Deborah Zoe Laufer – författare

3m, 2f / Comedy / Interior End Days received the 2008 American Theatre Critics Association Steinberg citation. Sixteen year old Rachel Stein is having a bad year. Her father hasn't changed out of his pajamas since 9/11. Her mother has begun a close, personal relationship with Jesus. Her new neightbor, a sixteen-year-old Elvis impersonator, has fallen for her hard. And the Apocolypse is coming Wednesday. Her only hope is that Stephen Hawking will save them all. "The universality of the denouement brings this comedy full circle, leaving us to admire the relevancy of Laufer's humor and wisdom of her message." - Variety "...rapturously funny play about a family trying to survive in a world hurtling toward Armageddon, proves that the right playwright can inspire healing laughter in even the most sobering subjects." - The Miami Herald "...Both poignantly redemptive and often hilariously funny. I hope others will have the opportunity to see this special play. It begs the question of what we would hold most sacred if we knew the end was near.And it brings to life our broad range of choices, including laughter, and the treasured traveling companions who are there even when we face our own personal Armageddon." - Huffington Post "End Days may be about a weirdly dysfunctional family that finds its soul by waiting for the Apocalypse together, but this play has heart: It's engaging, funny as hell and even touching...An exceptional show" - NUVO (Indianapolis) "A manic whirlwind of a family drama as weird and illuminating and truthful as anything likely to be discovered at CERN. End Days is funnier than a great many plays designed solely to induce laughter, and more touching than most plays designed solely to touch...so redolent of the ordinary wishes of real, lonely human beings that, despite the play's atmosphere of general absurdity, it communicates a heartbreaking truthfulness." - Broward-Palm Beach New Times "...thought-provoking, not a little disquieting and seriously, encouragingly funny. Laufer's originality in expressing her ideas is impressive. Highly recommended." - CityBeat Arts and Entertainment "The smartest, most hysterical, laugh-out-loud show you'll see in the theater - ever!...a witty, funny and relevant play." - Martha's Vineyard Plum "End Days directly pits science, religion and suburbia, but it's not an attack on any of them. There's not a trace of mockery in these extraordinary performances, each tinged with compassion, humor and heartbreak. Laufer is clearly a major new voice" - Denver Post

3m, 3f / Comedy The Schwartz family is on its last legs. Their father's dead and their Catskills home is up for sale. Norma's husband hasn't spoken to her since she turned their 15 year old son in for smoking pot. After five miscarriages it appears Herb's wife won't provide him with an heir. Simon has one foot on the moon. Gene's girlfriend is about to have an abortion. And nobody seems very clear about what it is to be a family anyway. What is it to be a family? Does anybody care any more? Is Judaism all there is to hold the family together? Or is that what it will take to push the family apart? As Simon says, the Earth as we know it is really on its last legs too. When all of mankind is blown into oblivion, who's going to care whether there were Jews? Or how hard a few generations fought to keep the faith alive? The Cherry Orchard takes a holiday in the Catskills as the Schwartz family congregates, maybe for the last time, on the one-year anniversary of their father's death. CHARACTERS NORMA. 45. The eldest Schwartz. The keeper of the flame. Fervently self-righteous and religious, but hungry for family. HERB. 40. The oldest Schwartz brother. Financial wizard. BONNIE. 30's.Herb's wife. Generally on the verge of hysteria. Weeps easily. Desperately wants a baby. Has converted to Judaism. SIMON. 35. The middle brother. An Astronomer. Going blind. He wears coke-bottle thick glasses, a very loose-fitting cotton outfit, and white gloves. GENE. 30. The youngest brother. Directs TV commercials. The family's golden boy and a bit of a kiss-up. KIA. 20. A starlet from L.A. She lives to have fun. Can turn any interaction into a party. "incendiary drama and wickedly self-deprecating humor ...she shows herself to be a vital new voice for the theater willing to wade into potentially abrasive waters and skillful enough to cut the sting with laughter." - Palm Beach Post "...a beautifully crafted new play that weaves hilarity, mystery and loss into a resonant tale about a family's disintegration." - The Miami Herald "The Last Schwartz is rollicking, sad, shocking, goofy, and thoughtful. It is comic drama firing on all cylinders, a superb work of theater by a playwright in full command of her considerable gift for character and dialogue." - The Washington Times

2m, 2f / Comedy Dotty's life in Sterno with her husband Hamel is absolutely perfect! It's a fairy tale, it really is. True, in their seven years of marriage Hamel has forbidden her to leave their tiny apartment or speak to anyone, but Dotty is so very happy to spend her days watching video re-enactments of the day they first met. When a phone call from a mysterious woman threatens to tear her world asunder, Dotty must venture out into the vast city of Sterno, and try to discover what it is to be a "real" woman. "Out of Sterno" is a coming-of-age play in an Alice in Wonderland world. It explores the triumph and heartbreak of growing up and the contradictory societal pressures women face just trying to make it across town

Dramatic Comedy Characters: 2 male, 2 female When Sam Abrams first fell in love with Rose he wrote her a song which has been covered by every recording artist and translated to every language. It is heard in every elevator and on every cell phone ringtone. And for twenty-five years, Sam has been looking for the creative spark that this first flush of love had inspired in him - to no avail. Sam and Rose are now celebrating their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary with a cruise in the Mediterranean. And while on this cruise, Sam hears the most sublime music ever heard, jumps overboard, and winds up with a Siren. And there on her island he must struggle with the terrors of middle age, the tortures of creative failure, and the desire to live in his past rather than face his uncertain future. And he must find a way to get home and win his wife back. "Laufer's depiction of the Gameboy-playing siren and Rose's pursuit of her own high school crush give the play a few tasty twists, plenty of laughs and, ultimately, poignancy." -Palm Beach ArtsPaper. "Imaginative and funny...I can see Sirens showing up in just about any theater, and I hope it has a long life in regional rep.The humor and warmth, as well as the understanding of what it means to be married a long time, are things that never go out of style." -AFollowSpot.com. "Funny and heartfelt..." -Courier-Journal.com

From the award winning playwright of End Days Deborah Zoe Laufer comes a story about three twenty-something roommates who are glued to their video games. They are masters of the virtual worlds behind the computer screens in their Las Vegas basement. When one of them uses his gaming skills to land a job with the National Security Agency launching actual drones and missiles online battles begin to have real consequences. Leveling Up is a fresh contemporary look at how we navigate

New virtual version! From the award winning playwright of End Days Deborah Zoe Laufer comes a story about three twenty-something roommates who are glued to their video games. They are masters of the virtual worlds behind the computer screens in their Las Vegas basement. When one of them uses his gaming skills to land a job with the National Security Agency launching actual drones and missiles online battles begin to have real consequences. Leveling Up is a fresh contemporary look at how we navigate the blurry line between worlds both virtual and real and what it means to grow up.

With genomic breakthroughs happening at breakneck speed we can learn more about what our futures may hold than ever before. But how much should we know? And who gets to decide? Inspired by a recent court case between a Native American tribe and an Arizona University Informed Consent takes us into the personal and national debate about science v. belief and whether our DNA is our destiny.