Deborah Zoe Laufer playwright
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Leveling Up
"Leveling Up is smart, funny, frightening, poignant and, ultimately, despite its focus on technology, very human." -Chicago Stage Standard
"Laufer... is such a smart, engaging storyteller, and possesses such a flair for devising characters with highly individual voices, that she can draw you right in, whatever your age" --Chicago Sun Times
"Laufer’s script is intelligent without being preachy and funny without being goofy or awkward….topical, thought-provoking and timeless." -Chicago Theatre Beat
Three twenty-something roommates are glued to their video games. They are masters of the virtual worlds behind the computer screens in their Las Vegas basement. When one of them uses his gaming skills to land a job with the National Security Agency launching actual drones and missiles, online battles begin to have real consequences. Leveling Up is a fresh, contemporary look at how we navigate the blurry line between worlds both virtual and real and what it means to grow up.

CAST:
IAN:      Early 20’s.  Awesome gamer – Nevada State champ.   A bit of a nerd. Very bright.
CHUCK:      Ian’s roommate.  Early  20’s.  All around good guy.
ZANDER:   Ian’s other roommate.   Early 20’s.  Very good looking.  A bit of a wheeler dealer.
JEANNIE:   Zan’s girlfriend.  Very sweet and innocent.  Excellent student. 21



Production History:
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park            Cincinnati, OH 
Steppenwolf Theatre Company              Chicago, IL
Hippodrome Theatre                             Gainesville, FL
University of Central FL                         Orlando, FL
University of Findlay                              Findlay, OH

Interrobang Theatre Company                Baltimore, MD
Dreiser Theatre                                      Indiana State University

New Theatre                                         Miami, FL
Bethany Lutheran College                      Mankato, MN
Acting Innocent Theatre Company         Tuscon, AZ
University of Scranton Players                    Scranton, PA 11/2016
Columbia College                                       Chicago, IL,  2/2017

Brandeis Dept. of Theater Arts              Walham, MA, 3/2017
​Temple University                                  Philadelphia, PA 3/2017
Ashland University                                 Ashland, OH, 10/2017
Birdhouse Theatre                                 Milledgeville, GA 4/18
​Virtual Theatre Ensemble                      Virtually! 1/19
Northeast Community College                Norfolk, NE 5/19
Delgado Theatre Dept                            New Orleans,LA 9/19
North Hennipin CC                                 Brooklyn Park MN 3/20
Edinburgh Fringe Film Festival (Film)     Edinburgh, Scotland 8/20
St. John's University  (Virtually)             St. Joseph, MN, 2/2021
Xavier University  (Virtually)                  Cincinnati, OH, 3/2021
City University (Virtually)                      New York, NY 3/2021
2 Rhythms Theatre                                LA, CA 12/2021
SFCC Theatre                                        Sedalia, MO, 2/2022
St Cloud University                                St. Cloud, MN 5/2023
Morningside University                           Sioux City, Iowa, 11/2023
GCSU                                                    Milledgeville, GA, 11/2023
Some Reviews:

2/19 -- Chosen for Broadway Producer's Pick List!
https://www.theproducersperspective.com/my_weblog/2019/02/the-broadway-producer-pick-list-2018.html

"Laufer (an award-winning playwright whose widely produced “End Days” made a terrific impression when staged here by Next Theatre), is such a smart, engaging storyteller, and possesses such a flair for devising characters with highly individual voices, that she can draw you right in, whatever your age"
Chicago Sun Times
http://voices.suntimes.com/arts-entertainment/the-daily-sizzle/steppenwolfs-leveling-up-ups-the-ante-between-real-and-virtual/
    by Hedy Weiss
     ------------
Leveling Up is an amazing reflection on how technology is changing our world and how we live in it. Laufer understands that it is not the technology or the reality that we choose that is important, but our relationships. Not just for the teens, this is a play that has plenty to offer audiences of all ages. Leveling Up is smart, funny, frightening, poignant and, ultimately, despite its focus on technology, very human.
Chicago Stage Standard
http://chicagostagestandard.com/2014/03/02/leveling-up-steppenwolf/
   by Kerstin Broockmann
      ----------------        
"Laufer’s coming-of-age tale succeeds as a thought-provoking and powerful insight into why “leveling up” in life doesn’t just mean defeating your opponent. Topical subject matters are treated in a timeless way, making Leveling Up all the more resonant and relevant."
"Laufer’s script is intelligent without being preachy and funny without being goofy or awkward."
Chicago Theater Beat
http://chicagotheaterbeat.com/2014/03/08/leveling-up-review-steppenwolf-theatre/
  by Patrick Dyer
------------------
“If our theater is eager to reach the next generation—those gamers, texters, Snapchatters, and so on, who were raised in a world where the virtual often overshadows the actual—here's a place to start: produce smart, inquiry-based plays like this one. Deborah Zoe Laufer's Leveling Up raises questions about what it means to make choices in an increasingly disconnected, media-saturated world.”
Chicago Reader
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/leveling-up/Event?oid=12682010
  by Suzanne Scanlon
---------------------
"Laufer’s startlingly contemporary script and the Playhouse production, staged by Wendy Goldberg from the O’Neill Theatre Center (where the show was developed), are believably here and now, replete with bursts of humor, anxiety and violence."
CityBeat
http://citybeat.com/cincinnati/article-27114-leveling_up_(review).html
  by Rick Pender


Won Best of Fringe!! -- Interrobang Theatre CO, Baltimore, MD 11/14
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