Carolyn Guido Clifford

Carolyn Guido Clifford is a playwright, director, choreographer and arts educator. She holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Northern Illinois University and an MFA in Playwriting from the University of California, Riverside's Low Residency program. She was previously the Associate Director of Education and Community Engagement at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, where she led the Off the Grid series, a program creating site-specific theatrical experiences for young professionals, and oversaw audience engagement strategies for the mainstage season. Carolyn has also served on faculty at Xavier University and held the role of Director of Education and Community Engagement at Cincinnati Ballet. Her play The A-List was workshopped at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati in 2018, and in 2021 she was...

Carolyn Guido Clifford is a playwright, director, choreographer and arts educator. She holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Northern Illinois University and an MFA in Playwriting from the University of California, Riverside's Low Residency program. She was previously the Associate Director of Education and Community Engagement at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, where she led the Off the Grid series, a program creating site-specific theatrical experiences for young professionals, and oversaw audience engagement strategies for the mainstage season. Carolyn has also served on faculty at Xavier University and held the role of Director of Education and Community Engagement at Cincinnati Ballet. Her play The A-List was workshopped at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati in 2018, and in 2021 she was commissioned by Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park for their PodPlay series, resulting in the audio play Akin. As a director, Carolyn is passionate about new play development and has directed works including The Color of Leaves by Isaiah Reaves, My Geriatric Uterus by Lormarev Jones, and in a stand of dying trees by Shannon TL Kearns. She is new to Los Angeles, where she hopes to continue to create work that is accessible to new audiences.

Scripts

Kizzy is Dead

by Carolyn Guido Clifford

Synopsis

After her sister's funeral, Lyra reconnects with her ex-husband, Jackson. Their marriage disintegrated after Kizzy's supposed alien abduction, an event Jackson dismissed as a sign of mental illness. He finds that Lyra’s not just grieving; she’s been keeping secrets. In Act Two, everything flips: Kizzy isn’t dead. She’s been in hiding, and Lyra’s been helping her get ready to go back to "them."

After her sister's funeral, Lyra reconnects with her ex-husband, Jackson. Their marriage disintegrated after Kizzy's supposed alien abduction, an event Jackson dismissed as a sign of mental illness. He finds that Lyra’s not just grieving; she’s been keeping secrets. In Act Two, everything flips: Kizzy isn’t dead. She’s been in hiding, and Lyra’s been helping her get ready to go back to "them."

Date Me!

Co-Writer by Carolyn Guido Clifford

Synopsis

Anna’s hit a million views with her Chicken Shop Date-inspired YouTube show, It’s Extra with Anna, but Garrett, her loyal cameraman and friend, has been secretly longing for something more. As her success skyrockets and with a Spotify deal on the horizon, the tension between them becomes impossible to ignore. Amidst the budding romance, Date Me adds four audience members to show each night to thicken the plot.

Anna’s hit a million views with her Chicken Shop Date-inspired YouTube show, It’s Extra with Anna, but Garrett, her loyal cameraman and friend, has been secretly longing for something more. As her success skyrockets and with a Spotify deal on the horizon, the tension between them becomes impossible to ignore. Amidst the budding romance, Date Me adds four audience members to show each night to thicken the plot.

Real Flat

by Carolyn Guido Clifford

Synopsis

Two explorers reach the end of the world, and it's not what anyone expected.

Two explorers reach the end of the world, and it's not what anyone expected.

The Remnants

by Carolyn Guido Clifford

Synopsis

Fifteen years after a school shooting, a tight-knit group of college friends reunites for their friend Cameron’s wedding, the last significant event among them. The play takes place in dual spaces, one through Instagram-filtered movement and the other outside in the alley where they each go to escape. The group is no longer close, having grown apart because of their spouses and jobs, yet like all college friends...

Fifteen years after a school shooting, a tight-knit group of college friends reunites for their friend Cameron’s wedding, the last significant event among them. The play takes place in dual spaces, one through Instagram-filtered movement and the other outside in the alley where they each go to escape. The group is no longer close, having grown apart because of their spouses and jobs, yet like all college friends, they still feel a sense of permanence. Their bond is both deepened and harmed by their shared trauma. Throughout the evening, Laurie's unhealed wounds resurface as she starts to experience panic attacks. At first, everyone pretends not to notice, except her college fling Alex, but when fireworks trigger an episode of PTSD, Laurie’s condition can no longer be ignored. As the night progresses, the characters are forced to confront their collective past, exposing the stark differences in how they navigated the aftermath of the event and revealing the depth of their fractured relationships.

Akin

by Carolyn Guido Clifford

Synopsis

Akin follows an evolving relationship between two women of different generations that spans 16 years and multiple national and global events. This walking experience explores the intergenerational differences and divides between two women connected by blood but separated by differing perspectives.

Akin follows an evolving relationship between two women of different generations that spans 16 years and multiple national and global events. This walking experience explores the intergenerational differences and divides between two women connected by blood but separated by differing perspectives.

The A-List

by Carolyn Guido Clifford

Synopsis

Ruth and Corey Giles are living the relatively comfortable lives of two young professionals when the consequences of a recent presidential election forces them come to terms with an intimate secret from Ruth’s past. Opening and subsequently interspersed through the play is a recording of a hearing held by the Select Committee of Abortion and Fetal Rights happening in the near future. Ruth is called to appear in...

Ruth and Corey Giles are living the relatively comfortable lives of two young professionals when the consequences of a recent presidential election forces them come to terms with an intimate secret from Ruth’s past. Opening and subsequently interspersed through the play is a recording of a hearing held by the Select Committee of Abortion and Fetal Rights happening in the near future. Ruth is called to appear in front of Congress to testify about her abortion as a young twenty something.

break.

by Carolyn Guido Clifford

Synopsis

The play takes place over a series of three cigarette breaks during a family holiday visit.
Romance writer, Shane and her husband, Will have traveled to Will’s childhood home in Southern Louisiana. Shane wasn’t prepared for the culture shock or the change in her husband’s character upon crossing the Mason Dixon line. Immediately, she feels stifled but does her best to remain loyal and calm. She seeks her solace...

The play takes place over a series of three cigarette breaks during a family holiday visit.
Romance writer, Shane and her husband, Will have traveled to Will’s childhood home in Southern Louisiana. Shane wasn’t prepared for the culture shock or the change in her husband’s character upon crossing the Mason Dixon line. Immediately, she feels stifled but does her best to remain loyal and calm. She seeks her solace in smoking, a long-time habit and a dangerous affair with a member of Will's family.