 ForthcomingRead a sample from the book.
Cesi Davidson is positioned as a master of brevity among American
playwrights. The Laterals collection is beautifully crafted and
remarkable. Davidson is much admired for her contribution of hundreds
of plays to the theatre landscape that are dense with unpredictable
impact. The stories are satisfying to read or view on stage. The
hearing and seeing audiences are absorbed into her unique styles of
magical realism. The characters speak for us revealing unimagined
truths of the past and present. The characters provide us with
rehearsal time for navigating a world often confused. You’ll find
joyous relief and thoughtful entertainment here. The plays in the
Laterals anthology are fantastic adventures. These works of literary
art champion her mission to demonstrate through storytelling her core
belief, “We are one human family.”
Advance Praise
“In Laterals, Cesi Davidson brings together an imaginative
collection of short plays and poems that traverse the landscapes of
memory, identity, resilience, and belonging. Historical figures share
the stage with invented characters in worlds that stretch from a sperm
bank to the rural Tennessee of 1890. Moving seamlessly between
realism, absurdity, and magic, Davidson reveals the surprising ways
lives intersect across time and circumstance. Thoughtful, witty, and
deeply humane, Laterals is a memorable collection that resonates long
after the final page.”
— Anna Steegman, Staff Writer for the New York City Jazz Record
“Laterals, a mix of jaw dropping tunes.
Cesi Davidson orchestrates a play the way a masterful
band leader refines musicians to create a brilliant
ensemble composition. Her pen is her conductor’s
baton. Every character in each play has opportunity
to shine; a solo rocking out, chilling out, or energetic
stillness. And when the characters come together
with dialogue there is no question—there is one story
unfolding and that story is captivating. With magical
realism this author brings us in and out of historical-
based possibilities, imagined worlds, and ideas seldom
considered. The reader, the audience, joins in the fiction
creating the music with the humanity we all share.”
—Tonya Pinkins, Actor, Producer, Director, Screenwriter
ISBN: 978-1-61976-292-3 (13 digit)
Publication Date: Oct 2026
paperback 152 pages
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