My Daughter Keeps Our Hammer
New York Times Critic’s Pick
TimeOut NY Critics’ Pick
4/5 Stars
“A short, nasty thriller of riveting literary quality. THE BOTTOM LINE: This eerie domestic thriller hits home.”
-TimeOut NY
“A powerful piece of writing…a fireside horror story.”
-Maxamoo
“Distinctly American…think Sam Shepard’s True West, yet is carves out a chilling little niche for itself.”
-Theatermania
“A mesmerizing tale…two brilliant actresses…pure, unadulterated talent.”
-Connecticut Post
My Daughter Keeps Our Hammer follows two estranged sisters, one needy mother and one intolerable sheep. Stuck in a forgotten prairie town, clashing sisters Sarah and Hannah unite when they attempt to housebreak mom’s beloved sheep, Vicky, the lone survivor of the family’s former flock. But family secrets make bad shepherds. And the sisters must choose: reconcile their past, or sacrifice their future? Directed by Flea Resident Director Danya Taymor (I Hate Fucking Mexicans).
The production stars Hannah Finn (Sarah Flood in Salem Mass), Katherine Folk-Sullivan (Mary-Kate Olsen is in Love, These Seven Sicknesses), Layla Khoshnoudi (Job), and Kate Thulin (Sarah Flood in Salem Mass).
Creative Team:
Set Design by Andrew Diaz
Lighting Design by John Eckert
Costume Design by Beth Goldenberg
Sound Design by Adriano Shaplin
My Daughter Keeps Our Hammer was developed at b. swibel presents, an affiliate of Playing Pretend Productions between 2010-2013. B. Swibel & Tara Smith, Artistic Directors, Stephanie Cowan, Director of Development & Adam Westbrook, Associate Artisic Director.
Brian Watkins is a Brooklyn-based playwright whose work has been performed and developed with Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, The Flea Theater, Lesser America, Horse Trade Theatre, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, b. swibel presents, id Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe, New York Fringe, Wide Eyed Productions, Terra Firma, Wildclaw and Route 66 in Chicago, among others. Plays include General Store (2012 Seven Devils Playwrights Conference), My Daughter Keeps Our Hammer, Games For An Empty Cul-de-sac, Study That House, The Bison of Kiowa, and High Plains, which recently completed its critically acclaimed UK premiere with Underbelly at the Edinburgh Fringe. Current commissions with b. swibel presents, as well as head writer for Divine Details, a literary/design exhibition in collaboration with downtown design studio Little Fury and AIGA. Member of the Dramatists Guild.
Danya Taymor is a New York based director originally from northern California. Past directing credits include: I Hate Fucking Mexicans (U.S. premiere/co-translator), The Shakes: Romeo and Juliet and The Honest Whore, Asking For Trouble (EST/Youngblood), American Nightcap (INTAR) and serials@theflea. She has directed readings and workshops of plays by Robert Askins, Brian Watkins, Brett Epstein, Lily Padilla and Luis Enrique Gutierrez Ortiz Monasterio, and has developed work at Theatre for a New Audience, Play Company, The Flea Theater, and Columbia University. She has assisted on and off Broadway, and participated in directing workshops with Peter Brook, Cicely Berry, and Andrew Wade at Theatre for a New Audience. Awards/fellowships include: Van Lier Directing Fellowship; Gates Foundation Grant; Sudler Prize, SPACE on Ryder Farm, and Lincoln Center Directors Lab. She is currently developing a play about Juarez, Mexico with the award winning photographer Dominic Bracco II that will premiere at The Flea Theater, where she is a Resident Director.
Download Program