zionista rising

by Alexa Derman

Directed by WIll Steinberger

Winner of the 12th Jewish Plays Project Contest

At Universalist National Memorial Church

DECEMBER 11 -13, 2026

Part of this year’s

Voices From a Changing Middle East Festival

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SYNOPSIS | CREATIVE TEAM

SYNOPSIS:

Two Gen Z interns working at a Jewish American media organization compete on a daunting assignment: to rebrand Israel and Zionism in the American mind as a #girlboss

#progressive #diversity-win via an AI-generated Instagram influencing avatar. Meanwhile, a Jewish American playwright wrestles with a question she can't escape: Who are we if not a nation?

Key Themes in the comedy (per A.I.)

  • Hashtag Activism: Spoofs corporate PR, white-woman feminism, and social media branding.

  • Modern Identity: A deep and humorous critique of how progressive ideals intersect with Jewish American identity and relationships to Israel.

  • A Bold New Comedy: Described as both raucously funny and deeply important, tackling complex ideological debates with sharp wit.

For more details on the script or upcoming development and reading dates, visit the ⁠Zionista Rising page on the Jewish Plays Project webste.

  • And Just Added:

  • Post-Genocide Reckoning in the Wake Massive Institutional Re-Branding: Comedy can only conceal war crimes for so long, right?

Recognition:

  • Finalist, O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. 2026

  • Finalist, Blue Ink Playwriting Award. 2026

  • Finalist. O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. 2024.

  • Winner, National Playwriting Contest, Jewish Plays Project. 2023.

  • Long list, Theatre 503 International Playwriting Prize. 2023.

  • Semi-Finalist, Irons in the Fire, Fault Line. 2023.

  • Semi-Finalist, McNally New Works Incubator. 2024.

  • Semi-Finalist, Premiere Stages New Play Festival. 2024.

CREATIVE TEAM

About the Author: Alexa Derman is a Brooklyn-based playwright and screenwriter. Her plays have been developed by the Playwrights Realm, Ars Nova, NYTW, Clubbed Thumb, the O’Neill, Orchard Project, and the Playwrights Center. Her work has also been the winner of the Kernodle Prize, the Chesley/Bumbalo Prize, and the Jewish Plays Project’s National Competition; runner-up for Princess Grace/New Dramatists; two-time honorable mention for the Relentless Award; four-time finalist for the O’Neill; finalist for the Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship; and twice nominated for the Susan Smith Blackburn.

Alexa is a member of Page 73’s 2026 Writers Group. She’s an alum of the Clubbed Thumb Early Career Writers Group, the Playwrights Realm Writing Fellowship, and the Lehman-Engels Librettist Workshop; she is a New Georges Affiliated Artist. She’s attended residencies at Hedgebrook and Ragdale and is under commission from MTC/Sloan and EST/Sloan.

As a screenwriter, she’s developed projects with Run-a-Muck, Esmail Corp, and New Regency; she was a writer on FURIOUS (Liz Meriwether, Hulu, July 2026) and THE GOD OF THE WOODS (Liz Moore & Liz Hannah, Netflix, 2027).

BA from Yale in Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies; MFA from Brown, where she studied under Julia Jarcho.

Now that you've met her, you can call her Lex. More at www.alexaderman.com

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