Hippos of the Eastern Enclosure
- Short Play, Comedy, Present Day, Contemporary
- 1M, 5F
- ISBN: 9780573709395
Jen Silverman's absurdist short comedy, set in a zoo on Thanksgiving day, explores fame, power and menstruating pachyderms.
More information
Description
- Short Play
- Comedy
- 30 minutes
- Time Period: Present Day, Contemporary
- Target Audience: Teen (Age 14 - 18), Adult
- Performance Group:
- High School/Secondary, College Theatre / Student, Community Theatre, Blackbox / Second Stage /Fringe Groups
On Thanksgiving, a nervous male zookeeper is overwhelmed by three female hippos, who all get their periods. While the zookeeper, his girlfriend, and his co-worker decide who is on clean-up, the hippos interrogate the nature of ambition.
Hippos of the Eastern Enclosure appears in the collection Real American Dinner Party & Other Short Plays.
Hippos of the Eastern Enclosure appears in the collection Real American Dinner Party & Other Short Plays.
Premiere Production:
Hippos of the Eastern Enclosure was commissioned by Clubbed Thumb under Artistic Director Maria Striar. It was produced in the 2017 Winterworks Festival and directed by Christina Roussos as part of Clubbed Thumb’s Directing Fellowship led by Anne Kauffman and Ken Rus Schmoll. The cast included Renata Friedman, Layla Khosh, Polly Lee, Heather Simms, Paco Tolson and Kristin Villanueva.
Characters
- Casting: 1M, 5F
- Casting Notes: These characters can be played by actors of any race or ethnicity. But please avoid any casting scenario where all the humans are played by actors of one race and all the hippos are played by actors of another.
JACOB - (male) sweet and skittish
SYLVIA - (female) curious and unafraid
LARGE (A HIPPO) - (female, thirties-plus) fierce and driven
SMALL (A HIPPO) - (female, thirties-plus) also fierce, scared of Large
SPOTTY (A HIPPO) - (female, thirties) meek, she got bullied as a baby hippo
