About
KILLING MOM
Think of all the times you’ve argued with your mother and thought,
“I could just kill her!”
What if one day, she asked you to do exactly that?
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MARION WOLCOTT has invited her daughter ALLY, an exhausted single mother, and KAT, her taciturn granddaughter, to visit her in Martha’s Vineyard. Ally is thrilled to return to her childhood home and escape the oppressive heat and monotony of city life but, her fantasy of a relaxing vacation evaporates when her mother delivers life-shattering news.
Marion has a terminal disease and is counting on Ally (“the Strong One”) to help her die with dignity when the time comes. ]
Complications arise when Ally’s sisters—BETH, a charming thrice-married narcissist, and JOANNE a dour megachurch devotee—arrive for a weekend visit. When Marion’s end-of-life bombshell accidentally explodes, the disclosure triggers a series of revelations, accusations, and unexpected consequences.
Killing Mom offers four complex, emotionally rich parts for women (40-80), a pivotal supporting role for a black actor, and a featured role for a young up-and-coming bi-racial actress (16).
This moving and unexpectedly funny family drama touches upon issues that confound us all: family dysfunction, aging, our own mortality, and the eternal quest to be the favorite child.
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PLAY DEVELOPMENT History
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DECEMBER 2015
Playwright Megan Smith-Harris conceives of, researches, and writes preliminary scenes for KILLING MOM. She begins the process of workshopping individual scenes at Theatre Artists Workshop (TAW), located in East Norwalk.
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APRIL 2016
A 20-minute stand-alone scene from KILLING MOM is entered as a one-act play into the Bijou One-Act Play Competition, judged by legendary playwright, Terrence McNally. The play is selected as one of two semi-finalists and invited to present a staged reading presented to Terrence McNally and Tom Kirdahy, a Tony- and Olivier Award-winning producer, in front of a live audience. The play wins first place and McNally and Kirdahy provide insightful critique live on stage. McNally says, "You must expand this into a full length play because clearly, the audience is hungering for more."
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MARCH 2017
KILLING MOM has a private staged reading at TAW for an invited audience of professional colleagues and theater professionals who provide critical feedback. Structural changes, editing, and other revisions are made.
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MARCH 2018
KILLING MOM has another private staged reading at TAW for an invited audience of theatre colleagues and friends. The performance receives a standing ovation. Revisions are made.
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JULY 2019
KILLING MOM receives a Staged Equity Reading at ACT of CT located in Ridgefield, CT in front of an audience of 150 people. The play is directed by Tim Howard and receives a standing ovation.
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FEBRUARY 2020
Auditions for KILLING MOM take place and a great cast is assembled. The play is scheduled to debut at the American Theatre of Actors (ATA) in May 2020.
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MARCH 2020
COVID-19 derails the world and along with it, the premiere of KILLING MOM. The production is postponed until September 2020.
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JUNE 2020
The global pandemic continues. Broadway is shuttered until 2021. The Fall production of KILLING MOM is canceled.
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JULY 2020
KILLING MOM is honored to be included on the 2020 Kilroys List.
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