Greg Hovanesian

Greg Hovanesian

Greg Hovanesian is a playwright, actor and theatre producer based in Boston, MA. His works have been produced and/or developed by Gallery Players, the Nora Theatre Company (Boston Theater Marathon XXI), Boston Actors Theater, the UAE Theatre Festival, the One-Minute Play Festival, Jacklyn Thrapp LLC, Jakespeare Virtual Theatre Company, Image Theater, Target Stage Company (Boston Theater Marathon XXII)...
Greg Hovanesian is a playwright, actor and theatre producer based in Boston, MA. His works have been produced and/or developed by Gallery Players, the Nora Theatre Company (Boston Theater Marathon XXI), Boston Actors Theater, the UAE Theatre Festival, the One-Minute Play Festival, Jacklyn Thrapp LLC, Jakespeare Virtual Theatre Company, Image Theater, Target Stage Company (Boston Theater Marathon XXII) Playwrights' Platform, Hovey Players, the Huntington Theatre Company (2019 Playwright Bake-Off), River's Edge Arts Alliance, Centastage, Weekend Writers Workshop, Generic Theater, and others. His plays have been published in anthologies by Smith and Kraus, New World Theatre, and Playwrights' Platform Publishing. He has produced plays at the Rockwell (Somerville, MA) and the Players' Ring Theatre (Portsmouth, NH) with his company, Ya Bird? Productions. In 2016 his play one-act play WATER won Best Play at the Playwrights' Platform's Annual Festival of New Plays. Greg is also an actor who was awarded Best Actor at the 2016 Playwrights’ Platform Festival of New Plays. He is Social Media Coordinator for the New England New Play Alliance, was President of Playwrights' Platform from 2018-2021, and he belongs to StageSource and the Dramatists Guild of America. Learn more at greghovanesian.com.

Plays

  • WILDERNESS
    ONE-ACT: Late at night, in a dark and remote forest, two men find themselves alone with only the stars and a telescope to keep them company. As they watch the stars above, they discuss the things that friends often discuss: life, actions and consequences , the reasons people do the things they do. But as one sentence connects to another, and as the sky above continues to darken, the words spoken by the two...
    ONE-ACT: Late at night, in a dark and remote forest, two men find themselves alone with only the stars and a telescope to keep them company. As they watch the stars above, they discuss the things that friends often discuss: life, actions and consequences , the reasons people do the things they do. But as one sentence connects to another, and as the sky above continues to darken, the words spoken by the two begin to take on sinister meanings. And as the light completely fades away, the words themselves dissipate, leaving only the animal instincts of the two to guide them through the night.
  • Water
    ONE-ACT: In an alternate, yet familiar, universe, two white business men try to have a meeting in a conference room. When a problem with the drinking water arises, the meeting is put on hold, and solutions are offered to fix the water problem. But things quickly go from bad to worse.
  • A Bedtime Story
    ONE-ACT: A woman is fighting for the rights of another human being while telling a fairy tale: a child is trying to find safety. And though children may not understand the concept of fighting for their rights, they can understand that successfully escaping a land of oppression is sometimes the only way to survive.
  • Driving: A Monologue
    A woman tries to buy a car.
  • FAT UGLY PIGS ON CAMERA
    FULL-LENGTH: Sue has some problems. In a world where women, as opposed to men, run the internet porn industry, she’s a successful producer. But that success has bred enemies: the courts, the FBI, and of course, her own child. As her world unravels, and as people who she love become irrevocably damaged, the cameras continue to roll, capturing scenes of love for millions to see. There may be only one thing...
    FULL-LENGTH: Sue has some problems. In a world where women, as opposed to men, run the internet porn industry, she’s a successful producer. But that success has bred enemies: the courts, the FBI, and of course, her own child. As her world unravels, and as people who she love become irrevocably damaged, the cameras continue to roll, capturing scenes of love for millions to see. There may be only one thing that can save her, and everyone else, from the madness...an act of violence, a piece of salvation, for all the world to see....
  • TRUTH
    FULL-LENGTH: In the back room of a presidential campaign, where Republican staffers drink stale coffee and sling barbed emails, a storm is brewing. It concerns security. It concerns privacy. It concerns racism. It concerns sex. It concerns a loss of innocence, a lack of ethics, and the threat of violence. But most importantly, it concerns ‘Truth’, a word that has been abused, scandalized, misrepresented,...
    FULL-LENGTH: In the back room of a presidential campaign, where Republican staffers drink stale coffee and sling barbed emails, a storm is brewing. It concerns security. It concerns privacy. It concerns racism. It concerns sex. It concerns a loss of innocence, a lack of ethics, and the threat of violence. But most importantly, it concerns ‘Truth’, a word that has been abused, scandalized, misrepresented, and torn apart in recent years. As four campaigners work to cover up a scandal deep into the night, decisions will be made that change the lives of them all. And as they work, the meaning of the word ‘Truth’ will take on forms that they never thought imaginable.
  • PLATTSBURGH
    FULL-LENGTH: A lot can happen in a supermarket over the course of a night. Items can be stocked. Things can be stolen. Ice cream can be bought. A man can beat his wife for buying too much Easter candy with food stamps. A threat on one’s life could be made. Police could be called. And at the end of the night, when it’s time to lock the doors, lives may be changed.
  • DOWN THE PARK
    FULL-LENGTH: DOWN THE PARK is a story about about rebirth in the Opioid Crisis, of dealing with the pain of death and lost friends and coming to terms with the obstacles life poses. Two friends can’t seem to meet one another and don’t even know why they’re trying to meet. One of them sits on a park bench, waiting, waiting, to see if his friend will come back.
  • ROSES
    Full-Length: Frances loves her guns. Loves ‘em. Loves to hold them, shoot them, aim them, keep them. Frances loves her guns, and that’s fine for Frances, because they keep her safe. Until the day they don’t. Until the day that bullets rain down from the gun of a stranger, killing those that stand in the way. Until the day that her closest friend leaves her, walking away to start a new life. Until the day...
    Full-Length: Frances loves her guns. Loves ‘em. Loves to hold them, shoot them, aim them, keep them. Frances loves her guns, and that’s fine for Frances, because they keep her safe. Until the day they don’t. Until the day that bullets rain down from the gun of a stranger, killing those that stand in the way. Until the day that her closest friend leaves her, walking away to start a new life. Until the day that it’s impossible to tell if she’s living or dying, alive or dead. Frances loves her guns...but do they really love her? And will they keep her safe...when she’s face to face with someone she can’t shoot?
  • THIRSTY
    FULL-LENGTH: Jeremy, a down-on-his-luck member of the online dating community, takes a chance when he's offered a free download of a dark-web based dating app by a mysterious stranger on the street. When he meets Vanessa, who he sees as the perfect woman, on his first date using the Thirsty app, he's thrilled beyond belief. But as their relationship progresses, it becomes clear that Vanessa maybe...
    FULL-LENGTH: Jeremy, a down-on-his-luck member of the online dating community, takes a chance when he's offered a free download of a dark-web based dating app by a mysterious stranger on the street. When he meets Vanessa, who he sees as the perfect woman, on his first date using the Thirsty app, he's thrilled beyond belief. But as their relationship progresses, it becomes clear that Vanessa maybe something more powerful than an ordinary woman...she may be a vampire bent on his destruction.
  • THE SNIPER
    ONE-ACT: In a dirty, non-descript room, two men crouch on the floor. One man, Alex, points his sniper rifle out the window, performing mundane rituals as he searches for enemies to shoot. Another man, David, sits in a corner, sniffing glue and wondering if he’ll be able to find any food to eat. Between them lies a Bible: from time to time they read from it, seemingly more from boredom than interest. As the...
    ONE-ACT: In a dirty, non-descript room, two men crouch on the floor. One man, Alex, points his sniper rifle out the window, performing mundane rituals as he searches for enemies to shoot. Another man, David, sits in a corner, sniffing glue and wondering if he’ll be able to find any food to eat. Between them lies a Bible: from time to time they read from it, seemingly more from boredom than interest. As the time passes, they are visited by two ghost-like individuals: a soldier who appears to be mortally wounded, and a woman who is the mother of several children. Together they pass the time, searching for enemies, sustenance, and ways to keep from going insane in a land torn apart by war.
  • Hope
    A group of people see 'hope.'
  • The Frontman
    SHORT: A frontman in a band looks out into a crowd. He sees the people. He sees the sound man. And for just a second...he sees something else....
  • The Look
    A playwright wrestles with his new job as a screenwriter.
  • Sex
    10-MINUTE: A man and woman lie in bed. As they lie, they talk. As they talk, they travel. Not physically, but verbally, mentally: their minds and voices intertwine with one another. At times their words are silly, frivolous: but as the minutes pass, the words become heavier, take on different meanings. And as they approach some other place, perhaps the world of sleep and dreams, devoid of conversations,...
    10-MINUTE: A man and woman lie in bed. As they lie, they talk. As they talk, they travel. Not physically, but verbally, mentally: their minds and voices intertwine with one another. At times their words are silly, frivolous: but as the minutes pass, the words become heavier, take on different meanings. And as they approach some other place, perhaps the world of sleep and dreams, devoid of conversations, they may begin to wonder: do I really know this person lying next to me?
  • Foreplay
    10-MINUTE: A man and woman go on a date. They order food. They talk. They flirt. They seduce. They talk some more. They eat. They laugh. They smile. They frown. They stand. They anger. They threaten. They sit. They think. They dream. They cleanse. They clean. They bow their heads in silence. They look. They see. They feel. They worry. And finally, they wonder, “Is this the right person for me?”
  • Marriage
    Two women discuss life and marriage over jasmine tea and try to ignore the masked and naked husband chained to the floor and screaming.
  • School
    10-Minute: Liz and Erica love each other as deeply as two friends can. At times they don’t, can’t, understand the other. But they try, even if they can’t. They sit together, sharing some tea, talking. At times, there are tears. There is also laughter. Friendship can be a struggle, a puzzle for two to figure out, together.
  • The Bull
    10-Minute: A man sees a deer in his garden: a buck, a large male. A woman sits nearby, reading the news, trying to make sense of a world gone mad. When they talk, they find themselves miles apart, despite their sharing of a home together.
  • Fuck Science!
    A jester delivers bad news to a king and queen.
  • The Most Beautiful Story
    An ancient grudge involving arsenic-coated balloons leads to a horribly tragic act against two lovers.
  • Information
    SHORT: A lone woman stands on stage under a single light, and makes a request: for an unseen person not to take a picture of her. From the darkness surrounding her, figures begin to move, and a chorus of voices are heard, filling her world with fragmented sentences: some sinister, some mundane, some unfinished. A loud and uncaring voice emerges from the shadows, imploring everyone to look at something we...
    SHORT: A lone woman stands on stage under a single light, and makes a request: for an unseen person not to take a picture of her. From the darkness surrounding her, figures begin to move, and a chorus of voices are heard, filling her world with fragmented sentences: some sinister, some mundane, some unfinished. A loud and uncaring voice emerges from the shadows, imploring everyone to look at something we cannot see. Slowly, the voices begin to subside, and the movement on the darkened stage becomes stillness. The woman is left alone in the spotlight to make her request once again.
  • RoboTeacher
    SHORT: A teacher sits alone in a classroom. A student enters the room and puts his phone to the side of the teacher’s temple. Suddenly, the teacher comes alive. The lesson begins. The teacher gives the lesson based on a deep database of school subjects. But as the teacher and student converse, something goes amiss. Communication lines are broken down. Connections are missed. And, as the lesson nears its...
    SHORT: A teacher sits alone in a classroom. A student enters the room and puts his phone to the side of the teacher’s temple. Suddenly, the teacher comes alive. The lesson begins. The teacher gives the lesson based on a deep database of school subjects. But as the teacher and student converse, something goes amiss. Communication lines are broken down. Connections are missed. And, as the lesson nears its end, and the student begins to power down the teacher, the question of ‘what education truly is’ remains, floating unanswered in the air.
  • Pizza
    A woman holds gun on a man, and all the while a pizza sits waiting on a table.
  • The Angels
    A father confronts an angel on the beach...a son tries to intervene....
  • A Pleasant Evening Out with Dear Friends at a Highly-Rated Restaurant Ruined by the Unpleasant Truth that If Rancid Meat Is Left Out Too Long, A Terrible Smell Will Stain the Walls Forever and Ever and Ever…
    One-Minute: Some friends go out to dinner...with their phones....
  • Gentri-Fried Chicken
    One-Minute: A man and woman try to order French fries at a restaurant.
  • The Dreamers
    SHORT: In THE DREAMERS, a person falls asleep. Before that happens, however, another person enters the room, seemingly unnoticed. After sleep overtakes the Person who Dreams, the Person in White begins to interact with the dreamer. They talk with one another. Speak on certain matters. Approach certain subjects. And, as soon as it began, it’s over, the two people drifting away from each other, just a dream...
    SHORT: In THE DREAMERS, a person falls asleep. Before that happens, however, another person enters the room, seemingly unnoticed. After sleep overtakes the Person who Dreams, the Person in White begins to interact with the dreamer. They talk with one another. Speak on certain matters. Approach certain subjects. And, as soon as it began, it’s over, the two people drifting away from each other, just a dream drifts away from one’s mind in the mid-morning sun.
  • The Dismemberment of an International Journalist
    Two co-workers talk with each other on the job.
  • THE DISTANCE
    FULL-LENGTH: Two woman find themselves stranded on an island following a zombie apocalypse. All one wants is food; the other, human companionship. Out on the horizon, beyond the breakers, they scan for ships. Waiting and waiting...who will come, they don't know, but they look towards The Distance.
  • In The Colony
    ONE-ACT: In a darkened room, an officer is showing off his government's new means of torturing its citizens to a drunken journalist. On a table in the same room, a woman begins to awaken from a sleep where dreams are stolen and transcribed by a special gas, all in the name of controlling the populace. And behind a door, waiting for everyone to fall asleep, is the mysterious figure of authority, Smith.
  • Big Baby and the Ticker Tape Parade
    SHORT: Everything's going smoothly at the ole' stock exchange...until Big Baby drops by....
  • But it's kind of fun being a drug dealer, alright?
    SHORT: Things get crazy when a man sells marijuana from his apartment.
  • Three People and a Gun
    SHORT: A father tries to protect his family. A mother tries to protect her son. A child finds a new toy to play with. And together, they all come face to face with the terror presented by a single handgun.
  • Smashed
    SHORT: A man comes home drunk and calls his ex-girlfriend when he can't figure out how to microwave his popcorn. Fireworks ensue.
  • Interrogations
    Someone is interrogated...but who...?
  • Monologue for a Woman
    A woman speaks to unseen person and answers unanswered questions.
  • CHARLES/MGH
    ONE-ACT: The darker side of life is seen during a night on the MBTA, Boston's public transportation system, when multiple lives collide with each other above the tracks.
  • On a Bench
    10-Minute: Two men talk about loss and addiction near a bench at a subway station.
  • Soup
    One-Minute: A man is questioned, a woman answers.
  • The Longest Journey
    Three people travel in a boat.
  • Let's Count!
    10-Minute - A man and a woman try to talk to one another.
  • Recipes
    A woman instructs an unseen person on how to cook a meal...and struggles to stay alive....
  • Oxygen
    ONE-ACT: On the streets of an unknown city, several people, themselves unknown to most of society, do their best to survive.
  • The Shovel Who Saved The Day!
    A magical shovel saves some citizens from the horrible cold of the winter!
  • The Football Monologues - UNFINISHED
    People talk about football...and other things....
  • Football Monologue #4
    A woman tries to talk to her mother.
  • Football Monologue #2
    A man talks about his past.
  • One-Minute Monologue for a Woman #4
    MONOLOGUE: A woman needs to talk.
  • One-Minute Monologue for a Woman #3
    MONOLOGUE: A woman talks about her past.
  • One-Minute Monologue for a Woman #2
    MONOLOGUE: A woman goes shopping.
  • One-Minute Monologue For a Woman #1
    MONOLOGUE: A woman talks about an acquaintance.
  • Welcome to Hell!
    10-Minute: Some people gather together in Hell...The Restaurant! The food is served by Angels...or are they Devils? And why do people keep dying? What is this place?? Oh yeah...it's Hell!
  • One-Minute Monologue for a Man #1
    A man talks about some recent experiences.
  • One-Minute Monologue for a Woman #2 - Alternate Final Sentence
    A woman walks down the cereal aisle at the supermarket.
  • Peanut Butter & Jelly: A One-Minute Monologue
    A lesson on PB&J.
  • The Meeting: A One-Minute Monologue
    A person talks about a meeting.
  • How To Boil An Egg: A One-Minute Monologue
    Someone gives instructions on boiling an egg.
  • Pisces: A One-Minute Monologue
    Pisces speaks.
  • Aquarius: A One-Minute Monologue
    Aquarius speaks.
  • Capricorn: A One-Minute Monologue
    Capricorn speaks.
  • Sagittarius: A One-Minute Monologue
    Sagittarius speaks.
  • Scorpio: A One-Minute Monologue
    Scorpio speaks.
  • Libra: A One-Minute Monologue
    Libra speaks.
  • Virgo: A One-Minute Monologue
    Virgo speaks.
  • Leo: A One-Minute Monologue
    Leo speaks.
  • Cancer: A One-Minute Monologue
    Cancer speaks.
  • Gemini: A One-Minute Monologue
    Gemini speaks.
  • Taurus: A One-Minute Monologue
    Taurus speaks.
  • Aries: A One-Minute Monologue
    Aries speaks.
  • Posting: An Instagram-Inspired Gender Neutral 1-Minute Monologue
    A person talks about Instagram.
  • Walk: A One-Minute Monologue for a Woman
    A woman talks about walking.
  • Traffic: A One-Minute Monologue for a Woman
    A woman talks about traffic.
  • Life, and What It Means
    A discussion of life is had by The Oceans, The Earth, Joe Six-Pack, Big Business, the Angel of Death, and a Baby.
  • Why Human Beings Shouldn't Be Trusted
    Some people ride in a car and talk to a non-human voice.
  • Mario Skit
    Can a Massachusetts plumber help Mario learn to be a better plumber?????
  • 26 Maskalogues
    26 people talk about their experiences with life, covid, and 2020.