Erin Courtney, "Ann, Fran, and Mary Ann" (53rd State Press, 2020)

New Books in Performing Arts

Ann, Fran, & Mary Ann (53rd State Press, 2020) is a new play by Erin Courtney, one of the most exciting contemporary American playwrights. This is a play that engages with themes of science, religion, and trauma through a highly theatrical and character-driven storytelling style. Ann and Mary Ann were both witnesses of traumatic events in their childhoods and were drawn to neuroscience as a way to understand and perhaps heal from their trauma. When Mary Ann begins experimenting with inducing spiritual experience, Ann's skepticism regarding the supernatural drives a wedge between them. When Ann's patient Fran begins experiencing Capgras syndrome, which convinces her that her loved ones are imposters, Mary Ann's desire to heal Fran conflicts with Ann's desire to study her. The interactions of these three characters open questions of medical ethics, the meaning of faith, and the possibility of healing.

Andy Boyd is a playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of the playwriting MFA at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the Arizona School for the Arts.

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