Alexander Attea

Alexander Attea

Alexander Attea (formerly Utz) is a Chicago-based playwright and actor, as well as the Artistic Director of Avalanche Theatre. His plays have been developed and performed with Jackalope Theatre, Bramble Theatre, The Plagiarists, Platform Productions, Bower Theatre Ensemble, Three Brothers Theatre, the International Museum of Surgical Science, Illinois State University, Mississippi State University, Otherworld...
Alexander Attea (formerly Utz) is a Chicago-based playwright and actor, as well as the Artistic Director of Avalanche Theatre. His plays have been developed and performed with Jackalope Theatre, Bramble Theatre, The Plagiarists, Platform Productions, Bower Theatre Ensemble, Three Brothers Theatre, the International Museum of Surgical Science, Illinois State University, Mississippi State University, Otherworld Theatre, Benchmark Theatre, and more. He was a member of the Jackalope Playwrights Lab in 2023 and a Resident Playwright with Three Brothers Theatre from 2018-2020. He received his BFA in Theatre Performance from Niagara University.

Plays

  • Grape Leaves by Alexander Attea
    Cast: 
    9–12
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
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    Keyword: buffalo, Middle Eastern American + 8 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: buffalo, Middle Eastern American, Middle Eastern Americans, American Midwest, children of divorce, climate change, identity, cultural heritage, Heritage, Arab culture
    Marcus Mansour, third-generation Lebanese-American, helps his family run the annual Lebanese Festival at his church in a changing Buffalo, NY during the worsening climate crisis. His sister is embroiled in a toxic relationship, his dad has announced his remarriage, and worst of all, his grandma won't share the family recipes. So when the new priest asks him to take charge of the festival's operations...
    Marcus Mansour, third-generation Lebanese-American, helps his family run the annual Lebanese Festival at his church in a changing Buffalo, NY during the worsening climate crisis. His sister is embroiled in a toxic relationship, his dad has announced his remarriage, and worst of all, his grandma won't share the family recipes. So when the new priest asks him to take charge of the festival's operations, Marcus sees an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding and connection with himself and his identity.
  • Work in Progress by Alexander Attea
    Cast: 
    5–6
    ·
    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: artist, artistic creation + 5 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: artist, artistic creation, art as healing, grief and healing, healing, connection between strangers, failed ambition
    FULL LENGTH: Judy, an illustrator, arrives at an artist residency in the middle of a beautiful state park. It's her very first residency and she's hoping to make the most of it. She wants to work on her art, to make connections with the people she meets, to feel like she's actually an artist. But something's holding her back - whether that be the podcast about creativity she's...
    FULL LENGTH: Judy, an illustrator, arrives at an artist residency in the middle of a beautiful state park. It's her very first residency and she's hoping to make the most of it. She wants to work on her art, to make connections with the people she meets, to feel like she's actually an artist. But something's holding her back - whether that be the podcast about creativity she's constantly listening to, the strangely aloof park director, or a simmering tragedy she's avoiding back at home. A play about artistry, imposter syndrome, and healing that explores how we can be better to ourselves and each other.

    *This play is in development.
  • Socks & Co. by Alexander Attea
    Cast: 
    6–8
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: absurdism, retail + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, farce
    Keyword: absurdism, retail, ensemble
    FULL LENGTH: When a security guard goes missing inside the back room of a luxury sock store, new hire Casey decides to lead the rescue effort. And if dealing with entitled customers and ambivalent managers weren't obstacles enough, Casey is soon facing off with an owner who refuses to show his face and a doorway that seems to lead to alternate dimensions. When none of the other employees are much help,...
    FULL LENGTH: When a security guard goes missing inside the back room of a luxury sock store, new hire Casey decides to lead the rescue effort. And if dealing with entitled customers and ambivalent managers weren't obstacles enough, Casey is soon facing off with an owner who refuses to show his face and a doorway that seems to lead to alternate dimensions. When none of the other employees are much help, Casey alone will have to navigate the mundanity of retail to save a man from the paranormal.
  • Arabia, Arabia! by Alexander Attea
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: History, ensemble + 3 more
    Genre: adaptation, comedy, dark comedy, docudrama/historic, farce
    Keyword: History, ensemble, metatheatrical, Non-Binary, full length
    FULL LENGTH: It's 1761. Five researchers have been selected by the Danish government to travel to the Arabian peninsula, to "Happy Arabia." But the journey isn't as happy as its destination. The doctor is incompetent, the botanist is elitist, and the linguist has enough arsenic to kill them all. And that's hardly the worst of it. When the Narrator appears and tries to save the...
    FULL LENGTH: It's 1761. Five researchers have been selected by the Danish government to travel to the Arabian peninsula, to "Happy Arabia." But the journey isn't as happy as its destination. The doctor is incompetent, the botanist is elitist, and the linguist has enough arsenic to kill them all. And that's hardly the worst of it. When the Narrator appears and tries to save the expedition from certain failure, the researchers begin to realize that their story may not belong to them anymore.
  • Gut by Alexander Attea
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic + 3 more
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic, drama, fable/folktale, period
    FULL LENGTH: It's 1822. A fur trader named Alexis St Martin gets shot (on accident) and ends up with an open wound in his chest, opening directly to his stomach. His doctor, William Beaumont, uses him and his wound to conduct studies on digestion for the next 11 years. And yes, this really happened. Plus, there’s a framing device of a bunch of other fur traders telling each other this story and acting it...
    FULL LENGTH: It's 1822. A fur trader named Alexis St Martin gets shot (on accident) and ends up with an open wound in his chest, opening directly to his stomach. His doctor, William Beaumont, uses him and his wound to conduct studies on digestion for the next 11 years. And yes, this really happened. Plus, there’s a framing device of a bunch of other fur traders telling each other this story and acting it out while they travel. It’s a ride.
  • The Creators by Alexander Attea
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    5–6
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: absurdism, workplace + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: absurdism, workplace, comedy, absurd comedy, Art and Artists, artistic aspirations
    FULL LENGTH: Deirdre, Piper, and Will work for a mysterious artistic prodigy named Gene, creating all the works of art he claims as his own. Also, they're not really ever allowed to leave the office. So when the new employee, Jess, starts trying to change the way things are done, it looks like their lives are about to finally improve. But it soon becomes clear that enacting change isn't always easy to do.
  • Generation Red by Alexander Attea
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: life on Mars, Mars + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, science fiction
    Keyword: life on Mars, Mars, Wild West, suburban America, zombies, childhood friendship, imagination vs. reality, imagination
    FULL LENGTH: Erica, Alan, Denver, and Trish are the first four people to be born on Mars. They are waiting to find out if they've passed "The Test," which would allow them to go outside for the first time in their lives. To pass the time, they play a game creating scenes that imagine what life on Earth would be like. As control of the game jumps from person to person, questions are raised about...
    FULL LENGTH: Erica, Alan, Denver, and Trish are the first four people to be born on Mars. They are waiting to find out if they've passed "The Test," which would allow them to go outside for the first time in their lives. To pass the time, they play a game creating scenes that imagine what life on Earth would be like. As control of the game jumps from person to person, questions are raised about the truths and fictions in their own lives on Mars. Before long, it becomes apparent that the outside world isn't as simple as they've imagined.
  • Outpost by Alexander Attea
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: Sci Fi, sci fi comedy + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, horror, mystery/thriller, science fiction
    Keyword: Sci Fi, sci fi comedy, Sci Fi thriller, Playful, ghost, features characters of color
    FULL LENGTH: It’s the day before the Test for young Martian colony residents Aris, Liam, and Jo. They decide to take their mind off the big day by hanging out in an old, abandoned part of the compound — a space filled with history and ghost stories. When the compound’s AI system, MARVIN, starts giving the presentation again, Aris, Liam, and Jo find they can’t turn it off. So they decide to have some fun and...
    FULL LENGTH: It’s the day before the Test for young Martian colony residents Aris, Liam, and Jo. They decide to take their mind off the big day by hanging out in an old, abandoned part of the compound — a space filled with history and ghost stories. When the compound’s AI system, MARVIN, starts giving the presentation again, Aris, Liam, and Jo find they can’t turn it off. So they decide to have some fun and play along with it, half making fun of the history, half reliving their childhoods seeing the presentation. But strange things start occurring, and the three are forced to confront their own conceptions and emotions about the past. Can they deal with the history of their planet and move forward into a new future?
  • Frankenstein by Alexander Attea
    Cast: 
    5–12
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, docudrama/historic + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: Frankenstein, Frankenstein's Monster + 2 more
    Genre: adaptation, docudrama/historic, horror, science fiction, tragedy
    Keyword: Frankenstein, Frankenstein's Monster, Mary Shelley, Gothic horror
    FULL LENGTH: An adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic, in which the story of Frankenstein is interwoven with elements of Shelley's own life and the origin of the Frankenstein legend. Perhaps the monsters we conjure are not always as inhuman as they seem.

    Written for Bower Theatre Ensemble's inaugural season.
  • Where the Air Meets the Water by Alexander Attea
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama, experimental + 1 more
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    Keyword: experimental, immersive + 5 more
    Genre: drama, experimental, immersive
    Keyword: experimental, immersive, interactive, Outdoor, Outdoor Play, outdoor theater, walking play
    FULL LENGTH: A pair of intersecting outdoor walking plays for one actor and one audience member.

    It's the third anniversary of the night AJ and Cara met. But they haven't spoken in weeks. AJ has a mysterious gift bag that Cara gave them on the night they met, unopened. It's time to give it back. In separate monologues each performed for one audience member, AJ and Cara walk around...
    FULL LENGTH: A pair of intersecting outdoor walking plays for one actor and one audience member.

    It's the third anniversary of the night AJ and Cara met. But they haven't spoken in weeks. AJ has a mysterious gift bag that Cara gave them on the night they met, unopened. It's time to give it back. In separate monologues each performed for one audience member, AJ and Cara walk around Chicago and reveal more about themselves and their relationship. Finally, they meet at Lake Michigan, at a fork in the road for their future.