Angela J. Davis

Angela J. Davis

Angela J. Davis is the author of The Spanish Prayer Book, (The Road Theatre Company, 8-week run, 2019-20 Season), praised by L.A. Times as a “literate meditation on the boundaries of art and social responsibility”; and by literary critic and former Pulitzer Prize Jury Chair Steven Leigh Morris as an “intricate, beautiful, and important new play”), AGATHE (New American Voices Award - The Landing Theatre, SETC...
Angela J. Davis is the author of The Spanish Prayer Book, (The Road Theatre Company, 8-week run, 2019-20 Season), praised by L.A. Times as a “literate meditation on the boundaries of art and social responsibility”; and by literary critic and former Pulitzer Prize Jury Chair Steven Leigh Morris as an “intricate, beautiful, and important new play”), AGATHE (New American Voices Award - The Landing Theatre, SETC Getchell Award for Best New Full-Length Play, Sohaya Visions (London) RAFTA Festival -Official Selection and Special Commendation), Sohaya Visions 2023 Season (R&D Production, directed by Mukul Ahmed), Official Selection - Playhouse on the Square New Works at The Works Series and Orlando Shakes New Works 2023, and Clara and Serra and The Talking Bear (commissioned and produced for radio by The Antaeus Theatre Company), among other plays.
Playwriting honors include: A is For Playwriting Prize, Playhouse Creatures Rodriguez Award, Landing Theatre New American Voices Award, Henley Rose Award, Marshal A. Croyle Award for Achievment in Playwriting, among several others. Also named the 2020 Honorary Playwright in Residence for PlayFest Santa Barbara and in the top 21 (from a field of over twelve hundred) for the Moss Hart & Kitty Carlisle Hart New Play Initiative.

Recent work performed and/or upcoming at Sohaya Visions (London), Playground Theatre (London), Playhouse Creatures (NYC), The Landing Theatre, Playhouse on the Square, The Dayton Playhouse, Chameleon Theatre Circle, Tempest Productions, The Road Theatre Company, The Blank Theatre, North Carolina Women’s Theatre Festival, the HRC Showcase Theatre, The Itinerant Theatre Company, Viterbo, Frostburg Art Center, and elsewhere.
A three-time Eugene O’Neill semi-finalist, Pushcart Prize nominee, and one of sixteen writers selected as literary hosts for the 2018 PEN America LitFest, Angela’s poetry, prose, and essays appear in numerous national publications, including a University of Iowa Press anthology.
Angela holds degrees from Stanford and UCLA and is a member of Dramatists Guild of America, PEN America, and Antaeus Theatre Company Playwrights Lab.

Plays

  • The Spanish Prayer Book by Angela J. Davis
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    6–7
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: family, non-linear + 4 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: family, non-linear, cultural treasures, sacred objects, morality, love story
    L.A. Times Best Bet ("A literate meditation on the boundaries of art and social responsibility")
    The Road Theatre Company - 2019-20 season (two-month run)
    Stage Raw Recommended ("a beautiful, intricate, and important new play . . . [and] descendant of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia")
    ATHE Award for Excellence in Playwriting - 2nd Place Winner
    Eugene O'Neill NPC...
    L.A. Times Best Bet ("A literate meditation on the boundaries of art and social responsibility")
    The Road Theatre Company - 2019-20 season (two-month run)
    Stage Raw Recommended ("a beautiful, intricate, and important new play . . . [and] descendant of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia")
    ATHE Award for Excellence in Playwriting - 2nd Place Winner
    Eugene O'Neill NPC Semi-Finalist
    PlayPenn - Top-12 Finalist
    Julie Harris Award - top 5
    HRC Showcase - Official Selection
    The Blank Theatre Living Room Series - Official Selection
    Theatre 503 (London) - International New Play Award - Semi-finalist

    A committed atheist inherits a collection of rare and extremely valuable illustrated Hebrew manuscripts, including a prayer book from fourteenth-century Spain. A moral dilemma, historical mystery, and matters of the heart converge following the discovery that the books, which bear witness to overlapping Jewish and Islamic traditions, were stolen, some six-hundred years after their creation, from a library in 1940s Berlin. Inspired by true events and a late twentieth-century court case, and using projected images from the books themselves, the play explores the allure of sacred manuscripts, the ethical issues generated by cultural treasures displaced during wartime, and the power of art to forge human connections.
  • AGATHE by Angela J. Davis
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: Rwanda genocide, Female heroine + 1 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: Rwanda genocide, Female heroine, true story
    Henley Rose [after Beth Henley] Award - Winner - 2022
    Jane Chambers Award - 2021 - Top-4 Finalist & Honoree
    New American Voices Award (The Landing Theatre) - Winner - 2020
    SETC Getchell Award - Winner - 2021
    PlayFest Santa Barbara - Outstanding New Play - Winner - 2020
    Woodward / Newman Award - Finalist (top 12 out of over 1,000) - 2021
    Sohaya Visions (London)...
    Henley Rose [after Beth Henley] Award - Winner - 2022
    Jane Chambers Award - 2021 - Top-4 Finalist & Honoree
    New American Voices Award (The Landing Theatre) - Winner - 2020
    SETC Getchell Award - Winner - 2021
    PlayFest Santa Barbara - Outstanding New Play - Winner - 2020
    Woodward / Newman Award - Finalist (top 12 out of over 1,000) - 2021
    Sohaya Visions (London) RAFTA Festival - Official Selection & Special Commendation - 2022
    Risk Theatre Modern Tragedy Award - Runner-Up - 2021
    Playhouse on the Square New Works at the Works - Official Selection - 2020
    The Road Theatre Company SPF 11 - Official Selection - 2020
    Inspired by the overlooked story of the woman who served as Rwanda's president for just fourteen hours and her accomplishment of a miracle during one of the darkest moments in history.
  • Griswold by Angela J. Davis
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: women's rights, reproductive justice + 2 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: women's rights, reproductive justice, LGBT rights, civil rights
    A is For Playwriting Prize - First Place (juried by professionals affiliated with Broadway Acts for Women and Broadway Cares) -2021/22
    Playhouse Creatures (NYC) Rodriguez Award - Winner - 2022
    FutureFest 2022 - Official Selection
    American Dreaming New Works Festival 2022 - Official Selection
    National Women's Theatre Festival - Official Selection - 2022
    Arts & Letters...
    A is For Playwriting Prize - First Place (juried by professionals affiliated with Broadway Acts for Women and Broadway Cares) -2021/22
    Playhouse Creatures (NYC) Rodriguez Award - Winner - 2022
    FutureFest 2022 - Official Selection
    American Dreaming New Works Festival 2022 - Official Selection
    National Women's Theatre Festival - Official Selection - 2022
    Arts & Letters Drama Prize Finalist - 2021
    Fractured Atlas / Elephant Ears Reading Room - Official Selection - 2022
    Inspired by the untold story behind establishment of the right to sexual privacy.
    Three actors (2 actors must be female/female identifying; 2 actors must be actors of color)
  • Clara and Serra and The Talking Bear by Angela J. Davis
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, fantasy
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    Keyword: racial justice, California history + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, fantasy
    Keyword: racial justice, California history, social justice, Magic Realism, Junipero Serra
    Commissioned for radio by Antaeus Theatre Company - 2020 and recipient of the 2021 Playhouse Creatures (NYC) Rodriguez Award.
    A magical encounter with a celestial comet awakens a pair of downtown statues and a neighboring denizen of the La Brea Tar Pits. Historical accusations, social justice, and food truck cuisine lead to a fantasia of repentance, acceptance, and grace high above the City of Angels.
  • Agathe [for the full-length version, see AGATHE above] by Angela J. Davis
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: Rwanda genocide, Africa + 1 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: Rwanda genocide, Africa, marginalized women
    Marsha A. Croyle Award for Achievement in Playwriting - Winner
    Chameleon Theatre Circle Award - Winner
    Arts & Letters Drama Award - Finalist
    Theatre in The Raw Biennial One-Act Play Award - First-Place Winner
    Occupy The Stage / National Women's Theatre Festival - Official Selection
    [For the two-act play, please see AGATHE (spelled with all caps)]
    April 6, 1994...
    Marsha A. Croyle Award for Achievement in Playwriting - Winner
    Chameleon Theatre Circle Award - Winner
    Arts & Letters Drama Award - Finalist
    Theatre in The Raw Biennial One-Act Play Award - First-Place Winner
    Occupy The Stage / National Women's Theatre Festival - Official Selection
    [For the two-act play, please see AGATHE (spelled with all caps)]
    April 6, 1994 marks the assassination of President Juvenal Habyrimana of Rwanda, whose downed plane ignited a raging genocide that would leave 800,000 dead in three months. One of the first victims was Agathe Uwilingiyimana, a university and moderate Hutu, who had, through international peace accords, become the government official next in line for Rwanda’s presidency. Although the genocidaires kept her from that position, her foresight and courage, and the intervention of a charismatic and unconventional African army captain, brought about a miracle: the survival of Agathe’s five young children and Agathe’s spirit, evidenced by Rwanda today having the world’s highest percentage of governing women.
    This one-act play mines the force of her bravery and light during a time of unspeakable darkness.
  • Charlotte by Angela J. Davis
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: French Revolution, Charlotte Corday + 2 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: French Revolution, Charlotte Corday, Jean-Paul Marat, morality
    Named for the 23-year-old French noblewoman who single-handedly assassinated Jean-Paul Marat during the French Reign of Terror, this play explores the elusive search for justice and morality during times of madness.
  • Spanish Nuts! by Angela J. Davis
    Cast: 
    10
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: Spanish Civil War, latin
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: Spanish Civil War, latin
    Barcelona, 1939. In a country ravaged by brutal civil war, a narcissistic, misogynist, and propaganda-loving dictator rules with an iron fist while
    ubiquitous mechanical birds (1930s-style propaganda rockets) spread his self-serving fictions. In desperation, two loyalists for the overthrown democracy feign insanity and seek refuge in a medieval mental hospital. Inside the asylum, events both tragic and...
    Barcelona, 1939. In a country ravaged by brutal civil war, a narcissistic, misogynist, and propaganda-loving dictator rules with an iron fist while
    ubiquitous mechanical birds (1930s-style propaganda rockets) spread his self-serving fictions. In desperation, two loyalists for the overthrown democracy feign insanity and seek refuge in a medieval mental hospital. Inside the asylum, events both tragic and comedic unfold, in very loose parallel to Lope de Vega’s sixteenth-century masterpiece, “Locos de Valencia.” Through interlocking love triangles, hallucinations of the recent war, and close encounters with the forces of oppression, the play mines the elusive meaning of sanity during times of madness.
  • The Czar's Daughters by Angela J. Davis
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: drama
    Genre: drama
    Play explores the bravery, sisterly love, and truth of the Russian princesses who temporarily foiled their assassins.
  • MATA H. by Angela J. Davis
    Cast: 
    5–6
    ·
    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: Mata Hari, World War I + 3 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: Mata Hari, World War I, female spy, Nuns, historical drama
    Inspired by the woman known by her stage name, Mata Hari, this play explores the other side of one of the twentieth's century's most reviled female characters. Play also explores her improbable relationship with the nuns who cared for Margaret (Mata Hari's true name) during her imprisonment.
  • Hong Kong Date Night by Angela J. Davis
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: comedy
    Genre: comedy
    Serio-comedy inspired by true story of pandas who mated for the first time during the privacy of the coronavirus lockdown.
  • Daughters of Love and War by Angela J. Davis
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: drama
    Genre: drama
    Teenage Russian Princesses, a World War I Spy, a French Revolutionary female assassin, and an African President make up a montage of women facing nightmares of history.