ENID’S MILL To Premiere At The Players’ Ring Theatre

The Players' Ring Theatre will present the premiere of ENID’S MILL, a new family drama written by Martha Douglas-Osmundson and directed by Leslie Pasternack, from March 6 through March 22 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Set in the late 1970s, the play unfolds in a snowbound home beside an old mill, where a family reckons with a decade of grief and the possibility of renewal. When Cassie (Shaughnessey Gower) returns home after a 10-year absence, she must confront the events that fractured her family — and reconnect with her neurodiverse sister Enid (Elly Berke), whose presence anchors the story.

Douglas-Osmundson drew on her own upbringing in Westchester County, New York, and her experiences growing up with a developmentally disabled brother. “My brother Robert is a developmentally disabled artist, so essentially, Enid is Robert,” she said. “I wrote about a world that is far from perfect but is profoundly better than the one we knew.”

Director Leslie Pasternack described the play as “a sweet, poignant family drama set in the 70s,” blending humor and emotional depth. “You can live in a time when you are surrounded by examples of casual misogyny or cruelty to people who are different, and you can still say ‘No’ to those things,” she said. “You can still choose kindness.”

The ensemble cast also includes Samantha Griffin, Tara Johns, Cara Olansky, Kyle Sidders, and Teddy Wilkin.

The creative team includes Don Goettler (set design and construction), Tayva Young (lighting design), Kelli Connors (costume design), Ben Bagley (sound design), and Catharine Davis (production stage manager and props designer).

A talkback with the playwright, director, and cast will follow the March 8 Sunday matinee. The production includes references to sexual assault.