In tents raised haphazardly between broken streets and crumbling buildings, women fight for their lives. Nadine makes videos that report the truth while Hannah makes music from the most unlikely instruments – drones and crackling generators. Together they try to find what is wholly their own, despite all that stands in their way. An expansive story of the power of dreaming in vivid colors despite the gray of pain and warfare.

As these women strive to tide themselves and their loved ones through a society pulled apart by civil war, sectarian violence, and other debris of post-colonial power mongering, we discover what true resilience looks like in the face of oppression. Before the Bone Breaks explores complexities of the many ways women seek to regain control over their bodies, their choices, and their life paths. The world of the play is crafted from deep research into real world communities of women who’ve rebuilt their communities time and again with light, grace, and above all dignity, after the devastation of war and calamity. 

• World Premier Spring 2027, Syracuse University Drama Department Main Stage Commission

• Developed at The Alcove, Lucille Lortel Theatre curated by Caridad Svich

• Developed at The Orchard Project Summer 2025, artistic director Ari Edelson