital, causing eldest daughter, Jenny, to come home from college, middle child, Charlie, to act out, and youngest child, Sissy, to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Meanwhile, monsters are lurking, ready to consume every bit of innocence in their path. As their mother's humanity fades, the sisters must learn to care for themselves and each other before it is too late. Cockroaches explores how we create monsters, survive them, punish them, and learn from them in the wake of disaster.
About the Author
Emma Schillage (they/them) is a queer Southern Gothic playwright, actor, director, and theatre educator based in New York and New Orleans. Schillage earned their BA in Theatre Arts from Loyola University New Orleans ('19) and MFA in Playwriting from Columbia University ('23). Fascinated by the macabre from a young age, Emma's writing incorporates elements of horror, whimsy, and teenage angst. They often write about resilience, childhood, mental illness, and the horror/wonder of growing up in the Deep South. Their work has been produced by The 24-Hour Plays: Nationals, Red Bull Theater, Breaking and Entering Theatre Co., and Southern Rep Theatre. Their play, COCKROACHES, was a semi-finalist in the Austin Film Festival Playwriting Competition, long-listed for The Seattle Public Theater's Distillery New Work Festival, and was a Finalist in the Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference. You can find them @emma_schillage on social media.