Charissa Menefee

Charissa Menefee is a playwright, poet, director, performer, and educator. She is a 2020/2021 recipient of an Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project Commission. She has been a Tennessee Williams Scholar in Playwriting at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, a finalist for the Julie Harris Playwright Award, and a writer-in-residence with the Utah Shakespeare Festival's New American Playwrights Project and Fairhope Center for the Writing Arts. Her scripts have been honored by the Pandora Festival of New Plays, American College Theatre Festival, Arizona Theatre Conference, Scriptapalooza, Christian H. Moe Awards, and City of Charleston Literary Arts Awards, among others. Menefee and playwright Micki Shelton co-founded Tomorrow's Theatre Tonight, a play...

Charissa Menefee is a playwright, poet, director, performer, and educator. She is a 2020/2021 recipient of an Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project Commission. She has been a Tennessee Williams Scholar in Playwriting at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, a finalist for the Julie Harris Playwright Award, and a writer-in-residence with the Utah Shakespeare Festival's New American Playwrights Project and Fairhope Center for the Writing Arts. Her scripts have been honored by the Pandora Festival of New Plays, American College Theatre Festival, Arizona Theatre Conference, Scriptapalooza, Christian H. Moe Awards, and City of Charleston Literary Arts Awards, among others. Menefee and playwright Micki Shelton co-founded Tomorrow's Theatre Tonight, a play development and reading series in Arizona.

Recent productions: SARAH'S POEM was featured in the Philadelphia Women's Theatre Festival and at Rover Dramawerks (Texas); LYDIA’S PLAN was named Best Play in Theatre Lawrence's Short Play Festival (Kansas); OUR ANTIGONE, based on the Sophocles classic, premiered at Story Theatre Company (Iowa); FAMILY, part of Code Red: Faith, has been staged by Phoenix Theatre (Minnesota), Lakewood Playhouse (Washington), Factory Theatre (Illinois), and Focal Theatre Lab & The Eco-Theatre Lab (Iowa); YOUR SOUP, SIR was part of Paula Vogel's UBU ROI Bake-Off at The Playwrights Center (Minnesota); CHECK YOUR TICKET was featured in the What She Said Festival at The Underground Theatre (Minnesota); Prescott College Theatre premiered MEET ME HALFWAY (Arizona). HOW LONG IS FIFTEEN MINUTES? was featured in Tennessee Women's Theatre Project's Women's Work Festival; the anchoring monologue is in production as a short film, directed by the author. PRETTY LUCKY is included in 105 FIVE-MINUTE PLAYS FOR STUDY AND PERFORMANCE (Smith & Kraus).

WHEN I STOPPED COUNTING: POEMS is available from Finishing Line Press, and Menefee's poetry can also be found in ADANNA, POETRY SOUTH, TERRENE, POETS READING THE NEWS, THE PADDOCK REVIEW, THE WILD WORD, TWYCKENHAM NOTES, AMYGDALA, THE INDIAN RIVER REVIEW, DRAGON POET REVIEW, Telepoem Booths, and anthologies such as THE HIPPOCRATES PRIZE FOR POETRY & MEDICINE ANTHOLOGY, SURPRISED BY JOY, and TELEPOEM BOOTH: MISSED CALLS AND OTHER POETRY.

Menefee is a member of Code Red Playwrights, StateraArts, PEN America, and The Dramatists Guild. She is on the faculties of the MFA Program in Creative Writing & Environment and ISU Theatre at Iowa State University.

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Scripts

OUR ANTIGONE

by Charissa Menefee

Cast Size
12—20
Genre
adaptation,
drama,
period,
political,
tragedy,
young audiences

The play begins as a performance of Sophocles' ANTIGONE, but is soon revealed to be the rehearsal of high-schoolers who no longer have a director. Committed to the show, the group strives to create an ensemble, understand Greek tragedy and its relevance, and learn about their own potential and responsibilities, not only in performance, but as informed and ethical citizens.

The play begins as a performance of Sophocles' ANTIGONE, but is soon revealed to be the rehearsal of high-schoolers who no longer have a director. Committed to the show, the group strives to create an ensemble, understand Greek tragedy and its relevance, and learn about their own potential and responsibilities, not only in performance, but as informed and ethical citizens.

CHECK YOUR TICKET

by Charissa Menefee

Cast Size
1
Genre
comedy,
drama

A lottery ticket changes a working class woman's life.

A lottery ticket changes a working class woman's life.

LYDIA'S PLAN

by Charissa Menefee

Cast Size
2
Genre
drama

Lydia surprises her father by announcing that she plans to run away--and soon.

Lydia surprises her father by announcing that she plans to run away--and soon.

SARAH'S POEM

by Charissa Menefee

Cast Size
3
Genre
biography,
docudrama/historic,
drama,
period

In mid-nineteenth century Philadelphia, three African American sisters fight for abolition and run an Underground Railroad station.

In mid-nineteenth century Philadelphia, three African American sisters fight for abolition and run an Underground Railroad station.

FAMILY

by Charissa Menefee

4
Cast Size
2
Genre
drama,
faith-based,
political

Part of CODE RED: FAITH, this short play honors the resilience of a small church community.

Part of CODE RED: FAITH, this short play honors the resilience of a small church community.

HERTHA'S RIPPLE EFFECT

by Charissa Menefee

Cast Size
4
Genre
biography,
docudrama/historic,
drama,
period

Scientist Hertha Ayrton's experiments are disrupted by her care for an ailing Marie Curie and an urgent visit from fellow suffragists Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst.

Scientist Hertha Ayrton's experiments are disrupted by her care for an ailing Marie Curie and an urgent visit from fellow suffragists Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst.

HOW LONG IS FIFTEEN MINUTES?

by Charissa Menefee

Cast Size
1—6
Genre
drama

Fame can be fleeting--or last much longer than you'd like. The boundaries between public and private life are disintegrating. For women, the loss of these boundaries can undermine both professional and personal choices. How does a woman cope with sudden notoriety, especially if what she did or became known for was not something she would have wanted to become public? What happens when only part of a story...

Fame can be fleeting--or last much longer than you'd like. The boundaries between public and private life are disintegrating. For women, the loss of these boundaries can undermine both professional and personal choices. How does a woman cope with sudden notoriety, especially if what she did or became known for was not something she would have wanted to become public? What happens when only part of a story goes viral? When news comes as truncated sound bites, social media postings, tweets, and texts, how can we begin to understand the depth of another person’s story, decision, or action? How do we expect her to go on with her life, when the news cameras are gone and the attention fades—or doesn't fade quickly enough? HOW LONG IS FIFTEEN MINUTES? explores the lives of women who have been affected by instant—and often unwelcome—fame, as well as the conflicts that arise when our personal lives intersect with our culture’s insatiable need for fresh stories, new scandals, and sensational headlines.

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YOUR SOUP, SIR

by Charissa Menefee

Cast Size
5
Genre
comedy,
political,
satire

Part of Paula Vogel's UBU ROI Bake-Off at The Playwrights' Center. Meet the king, whose reign is in its infancy; his wife, who stroked his ego until it became something else; the fool, the only remaining counselor once background checks were completed; the herald, faithful mouthpiece; and Nanny, a real weird sister.

Part of Paula Vogel's UBU ROI Bake-Off at The Playwrights' Center. Meet the king, whose reign is in its infancy; his wife, who stroked his ego until it became something else; the fool, the only remaining counselor once background checks were completed; the herald, faithful mouthpiece; and Nanny, a real weird sister.

THE FIGUREHEAD

by Charissa Menefee

Cast Size
7
Genre
biography,
docudrama/historic,
drama,
period

An ailing James I of England struggles to maintain control of his throne, family, and legacy during a
night in which his present and past collide.

An ailing James I of England struggles to maintain control of his throne, family, and legacy during a
night in which his present and past collide.

OVERBURY AND THE KING'S FAVORITE

by Charissa Menefee

Cast Size
8—10
Genre
biography,
docudrama/historic,
drama,
period

When the imprisoned Sir Thomas Overbury is poisoned and dies, the scandal rocks the court of King James I of England.

When the imprisoned Sir Thomas Overbury is poisoned and dies, the scandal rocks the court of King James I of England.