caught
by sharon cooper
Directed by Deirdre Herlihy
Showtimes
Monday, February 10
7:30pm
Saturday, February 15
7:30pm
Synopsis
In Caught, two sets of siblings who grew up together (one Jewish and one African American) come together on the evening of a hurricane. But the storm also rages inside as they reckon with their past and unravel each other’s secrets and lies. This continuous action comedic play examines the meaning of family—the one you’re born into and the one you choose.
BIOS
Sharon Cooper is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter who lives in New York City. Her plays have been produced in India, Hungary, Singapore, Australia, England, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands and across the U.S. She is published in The Best Ten-Minute Plays 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2019, Laugh Lines: Short Comic Plays and several college textbooks. Her short play “Stalled” was produced in the 2019 Samuel French Short Play Festival at the Vineyard Theatre. Sharon’s full-length plays have had workshops and productions off-off Broadway and regionally and cover a wide range of topics—from Lifeline (about an intergenerational Jewish family) to Beyond the Wall (based on a true story about Israelis and Palestinians) to Running (about three gay men and one of their mothers). Caught, part of her Master’s Thesis at NYU, had a public reading at The Drama Book Shop as part of their "After Hours" series for published writers and was a Second Rounder at the prestigious Austin Film Festival Writer’s Conference. Sharon’s award-winning comedic short films “Believin’” (Filmmaker Favorite Award at the Chain NYC Film Festival, 2019) and “The Seven Men of Hanukkah” have screened around the country. Sharon is a writing coach, a member of the Stillwater Writer’s Group and proud to be in the Dramatists Guild. www.sharonecooper.com
Deirdre Herlihy was born and raised in coastal New Hampshire. She trained for film & television in New York and Los Angeles and has since become an indie film workhorse in both cities. Her work on and off screen has been played for film festival audiences across the country (SXSW, Frameline, OutFest, Austin Film Festival) and can be found on platforms such as Amazon Prime, Hulu and iTunes. She co-created, starred in and overcame her fear of improv in the comedic web series, The Really Cool Show, that has over 20 million views. In 2012, she co-founded the production company Robel Films (also known as her first born) which has produced 10+ feature films that she has either starred in, produced or directed. Recently, she’s directed and edited several short films and has jumped headfirst into the world of voiceover. She’s thrilled to be working with the Chain Theatre again after having had the great pleasure of acting in last year’s Playwriting Lab of Scenes from The Day My Brother Was Wed. deeherlihy.com