Dan Giles

​​Dan Giles (he/him) is a playwright and screenwriter from Massachusetts. He is a recent alumnus of The Juilliard School’s Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program, the Filmmakers’ Workshop at New York Stage & Film, and Youngblood at Ensemble Studio Theatre.

His plays include The Charioteer (upcoming at The Cell Theatre), The Pittsburgh Free Press (Lee Strasberg Institute/NYU), Mike Pence Sex Dream (Ensemble Studio Theatre, First Floor Theater), 1969: The Second Man (Next Door at New York Theatre Workshop), How You Kiss Me Is Not How I Like To Be Kissed (Haven Theatre), and Breeders (New Light Theater Project, Great Plains Theatre Commons).

He’s a recipient of the Clifford Odets Ensemble Commission from Lee Strasberg/NYU, the Alfred P. Sloan Screenwriting Award, the New Light...

​​Dan Giles (he/him) is a playwright and screenwriter from Massachusetts. He is a recent alumnus of The Juilliard School’s Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program, the Filmmakers’ Workshop at New York Stage & Film, and Youngblood at Ensemble Studio Theatre.

His plays include The Charioteer (upcoming at The Cell Theatre), The Pittsburgh Free Press (Lee Strasberg Institute/NYU), Mike Pence Sex Dream (Ensemble Studio Theatre, First Floor Theater), 1969: The Second Man (Next Door at New York Theatre Workshop), How You Kiss Me Is Not How I Like To Be Kissed (Haven Theatre), and Breeders (New Light Theater Project, Great Plains Theatre Commons).

He’s a recipient of the Clifford Odets Ensemble Commission from Lee Strasberg/NYU, the Alfred P. Sloan Screenwriting Award, the New Light New Voices Award, and the American College Theater Festival’s Mark Twain Prize for Comic Playwriting.

He has been a finalist for Ingram New Works at Nashville Rep, Lighthouse Works, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Pipeline, The Lark, the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, and the Playwrights Center; a semifinalist for the Terrence McNally New Works Incubator at Rattlestick, the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, and the Princess Grace Award; and an honorable mention for the Relentless Award.

He is a graduate of Harvard College (AB in English) and Carnegie Mellon School of Drama (MFA).

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Scripts

The Charioteer

by Dan Giles

Cast Size
2
Genre
drama,
political

Charly’s older brother has always been her hero, even when he forgets that she exists. When she goes to visit him at college, she hopes to start a new chapter in their relationship. But shortly after, he vanishes off the grid to live in a radical environmentalist commune. Ten years later, he needs her help. But first, she needs answers. Across fault lines of politics and family, Charly and Owen must figure out...

Charly’s older brother has always been her hero, even when he forgets that she exists. When she goes to visit him at college, she hopes to start a new chapter in their relationship. But shortly after, he vanishes off the grid to live in a radical environmentalist commune. Ten years later, he needs her help. But first, she needs answers. Across fault lines of politics and family, Charly and Owen must figure out who they are to each other if either of them is going to survive what’s in store. What do you do when the person who taught you right from wrong is also the person who hurt you most? The Charioteer is a taut, tender two-hander about how to fight with—and for—the people you love.

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The Dog Walker

by Dan Giles

Cast Size
6
Genre
comedy,
drama

His life in shambles, a young dog walker goes looking for love and finds it in bed with his older client. Harry is handsome, erudite, and charismatic, and he has everything Jay doesn’t: a Brooklyn Heights address, a chosen family, a rich husband. But as Jay becomes entangled in Harry’s world, new hungers disturb old wounds. Soon Jay realizes that if he wants more, he must risk losing what little he has to get it...

His life in shambles, a young dog walker goes looking for love and finds it in bed with his older client. Harry is handsome, erudite, and charismatic, and he has everything Jay doesn’t: a Brooklyn Heights address, a chosen family, a rich husband. But as Jay becomes entangled in Harry’s world, new hungers disturb old wounds. Soon Jay realizes that if he wants more, he must risk losing what little he has to get it. A queer coming-of-age story about sex, money, and death, The Dog Walker explores how desire can change who you think you are.

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Polar Bear in a Fish Tank in a Mall in China

by Dan Giles

3
Cast Size
8
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
drama,
experimental,
fantasy,
farce,
horror,
mystery/thriller,
political,
satire

On the set of a reality TV show deep in the snowy mountains, seven gays compete for the love of one bachelor. But when one of them vanishes, they discover that game isn't what it seems, and that the house is full of secrets: a curse, a conspiracy, a monster. Stalked by an implacable terror, each must decide for himself: did he come here to make friends? Or to win?

On the set of a reality TV show deep in the snowy mountains, seven gays compete for the love of one bachelor. But when one of them vanishes, they discover that game isn't what it seems, and that the house is full of secrets: a curse, a conspiracy, a monster. Stalked by an implacable terror, each must decide for himself: did he come here to make friends? Or to win?

Mike Pence Sex Dream

by Dan Giles

7
Cast Size
3
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
drama,
experimental,
fantasy,
horror,
political

In the aftermath of the 2016 election, newlyweds Gary and Ben find their marriage put to the test. Ben wants to fight the power. Gary wants to climb the corporate ladder to comfort and safety. When an unscrupulous client makes him an irresistible offer, Gary sets down a path of violent delights that will lead to violent ends. Mike Pence Sex Dream is a romantic travesty about bringing home the bacon and fucking a...

In the aftermath of the 2016 election, newlyweds Gary and Ben find their marriage put to the test. Ben wants to fight the power. Gary wants to climb the corporate ladder to comfort and safety. When an unscrupulous client makes him an irresistible offer, Gary sets down a path of violent delights that will lead to violent ends. Mike Pence Sex Dream is a romantic travesty about bringing home the bacon and fucking a pig.

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Breeders

by Dan Giles

12
Cast Size
4
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
drama,
farce,
political,
romantic comedy

Two men, Dean and Mikey, prepared for ages to have a baby, but now Dean’s doubts gnaw at him. Two hamsters, Tyson and Jason, are abruptly pregnant with nine babies, and now Tyson’s fears nibble at her. Nobody was planning to eat anyone. Things just got out of hand.

Two men, Dean and Mikey, prepared for ages to have a baby, but now Dean’s doubts gnaw at him. Two hamsters, Tyson and Jason, are abruptly pregnant with nine babies, and now Tyson’s fears nibble at her. Nobody was planning to eat anyone. Things just got out of hand.

How You Kiss Me Is Not How I Like To Be Kissed

by Dan Giles

4
Cast Size
2—60
Genre
comedy,
drama,
experimental,
political,
romantic comedy

Kiss her, poorly. Decide to take him home anyway. Define the relationship. Set sensible boundaries. Confess secrets. Meet her dad, blow it. Fall in love casually, strangely, effortlessly. Negotiate monogamy. Take him to IKEA, regret it, survive it. Fight about work. Fight about family. Fight about marriage. Make a life together. Fall out of love as easily as you fell in. Now what? How You Kiss Me...

Kiss her, poorly. Decide to take him home anyway. Define the relationship. Set sensible boundaries. Confess secrets. Meet her dad, blow it. Fall in love casually, strangely, effortlessly. Negotiate monogamy. Take him to IKEA, regret it, survive it. Fight about work. Fight about family. Fight about marriage. Make a life together. Fall out of love as easily as you fell in. Now what? How You Kiss Me Is Not How I Like To Be Kissed explores the pursuit of romantic love in the lives of two people who want desperately to believe in it.

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