Dry Land

Playwright: Ruby Rae Spiegel
Director: Jennifer Blackmer

Ruby Rae Spiegel tackles pregnancy, abortion, friendship, womanhood, and the utterly devastating challenges of being a teenage in Dry Land. High schooler Amy is desperate to end her unwanted pregnancy, but she has no access to an abortion. She enlists the help of Ester, a new student and fellow swimmer on their swim team. The two girls struggle to find a way to end Amy’s pregnancy and find themselves drawn irrevocably closer. The bonds of their friendship prove intense, as both girls struggle how to navigate the challenges, heartbreaks, and discoveries that come of trying to find your way when there is no map back to the safety of dry land.

Our concept was one of transformation; Ester and Amy transforming from girls into women, in a world that refuses to help them. Amy is a young woman attempting to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, and Esther is the only person trying to help her through. Starting with childhood, our preshow began with the sounds of an active children's pool center. Transitions consisted of rebellious teenage mischief, acted in slow motion, set to aggressively sexual female punk songs. The youthful voices and strong lyrics reflected the state of flux these young women found themselves in.