playwriting — Emily Yuko Walborn

Emily’s plays can be read on New Play Exchange

FULL LENGTH PLAYS

*Picture: Stomping Grounds Arthouse, 2023*
**Production & Development History**
2024 Middle Tennessee State University
2023 Stomping Grounds Arthouse - World Premiere
2023 Middlebury College
2023 Stomping Grounds Arthouse - Staged Reading

BETA BITCHES

4 F

Beta Bitches is a comedic play about two mean girls, Madison and Gwen, who hold a séance in an attempt to contact their deceased friend/Queen Bee. But the spirits are angry, like, sooooo angry. For Madison and Gwen to get the answers they so desperately seek, they must endure a terrifying night of contact from the other side. Yet, their séance takes a horrifying turn when they conjure the one person they thought they’d never have to see again. Riffing on classic teen movie tropes, Beta Bitches uncovers the vulnerability and humanity of teenage caricatures. It is an exploration of stereotypes, manipulative friendships, and how to exorcise your demons… like, literally.

Ren Kobayashi-Smith and the Magic Pillow that May or May Not Fix Her Life

An adaptation of the classic Japanese Noh play ‘Kantan’

2 F, 1 M

Ren Kobayashi-Smith's life is a complete mess. She's been passed up for a promotion, her boyfriend is a weeb who fetishizes her, and she feels too white for her Asian friends and too Asian for her white friends. She floats between two worlds, unable to find where she belongs. She resolves to fix her identity crisis with a family heirloom - a generations-old magic pillow that shows you the best version of your life. Surely, this has to be the solution she's been looking for.

Fusing the music, dance, and visual elements of Noh theatre with contemporary themes, Ren Kobayashi-Smith and the Magic Pillow that May or May Not Fix Her Life is an exploration of racial identity.

Production History & Awards

2025 IATI Theater - Staged Reading

2025 Pork Filled Productions: Unleashed - Finalist

2025 IATI Theater - Cimientos Play Development Program

2022 Box of Tricks Theatre - Rehearsed Workshop

Doppelganger Mind F*ck

3 F, 2 M, 1 Any

Allison Wilson is running for mayor of a her hometown - Twin Bridges, Montana. The only problem is she hasn’t been home in over ten years. Someone that looks and sounds exactly like her has taken over her life, started a campaign for mayor, and turned her friends and family against her. Can she confront her doppelganger and set things right? Or is there more to this story?

Production History & Awards

2026 The Road Theatre - Staged Reading

2025 The Road Theatre Under Construction 6 - Play Development

The Very End of Our Friendship

4 F

The transition from college to adulthood is one of the toughest to make. When a group of old high school friends meet for a camping trip, they try to prove to each other that they have the perfect life and are not struggling in any way whatsoever.

Production History & Awards

2026 Aloha High School - Staged Reading

2025 The Road Theatre Summer Playwrights Festival - Semi-Finalist

Trout Aquarium

3 F, 3 M, 1 Any

The Saint Regis Trout Aquarium is a small roadside attraction off of I-90 in Montana. The people that work there spend their days feeding trout, cleaning tanks, and greeting tourists. When the trout begin to mysteriously die, management wants someone to blame. The employees are pitted against each other in order to save their jobs. Some cave to capitalist pressures, while others stand up for what they believe in. Trout Aquarium explores the brutality of a mundane workplace and what it means to work in a capitalist society.

Production History & Awards

2022 University of Manchester - Workshop

Short Plays

Production History & Awards

2024 Hand to Mouth Playwright/Director Workshop

2023 Old Library Theatre - 12th Annual One Act Play Festival Winner

2022 University of Manchester - MA Playwriting Showcase

Logical Conspiracies

3 F

When two strangers meet in the waiting room of a psychological study, they fall down a rabbit hole of paranoia. Is waiting the real study? Is some unknown entity watching every move and choice they make? Will eating a donut reveal their darkest secrets?

11PM BUS TO FARGO

2 F

It’s 11PM and Rei sits alone at the bus station. She’s leaving town, but before she goes, she wants to talk to her best friend Marla one more time. They deserve a proper goodbye. As night goes on, Rei slips into the conversations, arguments, and final moments of their friendship. Will she really leave town for good this time or is this just another ploy to get Marla back?