About the Play:

Windshook is a full-length drama by Mary Gallagher. When Marlin Carroll sells the family farm without telling his son, he sets in motion an inexorable trap for his two children – the idealistic Rafe, and the strong, beautiful Ruby, who cling with equal stubbornness to their opposing dreams.

Windshook is about a drifter's effect on a small-town family. When Marlin Carroll sells the family farm without telling his son, he sets in motion an inexorable trap for his two children – the idealistic Rafe, and the strong, beautiful Ruby, who cling with equal stubbornness to their opposing dreams. The sale of the farm brings in two strangers who become catalysts for the events that follow: Evan Brooks, a wealthy young investor and developer, and Dylan, a handsome, lonely drifter who survives by telling people what they want to hear. As Ruby and her desperately unhappy mother, Ceelie, both look to Dylan for magical escape, Rafe determines to buy back the farm at any cost. Dylan falls in love with Ruby, but his longing for a home grows as strong as his need for her. When Brooks – the man with all the money – is also attracted to Ruby, the whole family, along with Dylan, begin to see her as the answer to their prayers. As the characters are entwined in threads of anger and violence, their conflicting dreams and needs converge in a catastrophe that changes them forever.

Windshook premiered in 1991 by The Young Conservatory of the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. The play has been performed in high school, college, and community theatre productions.

Cast: 4 women, 5 men (Most of the characters in this play are between 17 and 25 years old.)

About the Playwright:

Mary Gallagher is an American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, actress, director and teacher. She currently teaches playwriting and screenwriting at New York University/Tisch School of the Arts. She has written screenplays for Paramount, MGM, HBO, NBC, CBS, Lifetime and Showtime.