10th Play - Dead Meat by Paige Zubel
From the Relative Theatrics (Laramie, WY) Staged Reading in 2020
Summary: “It’s the end of the world. A once-promising medication goes awry, mutating 51% of the world’s population into shells of human beings, with only the basic motor functions left to chase, bite, and kill. (Yep. They’re zombies.) Three men—seemingly alone in the apocalypse—honestly are pretty all right with it. With all the women gone, they can finally kick back, relax, and get back to their men-only BBQ. Until Alex—an intersex woman—distorts the dichotomies in which they view their black-and-white world. How is Alex alive? Is Alex's life worth saving? And—ultimately—how can the men go about saving Alex when women are strictly against the BBQ rules? In a quest for survival, adaptation is necessary. Will masculinity bend for a new world, or is the pull of the routines of a lost time too strong to resist?” New Play Exchange
Laura’s thoughts in brief: Another play that is supposed to be cast with female/non-binary actors! Didn’t mean to do that in a row, but I don’t really mind all-femme-y casting! The trick with this play is that all the characters are men except Alex. I actually enjoyed this play - it’s quite funny even if a little silly. Two of the men are drawn pretty two-dimensionally, but I believe that is intentional. And knowing they would be played by women makes it more intereseting, and clearly a commentary. That being said, each of those characters has flaws that make them a tiny bit more human, and you start to wonder if maybe they’re just playing at being toxic males (methinks they doth protest too much)? From the beginning we get Brian lecturing Beanie, the one non-toxic male, on the rules of the Game (males vs. females in trying to get laid, apparently). Beanie is questioning the rules: “She said to leave so I—” “And you listened?” “What if she, you know, means it?” “Stop overthinking it, okay?” Hearing the toxic masculinity articulated (by a woman) makes it sound that much more disgusting, but it’s funny, because it is commentary AND we suspect something will happen to this barbecuing, bullying jerk. It does, but it’s definitely not what we thought it would be … The other guy, Boris, is worse, ack. I was disturbed by the part of the plot where Boris makes Beanie pull out goldfish from a bowl and well, content disclosure, things don’t end well for the goldfish. Why are so many playwrights invested in dead animals in their plays? Is there a writing class out there that says, “Dead animals are potent imagery so write scenes about them in your plays.” Boo, boo and boo! Pardon me while I vomit a bit. I did find this play to be funny in an oh-yes-toxic-masculinity-does-suck kind of way. But, is there more? Anyway, other than that, I liked the ideas in the play and the writing. However, as soon as Alex finally arrives at the men’s backyard, THE PLAY ENDS. What?! Once again I feel like we’re missing a whole act. I think the scene AFTER THE WOMAN ARRIVES would be way more interesting than more toxic masculinity. So, another disappointing ending. Add a second act?!!! But I liked this playwright’s ideas and would definitely read more of her work. Hopefully no more animals dying please …
READ MORE! This is a newer play without full productions, so I’ve included the New Play Exchange link, a link to a staged reading, and a link to her website:
https://newplayexchange.org/script/2002451/dead-meat