James La Bella

writer and dramaturg. writing onstage with NYU Skirball, Joe's Pub, The Prelude Festival, PS21, Invisible Dog, WNYC’s Greene Space, Life World, IDFA DocLab. Lambda Literary Fellow, Civilians R&D Group member, O’Neill Finalist. residencies at The Orchard Project, Fresh Ground Pepper, and The Celebration Barn. MFA Playwriting candidate at Brown University.

Jameslabella.com
For inquiries, contact me at [email protected] :)

writer and dramaturg. writing onstage with NYU Skirball, Joe's Pub, The Prelude Festival, PS21, Invisible Dog, WNYC’s Greene Space, Life World, IDFA DocLab. Lambda Literary Fellow, Civilians R&D Group member, O’Neill Finalist. residencies at The Orchard Project, Fresh Ground Pepper, and The Celebration Barn. MFA Playwriting candidate at Brown University.

Jameslabella.com
For inquiries, contact me at [email protected] :)

Scripts

Melt.Punish

by James La Bella

2
Cast Size
2
Genre
dark comedy,
docudrama/historic,
experimental

Melted. Jailed. Eaten. Burned. Reformed. Disappeared. Contained. Destroyed. Changed. "What happened the villain in your favorite movie as a child?"

An investigative theater piece performed by me and an audience volunteer.

Melted. Jailed. Eaten. Burned. Reformed. Disappeared. Contained. Destroyed. Changed. "What happened the villain in your favorite movie as a child?"

An investigative theater piece performed by me and an audience volunteer.

Deliver Us!

by James La Bella

Cast Size
5—15
Genre
adventure,
comedy,
dark comedy,
experimental,
political,
satire

A men's group tries to solve the loneliness epidemic through the transformative power of drama. In a dingy church basement, they pack up a canoe and take an imagined trip downriver, enacting increasingly unnerving fantasies along the way.

A men's group tries to solve the loneliness epidemic through the transformative power of drama. In a dingy church basement, they pack up a canoe and take an imagined trip downriver, enacting increasingly unnerving fantasies along the way.

The Painted Handgun

by James La Bella

2
Cast Size
7—18
Genre
adventure,
comedy,
dark comedy,
drama,
experimental,
fantasy,
melodrama,
mystery/thriller,
period,
radio drama,
satire,
science fiction

A gunshot shrieks across the shore.

Over the course of the Summer of 1963, three people become entangled in a possible conspiracy involving a children's television show, the Vietnam War, sleep-paralysis, and a long-forgotten Jacobean Revenge Play.

A piece of Epic Theatre done in loving-homage to the madcap serials, paranoia mysteries, and postmodern fiction of the 1960's. Run time: Four hours.

A gunshot shrieks across the shore.

Over the course of the Summer of 1963, three people become entangled in a possible conspiracy involving a children's television show, the Vietnam War, sleep-paralysis, and a long-forgotten Jacobean Revenge Play.

A piece of Epic Theatre done in loving-homage to the madcap serials, paranoia mysteries, and postmodern fiction of the 1960's. Run time: Four hours.

Mrs. Wrath

by James La Bella

Cast Size
4—7
Genre
fable/folktale,
horror,
political,
satire,
tragedy

Mrs. Wrath finds a tongue in her pool, then a hand, then a penis. She tries to solve the unsolvable as body parts continue to turn up, guests arrive and depart, and she lives through a not-insignificant number of national tragedies.

Mrs. Wrath finds a tongue in her pool, then a hand, then a penis. She tries to solve the unsolvable as body parts continue to turn up, guests arrive and depart, and she lives through a not-insignificant number of national tragedies.

American Ant Motel

by James La Bella

Cast Size
5
Genre
dark comedy,
drama,
farce,
satire,
tragedy

An endless Fourth of July.

Ex-Neo-Nazi Valerie is welcoming her son home after a five year period of estrangement. She's just joined a new hate group, and he wants to be President.

An endless Fourth of July.

Ex-Neo-Nazi Valerie is welcoming her son home after a five year period of estrangement. She's just joined a new hate group, and he wants to be President.