Playwright Lisa D’Amour escaped into the woods of MacDowell to finish a play about, well, escaping into the woods. Cherokee, which premieres at Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater in January, revolves around two Houston couples who go camping in North Carolina to escape their humdrum lives. One of the campers goes missing, and a mysterious half-Cherokee man joins the remaining three in the search. “It’s a play that explores people who are interested in getting back to nature and … living off the land,” D’Amour says. “And a lot of strange and wonderful things happen over the course of the play.” With deadlines looming on this play and another commissioned by Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and ongoing performances of her 2011 Pulitzer finalist Detroit, getting back to MacDowell for her second residency was just what D’Amour needed. Hear her explain how MacDowell helped with this juggling act.
D’Amour, a native of New Orleans, also makes interdisciplinary art as one half of the Obie-winning duo PearlDamour.
