Mimesophobia or Before and After
Play Description
They seemed like the perfect couple. Attractive. Well-educated. Affluent. Why did the husband brutally murder his wife and take his own life? Aaron and Henry, two young wannabe screenwriters at a writer's retreat struggle with crippling blocks as they seek to solve the mystery. Shawn, an academic teetering on the edge of insanity grapples with her own possible involvement in the killing, while writing a book about America’s obsession with violence. Meanwhile, the murder victim's sister attempts to reconstruct the truth from the ashes of her late sister's diary, becoming a celebrity in the process. What really happened that violent night, and will any of them come close to uncovering the truth?
Production Info
Cast: 6 total (3 female, 3 male)Full Length Drama (about 100 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
- Reviews
- About the Author(s)
- About the Book
- Special Notes
Press Quotes
“MIMESOPHOBIA [is] defined as ‘the morbid fear of slavish imitation’ … The work is framed as a reality TV show, documentary reenactment, description of a film script and a murder mystery all rolled into a 100-minute show. The result is a theatrical exercise that is an intelligent, funny, satirical look into the American obsession with violence. Our voyeuristic instincts make murder and the cult of celebrity into a fun spectator sport that we can’t get enough of. MIMESOPHOBIA unravels as part murder mystery, part reality TV show, with a glimpse into the creation of a film. Playwright Murillo structures much of the work using a film script description complete with camera shot directions. This effectively paints the action in our minds eye as it evokes humor and wit from the camera point of view. The work dodges between Hollywood and Hyde Park Chicago as it tracks one family’s tragedy … The work demands our full attention as it moves briskly between forms to tell the story. Sprinkles of wit, satire and raw humor propel this challenging work … This provocative play has many levels of meaning that contain cautionary elements about contemporary entertainment.” —Tom Williams, Chicago Critic
“Funny, provocative, and poignant, MIMESOPHOBIA is a huge success … and one of the more refreshing plays to land this season.” —Scotty Zacher, Chicago Theater Beat
Author(s)
Carlos MurilloCarlos Murillo is a Chicago based playwright, director, and educator. He is the author of THE JAVIER PLAYS, a trilogy published by 53rd State Press that includes DIAGRAM OF A PAPER AIRPLANE, A THICK DESCRIPTION OF HARRY SMITH and YOUR NAME WILL FOLLOW YOU HOME. His play DARK PLAY OR STORIES FOR BOYS premiered at the Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville in 2007, and has been produced widely throughout the US and Europe. In New York his work has been seen at P73, Repertorio Español, The NYC Summer Play Festival, En Garde Arts, Soho Rep, and The Public. In Chicago, his work has been seen at Steppenwolf, the Goodman, Collaboraction, Adventure Stage, Theatre Seven, and Walkabout Theatre. He is the recipient of a 2015 Doris Duke Impact Award. Other awards include: the Frederick Loewe Award from New Dramatists, the Met Life/Nuestros Voces Award from Repertorio Español, the Otis Guernsey Award from the William Inge Theatre Festival, two National Latino Playwriting Award from Arizona Theatre Company, and a Jerome Fellowship from The Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis. An alumnus of New Dramatists, he currently heads the Playwriting Program at The Theatre School of DePaul University in Chicago. He lives in the south side of Chicago with his wife, Lisa Portes, and their two children, Eva Rose and Carlos Pablo.
Special Notes
If original stage producers credits appear in bold below, all licensees are required to include them in the following form on the title page in all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play and in all advertising in which the full cast appears in size of type not less than ten percent (10%) of the size of the title of the Play:
Originally commissioned by South Coast Rep
In addition, the following must appear within all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play:
by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NYC
www.broadwayplaypub.com
Related Plays
$15.00–$15.95 Play Description
In the Pacific Northwest live Norma, a professional cuddler and reluctant dog-rescuer, and Norm, an amateur ribbon-dancer and attentive barista. Together they navigate loneliness, vulnerability, a collection of eccentric characters, and the healing power of human connection.
Production Info
Cast: 9 total (3 female, 6 male)Full Length Comedy (about 90 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95 Play Description
An industrialist in the near future utilizes every means possible to get an inventor to sign over his revolutionary creation that will inevitably change the world. Corporate greed never met creative angst with such dramatic and hilarious results.
Production Info
Cast: 4 total (1 female, 3 male)Full Length Comedy (about 90 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95 Play Description
Trapped during a storm in a ferry terminal with no food, no electricity, and no cellular signal, these pilgrims of the night pass the time sharing salacious tales that range from adultery to a biblical flood.
Production Info
Cast: 7 total (3 female, 4 male)Full Length Drama (about 95 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
$11.95–$15.00 Play Description
Pony up, America! Equestria is a land of friendship. Equestria is a land of magic. Equestria is Ben’s apartment in rural Pennsylvania. Every Tuesday night, Ben hosts “The Rust Belt Ponies Meet-Up Group for Adult Fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.” Sharing fun with these friends is a wonderful place to be. After all, nothing bad can happen in Equestria … But when an ominous neighborhood watch brigade starts patrolling the streets, fear and paranoia creep into the circle of friendship. The outside world is turning more violent and authoritarian, and it is sucking our heroes into an entirely different story. A timely new comedy that explores the rise of a new social order and how the currents of history, normalization, and fear can sweep up even the most generous bronies.
Production Info
Cast: 6 total (3 female, 3 male)Full Length Comedy (about 100 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95 Play Description
Fascinated by a serial killer’s poems to his victims, Nancy sets out to find him. When she discovers herself in his basement, she likes it.
Production Info
Cast: 3 total (2 female, 1 male)Full Length Comedy (about 90 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95 Play Description
When a statue of the legendary Hawaiian surfer Duke Kahanamoku comes to life, he relates his story to the Hawaiian children.
Production Info
Cast: 9 total (3 female, 6 male)Full Length Comedy (about 80 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95 Play Description
A fantastical “Kafkaesque” journey through time and space.
Production Info
Cast: 12 total (6 female, 6 male)Full Length Drama (about 90 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
$11.95–$15.00 Play Description
Poisonous mushrooms, red herrings, marital infidelities, and a mysterious Merchant of Death are elements in this English-style thriller with a fascinating, intricate plot.
Production Info
Cast: 6 total (2 female, 4 male)Full Length Drama (about 120 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
$0.00–$15.95 Play Description
Based on the classic novella, this original adaptation takes you to the dismal streets of London in the 1860s, where societal pressures silence a gentle doctor's questions about the nature of morality. As the pressure intensifies, Dr Jekyll takes matters into his own hands. However, things take an eerie turn when his experiment takes on a life of its own. Will his efforts save the world, or will they destroy all that he holds dear? After all, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Production Info
Cast: 16 total (7 female, 9 male, flexible casting, bit parts)Full Length Comedy (about 80 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Period Costumes
$11.95–$15.00 Play Description
In Nebraska in 1972, three members of the Peak family, father, mother, and teenage daughter, were murdered. Beth, an adult daughter, who was not home at the time the crimes were committed, must come to terms with the apparently senseless act and find a way to live with the horror.
Production Info
Cast: 8 total (4 female, 4 male)Full Length Drama (about 115 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
$11.95–$15.00 Play Description
A masterpiece by one of the greatest writers of the Spanish Golden Age. When the people of the town of Fuente Ovejuna revolt against their tyrannical overlord and murder him, the authorities attempt to find out who is responsible, leading to one of the most memorable acts of resistance in world drama.
Production Info
Cast: 16 total (4 female, 12 male, flexible casting up to 8 women and 20 men)Full Length Drama (about 180 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Period Costumes