Furball

Furball, is a play about consent, boundaries, and our failing gynecological healthcare system told through farce and satire. The play begins when Sam finds a furball made of cat hair in their vagina that they realize has formed after their partner repeatedly pets their cat and doesn’t wash their hands before having sex. A problem they’ve asked them to be conscientious about many times to no avail. Sam seeks gynecological care, but the gynecologist offers little solutions. With little help, Sam’s furball will grow, and they will seek out a support group for others with similar experiences only to find that they also don’t have concrete solutions. Without anywhere to turn, the furball will grow, engulfing Sam’s life and everything in its path, until they can learn to accept help from their community and find new ways to think about what community is and what it can be.

This project will question how difficult it is to access basic healthcare and how infuriating it is to have little research about gynecological issues. This project also looks at what manifests when our bodies are handled in a way that we did not consent to. This project will also explore ways that give an alternative to the literal staging of sex. This is both to create an alternative to sometimes uncomfortable staging for performers, but also to create a way to have a growing set that is tactile and introduces scenic design earlier in the process. Sex in this play will be staged through a physical action like knitting that might at first glance appear to be a mundane task, but one will actually be used to build, add onto, create, and can transform physically from how it began. The yarn will become representative of the furball that will perhaps take over the space and will guide the storytelling, while also allowing the audience to experience the play through touch.