The term sororophobia refers to a woman’s simultaneous desire for and recoil from identification with other women. It encompasses the nuances of women who seek community with one another while comparing themselves to each other. It’s also the name of senior Laney Lynch’s second full-length play.
For Lynch, sororophobia is not some distant academic, feminist theory. It’s something she’s lived through and confronted in both herself and the people around her. Lynch said her playwriting professor would tell the class, “Write what you know.” And Lynch knows sororophobia.
“I found enough love in myself that I was comfortable enough to share that with an audience,” Lynch said.
“Sororophobia” will have performances at 7:30 p.m. May 2 and May 3, as well as 2 p.m. May 3, in the Center for the Arts Black Box Theatre.
Lynch, a B.F.A. acting student, began writing the play in fall 2023. It started as an idea and writing scenes of dialogue every now and then. But with encouragement from her friends, Lynch decided to write “Sororophobia,” a full-length, supernatural play about a group of middle school girls who summon a wish-granting demon.
The characters are in middle school because, as the demon says in the play, “no one is scarier than middle school girls.”
It’s an ensemble piece, meaning there is no distinct main character. Lynch said it was important to her that the five girls and the demon were all complex, thought-out characters with their own motivations and viewpoints.
“It’s not the emotions that make middle school girls scary,” Lynch said. “It’s what they choose to do with those emotions.”
Senior cast member Aniya Arnold said she values how Lynch’s writing and storytelling explores the reasoning behind the each character’s decisions. Especially for productions like “Sororophobia” that center women and LGBTQ+ people, Arnold said it’s important to present authentic stories and dynamics.
“Adding context to the decisions that we make is a privilege that a lot of people get, but that we don’t necessarily get,” Arnold said. “We get chastised for any decision that we make with no context attached to it.”
Arnold plays Elena, a 13-year-old girl who often seems bratty or insincere. She’s the leader of the girls’ friend group, but she’s been hiding her chronic illness from her friends.
Senior Sitare Sadeghi remembers the first time Lynch told them about the play. The two were studying abroad in London, where Lynch was taking a playwriting class. As she wrote different scenes, they would host readings of it in their dorm room where Sadeghi and Lynch’s other friends encouraged her to keep developing the play.
Now, Sadeghi will be performing as Jasmine, a sassy and closeted 13-year-old who just wants to be included.
“She’s really just trying to give the people she loves all the love she can give them,” Sadeghi said.
From those initial nights in their dorm to a staged reading at Elon’s Queer Arts Festival last spring to the upcoming independently-produced performances, Sadeghi has seen how “Sororophobia” has brought her friends and peers together.
“This is theater in its rawest form, and it’s just so cool to see these young adults so passionate about work, about this story that we’ve all dealt with,” Sadeghi said. “We literally relate to this story.”
When it was time to bring Lynch’s script to life in the CFA Black Box, everyone brought their own ideas and unique skill sets to the production. From upholstery to woodwork to makeup, the “Sororophobia” team worked together to make Lynch’s play the best it could be.
“I didn’t make a ‘GoFundMe’ — I didn’t go door-to-door — to just let this be an OK show,” Lynch said.
Lynch’s “GoFundMe” campaign raised $1,530 that went toward set pieces, props, costumes and other production expenses. Most student-run shows at Elon are produced by a student organization and receive funding through the Student Government Association.
Tickets for “Sororophobia” are free and are available online at Sororophobia.Ludus.com.