Daysha Veronica

Daysha Veronica is a playwright, author, viral spoken word artist, veteran digital media producer and an alumna of the prestigious Television Academy Foundation internship program. Her plays have been workshopped/performed at UC San Diego, UCLA, Meet Cute LA, Celebration Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop (in collaboration with UCLA), IAMA Theatre and PlayGround-LA.

Her digital work has appeared on Hulu, AppleTV, Amazon Prime, BuzzFeed, Refinery29, and The Huffington Post. Her 5 poetry videos that she produced while at BuzzFeed have amassed over 90 million views across YouTube and Facebook, with What I Wish Someone Told Me About Having Safe Sex at over 1 million shares on Facebook.

She resides in Los Angeles, and can be found blogging on her female self-confidence building platform...

Daysha Veronica is a playwright, author, viral spoken word artist, veteran digital media producer and an alumna of the prestigious Television Academy Foundation internship program. Her plays have been workshopped/performed at UC San Diego, UCLA, Meet Cute LA, Celebration Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop (in collaboration with UCLA), IAMA Theatre and PlayGround-LA.

Her digital work has appeared on Hulu, AppleTV, Amazon Prime, BuzzFeed, Refinery29, and The Huffington Post. Her 5 poetry videos that she produced while at BuzzFeed have amassed over 90 million views across YouTube and Facebook, with What I Wish Someone Told Me About Having Safe Sex at over 1 million shares on Facebook.

She resides in Los Angeles, and can be found blogging on her female self-confidence building platform, Yes Queen (www.yesqueenlife.com). She is currently under commission with PlayGround-LA for the second time and received her MFA from UCLA ('21).

Her playwriting accolades include:

2022
- The 2022 Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award (1st Place) of The John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts (The Deliverance)

- The 2022 Rosa Parks Playwriting Award (1st Place) of The John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts (The Deliverance)

- Semi-Finalist for The 2022 Eugene O'Neill Playwright's Conference (The Deliverance)

- Semi-Finalist for Playwright's Horizons' Bay Area Playwright's Festival 2022 (The Deliverance)

2021
- PlayGround-LA 2021 New Play Commission (Waiting For Umoja)

- 2021 Top 30 Finalist for Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival (Mother Earth Day)

- Semi-Finalist for Playwright's Horizons' Bay Area Playwright's Festival 2021 (The Write Choice)

- The 2021 Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award (Distinguished Achievement) of The John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts (The Write Choice)

- The 2021 Rosa Parks Playwriting Award (Distinguished Achievement) of The John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts (The Write Choice)

- Best of PlayGround-LA Season 9 Winner (Waiting For Umoja)

2020
- People’s Choice Award for PlayGround-LA Monday Night Reading Series December 2020 (Waiting For Umoja)

- People’s Choice Award for PlayGround-LA Monday Night Reading Series October 2020 (The Beds We Make)

- PlayGround-LA 2020 New Play Commission (Mother Earth Day)

- Best of PlayGround-LA Season 8 Winner (Mother Earth Day)

- People’s Choice Award Winner for PlayGround-LA & Planet Earth Arts New Play Festival 2020 (Mother Earth Day)

- Top 40 Finalist for University of Central Florida’s Pegasus Playlab 2020 (19/20 Vision)

- Semi-Finalist for Playwright's Horizons' Bay Area Playwright's Festival 2020 (19/20 Vision)

Pre-2020
- Winner of University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Dr. Floyd Gaffney National Award in Playwriting (Sisters/Sistahz)

- Finalist for Kentucky Women Writers Conference’s Prize for Women Writers (Sisters/Sistahz)

- 2x Winner of UCLA's Dini Ostrov Award in Playwriting (Sisters/Sistahz and What Happened To The Taco Truck On Santa Monica and Vine?)

- UCLA's Judith and Milton R. Stark Scholarship recipient for playwriting

- UCLA's Beverly Robinson Scholarship recipient for playwriting

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Scripts

BreathLESS

by Daysha Veronica

Cast Size
6
Genre
dark comedy,
drama,
mystery/thriller,
period,
political,
tragedy

Jah, a black male college student decides to go home with his white liberal girlfriend when colleges across the nation shut down for two weeks, because of the new, deadly COVID-19 virus spreading across the globe at a rapid pace.
But during his stay as secrets are revealed and tensions run high, Jah decides to go for a walk in the nearby forest, and is sent back to the slavery era in place of an ancestor trying...

Jah, a black male college student decides to go home with his white liberal girlfriend when colleges across the nation shut down for two weeks, because of the new, deadly COVID-19 virus spreading across the globe at a rapid pace.
But during his stay as secrets are revealed and tensions run high, Jah decides to go for a walk in the nearby forest, and is sent back to the slavery era in place of an ancestor trying to escape from the plantation. In the past, he is forced to confront a timeless question for black people in this country: where are we most safe?

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The Deliverance

by Daysha Veronica

2
Cast Size
8—12
Genre
drama,
fantasy,
tragedy

A family in a shrinking black farming community in Texas have a deep spiritual and historical connection with the land that is being disrupted by climate change. So, when a land investor takes interest in buying their land, they must weigh which option is best for their future and their freedom.

A family in a shrinking black farming community in Texas have a deep spiritual and historical connection with the land that is being disrupted by climate change. So, when a land investor takes interest in buying their land, they must weigh which option is best for their future and their freedom.

Waiting For Umoja

by Daysha Veronica

1
Cast Size
5
Genre
comedy,
holiday,
political

After finishing up desert on Christmas night 2020, a young black liberal feminist tries to enlist her opinionated, conflicted family in celebrating Kwanzaa with her for the first time.

After finishing up desert on Christmas night 2020, a young black liberal feminist tries to enlist her opinionated, conflicted family in celebrating Kwanzaa with her for the first time.

The Beds We Make

by Daysha Veronica

Cast Size
3
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
drama,
political

In a world where Trump is re-elected as president, the Supreme Court becomes conservative leaning, and Roe v. Wade is swiftly overturned, a competitive Christian mother and her mouthy, sarcastic daughter struggle with how to face the messy beds they have made after a long-kept secret is finally brought to light.

In a world where Trump is re-elected as president, the Supreme Court becomes conservative leaning, and Roe v. Wade is swiftly overturned, a competitive Christian mother and her mouthy, sarcastic daughter struggle with how to face the messy beds they have made after a long-kept secret is finally brought to light.

The Write Choice

by Daysha Veronica

4
Cast Size
8
Genre
comedy,
drama

An insecure, early career, black playwright is flown out the night before a highly produced staged reading of her first play when she discovers upon arriving that her cast wasn't exactly what she had in mind.

An insecure, early career, black playwright is flown out the night before a highly produced staged reading of her first play when she discovers upon arriving that her cast wasn't exactly what she had in mind.

Mother Earth Day

by Daysha Veronica

6
Cast Size
4
Genre
drama

In the midst of the most harrowing trade war the American farming community has ever seen, an aging and injured black farmer and his two sons struggle with how to best pass on their family's legacy to the next generation while awaiting the long anticipated news of Mother Earth's yearly delivery.

In the midst of the most harrowing trade war the American farming community has ever seen, an aging and injured black farmer and his two sons struggle with how to best pass on their family's legacy to the next generation while awaiting the long anticipated news of Mother Earth's yearly delivery.

Legacy

by Daysha Veronica

3
Cast Size
3
Genre
comedy,
drama

A black teen struggles to find the right words to explain to their overzealous mother why they are no longer interested in attending their family's legacy HBCU.

A black teen struggles to find the right words to explain to their overzealous mother why they are no longer interested in attending their family's legacy HBCU.

19/20 Vision

by Daysha Veronica

2
Cast Size
4—5
Genre
drama

A young black woman in college, whose trauma of growing up in an abusive household has begun to leak out of the depths of her subconscious, and deeply affect her interactions with unknowing loved ones, must decide in school sponsored therapy if she will return home for winter break (or ever) after learning of her mother’s new engagement.

A young black woman in college, whose trauma of growing up in an abusive household has begun to leak out of the depths of her subconscious, and deeply affect her interactions with unknowing loved ones, must decide in school sponsored therapy if she will return home for winter break (or ever) after learning of her mother’s new engagement.

Olivia's Last Night in Venice

by Daysha Veronica

1
Cast Size
3
Genre
adaptation,
comedy,
drama

The night before returning home Othello's sister, Olivia, decides to pay a visit to his lover, Desdemona, to make one final plea.

The night before returning home Othello's sister, Olivia, decides to pay a visit to his lover, Desdemona, to make one final plea.