Detroit Repertory Theatre
Detroit, MI
Drama/ 4 characters, 2 women, 2 men/ Full Length
Synopsis: Life on the Moon is a family drama about Spencer, a young infantryman in the U.S. army, returning home for Christmas to visit his parents and Piper, his 18-year-old sister with autism. As Spencer and his parents struggle to celebrate the holiday, it’s Piper who notices what everyone else misses, but is unable to communicate her observations or frustrations.
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From Encore Michigan: “Tatelman doesn’t shy away from portraying the challenges faced by a person with disability and those who live with her. This is not a sappy Hallmark story filled with tired and meaningless sentiment. She illuminates the tensions it causes in relationships—whether between spouses, siblings or parents and child. The characters she creates are all sympathetic—the antagonist in this story is not an individual, but the circumstances, the frailty of relationships and the difficulty of growth.”
“This play has a lovely combination of complex characters, timely issues, and great structure.” – Comment on the New Play Exchange
Most of Life on the Moon may be read by clicking on the “Read It Now” button above. To obtain a complete reading copy, contact the playwright at artatelman@gmail.com
Contact Information:
Amateur and professional rights:
Anna Tatelman
artatelman@gmail.com
Ph.: 360-399-6477
About the Playwright: Anna Tatelman (she/her) holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of New Orleans, where she studied both fiction and playwriting. She has also received formal training through Silver Glass Productions’ Experimental Writers’ Studio, the University of Iowa’s Young Writers’ Studio, and New York University’s undergraduate courses.
Anna had her professional debut as a playwright in 2022 with the Detroit Repertory Theatre. Other organizations that have previously produced her works include Femuscripts, As If Theatre, Big I Entertainment, Pacific Play Company, and Intramural Theatre. She has also received development for her plays through organizations like the Mid-America Theatre Conference, Aspire Repertory Theatre, Bonita Springs Center for the Performing Arts, and Drunken Owl Theatre.
Her play Life on the Moon was the 2017 winner of the Triad Shakes Theatre’s New Play Competition and of Southeastern Louisiana University’s Inkslinger Playwriting Competition. This play also was featured in American Theatre Magazine’s podcast The Subtext, had excerpts published in the online literary journal Wordgathering, received a semi-finalist award from Southwest Theatre Productions’ 2021 Play with a Male Lead contest, placed as a finalist in the 2023 Judith Royer Excellence in Playwriting award, and has an excerpt included in Smith & Kraus’ Best Male Monologues of 2023 anthology.
Anna was awarded the 2023 Seattle One-Act Play (SOAP) commission from Baker Theatre (in partnership with ACT Theatre and Hugo House) for her play Attention Must Be Paid. Other playwriting honors include receiving semi-finalist status for “More” from Stage It!’s 10-Minute Play Competition, becoming a semi-finalist for Meditative Writing’s Playwriting Fellowship, and getting finalist status for Fire and Brimstone from Playdate’s Apartment Plays Conference.
Anna is an active member of the Seattle theatre community who participates regularly in the new works groups run by Pacific Play Company and Centerstage; reviews theatre in the area for the Federal Way Mirror and NWTheatre.org; and helps bring new works by other playwrights to life as a reader, dramaturg, or director. At the national level, Anna serves the theatre community as a judge for both the Inkslinger Playwriting Contest and the Judith Royer Excellence in Playwriting Contest.
Anna’s fiction and non-fiction writings have appeared in numerous publications, including Brilliant Flash Fiction, Drunk Monkeys, The Bookends Review’s online magazine and Best of 2017 printed anthology, and GLASS Quarterly Magazine. Her short story How To Raise a Pet Raccoon was nominated for both a Pushcart award and a Best of the Net award. This story is also featured on the podcast Does This Happen To You?
Anna has worked as a literary agent assistant, tutor, editor, teacher, copywriter, and content marketer. She currently serves as the Annual Fund Manager of Inspire Washington, the statewide cultural advocacy organization.
When not posing as the female reincarnation of Tennessee Williams, Anna can usually be found drinking too much caffeine, befriending feral cats, and/or eating ice cream.
Life on the Moon was first produced at Detroit Repertory Theatre, Detroit, MI, USA, in November 2022.