Rose Farrell

Gather round cowboys and clowns, I’m a zesty queer who likes to make comedy and fear. I’m Rose Farrell, a Philadelphia-based playwright, director, and producer who creates highly theatrical contemporary stories with a queer lens. My work relies on contradictions and extremes. The frivolous lies we tell ourselves, the deep truths we created them for. The clown creature and the human under the makeup. My worlds are black and white, all one thing or all the other, to show that our actual world is anything but. My work aims to help shift the image of both what’s on stage and who’s in the audience. I create experiences for and by gen-z/millennials, who often feel ostracized by the theater, in the hopes of creating a younger artistic community in this post-pandemic world. My work aims to create...

Gather round cowboys and clowns, I’m a zesty queer who likes to make comedy and fear. I’m Rose Farrell, a Philadelphia-based playwright, director, and producer who creates highly theatrical contemporary stories with a queer lens. My work relies on contradictions and extremes. The frivolous lies we tell ourselves, the deep truths we created them for. The clown creature and the human under the makeup. My worlds are black and white, all one thing or all the other, to show that our actual world is anything but. My work aims to help shift the image of both what’s on stage and who’s in the audience. I create experiences for and by gen-z/millennials, who often feel ostracized by the theater, in the hopes of creating a younger artistic community in this post-pandemic world. My work aims to create new experiences, deep conversations, and ideally a lot of fun, all in one package.

As a theater artist I've worked with Playpenn, Theater Exile, The University of the Arts, and the Philadelphia Fringe/Cannonball Festival. I’m the co-founder of the two local artist collectives, Gameplay Theatre Lab, which focuses on creating new queer choose-your-own-adventure theater, and My Mother Once Read, a traveling children’s entertainment company working to bring accessible diverse stories to families around Philadelphia. I hail begrudgingly from the state of Texas, and love all the things everyone loves: cats, clowns, and cult documentaries.

Scripts

Hot Cold Shower

by Rose Farrell

Synopsis

Laughter and bloodshed. Tap dancing and trauma. Clownery and ghosts. All tenets of the classic American family.

In the wake of the Grandpa’s death, the hierarchy of one Texan family is shifting, much to the horror and chagrin of its members. Following different children of the same family across 4 stylistically opposed vignettes, Hot Cold Shower charts the lineage of inherited trauma, bringing the ghosts in...

Laughter and bloodshed. Tap dancing and trauma. Clownery and ghosts. All tenets of the classic American family.

In the wake of the Grandpa’s death, the hierarchy of one Texan family is shifting, much to the horror and chagrin of its members. Following different children of the same family across 4 stylistically opposed vignettes, Hot Cold Shower charts the lineage of inherited trauma, bringing the ghosts in your closet back to life, all in a flashy Grand Guignol inspired fashion.

Adam Sandler Jury Duty

by Rose Farrell

Synopsis

You and 11 other “recently deceased” audience members arrive at the agnostically ambiguous afterlife, only to be immediately slapped with a jury summons. Yuck! Who’s on the stand? Actor and comedian Adam Sandler, of course. Over the course of the trial, lawyers both for and against Adam will present you with their “evidence”, telling a campy patchwork story of Adam’s life that blends his movies with the reality...

You and 11 other “recently deceased” audience members arrive at the agnostically ambiguous afterlife, only to be immediately slapped with a jury summons. Yuck! Who’s on the stand? Actor and comedian Adam Sandler, of course. Over the course of the trial, lawyers both for and against Adam will present you with their “evidence”, telling a campy patchwork story of Adam’s life that blends his movies with the reality. You’ll be asked to love him. You’ll be asked to hate him. You’ll probably feel indifferent about him. But you have to pick a side, as by the end you’ll be asked to use your judgment to make an impossible decision: does Adam deserve to go to the “good place”, or the “bad place?”

The Clownssacre

by Rose Farrell

Synopsis

A serial killer clown chasing a group of normal college aged kids through the woods? Trope-y. A normal serial killer chasing a group of college aged clowns through the woods? Still trope-y, but in a fun way.

The Clownssacre is an interactive play-within-a-play that follows a group of clowns re-enacting the true story of their favorite serial killer... until the actual killer shows up to the performance. Real...

A serial killer clown chasing a group of normal college aged kids through the woods? Trope-y. A normal serial killer chasing a group of college aged clowns through the woods? Still trope-y, but in a fun way.

The Clownssacre is an interactive play-within-a-play that follows a group of clowns re-enacting the true story of their favorite serial killer... until the actual killer shows up to the performance. Real blood mixes with cornstarch and food coloring as the killer picks the actors off between scenes, leaving the audience questioning whether this is really a play or not. And, to add to the mayhem, audience members unknowingly vote on the order of the killings when they arrive, making for 8 hilariously bloody show variations.

Seities

by Rose Farrell

Synopsis

You wake up in a basement. The concrete is cold. Something sticky drips from the ceiling onto your head. You can't remember what happened before this, or how you got here. There's another figure in the room. They look just like you. They sound just like you. They know all you know. They say the same things you say. Maybe they are you. How could you tell the difference?

Seities is a horror radio play that takes...

You wake up in a basement. The concrete is cold. Something sticky drips from the ceiling onto your head. You can't remember what happened before this, or how you got here. There's another figure in the room. They look just like you. They sound just like you. They know all you know. They say the same things you say. Maybe they are you. How could you tell the difference?

Seities is a horror radio play that takes audiences into the nightmare of being replaced, making you question what it means to be you.

Bugboro

by Rose Farrell

Synopsis

Come visit Bugboro, the buzziest, busiest bug colony this side of the Schuylkill, and meet the big personalities of our tiny community. We’re a small, simple settlement built by the bugs who live here, from Momma Mary Spider and her home-grown hand-picked market, to Gillian Grasshopper’s library shack of stories, to Stinky Stinkbug’s Tiny Trash Truck, to a slew of other approachable arthropods and their children...

Come visit Bugboro, the buzziest, busiest bug colony this side of the Schuylkill, and meet the big personalities of our tiny community. We’re a small, simple settlement built by the bugs who live here, from Momma Mary Spider and her home-grown hand-picked market, to Gillian Grasshopper’s library shack of stories, to Stinky Stinkbug’s Tiny Trash Truck, to a slew of other approachable arthropods and their children of baby bees, moths, and flies, all waiting to welcome your family into their community. Leading with ideals of empathy, unity, and compassion, the stories and locations will invite each individual child to become a unique member of the community themselves.

Aluminum Barbie

by Rose Farrell

Synopsis

Joe is an old school GI Joe doll who doesn't quite fit in with his platoon of brothers. But when a new Barbie is brought into the playroom, Joe finally has a chance at a real friendship. However when his bully brothers accidentally launch him from a window, Joe undergoes a journey through nature to find his friend, discovering a new freedom of expression in the process. Aluminum Barbie is a contemporary TYA...

Joe is an old school GI Joe doll who doesn't quite fit in with his platoon of brothers. But when a new Barbie is brought into the playroom, Joe finally has a chance at a real friendship. However when his bully brothers accidentally launch him from a window, Joe undergoes a journey through nature to find his friend, discovering a new freedom of expression in the process. Aluminum Barbie is a contemporary TYA retelling of Hans Christian Anderson's classic "Steadfast Tin Soldier" story, aiming to teach children to embrace the power of their individual uniqueness.

Alleviate

by Rose Farrell

Synopsis

Addiction is a monster that may take many forms.

Grace's mom is dying, forcing her to return to her estranged Texas hometown for the first time since her transition. However, her in-recovery traditional father wants nothing more than to mourn his late wife in peace. Family tensions run high as the days left run short, pushing Grace deeper and deeper down the bottle. When there's nothing left to alleviate her...

Addiction is a monster that may take many forms.

Grace's mom is dying, forcing her to return to her estranged Texas hometown for the first time since her transition. However, her in-recovery traditional father wants nothing more than to mourn his late wife in peace. Family tensions run high as the days left run short, pushing Grace deeper and deeper down the bottle. When there's nothing left to alleviate her pain, she turns to the only person left: a shapeshifting rodeo clown who seems to have all the answers. Alleviate is a magical realism thriller that explores transformation through a story of addiction and transness, asking what it means to cultivate your own belonging.