Body Awareness

Play

Writers: Annie Baker

Overview

Show Information

Category
Play
Number of Acts
1
First Produced
2008
Genres
Comedy, Dark Comedy
Settings
Contemporary, Simple/No Set, Unit/Single Set
Time & Place
shirley, vermont, present day
Cast Size
small
Licensor
Ideal for
College/University, Community Theatre, Ensemble Cast, Mature Audiences, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre
Casting Notes

Includes adult, mature adult, young adult characters

Synopsis

Body Awareness is a 2008 play written by Annie Baker. It was produced as part of the “Vermont plays”, a series of Baker plays all set in the fictional town of Shirley, Vermont. It had out-of-town tryouts in both Boston and Berkeley, California. Body Awareness tells the story of a psychology professor named Phyllis who lives in Vermont with her partner Joyce and Joyce’s son from a previous marriage, Jared. Jared displays some symptoms of Asperger’s syndrome but refuses to be examined by a therapist. When a photographer named Frank comes to stay with the women as a houseguest, he brings tension into Phyllis and Joyce’s home and relationship. In 2008 Body Awareness opened Off-Broadway to mostly positive reviews. It was Baker’s first Off-Broadway production. Since then she has gone on to produce several successful plays, most notably The Flick, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Lead Characters


Body Awareness guide sections