Elephant's Graveyard

Written by Marjorie Williamson

Reading on Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Performed by Artisan Center Theatre

Over the course of one year, two friends meet regularly to drink Scotch, smoke cigarettes, trade insults, and reflect on past glories and current regrets. Smitty has led a glamorous but solitary life; she’s traveled the world and has had countless lovers, but nothing has ever “stuck." Now in her mid-seventies, alone, and resigned to ending her days back in the same Midwestern house she grew up in, her world is shrinking and she’s very much afraid of what comes next. Her one remaining friend, Margaret, is an upbeat, energetic, people-pleasing woman who has willingly allowed herself to be swallowed up by home, family, and community. Now Margaret is seriously ill and she’s beginning to question the smallness of her world. There is just one remaining opportunity for Margaret to seize control and to finally experience herself as something more than a reflection of other people. All she needs is a little help from Smitty.

Marjorie Williamson has been involved in St. Louis theater for many years as a scenic and graphic designer. Before her seventieth birthday she had never written anything more creative than a grocery list, but in the last few years she has churned out a handful of plays that have been selected for production all over the country. Awards include: Grand Prize, Durango Arts Ten Minute Play Festival; First Place, Dubuque Fine Arts Players National One Act Playwriting Contest; First Place Juice Box Organic One Act Play Competition (Westfield, NY); Semi-finalist, Market House Theatre New Play Competition (Paducah, KY).