Arlene Hutton

Arlene Hutton

Arlene Hutton is best known for Last Train to Nibroc, the first FringeNYC production to transfer Off-Broadway. She is an alumna of New Dramatists, member of Ensemble Studio Theatre and recipient of a NYFA Fellowship. Her Nibroc Trilogy includes Last Train to Nibroc (NY Drama League Best Play nomination), See Rock City (In the Spirit of America Award) and Gulf View Drive (LA Weekly and Ovation Award nominations...
Arlene Hutton is best known for Last Train to Nibroc, the first FringeNYC production to transfer Off-Broadway. She is an alumna of New Dramatists, member of Ensemble Studio Theatre and recipient of a NYFA Fellowship. Her Nibroc Trilogy includes Last Train to Nibroc (NY Drama League Best Play nomination), See Rock City (In the Spirit of America Award) and Gulf View Drive (LA Weekly and Ovation Award nominations, 2018 Ovation Award for Best Production at Rubicon Theatre). Hutton has an EST/Sloan Foundation commission, a fellowship from the South Carolina Arts Commission and a commission from the Big Bridge Theatre Consortium. in NY her plays have received development at The Lark, Ensemble Studio Theatre, New Dramatists, The Barrow Group, FAB Women, 78th Street Theatre Lab, Project Y and Access Theatre, where she was a resident artist.
Regional production credits include Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, B Street Theatre, Kitchen Theatre, Echo Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre, Playhouse on Park and Chester Theatre. Her plays have been presented at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Off- and Off-Off-Broadway and at theatres across the US, in London and throughout the world. Other works include Running, I Dream Before I Take the Stand, Letters to Sala, Three Sisters Brontë and As It Is In Heaven. Her play for young audiences, Happy Worst Day Ever, was commissioned by Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and was named winner of the 2010 Macy’s New Play Prize.
Hutton is an eight-time Actors Theatre of Louisville 10-Minute Play Contest finalist, three-time winner of the Samuel French Short Play Festival, finalist for the Francesca Primus Prize and recipient of the Lippman and Calloway Awards. Residencies include the Australian National Playwrights Conference, New Harmony Project, Blue Mountain Center, MacDowell Colony and Yaddo.
Hutton has been a William Inge Fellow in Kansas, resident playwright for Greenville Centre Stage’s New Play Festival, and twice named the Tennessee Williams Fellow in Playwriting at the University of the South. Her scripts are published by Dramatists Play Service, Samuel French, Dramatic Publishing and Playscripts and appear in numerous anthologies. Based in New York City, she teaches playwriting at The Barrow Group.

Plays

  • ANOTHER DAY by Arlene Hutton
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    7–12
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    Genre: drama, experimental + 1 more
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    Keyword: women, art + 3 more
    Genre: drama, experimental, political
    Keyword: women, art, art museum, Vermeer, ensemble cast
    When the world they have known for most of their lives stops suddenly and without warning, figures in paintings are left alone to try to figure out what is going on, experiencing time, loss and mortality in their own unique way. In the midst of uncertainty and darkness, with routines upended, they start to question their very being, threatening established relationships. Do we exist if there is no one to look...
    When the world they have known for most of their lives stops suddenly and without warning, figures in paintings are left alone to try to figure out what is going on, experiencing time, loss and mortality in their own unique way. In the midst of uncertainty and darkness, with routines upended, they start to question their very being, threatening established relationships. Do we exist if there is no one to look at us? Will the world be different after all this is over?
  • ACCORDING TO THE CHORUS by Arlene Hutton
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    12
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    Genre: comedy, political
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    Keyword: women, 1980s New York + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, political
    Keyword: women, 1980s New York, backstage
    In the basement quick-change room of a Broadway theatre in the mid 1980s, the chorus girls are at war with their dressers. Will the new dresser, with her own sad past and uncertain future, be able to navigate this minefield? ACCORDING TO THE CHORUS is a funny, nostalgic behind-the-scenes look at a pivotal period in the history of Broadway. With a cast of twelve and a dog, this is ensemble work in the spirit of...
    In the basement quick-change room of a Broadway theatre in the mid 1980s, the chorus girls are at war with their dressers. Will the new dresser, with her own sad past and uncertain future, be able to navigate this minefield? ACCORDING TO THE CHORUS is a funny, nostalgic behind-the-scenes look at a pivotal period in the history of Broadway. With a cast of twelve and a dog, this is ensemble work in the spirit of Balm in Gilead and Hot L Baltimore, workshopped by the re-risen group that initiated those projects.
  • LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC radio version (55-min) by Arlene Hutton
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: comedy, period + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, period, radio drama, romantic comedy
    May and Raleigh meet in 1940 on an eastbound train carries the bodies of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Nathanael West. Unable to enlist because of a medical condition, he wants to be a writer; she wants to be a missionary and they discover they are from neighboring towns in Kentucky. In this boy-meets-girl romance, nominated for Best Play 2000 by the New York Drama League, two young people navigate through the tough...
    May and Raleigh meet in 1940 on an eastbound train carries the bodies of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Nathanael West. Unable to enlist because of a medical condition, he wants to be a writer; she wants to be a missionary and they discover they are from neighboring towns in Kentucky. In this boy-meets-girl romance, nominated for Best Play 2000 by the New York Drama League, two young people navigate through the tough times of a country at war discovering what they have to give up to get what they really want. Published by Dramatists Play Service
  • LETTERS TO SALA by Arlene Hutton
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    12–25
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    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic + 1 more
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    Keyword: Holocaust
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic, drama
    Keyword: Holocaust
    Five years. Seven Nazi labor camps. Over 350 hidden letters. Sala kept her secret for over fifty years, but everything changes when she reveals the cache to her grown daughter and granddaughters.
    What is to be done with these letters? If Sala risked her life to hold onto them as a young woman imprisoned in a work camp, are they merely the emotionally rich relics of her past life? Or are they worthy and...
    Five years. Seven Nazi labor camps. Over 350 hidden letters. Sala kept her secret for over fifty years, but everything changes when she reveals the cache to her grown daughter and granddaughters.
    What is to be done with these letters? If Sala risked her life to hold onto them as a young woman imprisoned in a work camp, are they merely the emotionally rich relics of her past life? Or are they worthy and important historical documents that demand to be shared with the public? Three generations of women must work together to sift through the past and come to terms with the true gravity of Sala’s letters.
  • LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC by Arlene Hutton
    Recommendations: 8
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: period, romantic comedy
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    Keyword: World War II, Kentucky + 1 more
    Genre: period, romantic comedy
    Keyword: World War II, Kentucky, 1940s
    May and Raleigh meet in 1940 on an eastbound train carries the bodies of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Nathanael West. Unable to enlist because of a medical condition, he wants to be a writer; she wants to be a missionary and they discover they are from neighboring towns in Kentucky. In this boy-meets-girl romance, nominated for Best Play 2000 by the New York Drama League, two young people navigate through the tough...
    May and Raleigh meet in 1940 on an eastbound train carries the bodies of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Nathanael West. Unable to enlist because of a medical condition, he wants to be a writer; she wants to be a missionary and they discover they are from neighboring towns in Kentucky. In this boy-meets-girl romance, nominated for Best Play 2000 by the New York Drama League, two young people navigate through the tough times of a country at war discovering what they have to give up to get what they really want. Published by Dramatists Play Service
  • SEE ROCK CITY by Arlene Hutton
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: drama, period + 1 more
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    Keyword: World War II, Kentucky + 4 more
    Genre: drama, period, political
    Keyword: World War II, Kentucky, 1940s, homefront, marriage, family
    When WW II victory overseas brings unexpected consequences at home, a young Kentucky couple is forced to face hidden truths and find uncommon solutions to the challenges of a new post-war America. The second play in THE NIBROC TRILOGY. Published by Dramatists Play Service.
  • GULF VIEW DRIVE by Arlene Hutton
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: period, political + 1 more
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    Keyword: florida, 1950s
    Genre: period, political, romantic comedy
    Keyword: florida, 1950s
    Ten years into their marriage, May and Raleigh live in an island community off the gulf coast of Florida. Their dream house shrinks as relatives descend, further testing the couple’s love in this romantic, humorous, and insightful glimpse of life in the 1950s. The third play in THE NIBROC TRILOGY. Published by Dramatists Play Service.
  • Kissed the Girls and Made Them Cry by Arlene Hutton
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    10–18
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    Genre: drama, political
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    Keyword: teenagers, sexual assault + 2 more
    Genre: drama, political
    Keyword: teenagers, sexual assault, gay teen, date rape
    Teen sex, lies and gossip, power, secrets, manipulation, mascara, the need to scream, and what teens really want to say. When the president of student council throws a party and photos get posted online, a group of friends get caught up in a series of events that forces them to question what really happened.
    Structured as a scripted Harold (a full-length improv form) KISSED THE GIRLS AND MADE THEM CRY is...
    Teen sex, lies and gossip, power, secrets, manipulation, mascara, the need to scream, and what teens really want to say. When the president of student council throws a party and photos get posted online, a group of friends get caught up in a series of events that forces them to question what really happened.
    Structured as a scripted Harold (a full-length improv form) KISSED THE GIRLS AND MADE THEM CRY is a non-linear series of scenes creating a no-holds-barred play that examines teen sexuality as well as Objectification, harassment, assault, date rape, shaming and date rape.
  • The Three Sisters Brontë by Arlene Hutton
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    9
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    Genre: drama, period
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    Keyword: three sisters, Bronte sisters + 2 more
    Genre: drama, period
    Keyword: three sisters, Bronte sisters, Chekhov, feminist
    Set against the bleak and windy Yorkshire moors, three sisters struggle to find creative prosperity while navigating the harsh realities of male society. Faced with limited opportunities for educated women, Charlotte, Emily and Anne live in the rich worlds of their imaginations, until they are forced to face the truth that nothing is certain, and their destinies are best served when held firmly in their own...
    Set against the bleak and windy Yorkshire moors, three sisters struggle to find creative prosperity while navigating the harsh realities of male society. Faced with limited opportunities for educated women, Charlotte, Emily and Anne live in the rich worlds of their imaginations, until they are forced to face the truth that nothing is certain, and their destinies are best served when held firmly in their own hands.
    Inspired by Anton Chekhov’s classic, "The Three Sisters Brontë" is an adaptation that explores the parallels in the lives of the Brontës and the Prozorovs.
  • SIX SHORT PLAYS BY ARLENE HUTTON by Arlene Hutton
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    1–12
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, mystery/thriller, political, science fiction
    Short plays by Arlene Hutton: STUDIO PORTRAIT, HOUSEPLAY, AT THE TONE, FRIENDS FOR LIFE, THE PRICE YOU PAY and I DREAM BEFORE I TAKE THE STAND.
  • I DREAM BEFORE I TAKE THE STAND by Arlene Hutton
    Recommendations: 7
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: drama, political
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    Keyword: rape, sexual assault + 3 more
    Genre: drama, political
    Keyword: rape, sexual assault, trials, lawyers, victim
    A defense lawyer cross-examines a woman during her testimony in a sexual assault case -- and in doing so, horribly distorts her perfectly innocent walk in the park. Published by Playscripts.com
    "A feminist classic." --The List (Edinburgh)
    "...a riveting piece of theatre. The writing is pithy and fierce." --New Jersey Independent
    "...David Mamet overtones, but far...
    A defense lawyer cross-examines a woman during her testimony in a sexual assault case -- and in doing so, horribly distorts her perfectly innocent walk in the park. Published by Playscripts.com
    "A feminist classic." --The List (Edinburgh)
    "...a riveting piece of theatre. The writing is pithy and fierce." --New Jersey Independent
    "...David Mamet overtones, but far more sympathy for the female victim enduring a nightmare quizzing than Mamet ever musters." --New York Newsday
    "Provocative…" --Off-Off-Broadway Review
  • SUSIE SITS SHIVA by Arlene Hutton
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    7–14
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: teens, female + 2 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: teens, female, high school, death
    A high school student deals with the death of her biology class lab partner through a religious ritual about which she knows nothing. Family, friends and social media collide and connect in Susie's living room as she learns to mourn (and to sit) while she honors the memory of her friend and his culture.
    Commissioned by EdTA and workshopped at the 2019 International Thespian Festival. Licensing now...
    A high school student deals with the death of her biology class lab partner through a religious ritual about which she knows nothing. Family, friends and social media collide and connect in Susie's living room as she learns to mourn (and to sit) while she honors the memory of her friend and his culture.
    Commissioned by EdTA and workshopped at the 2019 International Thespian Festival. Licensing now available through DPS; print version available in 2022.