The Retreat - A Play by Nicole Galland

Performed by Éowyn Mader

Meditate on this: Minutes before a 3-day silent mindfulness retreat kicks off, a close friend betrays your trust (again) and now you’re stuck in the same meditation hall and dining room and corridors with him - unable to confront him in real life and unable to stop confronting him in your imagination. Will you spend the whole weekend writing a gloriously satisfying f*ck-you letter? Or can the Retreat Support Team help you find compassionate nonattachment?

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Nicole Galland (Playwright) is a novelist and former Dramaturg/Literary Manager at Berkeley Rep. Her books include the NYT-bestselling time-travel romp The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. (with Neal Stephenson). Her 9th novel, the Shakespearean-theatre-themed BOY, came out earlier this year. She most recently co-wrote/directed Last Call, a play about the traditional Irish music scene, in Dublin, Ireland; it will be revived there as part of Tradfest 2026. Her undergraduate degree from Harvard University is in Comparative Religion, with a focus on Buddhism. She had no idea it would ever prove so useful.

Éowyn Mader (Performer) has performed with the California Shakespeare Theatre, the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, San Jose Stage Company and Center REP, among many others. She was a co-founder of Signal Theater Company and a company member of Rough and Tumble. She is also an early childhood music educator teaching in preschools and the Music Together program.