Donate to Support New Play Premiere: “BITCHES”

Julia Smith (writer) and Maya Shore (director) are early career theatre artists raising funds to put on the premiere production of BITCHES: a new horror comedy play.

The production would take place from August 7th to August 9th at a new theatre space in New York City, NY. We are trying to raise $2000 dollars to cover the cost of the rental, and are hoping to raise an additional $1000 to cover the cost of design (props, costumes) as well as to be able to pay the actors and small crew a stipend for their work.

Any support is greatly appreciated!

Julia Smith is a playwright and dramaturg based in New York. Most recently, she was the dramaturg for Maya Shore’s Fear It with King’s Crown Shakespeare Troupe. Her play The Wrong Dog was the recipient of the 2025 Joseph Milton Fee, Jr. Award in Playwriting from Barnard College. BITCHES was given a developmental reading by NOMADS for their Fall 2024 Anthology. This will be the first staged production of her work.

Maya Shore is a director and (sometimes) playwright based in New York City. She is a graduate from Barnard College where she directed numerous plays. In Summer 2024, Maya was awarded the Dasha Epstein Fellowship to support an artistic residency at New York Stage and Film. She has served as assistant director on new play workshops, including Margaret Cho’s Mommy, A One Woman Cho and All Nighter. Most recently, Maya served as the directing intern on the off-Broadway production of All Nighter.

Summary of show:

Attempting to stave off boredom and renew their fracturing friendship, high school seniors Harper, Leila, Jo, and Kelly invite their uncool classmate Suz to a sleepover, hoping to humiliate her for their entertainment. When their plan takes a dark turn, Suz finds herself pulled increasingly into their strange friend group. Amidst shifting loyalties, secret relationships, and general teenage bloodlust, the girls are dragged towards a final confrontation that will force them to decide what they are, once and for all. BITCHES peers into the horrific world of a group of queer friends that sort of hate each other, and dares to ask: is murder cool if everyone else is doing it?