Hanna Novak

Hanna Novak is a New York City-based playwright, director, and producer. Her plays include Left Out (Semi-finalist, 2022 O’Neill NPC), I Wanna Destroy You (The Performing Garage, 2019) and The Opera is Always on the Table (New Ohio Ice Factory, 2018). She is a member of EST/Youngblood, a New Georges affiliated artist, and an alumna of Clubbed Thumb’s Early-Career Writers Group. She has received residencies and workshops through the Ucross Foundation, The Wooster Group's Visiting Artist Program, The Hearth, and Amanda + James. Hanna graduated from the MFA Playwriting program at Hunter College, where she studied with Annie Baker and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. She is the Producing Director for the theater company Elevator Repair Service.

Hanna Novak is a New York City-based playwright, director, and producer. Her plays include Left Out (Semi-finalist, 2022 O’Neill NPC), I Wanna Destroy You (The Performing Garage, 2019) and The Opera is Always on the Table (New Ohio Ice Factory, 2018). She is a member of EST/Youngblood, a New Georges affiliated artist, and an alumna of Clubbed Thumb’s Early-Career Writers Group. She has received residencies and workshops through the Ucross Foundation, The Wooster Group's Visiting Artist Program, The Hearth, and Amanda + James. Hanna graduated from the MFA Playwriting program at Hunter College, where she studied with Annie Baker and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. She is the Producing Director for the theater company Elevator Repair Service.

Scripts

Protection

by Hanna Novak

Cast Size
4—5
Genre
experimental,
mystery/thriller,
tragedy

Debby and Shoshanna were neighbors in an Upper West Side co-op until Debby and her family moved away during the pandemic. When Debby’s life is upended by tragedy, the women are pulled further apart, then back together again. Meanwhile, a trio of hungry dogs search for home.

Debby and Shoshanna were neighbors in an Upper West Side co-op until Debby and her family moved away during the pandemic. When Debby’s life is upended by tragedy, the women are pulled further apart, then back together again. Meanwhile, a trio of hungry dogs search for home.

Left Out

by Hanna Novak

Cast Size
4
Genre
dark comedy,
drama

Ada and Esther talk about sex, death, and money as they wade through the aftermath of their adoptive father’s will. An inheritance drama set in a minor key, Left Out follows two women trying to find themselves within a family.

Ada and Esther talk about sex, death, and money as they wade through the aftermath of their adoptive father’s will. An inheritance drama set in a minor key, Left Out follows two women trying to find themselves within a family.

I Wanna Destroy You

by Hanna Novak

Cast Size
8
Genre
dark comedy,
drama,
political

A seemingly random act of violence connects the lives of two aging liberals and a group of teenage friends in New York City.

A seemingly random act of violence connects the lives of two aging liberals and a group of teenage friends in New York City.

The Opera is Always on the Table

by Hanna Novak

Cast Size
3
Genre
adaptation,
dark comedy,
experimental,
musical,
tragedy

A preteen girl and her mother attempt to navigate a tragic accident, both together and apart. A short play with music based on Sophocles' Ajax about discovering who your parents really are.

A preteen girl and her mother attempt to navigate a tragic accident, both together and apart. A short play with music based on Sophocles' Ajax about discovering who your parents really are.

The Knights

by Hanna Novak

Cast Size
7
Genre
comedy,
experimental,
period

In a dark European forest, two knights – childhood friends – reunite in a clearing. Eight hundred
years later, another pair of childhood friends falls in love, leaving their parents to reckon with
the new relationship as well as their own marriages. The Knights puts these seemingly disparate
characters side-by-side to reveal how our most intense feelings have the power to transcend time
and challenge logic.

In a dark European forest, two knights – childhood friends – reunite in a clearing. Eight hundred
years later, another pair of childhood friends falls in love, leaving their parents to reckon with
the new relationship as well as their own marriages. The Knights puts these seemingly disparate
characters side-by-side to reveal how our most intense feelings have the power to transcend time
and challenge logic.