Spread

by Jesús I. Valles

Take some dry ramen and throw it in a plastic bag. Add Hot Cheetos, beef jerky bits, beans, Hot Fries, and hot water. Mayonnaise or mustard (if you like that shit). Let it sit. Enjoy. Anything can be lunch in 9th grade. Anything can be anything. Jeffrey, Andrew, Chris, and Jordan are 9th grade boys and they’re trying their absolute best, and the thing about 9th grade is nobody knows what they’re doing. Here they...

Take some dry ramen and throw it in a plastic bag. Add Hot Cheetos, beef jerky bits, beans, Hot Fries, and hot water. Mayonnaise or mustard (if you like that shit). Let it sit. Enjoy. Anything can be lunch in 9th grade. Anything can be anything. Jeffrey, Andrew, Chris, and Jordan are 9th grade boys and they’re trying their absolute best, and the thing about 9th grade is nobody knows what they’re doing. Here they are, at lunch. Here they are, at home. Here they are, together, in 9th grade, hoping they’ll get through it.

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Spread

Recommended by

  • Adrienne Dawes: Spread by Jesús I. Valles
    “

    I feel like everyone already knows how brilliant and impressive this work is and yes I'm highly biased - Jesús Valles is a homie and someone I loved "growing up with" in the Austin, TX theatre community - but you really need to read this play. I've made this play my ministry, as long as it is onstage anywhere, as soon as is published and available to everyone everywhere, it is my mission to get you to read, study, teach, perform, produce, direct, and make new art about this play.

    I feel like everyone already knows how brilliant and impressive this work is and yes I'm highly biased - Jesús Valles is a homie and someone I loved "growing up with" in the Austin, TX theatre community - but you really need to read this play. I've made this play my ministry, as long as it is onstage anywhere, as soon as is published and available to everyone everywhere, it is my mission to get you to read, study, teach, perform, produce, direct, and make new art about this play.

    ”
  • Mariana Carreño King: Spread by Jesús I. Valles
    “

    Beautiful portrait of kids navigating school, family, and friendship. Just saw a wonderful production at INTAR Theatre in NY. Every minute of it is funny, moving and engaging. I wish every teenager/young adult got to see this play.

    Beautiful portrait of kids navigating school, family, and friendship. Just saw a wonderful production at INTAR Theatre in NY. Every minute of it is funny, moving and engaging. I wish every teenager/young adult got to see this play.

    ”
  • Shaun Leisher: Spread by Jesús I. Valles
    “

    Finally got to read a play by Valles and wow did this play deliver. It's a moving story of four boys as they try to navigate their 9th grade year. Forces at home and in school push down on them and try to keep them from having a bright future but they dare to dream nonetheless. Loved the moments where these boys are shooting the shit and making fun of each other. I hope this gets produced everywhere. Boys like these characters need help and guidance and this play creates empathy for them.

    Finally got to read a play by Valles and wow did this play deliver. It's a moving story of four boys as they try to navigate their 9th grade year. Forces at home and in school push down on them and try to keep them from having a bright future but they dare to dream nonetheless. Loved the moments where these boys are shooting the shit and making fun of each other. I hope this gets produced everywhere. Boys like these characters need help and guidance and this play creates empathy for them.

    ”
View all 4 recommendations
JEFFREY R. … 9th grader, a boy; old enough for 10th grade. Sweet, sad, big heart, athletic.
ANDREW R. …9th grader, a boy; smart enough for 11th. Bright, mean, smallest of the bunch.
JORDAN M.…9th grader, a boy; did 4th grade twice cuz of a crush. Big, kind, tired lil bear.
CHRIS V…. 9th grader, a boy; 9th grade, on top of it. Cool, romantic, brutal. Big brother energy.





A NOTE ON CASTING: This play is largely inspired by the students I worked with throughout eight years as an SEL/Speech teacher at a Title I school in Texas. In my mind, this play is cast entirely with Latinx, Afro-Latinx, and Black actors.

The play is about boyhood as a big, large, lumbering object made from strange cruelties, bizarre sweetness; it’s an invitation to think about how lunch is a place where those things might be mediated. If there is a world where the casting reflects different demographics than what is stated above, I would love to think through that decision with your team. Race, one’s racialization in the United States, and class all deeply mediate how boyhood manifests. This play should never have an all white or majority white cast (this includes an all white Latinx cast).

That said, have fun with the casting! Also, this play could be so sweet when the actors are closer to the age they’re playing. What if high school students did this play? What if undergraduate students did this play? What if actors in their late 20’s read this play? I like it all so long as it’s done with love.

Development History

  • Workshop, Brown University , 2023
  • Reading, Brown University , 2022

Production History

  • Workshop, Brown University , 2023