Four Wall Prism: An Intimate Look at the Boston Marathon Bombing Manhunt

Rebecca Hildreth/Flickr

Here’s a play I wrote, loosely inspired by (and not-so-loosely-set around) the Boston Marathon Bombing. A brief synopsis, before you go too far:

Marcus had planned to dash after an online-date-turned-one-night-stand. Instead, he woke up with a dead cellphone and a city on lockdown after a terrorist attack. With no way to get in touch with his job or fiancé, Marcus is stuck in an apartment with Cori, who definitely stole his identity before their date but is definitely not on the pill, and her mentally ill roommate Jayme, who just wants to finish her goddamn master’s thesis. As the three of them grapple with issues of race, privilege, privacy, and more, they realize that the greatest threat is not the warzone outside but within the four walls of the apartment.

Then Sean the Cop shows up.

CHARACTERS

MARCUS: Male, late 20s/early 30s. Jewish, white, dark hair. (Kind of a hipster bro-dude.)
JAYME: Female, late 20s/early 30s. Black. (Kind of a nerdy anime fangirl.)
CORI : Female, late 20s/early 30s. Not black. (Kind of a cyberpunk librarian.)
SEAN : Male. Any age. Irish-American. (Kind of a Masshole.)

SETTING