COCKROACHES: Emma Schillage's MFA thesis project

The Project

Emma Schillage 's MFA thesis play, COCKROACHES, is being workshopped this spring! It will be presented as a part of Columbia's New Play Festival, which provides graduating MFA playwrights a platform to showcase their work as a professional debut to the New York City theatre landscape.

However, we need your help! We are aiming to fundraise $3300 in order to supplement the pay of a professional team of actors and designers. Any additional funds will go towards building the world of the play onstage.

The Play

COCKROACHES is a Southern Gothic dark comedy. It tells the story of three sisters as they deal with the fallout of their mother’s most recent suicide attempt. Momma has been acting strange since returning home from the hospital, causing eldest daughter, Jenny, to come home from college, middle child Charlie, to act out, and youngest child, Sissy, to follow in her mother’s footsteps. As Momma becomes less and less human, the sisters must learn how to care for themselves and each other before it is too late. Cockroaches explores how we create monsters, deal with them, punish them, and learn from them in the wake of disaster.

The Details:

Cockroaches

May 11, 13, & 14, 2023

Lenfest Center for the Arts at Columbia University

615 W 129th St, New York, NY 10027

The Team

Our team is comprised of emerging theatre professionals from Columbia and beyond! The team includes:

Emma Schillage (Playwright), Miguel Bregante (Director), Reilly Conlon (Dramaturg), Emma Richmond (Producer), Amelia McGinnis (Stage Manager), Fuyuan Zheng (Asst. Stage Manager), Thomas Jenkeleit (Scenic & Props Designer), Andre Segar (Lighting Designer), Angela Boughman (Sound Design), Jaqueline Holloway (Intimacy Coordinator & Fight Choreographer)

Casting to be announced!