Background

This project started in 2024 when I got a radical hysterectomy and felt an odd kinship with Lady Macbeth. It was one of those days when the poem just pours out of you and you feel in the zone. It got me thinking about all of the ladies in the plays who never got their due or anything else to ease the pain of depression and menopause and mistreatment. What if the plays were different and named for the women and were their stories and the men were side characters? I started that summer going through the tragedies and cherry-picking poetic lines from William Shakespeare’s plays (in the public domain) and writing poems, monologues, snarky commentary about the women’s situations, delving into their points of view, and realizing his universals for women were pretty dark. I wanted to give them a new future and figure out what we need to do as women right now to secure the present and future.

My hybrid (mix of two forms) 28-page chapbook of poems and drama was rejected by many publishers who didn’t get it – or weren’t interested – or found it too strange. I sent it to close friends including my college roommate Jen Mendez McDonnell, and office mate at ECC Jen Annick, and friend from junior high, Burt Bulos, who were kind first readers. Burt said we could make it into a play. He gave me some “homework” reading screenplay books and had me write several versions – one we called Restoration Hardware – pretending we had tons of money and characters and scenes. Then we talked about Vagina Monologues – which I had read but not seen. I watched it with my husband (who also earlier visualized the concept as maybe being for TV or film) and it kind of came together. I wrote another version – a stripped down one, about six actors – envisioning four stools, a plant, and some prop tables – that we called Ikea. This is presently the working fifth version of the 45-page Ikea, after many wise notes from friends out of the business, and good ideas from some lovely people in the business. Michelle Merring gave great tips on how to adapt it more for the stage and make it accessible to all audiences. And Burt and Murisa Harba reminded me to show not tell and provide action for the audience and the actors.