Previous Shows

The Domestication of Women: A Housewares Party in Two Acts
by Jackie Ruggiero Jacobson (Philadelphia, 2007)

Elaine's husband is gone and so are her window treatments. She set fire to them before arriving at her "friend" Julie's house for a night of home shopping, insults and award winning cheese cake. It's a party destined for destruction, but seething rage will have to wait. Lisa is introducing the hostess specials, and the midnight blue candle set is guaranteed to reignite long lost passion. Hope surfaces in suburbia, as five frazzled, desperate and sexually repressed women will stop at nothing to get their hands on the item of the week destined to change the course of their unrealized lives. A comedy of unusual heights that celebrates the fighting spirit of women trapped in consumer hell!

Straw Flower presented the world premier of The Domestication of Women: A Housewares Party in Two Acts at Walnut Street Theatre Studio 5 in March/April 2007. The production was directed by Jose Aviles and featured Vivian Appler, Gabrielle Corsaro, Sharon Geller, Krissy Johnson, and Hannah Tsapatoris.

Natural Flavors by Jackie Ruggiero Jacobson
(Philadelphia, 2006)

Ted eats grass and wild mushrooms, with an occasional crushed berry, and swears he won't touch the can of Campbell's soup he took with him on his flight into the wilderness following the break-up of his marriage. Its list of ingredients is a powerful reminder of how artificial civilization is. He'll eat anything he can kill with his crude tools and below basic hunting skills and so far, he's starving. Meanwhile celebrity chef Chrissy is whipping up a smorgasbord inspired by mangoes, exotic mushrooms and her desire to change the world one taste bud at a time. Are the aromas from her kitchen strong enough to reach a man gone wild and tempt him to take another bite of civilization?

Straw Flower presented a workshop production of Natural Flavors as part of the 2006 Philly Fringe Festival at Gallery Siano. The production featured Mark Jacobson and Jackie Ruggiero Jacobson.

Ice Breakers by Jackie Ruggiero Jacobson
(Philadelphia, 2005)

Susan is a closed book. She wishes her blind date, Leonard, wasn’t quite so open. At the very least he could have the decency to turn to a more discreet page. Their story begins at ten seconds before the New Year, that magical, oppressive moment when everything is possible, but nothing’s really changed. Sometimes the only thing worse than being alone is being exposed.




Straw Flower presented a workshop production of Ice Breakers as part of the 2005 Philly Fringe Festival at Gallery Siano. The production featured Mark Jacobson and Jackie Ruggiero Jacobson and was directed by Neill Hartley.

Who Turned Off the Lights? by Jackie Ruggiero Jacobson
(New York, 2005  ●  Philadelphia,2004)

Who Turned Off the Lights? is a comedic treatment of characters riding down the road to enlightenment blindfolded. It began as a spoof on the self-help movement, a comment on the steady stream of enlightened philosophies of living for sale. “As I explored Marsha Farley, a self-help guru and best selling author just inches away from her own nervous breakdown”, says Ruggiero, “I felt compelled to shift the focus to her audience.”  The result is a montage of characters paying for relief from loneliness and indecision. It explores the phenomena of intelligent people shutting off instinct and giving themselves over to someone else’s proclaimed truth.

Who Turned Off the Lights? was first presented in the 2004 Philly Fringe Festival. It featured Jackie Ruggiero Jacobson, Alana Gerlach, and Nicole DeRosa and was directed by Jackie Ruggiero Jacobson and Mark Jacobson. Straw Flower was later invited to present it at The Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York. The New York production featured Jackie Ruggiero Jacobson, Alana Gerlach, and Paige Rien and was directed by Mark Jacobson.