9th Play - Tip by Maya Ortega
Maya Ortega from her website
This play grabbed me right from the beginning!!! The summary is short, but that allows for a lot of fun wiggle room. Also, the photo above is from the playwright’s website. I loved it because it is so wonderfully free and unapologetic!
Summary: “A woman dies and finds out in the afterlife that her fate is based on her internet search history.” New Play Exchange
Laura’s thoughts in brief: I was drawn into this play right from the beginning. Admittedly I’m a sucker for a good afterlife story… Zuri is the character discovering that she has died and Thusa, the “arbiter” of the “proceedings,” is the heavenly employee(?) assigned to work with her. Thusa is annoyingly (to Zuri) vague in the answers she gives to Zuri’s questions, but she informs her that Zuri’s fate is based on “the entire contents” of her internet history. Zuri panics, as most of us might do in that situation. What a great device to allow everyone in the audience to think about their own responses to that information! Oh dear … I started thinking about all the weird things that I have researched for acting/directing gigs, yikes! But the play overall is quite funny in a dark way. Well, funny to us (and Thusa); not so much to Zuri. There are also text messages between Zuri and God that in a production the audience would see via projection. I loved all of these ideas. Events in Zuri’s life are disclosed one by one, and it’s fun to see the mystery of her life and death slowly revealed. Maya Ortega has a great feel for dialogue, and I just zipped through the play and enjoyed reading so much! Until … We get to the end, and Zuri is facing a decision of what to do, and after a montage of images of her life, we see a video. The text of this LONG video (13+ minutes), “The Gospel of Thomas, its Meaning, Secrets and Power: David Clay” (you can find it on YouTube) is in the script and the stage directions indicate that the full video should be played for the audience. Now, this is video is less religious than it sounds - actually, it is probably quite controversial for many Christians. I like the fact that it is controversial, but … I just felt like showing a video is a way less interesting moment for the dramatic climax of the play. I was disappointed here. Truly, the whole Act III was disappointing to me and happened way too fast. I would love to see the playwright re-examine this play and write MORE of the play, and fix the ending. Because I really was digging it until Act III, and I felt like the rug was pulled out from under me. But what an awesome idea and first half of the play! Please add more - then I want to see it, direct it!!!
READ MORE! This is a newer play and I didn’t find photos, so I’ve included the New Play Exchange link, an interview with the playwright, and a link to her website:
https://newplayexchange.org/script/2046192/tip