The Play
Aftershock
Psychological Thriller, (2w, 2m). Unit set; proscenium/thrust. Present. Two acts.
Finalist in Playwrights First’s (NYC) annual playwriting contest and chosen for Penobscot Theatre’s Northern Writes New Play Festival.
A mother and teenage daughter, two victims of a horrific car accident in which a girl died, have moved out of state away from the tragedy and built a new, wonderful life together. An investigative writer finds them and terrorizes them until a much darker story and truth about the accident are revealed.
Aftershock explores the extraordinary methods victims of tragedies employ to live in the world of non-victims. When friends and family are faced with the death of a child, how are they supposed to go on? What if it wasn’t your daughter but her best friend who died? Are you as consumed with guilt as you are with grief? What will it take to live a “normal” life. Can you run away and begin again?
A previous version of Aftershock was produced at Boerne Community Theatre (TX).
Cast of Characters
- Jessica, 19. A bright and cheerful college student
- Lisa, 40’s. A confident professional woman and mother of Jessica
- Tony, late 40’s. A very handsome investigative reporter for a national magazine
- Detective Howard, 45 – 55.
Script Sample
Setting
The play takes place in the present in what appears to be a modern, middle-class home in Upstate New York. The unit set includes the living/dining room and front entrance hall. The living room is furnished comfortably with a sofa, coffee table and some easy chairs. It is clean and well-decorated with modern artwork, interesting antique pieces and photographs, including a large photograph of snow-covered mountains in Afghanistan. A small, gift-wrapped Christmas gift is on the coffee table.
AFTERSHOCK can be performed with as much realistic scenery as the producing company desires. While the script calls for doors and a perceived realism, the play develops into a very surreal world, which could exist on any stage and with any design. As written, the play alludes to proscenium staging.
Buzz about the Play
“Aftershock Builds To A Killer Ending”
“Michael Walker’s ‘Aftershock,’ a mystery thriller”
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