Several of these plays are available to read on New Play Exchange.
Feel free to request any new plays that aren’t.
FULL LENGTH
Death Avenue Posse (2024):
An hour long one act, told through the lens of the West Side’s mounted signalmen in 1941, “Death Avenue Posse” explores NYC’s continual cycles of urban decadence and “renewal,” peeling up layers of modernity to show that the past is never past and that progress has many dimensions.
Selected and produced by The High Line to be performed during the West Side Fest and developed by The Motor Company. “Death Avenue Posse” was performed twice on July 14th 2024 on the High Line at 30th and 10th for over 200 audience members.
(The Giant Sleeps) Between Two Rivers (2024):
Commissioned by The Motor Company to be their main stage show in 2024, ‘(the giant sleeps) Between Two Rivers is a playful, poetic look at the aspirations and inner fire that fuel all who’ve ever landed on New York’s shores. It follows three ambitious New Netherlanders recently arrived to the original Dutch settlement; a waterlogged newcomer washed ashore, searching for purpose and footing on this unfamiliar island; and a gaggle of competing city officials each hungry to see their needs met as they navigate the shifting tides of climate change and “urban renewal.” Based on equal parts historical research, contemporary interviews with long-term New Yorkers, and the heartfelt imagination of award-winning playwright Ben Holbrook, Between Two Rivers explores what it means to make your way in this wild city. How do we find belonging? What nourishes us on our journey? How do we build a truly sustainable future together in this city where dreams are made of?’
Commissioned and Developed by The Motor Company as their 2024 main stage show and performed at The Battery for 3 weeks. Their largest selling show to date.
The Dastardly Thornes v the Town of Goldhaven (2023):
After the most rootinest, tootinest showdown in local history, the town of Goldhaven, Arizona has (despite its lack of infrastructure) decided to carry out due process and put the treacherous Thorne gang (a family of outlaws) on trial. The town theatre, being the largest building in town, becomes the hotspot for this legal spectacle, the only catch, per their agreement with the mayor, everything performed on their stage is liable to be scrutinized, dramatized and set to music by their artistic director. Pull up a chair, crack open a can of beans and rub shoulders with an audience full of outlaws, neer-do-wells, and horses with ill-intent, as the local acting troupe performs each testimony with gusto, slowly revealing the lascivious lies and troubling truths that led to the most violent shootout in town history. “Goldhaven,” an immersive, comedic western musical, by Ben Holbrook and Nate Weida, explores contradicting colonizing narratives and themes of toxicity, manifest destiny, beans, and the ownership of history.
Developed at WildWind Performance Lab at Texas Tech and given a full production at The Brick (NYC). Goldhaven was met with great acclaim and ran for 3 fully sold out weeks. An album is in the works.
User Agreement (2021):
Set in the near future. Sy and Theo, two souls, potentially soul mates, attempt to navigate their bond in a world enhanced by the wonders of technology, AI, and the occasional talking octopus. Building a relationship based on good music, deep conversation, and strong boundaries feels natural to them, but their beautiful bond finds itself struggling against a world turned upside down by the demons of human nature and the need for capital, causing them to wonder if, in a society designed to be more complex and visible than ever, it is possible for two simple souls to truly connect.
Developed with The Shelter NYC and then taken down to The WildWind Performance Lab at Texas Tech for further development with their students and Kennedy Center fellows. Received public readings with both institutions. User Agreement was a 2023 O’Neill Finalist, as well as a finalist at Juilliard, Ars Nova, and Bushwick Starr. It was selected for Theatre Untitled’s 2024 reading series, where it was given a staged reading at Open Jar Studios.
The Church of the First Order of Cloud City…(2018):
The citizens of Cloud City, a floating city and the peak of human ingenuity, have gathered to worship the cloud, just like every other Sunday, or so they think. Complications and hilarity ensue when the congregation of the first order of Cloud City are joined by dissatisfied citizens, dissenting robots, and a bunch of mutant ding dongs from the “Underworld”. Join our congregation as the Church of the First Order of Cloud City celebrates its inaugural unification service.
An immersive science fiction musical church experience developed with Nate Weida (composer) as a part of Fresh Ground Pepper’s Playground Playgroup. Received staged readings at Fresh Ground Pepper Festival and Magic Time at Judson Church. Was then redeveloped for the 2024 Prism Festival at Judson Church as a concert style reading.
Ghost on the Black Gulf (2018):
It’s 2010 on the Mississippi coast and Aenid, her son, Percy, and her adopted mother Mémé find their entire way of life disrupted by the oil spill that poisons everything it touches. Soon, the pressures on their lives increase, as insurmountable forces, both natural and supernatural, seep into their lives, in this meditation on family, greed, social structures, and subversion.
Developed at UNC-Greensboro’s New Concepts Theatre Lab. Has received 1 public reading
Goddess of the Wine Dark Sea (2017):
” I’d like to tell you another tale of love and war and the struggles we mortals must suffer through. This time, it’s Achilles, the Goddess born son of the sea, rolling in the night with his lovers Patroclus and Briseis, as the Trojan War rages on outside of their camp. When the war, however, forces Achilles into the light, he and soon she, must decide for herself, her place and legacy in this vast time fluid, gender fluid, sexuality fluid world of gods and monsters.” -Tiresias
Developed at the Drama League Rough Draft Residency and the Edward Albee Foundation Fellowship. Given public readings at the Dramatist Guild and NC State University.
Sinners on a Southbound Bus (2016):
Set during a late night bus ride on a warm, misty Alabama night, “Sinners on a Southbound Bus” is a dramatic/comedic meditation on fear, morality, and the ghosts we leave behind.
When Trudy, a quick-thinking young woman, finds herself in the presence of the rash, charismatic Morgan and his more stoic associate, Silas, she sees an opportunity to alleviate some of her boredom on the long, hot bus ride to Dothan.
The pleasant conversation, however, takes an ominous turn after an encounter with the police reveals that the two men share a dark, potentially violent secret, which could place every passenger in danger. Trudy, nevertheless, still sees the good in Morgan and, through their budding friendship, finds a connection that forces him to face demons that make every mile more dangerous and every confrontation more volatile, as they head towards their inevitable destination.
Developed with Ruddy Productions. 10 minute version was first produced at the Ruddy New Works Festival, later given a production at Yeolim Hall for the Seoul Players’ 10 minute play festival in Seoul, SK. The full length version was first produced at the NY International Fringe Festival and was reviewed as a “Best Bet” and a “Fringe Fave”. Later fully produced at University of Memphis and again at Voices of the South for the Memphis Fringe Festival.
The Whale and the Dog Star (2014):
Henry Wilder is supposed to be suffering alone, sitting at his desk, poring over the data streaming from the massive radio telescope over his head. Henry Wilder cannot suffer alone, however, for he is surrounded by weirdos—weirdos with dreams, dysfunctions, and academic distinctions of their own. So Henry, his band of astrophysicists, and a janitor burdened with a god complex suffer together as they navigate love, loss, villainous TV dinners, depressed astronauts, star men, and a lost whale floating alone through the cosmos.
What emerges is “The Whale and the Dog Star,” a piece of theater that is simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking, hilarious and thought-provoking.
First public reading at the Mass Rhetoric New Works Festival, Winner of the Peter Shaffer Award, developed and fully produced by Fundamental Theater Project. Featured on New Play Exchange’s best plays about astronomy. The book version can be purchased here, or most online book retailers.
ONE ACTS
This is a Relic (2021):
details coming soon…
Oracular Recall (2019):
Join 3 divine sisters as they embody several generations, all observing this moment in time from the past, present, and future, while the audience samples dishes and herbs, which provoke their memories. Over the corse of 25 minutes, they playfully examine gentrification, climate change, and learning to love problematic loved ones in this meditation on time, community, our senses, and changing perspectives.
Oracular Recall was commissioned and developed by The Motor Company and made its debut at the 2019 Communal Spaces Festival in NYC.
Chemistry (2018):
Jojo has a new job! She’s taken it upon herself to memorize and deliver messages in her cozy Brooklyn neighborhood. One message, however, finds her engaging in a fascinating conversation with Thad, which ranges from love, to sex, to chemicals, in this short one act.
Chemistry was commissioned and developed by The Motor Company and made it’s debut at the 2018 Laundryfest.