The Fall Of Two Houses
About this ebook
Told in five acts and an epilogue, this full-length play follows Rosaline, Juliet’s cousin and Romeo’s first love, as she returns to a war-torn Verona and finds herself haunted by ghosts—both literal and emotional. Alongside a broken Friar Laurence, a mysterious child chronicler, and the city’s surviving citizens, Rosaline must confront the cost of silence, the mythologizing of tragedy, and the burden of those who outlive legends.
As the houses of Montague and Capulet fall—some in flames, others by shame—the play examines generational trauma, inherited hate, and the question at the heart of all tragedy: What now?
With rich roles for young and adult performers alike, The Fall of Two Houses offers a powerful platform for exploring themes of identity, grief, legacy, and truth. Characters who were once sidelined take center stage, and the voices that were silenced in Romeo and Juliet now rewrite the narrative in their own ink.
This is not a love story.
It is what comes after.
The silence. The reckoning. The truth.
Perfect for high school and college theater departments, drama competitions, and readers passionate about literary adaptation, The Fall of Two Houses is poetic and political, fierce and intimate. It holds up a mirror to the stories we inherit—and dares to ask who has the right to tell them.
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About the author
Rudolph Ortiz is a Chicano playwright, Army veteran, and storyteller whose work explores the intersections of memory, silence, and resilience. Raised in Southern California, Ortiz grew up surrounded by the layered narratives of immigrant families, cultural expectations, and overlooked voices—experiences that shaped his passion for reclaiming forgotten histories through dramatic storytelling.
A first-generation college graduate with degrees in Anthropology and Paralegal Studies, Ortiz brings a unique perspective to his writing, blending poetic language with a sharp eye for social structures and human frailty. His work often focuses on the unseen aftermath of myth and tragedy, giving voice to those who history has left behind.
Ortiz’s debut full-length play, The Fall of Two Houses, is a powerful sequel to Romeo and Juliet that examines grief, legacy, and the cost of silence through the eyes of Rosaline and the citizens of Verona. Designed for both performance and study, the play has been praised for its emotional depth, flexible casting, and educational value.
When he is not writing, Ortiz is deeply involved in his community, supporting bilingual education, promoting accessible theater, and working with youth programs that encourage storytelling as a form of empowerment. He is a proud member of New Play Exchange (NPX) and continues to advocate for new voices in the arts.
