Terry Guest

Terry Guest

Terry Guest is a Chicago-based playwright, actor, director and teaching artist. Plays include: The Magnolia Ballet (2022 National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere, 2 Jeff Awards, David Goldman Best New American Play), A Ghost in Satin (Williamstown Theater Festival), Marie Antionette and the Magical Negroes (4 Jeff Award nominations), At The Wake of a Dead Drag Queen, The Madness of Mary Todd (2020...
Terry Guest is a Chicago-based playwright, actor, director and teaching artist. Plays include: The Magnolia Ballet (2022 National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere, 2 Jeff Awards, David Goldman Best New American Play), A Ghost in Satin (Williamstown Theater Festival), Marie Antionette and the Magical Negroes (4 Jeff Award nominations), At The Wake of a Dead Drag Queen, The Madness of Mary Todd (2020 Goodman Playwrights Unit), and Andy Warhol Presents the Cocaine Play. Keep up with Terry on Instagram: @terryexplainsitall

Plays

  • The Magnolia Ballet by Terry Guest
    Recommendations: 5
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama + 5 more
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    Keyword: LGBTQ, black + 3 more
    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama, fable/folktale, melodrama, mystery/thriller, period, tragedy
    Keyword: LGBTQ, black, southern, southern gothic, History
    What do we do with the ugly history of racial injustice in America? Do we put it on display or lock it away and hope to forget it? Do we embrace it or are we embarrassed of it? What happens if we decided to just burn it all to the ground, could we ever rebuild? The Magnolia Ballet is a Southern Gothic fable about a Queer Black boy, his father and the ghosts that live in the walls of their old family home....
    What do we do with the ugly history of racial injustice in America? Do we put it on display or lock it away and hope to forget it? Do we embrace it or are we embarrassed of it? What happens if we decided to just burn it all to the ground, could we ever rebuild? The Magnolia Ballet is a Southern Gothic fable about a Queer Black boy, his father and the ghosts that live in the walls of their old family home. Spanning 400 years, the show explores the complex relationships between multiple generations of Black and White people living in the state of Georgia.
  • At The Wake of a Dead Drag Queen by Terry Guest
    Recommendations: 12
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 11 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, experimental, fable/folktale, fantasy, melodrama, movement/physical, pageant, romantic comedy, tragedy, verse
    Courtney Berringers would like to welcome you to her wake! But—make no mistake—this ain’t your grandma’s funeral. At the Wake of a Dead Drag Queen is a one-act play about Blackness, southern queerness, and the fine art of drag. From African Gods and Goddesses to Trina and Whitney Houston, At the Wake thoughtfully uses storytelling, drama and drag to explore identity, illness, and the narratives we construct for...
    Courtney Berringers would like to welcome you to her wake! But—make no mistake—this ain’t your grandma’s funeral. At the Wake of a Dead Drag Queen is a one-act play about Blackness, southern queerness, and the fine art of drag. From African Gods and Goddesses to Trina and Whitney Houston, At the Wake thoughtfully uses storytelling, drama and drag to explore identity, illness, and the narratives we construct for ourselves. Come party at the wake. Bring your own heels!
  • OAK by Terry Guest
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: adventure, dark comedy + 7 more
    Genre: adventure, dark comedy, drama, fable/folktale, fantasy, horror, melodrama, tragedy, young audiences
    Oak is a southern gothic horror about 3 kids, an old woman with a shotgun and a mysterious creek monster.
  • Marie Antionette and the Magical Negros by Terry Guest
    Recommendations: 6
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    Cast: 
    7–8
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    Genre: biography, comedy + 10 more
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    Keyword: Marie Antionette, French Revolution + 4 more
    Genre: biography, comedy, dark comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, experimental, farce, melodrama, period, political, satire, tragedy
    Keyword: Marie Antionette, French Revolution, Black rage, Black and brown lives. Uprising, uprising, black lives matter
    This is a play about rage. Revolt. Revolution. Revenge. It is about what happens when black people grow tired of sitting down and turning the other cheek. What are we left to do? Do we scream? Pray? Should we be peaceful? Should we riot? Can the tools we have used in the past possibly work for the future or do we need to write a new script? Using trap music, fashion shows and the backdrop of the French...
    This is a play about rage. Revolt. Revolution. Revenge. It is about what happens when black people grow tired of sitting down and turning the other cheek. What are we left to do? Do we scream? Pray? Should we be peaceful? Should we riot? Can the tools we have used in the past possibly work for the future or do we need to write a new script? Using trap music, fashion shows and the backdrop of the French Revolution, Marie Antionette and the Magical Negros reimagines the myth of the lost monarchy and put it into the hands and mouths of Black people.