Cosmic Horror Play IN THE SLUSH Will Make World Premiere This Month

The World Premiere of Daniel Prillaman's IN THE SLUSH is happening this month in the southeastern USA. The full-length play is a cosmic horror story about identity, creation, and the things we'll do to realize our dreams.

Newlywed Laura Beth Gardner is tasked with reading through her publishing house's slush pile where she encounters a mysterious manuscript that claims she isn't human. That her husband isn't who he says he is. And that she's a vessel for her unborn child, who is actually the Second Coming of an ancient darkness that will devour the world. It has to be some sort of joke. ...But what if it's not?

"There's little I love more for a character than a fun, completely destabilizing moment, " said Prillaman. "Casually encountering an unsolicited manuscript telling you that you aren't human was a defining image in my head that the play came from."

IN THE SLUSH is being produced by Gather by the Ghost Light, a theatre organization mostly known for their podcast which features immersive audio plays written by playwrights worldwide. This is where Jonathan Cook, the executive producer of GBTGL, first met Daniel Prillaman last year as he directed his audio play FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY (aka THE BREAD PLAY).

"Daniel had casually mentioned to me a new stage play he had written called IN THE SLUSH and I was fascinated by the Lovecraftian style premise," said Cook. "You don't see stories like this on stage often."

Laura Beth is played by Korilyn Hendricks and while the story is grounded in her journey as she discovers the truth about herself, there are whimsical dream sequence moments where she takes on the persona of a beat poet named Rodina Waits - a perfect balance to the tension building scenes where she's at odds with her husband and Best Friend. And much like a modern day Frankenstein tale, you will question where the Evil lies - the creature, the creator, or the "mob" that wants the creature dead.

"For me, more than anything, it's a story about dreams unrealized," said Prillaman. "When they're broken or ripped away, or even if we know deep down somewhere that they'll never come to fruition, what does it mean to still pursue them? And what does it mean to choose your own instead of the ones your parents have given you?"