Trauma Play Workshop Brings Dark Comedy To Life
Experience Abigail Miller’s black-humored staging blending raw moments and riotous laughs!
Pratibha holds a master's degree in English from Madras University. A bookworm from a young age, she devours books and digital humanities to nourish her writing projects. Pratibha began her writing career in 2018 and has experience writing formal, informal, and technical content.
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IAMA Theatre and Geffen Playhouse have teamed up to launch a Workshop Production of Abigail Miller’s TRAUMA PLAY, a laugh-till-you-cry script that promises honesty as raw as its humor. This nine-performance run at Atwater Village Theatre begins May 22 and wraps June 2, giving LA audiences a front-row seat to a darkly witty ensemble piece.
Show Details
TRAUMA PLAY offers a tightly paced exploration of grief, memory and the absurdities of healing. The cast features Tessa Hope Slovis, Alaska Jackson* (IAMA Ensemble), Jorge-Luis Pallo, Daniel Robaire, Sonal Shah* and Keliher Walsh*, with veteran actor Sharon Lawrence* joining the fold. Performances are scheduled Tuesdays through Sundays; tickets can be booked via the Geffen Playhouse link in bio.
Star Power: Sharon Lawrence
Sharon Lawrence has built a career on powerful, nuanced characters. She earned multiple Emmy nominations for her role as Sylvia Costas on NYPD Blue and has brought her talents to Broadway in productions like Cabaret and Fiddler on the Roof. Off-Broadway, her acclaimed one-woman show The Shot toured from Center Stage in Santa Barbara to the United Solo Festival in New York.
Behind The Scenes Glimpse
Rehearsal snapshots shared by IAMA Theatre underline the production’s raw energy. Chairs and script pages lie scattered across a black-box stage as actors probe heavy themes with disarming humor. One image captures a moment of ensemble laughter, hinting at the play’s balance of heart and hilarity.
The original announcement, reposted from @geffenplayhouse, calls TRAUMA PLAY a “dark comedy…as raw as it is hilarious.” The workshop approach gives Miller’s script room to breathe, allowing actors to experiment with pacing and tone under director Diana Wyenn’s guidance.
Why It Matters
Miller’s work dives into trauma with an irreverent lens. By stitching together everyday absurdities and profound loss, TRAUMA PLAY invites audiences to find levity amid pain. This kind of storytelling resonates in a moment when communal experiences—both tragic and comic—shape how we connect in the theatre.
Ticket Info
Only nine performances are available, making each night a limited chance to catch the premiere workshop. The ticket link is live on Geffen Playhouse’s Instagram bio.
Audiences seeking a sharp, character-driven night out will find TRAUMA PLAY’s workshop run hard to resist. With a seasoned ensemble and a daring script, this production underscores why live theatre remains a space for confronting our shared, messy humanity.
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