John Bavoso

FULL-LENGTH: Side hustles. It seems like everybody has at least one these days. For Minerva Ross, the way to escape the doldrums of her graphic design job in Washington, DC, is to write and narrate her own feminist true crime podcast about how and why women commit murder. Meanwhile, across the country, Felicity Evanston, a stay-at-home wife and mother—and Minerva’s high school nemesis—has just started selling ridiculously patterned leggings for the multi-level marketing company Linen & Fate, as much as a way of having something that’s just hers as to supplement her husband’s income. The two haven't crossed paths in years, but when the bubbly and unassuming Felicity snaps and realizes the only way to get ahead in a rigged pyramid scheme is to literally start killing off the competition, both women suddenly experience the kind of overnight success they’ve been so desperately craving—but risk losing their families, freedom, and very souls in the process.

MLM is for Murder is an of-the-moment dark comedy about capitalism, feminism, work-life balance, and pop culture told through parody podcasts, emoji-laden dialogue, Facebook Live videos, and polyester-spandex murder weapons. It begs the question: How much are you willing to give up to get everything you’ve ever wanted?

FULL-LENGTH: In the early aughts, deep in the unspecified woods, there is a summer camp where gender non-traditional, overly theatrical, and borderline agoraphobic teenage boys are taught to become real men... or so their parents think. Under the tutelage of two flamboyant counselors, a band of sissies finds sanctuary from societal expectations and judgment at Camp Mannuppia—that is, until two new campers arrive and turn everything on its head, setting off a chain of disastrous events. Are the campers doomed, or can they come to terms with each other and their own identities in time to make it out of the forest in one piece?

FULL-LENGTH: (First Draft) After being ousted from Mt. Olympus by his children/fellow deities for being a PR nightmare, a modern-day Zeus finds a kindred spirit in Sissy Fuss, the burnt-out proprietress of a Greek mythology-obsessed drag club in Athens, GA. While they're hiding away from the world and Sissy attempts to teach the king of the gods lessons about consent and toxic masculinity, Zeus’s children begin inserting themselves in the affairs of the kings and queens floundering in the wake of their fearless leader’s departure. Can Sissy and the rest of her house make amends and find the divinity within themselves to stand up to their immortal interlopers before their chosen family is torn apart?

FAG~GODS is a comic romp through the realms of ancient mythology and modern culture, featuring punny drag names, painfully on-the-nose lip-syncing, and groan-worthy wordplay. It resides at the intersection of queerness and divinity and celebrates LGBTQ+ folx creating a new pantheon in our own image.

FULL-LENGTH: Silvia and Cat Henson have just moved from a tiny apartment in Washington, DC, into their sprawling dream home in the small, affluent town of Greenville, Delaware. Their new house, however, was recently the home of a teenaged mass shooter and his single mother. Is this the right time and place for Silvia and Cat to bring a new baby into the world, or will the house create an irreparable rift between them and their new community?

"One of the fascinating aspects of theater is how it makes you ask yourself questions you have never considered: Would I live in a house where a mass murderer lived? That’s the thought writer John Bavoso plants in the audience’s mind at the start of 'Blight'... In 'Blight,' the word 'monster' gets thrown in every direction. But this play reminds us that it’s easy to label people and then dismiss them as enemies. Looking for our common humanity is much harder." — Orlando Sentinel

"BLIGHT is [a] play that's urgently relevant to the time we live in now. I was impressed with Bavoso's scope: the house of the play fills with people from the past and the present. A terrible event lies at the center of this play and the house in it, but it's the vivid, real characters that give this play life." — Sam Mayer, The Landing Theater Company

"The selling of a home that previously belonged to a teenager who committed a mass shooting sounds like a powder keg waiting to explode, but the script by John Bavoso... show[s] the tender sides of this ultra sensitive situation... One doesn’t expect much joy or humor from the ominous and dreary description, but the show was actually quite delightful." — DC Theatre Scene

"Is it wrong to be so enamored of a play called 'Blight?' Written by John Bavoso, it is a show that has solid writing, some really funny lines, and an assortment of characters that ring true—they are recognizable in their humanity and in their inhumanity... it’s also a really well-done show with an erudite script, and a powerful emotional wallop." — MD Theatre Guide

FULL-LENGTH: When Olivia and Lizzie, two best friends since college, planned their vacation to Rio de Janeiro, they were looking forward to booze, beaches, and beautiful Brazilian boys. What neither of them expected was to find their soul mate... in one another. But after a life-altering night in a rundown hotel, they must confront questions of romance, lust, friendship, and identity—and in doing so, discover that the road to true love is rarely straight.

"First-time playwright John Bavoso’s inventive and appealing script for Olizzia would make a terrific indie rom-com caper that would be a hit on the lesbian-and-gay film festival circuit." — DC Metro Theater Arts

20-MINUTE. Benji has snuck away to an empty classroom in his college's English Department for a clandestine rendezvous with Ethan. But when they make a grisly discovery, he's unexpectedly confronted with questions about how he's choosing to live his life—now and in the future.

10-MINUTE: What happens when the people we create to hide our true selves get to live lives of their own? Tiffany is about to find out… but she’s gotta get through a very enthusiastic Orientation Coordinator first.

"'The Home for Retired Canadian Girlfriends' by John Bavoso... is probably one of my favorites of the evening. Bavoso creates an imaginary world where imaginary girlfriends go when they are no longer needed. It’s relatable, current, and relevant with a solid script and concept." — Backstage Baltimore

"The ninth number of the evening titled 'The Home for Retired Canadian Girlfriends' by John Bavoso was, by far, the most clever work on the playbill... This play is a true gem." — MD Theatre Guide

10-MINUTE: The eagle charged with eating Prometheus’s liver each day is growing weary of the routine. But when Heracles shows up to free the titan, the two unlikely friends are forced to decide whether to take a risk on a new life or stick with what they know.

10-MINUTE: Markus is anxious. Preston is predictable. But when one of them makes a spontaneous move with permanent consequences, they're both forced to grapple with the future of their relationship.

10-MINUTE: After luring Isaac to the top of Mount Moriah under false pretenses, binding him, and nearly sacrificing him, Abraham is faced with an even more arduous task... attempting to make small talk with his son during their walk home.

10-MINUTE: The morning after tasting the forbidden fruit, Adam is getting ready to leave Eden forever with Eve. But he has to do one thing first—officially break up with his boyfriend, Steve.

10-MINUTE: After a long day mucking out the Ark, Noah is looking forward to getting a jumpstart on repopulating the Earth… but his wife is having second thoughts.

10-MINUTE. On a dark and stormy Halloween night (omg, so cliché, right?!?), two characters—victims of the "bury your gays" trope, both—have come to life and are out for bloody revenge on their author/father. But the unexpected arrival of a fourth character leads to events none of them could have predicted.

[REVISED IN JUNE 2024] 10-MINUTE: Theo and Frank meet in the woods outside the small town they grew up in on the night before Thanksgiving. But will either get what he wants out of the reunion?

**This play was written as part of round one of The Coordinates Project, organized by Justin Guidroz/*NU* Theatre, in which a group of playwrights were given a set of randomly generated coordinates and had a month to write and turn in a play set at those coordinates. For those interested, the coordinates for this play are: 37.38783, -89.13351.**

10-MINUTE: Two strangers. One crowded Metro car. A gallon of milk. What could go wrong?

"Also delightful is local playwright John Bavoso’s “Threat Level: Cream,” a droll and twisty tale of two Washingtonians... who encounter a suspicious gallon of milk on the Metro." — The Washington Post

10-MINUTE: Curtis has only just met Everett, but he learns a lot about his new hookup—and his past—by snooping though the music on his computer.

"Bavoso writes some wincingly funny lines... indeed, Curtis is a character Oscar Wilde could have written, if Wilde had known what Spotify is." — DC Theatre Scene

"Bavoso wrote a hilarious script full of excellent, and excellently terrible, music." — MD Theatre Guide

10-MINUTE: Shari's thrilled to have her new girlfriend, Deanna, as her guest to her cousin's wedding... that is, until Deanna throws an unexpected punch during the reception.

“… a compelling look at the ‘old guard’ of the LGBT community’s pitfalls in adopting the language and perspective of its younger members.” — DC Metro Theater Arts

10-MINUTE: On the night the Washington Capitals win the Stanley Cup, Rebeccah stands on a platform in the Gallery Place-Chinatown station of the Washington Metro and mourns the loss of her Jimmy Choos... and potentially her relationship with Sonja.

10-MINUTE: Erin thinks she's got a handle on her grief, until she receives a package that challenges everything she thought she knew about her recently deceased big sister.

10-MINUTE: During a seemingly chance encounter after work in a shitty bar, Celia discovers she has more in common with Renee than just their fondness for whiskey.

10-MINUTE: Two unlikely strangers volunteer to spend a year together away from the world in a mysterious bunker—though what unfolds underground isn’t what either of them could ever have expected. 

10-MINUTE: Ashley has brought her new girlfriend, Skyler, home for Christmas (Skyler's Jewish, but we're not going to talk it about it) to meet her family—who turn out to be exceptionally bad at adapting to change.

"The funniest and best directed is "Homo for Christmas" written by John Bavoso... This is a total laugh fest! Ignorance of the facts doesn’t seem to matter in some circles these days, but it does have an unusual reaction in most family gatherings. Will the parents and grandmother accept the new partner of their beloved child? In this farcical production of miswords and misunderstandings, this family takes the prize." — NoHoArtsDistrict.com

10-MINUTE: Genevieve is a botanist who's been waiting a decade for her Titan arum to bloom. But on the night of her girlfriend's going-away party, she reveals that she's the one who's finally ready to blossom.

10-MINUTE: Ray and Aiden meet in the waiting room of a sperm bank, but soon discover they’re there for very different reasons.

5-MINUTE: Oliver has just rescued his deceased boyfriend from the Underworld. There's only one problem: Eugene doesn't particularly want to return to the world of the living. A modern take on the Orpheus and Eurydice story... but, you know, gayer and set on a Metro escalator.