Plays
A chronically nomadic mother and her root-seeking daughter land in the heart of the foodie capital of America when their ice cream truck, The Big Dipper, breaks down. The melting pot pod of Cartopia and one pedaling oracle welcome them with open arms — whether they want it or not — as they grapple with each other, the truck’s missing parts, a local health inspector, and what it means to belong.
Big Dipper
a musical libretto
The book of Big Dipper had a staged reading in December 2021 at The University of Minnesota - Duluth. Its second draft is in progress with music updates coming soon.
“The Laser Tag Play”
a ten-minute play
Ten minutes. Two players. One gun.
Players tangle in a bid for power in a game that’s rigged from the top down.
“The Laser Tag Play” will debut in FEARLESS FIVE: POWER at the Phoenix Theater in Minneapolis, MN in March 2025.
“Can You See Your Toes?”
a ten-minute play
Bodies. We all have one. We all are one. Each body is different, though our experiences in them might be more similar than we think. Two college roommates come face to face with the ways their perception of themselves and each other do not equate to their realities once they’ve realized they’ve both started to shower, and neither of them brought a towel.
A meditation on body image, “Can You See Your Toes?” debuted in the 2024 What She Said Festival at the Duluth Playhouse in 2024.
“Tomato, Potato”
Jubilee and Russet, parents desperate to find their missing child, take over the cockpit of a touring underwater submarine exploring the countless shipwrecks of Lake Superior. As their grief, hope and lack of piloting skills take them deeper into the murky depths of the Graveyard of the Greats, they get closer to the closure they’ve been searching for.
a ten-minute play
As a semi-finalist in the Region 5 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, “Tomato, Potato” received a virtual reading in 2021.
“Triskaidekaphobia”
Two best friends commiserate on the early morning shores of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, just hours after Brooke said “I don’t” at her wedding ceremony. Possessed by her indecision (or the mysterious doll they found buried in the sand?), Brooke begins to spiral. Will the power of Coldplay, sun salutations and friendship be enough to save her? And from what?
a ten-minute play
A product of Stage 2 Theater Company’s 24-Hour Plays in February, 2020.
Screensplit and Screensplit 2.0
a documentary drama
Created by Cole David Mercier and partially funded by the University of Minnesota’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, Screensplit debuted in 2018. Having written scenes for the original, Mercier and Brecht co-wrote Screensplit 2.0, which was awarded One Act Play Section 5A Sub-Section Champion by the MSHSL in 2019.
Inspired by the regional submissions of high school students across rural Minnesota, this play highlights the ways social media impacts teenage relationships, experiences, academics, and mental health. A myriad of characters and their struggles illuminate the need for the students’ sense of connection and belonging in an increasingly digital world.