The PlayFinder™

THE STORY: A serious comedy about the value of family and friendship, the importance of self-forgiveness, and the special healing joy that comes to those who know how to “drink life to the dregs,” THE DEER AND THE ANTELOPE PLAY tells the story of an East Texas family—a mother, daughter and grandmother—who face tragedy and assorted misfortunes head-on with the help of the strange young woman who comes to live with them: a possible ex-hooker who defines herself as “one who drinks from the well of life in big gulps.” Much of the action of this four-character play takes place in the home of Eleanor Kaiser, a sixty-three-year-old widow who has just opened her home to her daughter, Carol, and her teenage granddaughter, Mindy, following a devastating fire in Carol and Mindy’s house across town. It becomes clear early in the play that Mindy, who is emotionally disturbed, was responsible for the fire and that it may have been a suicide attempt. Into the lives of these three women walks Kenetta Tate, a free spirit who, like Eleanor and Carol, is struggling to jump-start a life that has ground to a halt. Focusing on Mindy, Kenetta sets off on a mission to prove to her roommate and new friend that the pleasures life has to offer can conquer the pain…when one knows how to fully embrace them.