Darcy Parker Bruce

Darcy Parker Bruce is a graduate of the M.F.A. Playwriting program at Smith College and a 2025 MacDowell Fellow. Their work explores the intersections of queerness, adoption, environmental precarity, and American mythologies through interdisciplinary performance and research-based playwriting. Their practice is informed by critical conflict theory, which they use to examine power structures and hierarchies. They are the recipient of a 2017 Tennessee Williams Scholarship from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, a 2019 Lambda Literary Fellowship, and a 2023 writing residency at Gullkistan in Iceland. From 2022 to 2024, Bruce served as Writer-in-Residence at Interlochen Arts Academy. In 2018, they received the Association for Theatre in Higher Education’s Judith Royer Award for Excellence in...

Darcy Parker Bruce is a graduate of the M.F.A. Playwriting program at Smith College and a 2025 MacDowell Fellow. Their work explores the intersections of queerness, adoption, environmental precarity, and American mythologies through interdisciplinary performance and research-based playwriting. Their practice is informed by critical conflict theory, which they use to examine power structures and hierarchies. They are the recipient of a 2017 Tennessee Williams Scholarship from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, a 2019 Lambda Literary Fellowship, and a 2023 writing residency at Gullkistan in Iceland. From 2022 to 2024, Bruce served as Writer-in-Residence at Interlochen Arts Academy. In 2018, they received the Association for Theatre in Higher Education’s Judith Royer Award for Excellence in Theater for their play Soldier Poet. They are currently working on The Book of a Universe Inside of a Universe, a multigenerational performance work developed during their MacDowell residency. In addition, Bruce is working with Broadway Play Publishing on the ongoing publication of The Piedmont Plays, a four-play cycle confronting American ideology and the promise of 'glory'.

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Scripts

The Book of A Universe Inside of A Universe

by Darcy Parker Bruce

1
Cast Size
2—6
Genre
adventure,
dark comedy,
drama,
immersive

An epic play, The Book of a Universe Inside of a Universe follows Manny and Wanda across generations, from Mumbai to Dismals Canyon to Asteroid B-612 — on a search to find Manny's father. Exploring eco-grief, quantum mechanics, and chemical warfare, The Book of A Universe Inside of A Universe is ultimately a play about tomato sandwiches.

An epic play, The Book of a Universe Inside of a Universe follows Manny and Wanda across generations, from Mumbai to Dismals Canyon to Asteroid B-612 — on a search to find Manny's father. Exploring eco-grief, quantum mechanics, and chemical warfare, The Book of A Universe Inside of A Universe is ultimately a play about tomato sandwiches.

Soldier Poet

by Darcy Parker Bruce

12
Cast Size
4
Genre
drama,
political

The first play in the Piedmont Cycle.

The first play in the Piedmont Cycle.

The Place That Made You

by Darcy Parker Bruce

18
Cast Size
5
Genre
adventure,
dark comedy,
drama,
faith-based,
political

Ben, a ghost, returns to her childhood town after a tragedy overseas. Jonah is just trying to find somewhere to keep his mattress, his hotplate … and himself. Meanwhile, a giant white whale haunts the coastline of a sleepy Connecticut town. A modern-day reimagining of Jonah and the Whale, a tale of love, loss, and glory in small-town America.

Ben, a ghost, returns to her childhood town after a tragedy overseas. Jonah is just trying to find somewhere to keep his mattress, his hotplate … and himself. Meanwhile, a giant white whale haunts the coastline of a sleepy Connecticut town. A modern-day reimagining of Jonah and the Whale, a tale of love, loss, and glory in small-town America.

The Kingdom of Ghosts

by Darcy Parker Bruce

6
Cast Size
8
Genre
dark comedy,
drama

Jonah starts a family. We lay a hero to rest. A continuation of the Piedmont cycle.

Jonah starts a family. We lay a hero to rest. A continuation of the Piedmont cycle.

O Captain! My Captain!

by Darcy Parker Bruce

Cast Size
2
Genre
dark comedy,
fantasy,
horror,
political

Jonah returns to the whale, we return to the Kingdom. The fourth and final play in the Piedmont Cycle.

Jonah returns to the whale, we return to the Kingdom. The fourth and final play in the Piedmont Cycle.

Always Plenty of Light at the Starlight All Night Diner

by Darcy Parker Bruce

11
Cast Size
4
Genre
adventure,
comedy,
dark comedy,
fantasy,
romantic comedy,
science fiction

A SUPER queer time travel adventure. With Dinosaurs. A cross between Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, and Fried Green Tomatoes.

A SUPER queer time travel adventure. With Dinosaurs. A cross between Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, and Fried Green Tomatoes.

the wolf you feed

by Darcy Parker Bruce

13
Cast Size
6—10
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
fable/folktale

Max, recently separated, has just moved into the rundown Shady Pines motel at the edge of a national park. Outside, a pack of wolves is wondering if she wants to hang out. Inside, everything she used to know is becoming something other-than. A toothbrush becomes a handful of chives, a bottle of shampoo is an owl that refuses to leave the shower, and a stack of papers that demand a signature stubbornly remain...

Max, recently separated, has just moved into the rundown Shady Pines motel at the edge of a national park. Outside, a pack of wolves is wondering if she wants to hang out. Inside, everything she used to know is becoming something other-than. A toothbrush becomes a handful of chives, a bottle of shampoo is an owl that refuses to leave the shower, and a stack of papers that demand a signature stubbornly remain just that.

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To The Moon and Back

by Darcy Parker Bruce

Cast Size
3
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
drama

Ace alternately maps craters searching for pieces of herself, and flips burgers at her day job as she tries to outrun the shadows of the past she shares with her dad, who spends his days watching gameshows from his lawn chair—on the moon.

Ace alternately maps craters searching for pieces of herself, and flips burgers at her day job as she tries to outrun the shadows of the past she shares with her dad, who spends his days watching gameshows from his lawn chair—on the moon.

All We Know Is Not Enough

by Darcy Parker Bruce

10
Cast Size
5
Genre
dark comedy,
drama,
political

In a seedy pay-by-the-hour motel Romeo fights to stay alive. Romeo is trans, running from a hate crime, his sister Charlie is taking care of him. An ocean away- Nasrin, a refugee, is lost at sea. Linking their stories and their voices are Charlie’s ham radio and a mysterious white dragon. All We Know Is Not Enough is a play which explores what it means to be searching for home and somewhere to call safe.

In a seedy pay-by-the-hour motel Romeo fights to stay alive. Romeo is trans, running from a hate crime, his sister Charlie is taking care of him. An ocean away- Nasrin, a refugee, is lost at sea. Linking their stories and their voices are Charlie’s ham radio and a mysterious white dragon. All We Know Is Not Enough is a play which explores what it means to be searching for home and somewhere to call safe.

East Of The Sun

by Darcy Parker Bruce

2
Cast Size
3
Genre
drama,
fable/folktale,
tragedy

An adaptation of the Norwegian fairy-tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

An adaptation of the Norwegian fairy-tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

St. Simon

by Darcy Parker Bruce

Cast Size
6
Genre
adventure,
comedy,
dark comedy,
drama,
experimental,
faith-based,
fantasy,
young audiences

The world is ending and the seas are rising. Simon is building an ark, Markus is writing a song, and a mysterious goat named Baphomet has appeared in the convent kitchen. Soon, Simon’s parents will rise from the dead and everything will be alright, right?

The world is ending and the seas are rising. Simon is building an ark, Markus is writing a song, and a mysterious goat named Baphomet has appeared in the convent kitchen. Soon, Simon’s parents will rise from the dead and everything will be alright, right?