Fabulous Monsters by Diana Burbano

*Kilroys' List 2020* *Featured in Steppenwolf's "The Mix" Music by FEA
When punk rock exploded in L.A., Sally and Lou were there: feminists, Latinas, queens of noise. One went pop, one stayed punk, but sparks from their tumultuous friendship remain. Decades later, they try overcome old wounds, forgive each other, and rock as hard as they ever did.

A new work from this...
*Kilroys' List 2020* *Featured in Steppenwolf's "The Mix" Music by FEA
When punk rock exploded in L.A., Sally and Lou were there: feminists, Latinas, queens of noise. One went pop, one stayed punk, but sparks from their tumultuous friendship remain. Decades later, they try overcome old wounds, forgive each other, and rock as hard as they ever did.

A new work from this South Coast Repertory teaching artist, developed in Latino Theatre Alliance/LA's Playwrights Nest Festival.
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Fabulous Monsters

Recommended by

  • Conor McShane:
    12 Jan. 2023
    “ Hell yeah. As both a music geek and a lover of great playwriting, this play checked all the boxes for me. I loved how the past and present are always in dialogue, as we are always communicating with who we used to be and who we hope to be. Beautiful, beautiful stuff. ”
  • Ky Weeks:
    31 May. 2021
    “ The characters in this play, in every sense of the word, rock. They're as mesmerizingly flawed, intriguing, appalling in their actions, and yet overall so cool that Burbano's writing, with all the poetically gritty style contained within, lands and hits hard. Paints wonderful images of both the spectacularly mythic quality of fame, and the less idealized truth of what goes into it. Hard and thoughtful. ”
  • The Workshop Theater:
    11 Jan. 2021
    “ The Workshop Theater is pleased to recognize Diana Burbano as a playwright selected out of a competitive pool of applicants for our Fall 2020 Writer’s Intensive. The Writer’s Intensive is an eight-week long, playwright-driven process geared towards revising an existing play. Fabulous Monsters is a visceral exploration of the overlooked legacy of Latinas in punk rock; the play moves in bursts of energy as the scenes take on the form of punk music, while giving space to women who thrived in a male-dominated world and are now questioning their part in that movement. Our congratulations and thanks to Diana. ”
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Character Information

An onstage combo, guitar, drums and bass is ideal and fun!

  • Sally
    16-26,
    Latinx, Latina, Mexican, Chicana, Chicano
    Punk rock girl. Androgynous. Would be great if she could shred the guitar.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Teens, 20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Slade
    40-50,
    Latinx, Latina, Chicana, Chicano, Mexican
    Sally, older. Still angry. Still punk. Joan Jett type. Great if she can shred a guitar.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Lulu
    16-26
    Very pretty. Ambitious. feminist.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Luisa
    40s-50s
    Lulu, older. A rock icon. Steely, icy. Lovely. Linda Ronstadt type.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Nigel
    Ageless,
    Gender-fluid
    Ageless. British or pretends to be. Punk rock royalty at least in his own mind. Dying of liver cancer. Can be cast from Bowie to Prince and everything in between.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s+
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male, Non-binary
  • Kady
    Teen,
    Mixed
    Luisa’s pretty, complicated and ambitious teen age daughter. Can double Lulu.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Teens, 20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any actor of color
    • Gender: 
      Female

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Barefoot Theatre Company/ bareNaked Reading series
    ,
    2016
  • Reading
    ,
    Festival51
    ,
    2016
  • Reading
    ,
    Fullerton College Playwrights Festival
    ,
    2015
  • Reading
    ,
    Playwrights Nest at Los Angeles Theatre Center
    ,
    2015
  • Workshop
    ,
    Chapman College Oc-Centric Playwrights Festival
    ,
    2015

Production History

  • Professional
    ,
    The Public Theater of San Antonio
    ,
    2023

Awards

Bret Adams & Paul Reisch Foundation Covid-19 Grant
,
2020
Finalist
,
Festival51 Woman's Playwrighting Competition
,
Festival51
,
2016