Drenched In Blood

Javier grows up in Puerto Rico on an American consulate base, frustrated by teachers who don’t understand how bilingual and bicultural he is. As he grows up and spends his graduate school years in Michigan, he feels both trapped between … Continue reading →
Growing up, Myriah’s mother is an alcoholic, as well as bipolar, and though the two have a close relationship, it’s codependent, with Myriah’s mom counting on her to be a responsible caretaker and rescuer at all times. One night, when … Continue reading →
Amy is hired to develop an original musical about traumatic brain injury with the clients of a performing arts center for disabled adults. She begins a friendship with one of the TBI-affected cast members, and soon finds herself having stronger … Continue reading →
10-year old Kumail, living in a conservative Muslim household in Pakistan, is indoctrinated with how sinful it is to look at girls, or think about sex whatsoever — it’s worse than “stabbing the nephew of The Prophet in the back,” … Continue reading →
Amy is just about to graduate from college when two things happen simultaneously: she finds her first real relationship with a beautiful, shy man named David; and she gets a mysterious illness that leaves her so tired and drained of … Continue reading →
Jenna goes to a chic, trendy massage parlor in LA, and is surprised when her very handsome male masseuse, Antonio, offers to give her a “happy ending” using his hands and mouth. Jenna agrees, and has a great time, but … Continue reading →
Kurt’s father, Jack, left the family when Kurt was just a toddler, and ever since there’s been a shroud of mystery and menace around the man — his mother implies that he was dangerous, and affected by paranoid schizophrenia, and … Continue reading →
Karle and his best friend David are nine, and love playing in the woods behind David’s house. One day, they find a dirty magazine peeking out from under a pile of leaves — its the first porn they’ve ever seen, … Continue reading →
Hired to sell very expensive, real-looking (and feeling) baby dolls for the holiday season at downtown NYC’s FAO Schwartz, Elna is stunned to observe how seriously the wealthy shoppers take these doll “adoptions,” and how their status and privilege comes … Continue reading →
Kevin Allison interviews Tracy about the process of creating and performing her shocking and deeply emotional story “Transcendent” as part of the Live From Philly episode. The interview contains excerpts from Tracy’s story.
Mike gets a text from his landlord that a realtor is going to show up at 10am the next day, at Mike’s apartment, to show the place to a couple. At 7am that day, a pale man shows up at … Continue reading →
Ian is 10 years old, and a nerdy, “fey” kid, when his father wakes him up at 4am one day to take him deer hunting. Ian has the sense that this trip is his father’s attempt to instill him with … Continue reading →
Hallie adores her grandmother; they’ve been close all Hallie’s life, and the way Hallie’s witnessed her grandmother’s extroversion, generosity and kindness has shaped Hallie into who she is. But Hallie is also aware that her grandmother has some very ingrained, … Continue reading →
Single mom Sarah and her two year-old son Shane move into the top floor of a house in upstate New York. An angry, reclusive old man named Bill lives next door, and Sarah’s warned that he’s the “town crank.” Shane … Continue reading →
Growing up an albino black person with a lazy eye, Victor doesn’t consider himself very successful with the ladies – until he learns to dance. At 21, he starts hitting the dance nights at Prince’s Minneapolis club Glam Slam, and … Continue reading →
Wes dreams of being not just a contestant on Jeopardy, but a Grand Champion — meaning, winning at least five games — a “streak” — and then coming back for the Tournament of Champions. He studies obsessively for hours every … Continue reading →
In 2001, Gregory has just been kicked out of the navy for substance abuse issues (he’d been doing various drugs since adolescence), and his life has hit a rut; he’s renting sleeping space on a couch in Virginia, has no … Continue reading →
Ryan has been taking improv and acting classes to try to challenge himself to be more outgoing, spontaneous and adventurous. One night, he’s out with some guy friends, and they end up going into a gay bar. There’s a dance … Continue reading →
Amy and her boyfriend David are opposites: she’s an extroverted actress and he’s an extremely shy, quiet musician. While emotional communication isn’t easy for them, one of the ways they connect is through spontaneous “play,” which evolves into the creation … Continue reading →
Mike has wanted to be a comedian his whole life, and studied comedians on TV and during live comedy tours. However, when he moved to Chicago to do standup, he ended up being too intimidated by the city, and left … Continue reading →
Christina has always had an assortment of mysterious health issues, but in college, she starts getting much sicker, with joints so achy she can barely move, and fatigue that makes her fall asleep in class and eventually have to drop … Continue reading →
David has had Crohn’s Disease for years, which is now manageable thanks to medication and life adjustments, but he still has to be very conscious when he goes out about knowing where a restroom is, and, sometimes, making a very … Continue reading →
Lila is a proud cat lady living a quiet life in an apartment building in Minneapolis, when one day a team of eight cops bangs at her door stating that they have a warrant to search her apartment. They cuff … Continue reading →
15-year old Amy is an honors student, a high achiever and an innocent “girl scout,” but her parents are aggressively adversarial towards her: there are blowout fights and screaming arguments on an unpredictable schedule, and often threats to kick Amy … Continue reading →
Jean’s free-wheeling husband Marcel loves nudist resorts. Jean does not. Marcel finally convinces Jean to go to one, but Jean’s caveat is that they can’t tell anyone where they are. While they’re at the naturalist resort, Marcel’s mother is killed … Continue reading →
Justin’s son Joey loved to dress up in skirts and jewelry as early as age 2. He asked when his penis would go away, and whether he could “crawl back into mommy’s tummy and come out a girl.” Justin and … Continue reading →
As a college student, Patrick was obsessed with masturbating. Then one day, his masturbation session in his dorm room was interrupted by Mayor R.T. Rybak, barging into dorm rooms to shake hands and discuss his bid for re-election.
It’s 2010, and Hank is living in NYC post grad school, and is in deep credit card debt. He becomes friends with a fellow actor, Walter, who’s so broke he’s living in his van. Hank invites Walter to be his … Continue reading →
At 19, Nancy was an innocent Theatre major at a Catholic university – so innocent she’d never been drunk, and needed to know what drunkenness felt like in order to play a character she’d been cast as in a show. … Continue reading →
Amy understands even as a small child that her relationship with her mother isn’t loving, nurturing or happy, like the ones she sees in storybooks. But when her half-sister is born, her mother casts Abbie as the flawless angel to … Continue reading →
Tracy is a sophomore at Bard College searching for transcendental experiences to escape from the grief she’s been carrying inside. When she takes mushrooms for the first time, the initial good trip gives way to feelings of suicidality. The next … Continue reading →
Ben and his Korean wife, Kathy, take a detour on a road trip to visit a ghost town kept intact since the days of the Old West. The B&B owners won’t book Ben a room over the phone, but when … Continue reading →
In 1988, Jan is 22, and an aspiring animator who’s moved to Japan to go to school for the craft. She lives at the edge of Tokyo, by the Tama river, goes to school all day, and washes dishes in … Continue reading →
After attending the birthday party of a guy he’s crushed out on, Greg takes a walk through Tompkins Square Park, intending to enjoy some solitude, then find dinner, then go home. When he goes to leave the park at about … Continue reading →