Aphasia -Tickets: www.studiotheaterinexile.com
Friday, October 9 at 7 PM
Saturday, October 10 at 7 PM
Sunday, October 11 at 3 PM
Dora Straus awakens in an E.R. with a massive stroke with paralysis on her right side and aphasia; she understands everything but cannot make herself understood. Dora, a tough, brilliant, competitive, opiniated disciplinarian, now faces the world voiceless, and totally dependent. In this play in verse written by her eldest son, Marc, she takes full stock of her life. It is at times sad, funny, angry, and above all honest
For three performances only, Studio Theatre in Exile will present poet, playwright, physician, and art collector Marc J. Straus in Aphasia in his deeply personal play in verse, New York City from October 9 through October 11, 2026 at 312 W. 36th Street, 3rd floor. Written and performed by Straus, APHASIA, originally produced at Studio Theater in Exile, Peekskill is directed by Mara Mills, with stage production by Jeremy Gratt.
Marc J. Straus, the author, also assumes the role of Dora. He has channeled Dora’s story through these poignant soliloquies and in so doing he speaks for her.
Marc J. Straus has four collections, three from TriQuarterly Northwestern University Press. His poems have appeared in most of the leading literary journals including The Kenyon Review and Ploughshares. He is the recipient of numerous awards including The Robert Penn Warren Annual Award Lecture in the Humanities from Yale, and a residency at Yaddo.