Photos: IAMA Theatre Company's ESTHER PEREL RUINED MY LIFE In Rehearsal

IAMA Theatre Company will present a workshop production of Mathilde Dratwa’s biting, tender, and tragically modern new play Esther Perel Ruined My Life. See photos from inside rehearsal.

The glossy veneer of marriage, monogamy, and motherhood gets stripped away when Andrea and Aaron decide to open their marriage, nudged by the provocative gospel of celebrity sex and intimacy expert Esther Perel. The couple hopes to reignite desire, but what begins as an erotic experiment quickly spirals into a deeper and messier unraveling. Andrea, alienated from her own body after childbirth, and Aaron, chasing pleasure beyond their shared bed, find themselves reckoning with the widening gap between being loved and being desired. Directed by acclaimed new-work developer and Ojai Playwrights Conference Producing Artistic Director Jeremy B. Cohen, Esther Perel Ruined My Life is a fierce, funny, sex-soaked dramedy that dives into the complications of growing up, aging out, and turning on in more ways than one. Esther Perel Ruined My Life will play December 6-15, 2025 at Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave, Los Angeles.

“Every so often a play emerges that speaks to a generation in such a beautiful and complex way,” says IAMA Theatre Company Artistic Director Stefanie Black. “From the first few pages of Esther Perel Ruined My Life, Mathilde's words and characters leapt off the page for me, and I knew that IAMA needed to be a part of the development journey of this play. I am so proud to kick off our ‘coming of age’ season with a new work that explores what connects us as human beings and celebrates the many ways we love, and it's extra special to do this in collaboration with Jeremy at the helm. Los Angeles theatre is looking very sexy these days.” 

Esther Perel Ruined My Life began with a developmental reading at the Playwrights’ Center’s PlayLabs Festival, where the piece was featured as a workshop reading and was also commissioned by Off-Broadway's Lucille Lortel Theatre. IAMA Theatre Company, known for its commitment to developing new work, will now stage this workshop production as a vital step in the play’s creative evolution, inviting audience feedback to help shape its next phase. 

“There are so many ‘chapters’ in a relationship, and we see some of these on stage. Esther Perel Ruined My Life explores desire, long-term partnership, and the ways priorities change when a couple becomes parents,” shares playwright Mathilde Dratwa. “I hope this play encourages conversation between partners, to inspire patience, generosity, and curiosity. I’m looking forward to the journey we take with this workshop production and discovering the piece along with the audience through their vital feedback.”  

“The collaboration on Esther Perel Ruined My Life is a true labor of love and having Los Angeles audiences be a part of developing this is outstanding,” explains Director Jeremy B. Cohen. “IAMA Theatre Company is inarguably one of the most exciting new play-producing theatres in Los Angeles and the ideal partner to bring this play to life because of their commitment to boundary-pushing new work. I can’t wait for audiences to experience this beautiful, emotionally resonant story and for them to be with us along the way as we help shape this new work.” 

IAMA Theatre Company’s production of Esther Perel Ruined My Life will feature Sarah Utterback* as Andrea, Adrián Javier* and Josh Bywater* as Aaron, and Trace Guzmán as Ty. The standbys for this production are Brea Bee and Shiv Nadkarni. (* denotes IAMA Theatre Company Ensemble Member) 

The production team bringing Esther Perel Ruined My Life to the stage includes Brandon Baruch (Lighting Design), Jordan Bass (Casting Director), Nikki DiLoreto (Associate Director), Rebecca Hsia-Palma (Production Stage Manager), Lindsay Jones (Sound Design), Carolyn Mazuca (Costume Design), Zachary Phaneuf (Technical Director), Scene Shift (Scenic Design), Celina Surniak (Intimacy Director), and Lanae Wilks (Assistant Stage Manager). 

Photo Credit: Alaska Jackson

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