The Iroquois

Characters

4 F; 1 M

Mabel - 71 year old widow, mother of Irma and Sharon

Irma - mid 40’s; mother of David and Jenny

Sharon – early 40’s

David –17 years old

Jenny –14 years old

Time/Place

Mid-week, January. 2008.

Set

All can be simply suggested.

Modest living room of a small house facing the banks of the Iroquois River in Kankakee County.

The kitchen of a house in town.

Synopsis

On the third day of historic rain in a small Illinois town, two sisters with radically different plans for their Mother’s future, come together unexpectedly. Irma, a mother of two teenagers, has always managed to make things work in spite of her instinctual tendency to deny reality. But on this stormy January day, Irma’s trusty coping mechanism, denial, is failing her. Due to a series of potentially dangerous mishaps (river’s rising, roof’s leaking, and Mother’s gone missing), Irma is forced to finally join her sister in questioning Mabel’s mental capability. Told with humor and compassion, The Iroquois examines one family’s decision-making process and the dangerous result of opting to avoid life’s hard decisions by denying reality.

Production/Development History

Eugene O’Neill National Festival Semi-Finalist 2013

Raven Theatre Developmental Workshop with three public performances 2014

Opening scene: Chicago Dramatists Saturday Series: Natural Disasters curated by Tara Mallen, Artistic Director of Rivendell Theatre, and Taos Spring Festival 2021

Developmental readings at Artistic Home Theatre 2009 – 2013