Lottery Day
by Ike Holter

Lottery Day Book Cover — Lottery Day Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

120 mins Role(s) for Asian Actor(s) Role(s) for Black Actor(s) Role(s) for Latine Actor(s) Ensemble Cast Multicultural Casting Strong Role for Leading Woman (Star Vehicle) Unit Set/Multiple Settings Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes

Synopsis

Ike Holter concludes his acclaimed seven-play Rightlynd Saga by assembling his vibrant characters for a raucous theatrical bash.

Long the matriarch of a quickly gentrifying neighborhood, Mallory invites the lonely residents, hardcore activists and starving artists of her block to what she hopes will go down as a legendary barbeque – thanks to a special surprise.

But her mysterious plan to revitalize the community may be the very thing that tears it apart.

Press Reviews

"It may sound like an overreach to compare Holter’s hip, seven-play Chicago opus to August Wilson’s famed cycle of work about African American life… But in the years since Wilson’s death, Holter’s Rightlynd Cycle is the closest to Wilson’s achievement, in form, poetic resonance and socio-political worldview, that I’ve seen any dramatic writer come…Holter is a natural poet of cascading resonances."
— Chicago Tribune

"A trademark of Holter’s style is how nimbly he telescopes between the broad themes and sophisticated nuances of his subjects. Lottery Day is at once a meditation on personal loss and a community grieving its end…even if one does ‘make it,’ what’s the point of winning if everyone you wanted to share your success with is gone? Lottery Day offers hope on the other side of defeat."
— Chicago Reader

"Many of the beautifully-written characters may have originated in other plays, but they are fully rounded in this one; Holter is careful to allow each of them to take the focus of the rowdy bash with its loud, overlapping dialogue, music and humor. Nothing here is cheap or unearned."
— Windy City Times

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
MALLORY Late 40s to early 60s. Black. Everybody’s matriarch; runs the entire neighborhood. Can go from warm and soulful to a striking viper in the dead-shot blink of an eye. Knows how to get the party lit and knows how to take the light right out of everyone in the room. Resists defeat at every turn. Knows everybody’s kill switch.	—	40s	Late 40s to early 60s. Black. Everybody’s matriarch; runs the entire neighborhood. Can go from warm and soulful to a striking viper in the dead-shot blink of an eye. Knows how to get the party lit and knows how to take the light right out of everyone in the room. Resists defeat at every turn. Knows everybody’s kill switch.
AVERY Late 40s to early 60s. Black. Everybody’s uncle. The most dependable person on the planet. Can cook you a full meal and fix your entire house and never ask for a dime. Says he isn’t listening to your conversation in the same room, hears everything.	male	40s	Late 40s to early 60s. Black. Everybody’s uncle. The most dependable person on the planet. Can cook you a full meal and fix your entire house and never ask for a dime. Says he isn’t listening to your conversation in the same room, hears everything.
EZEKIEL Mid 20s. Latino. Everybody’s cousin. Aspiring rapper. Poor as hell. A poet with a-mile-a-minute energy. Lots of heart, barely hidden. Wants everyone to try what he’s drinking/smoking/screaming.	—	20s	Mid 20s. Latino. Everybody’s cousin. Aspiring rapper. Poor as hell. A poet with a-mile-a-minute energy. Lots of heart, barely hidden. Wants everyone to try what he’s drinking/smoking/screaming.
CASSANDRA Mid 30s. Black. Everybody’s aunt. Calm and resourceful but quick to agitate. A survivor of bullshit and warrior for progressive common sense. New mother. Single and prefers it. Wants, more than anything, to cut loose; will never fully because she knows the risks.	female	30s	Mid 30s. Black. Everybody’s aunt. Calm and resourceful but quick to agitate. A survivor of bullshit and warrior for progressive common sense. New mother. Single and prefers it. Wants, more than anything, to cut loose; will never fully because she knows the risks.
VIVIEN Mid 40s. Latina. Everybody’s stepmom. Has a professional, frantic energy. Trustworthy but will tell every secret if it has the chance of making her the hero. Recovering alcoholic. Hates confrontation but is fine with drama. Won every high school and college and PTA competition. Won’t leave well enough alone, ever.	female	40s	Mid 40s. Latina. Everybody’s stepmom. Has a professional, frantic energy. Trustworthy but will tell every secret if it has the chance of making her the hero. Recovering alcoholic. Hates confrontation but is fine with drama. Won every high school and college and PTA competition. Won’t leave well enough alone, ever.
RICKY Early 30s. White. Everybody’s middle child. Has a confidently aggressive stammer. Good heart but never keeps his mouth shut. Loves listening to other people. Afraid of his own dreams. The last to know the joke is over.	male	30s	Early 30s. White. Everybody’s middle child. Has a confidently aggressive stammer. Good heart but never keeps his mouth shut. Loves listening to other people. Afraid of his own dreams. The last to know the joke is over.
TORI Late 20s. Asian. Everybody’s older sister. Runs a theatre company from the ground up. A go-getter who multitasks her ass off. Understands the joke even if she doesn’t laugh. Afraid to stop moving. Could work for NASA but chose to do theatre.	female	20s	Late 20s. Asian. Everybody’s older sister. Runs a theatre company from the ground up. A go-getter who multitasks her ass off. Understands the joke even if she doesn’t laugh. Afraid to stop moving. Could work for NASA but chose to do theatre.
ZORA Mid 30s. Black. Everybody’s removed cousin. Comes off like a threat but lives to help people. Fast-talking, shit-spitting, funniest person in the room, tough as nails. Walks with a cane. Lives a secret life but is open about everything else. Loves talking behind people’s back.	—	30s	Mid 30s. Black. Everybody’s removed cousin. Comes off like a threat but lives to help people. Fast-talking, shit-spitting, funniest person in the room, tough as nails. Walks with a cane. Lives a secret life but is open about everything else. Loves talking behind people’s back.
ROBINSON 50s. Black. Everybody’s ex-husband. Proudly queer and easily lit. The kind of guy who doesn’t answer your calls for a year then shows up with two tickets to a concert and great weed. Runs a used car shop and looks like it.	—	50s	50s. Black. Everybody’s ex-husband. Proudly queer and easily lit. The kind of guy who doesn’t answer your calls for a year then shows up with two tickets to a concert and great weed. Runs a used car shop and looks like it.
NUNLEY Mid 30s. Black. Everybody’s older brother. Smooth-talking player who doesn’t realize his fly is unzipped. Owns a horrible deli that he will fight to the death for. Talks a big game but is easily hurt by, like, anything.	male	30s	Mid 30s. Black. Everybody’s older brother. Smooth-talking player who doesn’t realize his fly is unzipped. Owns a horrible deli that he will fight to the death for. Talks a big game but is easily hurt by, like, anything.