The Egg
by The Zahir
Oct. 29 - Nov. 21
Thursdays-Saturdays
In THE EGG, three social misfits, each carrying bizarre, intimate secrets, must navigate love and friendship under a rigid techno-surveillance state. There is Mavis, an egg-laying art historian; Raymond, a feather-faced hacker; and Chuy, a mute street artist. And, backed by her army of “Dollums,” there is Agnes, whose own fear of death leads to the unleashing of a highly destructive new technology.
THE EGG is a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience featuring freakish birdpeople, illegal surgery, and out-of-control technology.
THE EGG is about identity and being true to oneself.
THE EGG is about isolation and connection.
THE EGG is about what happens when corporations take artificial intelligence to its logical extreme.
THE EGG is about the role of art in daily life.
THE EGG is about mortality and immortality. Aging and childhood. Love and death and friendship.
And it's got an army of dolls.
Written by Noah Masterson
Directed by David Ritch
THE EGG
by Noah Masterson
World Premiere October 29, 2026 at The Rosette in Austin, Texas
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“THE EGG is a wildly inventive, structurally daring comedy that earns every absurdist flourish. Masterson's writing is precise where it counts and delightfully unhinged everywhere else. This play is a defense of the sacred weirdness and messiness of being human and hides a genuinely tender question inside the joke: what do we protect when the world wants to process everything into data? Incredibly smart writing perfectly blended with heart and absurdity. I can't wait to see this one on stage.” –Ava Love Hanna, Award-Winning Playwright and Producer of the Stories Found Podcast |
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“Asked what he wanted out of going to the theater, Edward Albee said, "To see something I've never seen before." THE EGG achieves this seemingly impossible goal through its imaginative, philosophical and literary power. The language is magnificent, the characters are brilliantly vivid. You'll laugh through your tears.” –L.B. Deyo, Artistic Director, The Zahir |
Logline
A deranged CEO who's hellbent on immortality releases a technology that upends the lives of a hacker whose face sprouts feathers, a professor who lays eggs, and the mute street artist caught in the middle.
Themes
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Mortality To what extremes will we go to live forever? |
Secrecy What masks do we wear to hide our true selves? |
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Love What if the object of our most burning desire is our worst possible match? |
Art Is creativity the last bastion of humanity? |
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Technocracy What is the endgame of our rapidly accelerating surveillance state? |
Playwright’s Note
The unhinged joy I felt while writing THE EGG is a good descriptor for the play itself. Itʼs unhinged and joyful—but also, at times, sad, dark, angry, and even a little bit scary.
As I wrote THE EGG, the characters floating around in my head gradually cemented into real people. Thereʼs Mavis, the Cassandra of the play, asking why no one else is talking about the oppressive technocracy that immiserates nearly everyone around her. Raymond, a narcissist and a misanthrope, is in some ways my younger self, before I shed many layers of insecurity. And then thereʼs our villain, Agnes, whose desperate fear of death overrides all rational thought or behavior: as I age, that fear cuts close to the bone.
Rehearsal, 2026 production
Team Bios
Noah Masterson (Playwright, Co-Producer) is a playwright, musician, and juggler. He was once part of Inverse Theater Company in New York City. Noah holds a degree in screenwriting from the University of Miami.
David Ritch (Director, 2026 production) received his BFA in Theatre in 2022 from Texas State University, where he directed Ionesco's The Bald Soprano. He directed in The Yolk by Noah Masterson, a condensed version of THE EGG, for Frontera Fest. He also had his ten-minute play The Willow Tree produced and published by ScriptWorks in their annual Out of Ink showcase.
L.B. Deyo (Artistic Director, Co-Producer) is a playwright whose play Apprehension premiered at Hyde Park Theatre in 2025 and won the Austin Theatre Critics Award for best original script. He is the author of several books, including, with David "Lefty" Leibowitz, Invisible Frontier: Exploring the tunnels, ruins & rooftops of hidden New York. He's acted in such Austin plays as The Intergalactic Nemesis and Dance, Cupcake, Dance.
About The Zahir Productions
The Zahir Productions is an Austin-based nonprofit theater company dedicated to creating bold, intellectually ambitious, obsession-worthy theater.
The companyʼs mission is: to create obsession-worthy theater that draws people out of isolation and back into conversation.
The Zahir seeks to produce work that is theatrically daring, emotionally immediate, philosophically serious, and deeply engaged with the anxieties and contradictions of contemporary life.
Website: https://the-zahir.org
Rehearsal, 2026 production
Cast of 2026 Production
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NAME |
ROLE |
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NAME |
ROLE |
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Justin Smith |
RAYMOND |
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Delan Crawford |
AH |
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Jessica Brynn Cohen |
MAVIS |
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Sam Plumb |
BOOTAY + PATIENT |
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Frank Rivera |
CHUY |
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Beau Paul |
FALCO |
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Laura D'Eramo |
SORAYA |
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Bryan Headrick |
SKETCH + WULFGAR |
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Danu Mara |
AGNES |
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Michael Morse |
HECTOR + THERAPIST |
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Meg Hobgood |
HORTENSIA |
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Denis Harrigan |
PETE |
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Devon Ragsdale |
DOOT |
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Crew
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NAME |
ROLE |
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NAME |
ROLE |
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David Ritch |
Director |
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Sam McCarthy |
Sound Designer |
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Sarah Brookshire |
Stage Manager |
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Jaimie Pitts |
Prop Master |
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Scarlett Lynn |
Costume Designer |
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Natalie George |
Lighting Designer |
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Lowell Bartholomee |
Projection Designer |
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Tobie Minor |
Combat & Intimacy Coordinator |
Photos
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Key art (top); rehearsal photos, 2026 production
The Egg
by Noah Masterson
The Zahir
October 29 - November 21, 2026
October 29, November 21, 2026
Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m.
ASL INTERPRETED PERFORMANCE Thursday, November 5 (TO BE CONFIRMED)
The Rosette 3908 Avenue B, Austin, TX 78751
The Rosette entrance can be found on the northwest corner of the Baker Center, facing 40th St. Enter under the large neon ROSETTE sign. FREE PARKING is available in Baker Center lots, as well as street parking along Ave B, 39th, and 40th Streets. There are approximately 150 free spots around the perimeter.
APPROXIMATE RUNTIME
100 minutes with one 10-minute intermission.
