Iraisa Ann Reilly

Iraisa Ann Reilly

Iraisa Ann Reilly (She/Ella) is a writer, performer, and educator who is half-Cuban, half-Irish, and whole New Jersey.
Select full-length plays include Good Cuban Girls (Teatro del Sol, at The Arden Theatre), The Jersey Devil is a Papi Chulo (Winner, Latinx New Play Festival at La Jolla Playhouse 2023, Sol Fest 2022, Yale Drama Series Shortlist 2022, Finalist Leah Ryan Prize, KCACTF) Saturday Mourning...
Iraisa Ann Reilly (She/Ella) is a writer, performer, and educator who is half-Cuban, half-Irish, and whole New Jersey.
Select full-length plays include Good Cuban Girls (Teatro del Sol, at The Arden Theatre), The Jersey Devil is a Papi Chulo (Winner, Latinx New Play Festival at La Jolla Playhouse 2023, Sol Fest 2022, Yale Drama Series Shortlist 2022, Finalist Leah Ryan Prize, KCACTF) Saturday Mourning Cartoons (Winner, Bay Area Playwright’s Festival 2022, Arkansas New Play Festival 2023, Finalist Goldberg Playwriting Prize 2022, Semifinalist Blue Ink Award 2023, Semifinalist Premiere Stages).
Her work has been developed with Theatre Exile, The New Harmony Project, The Chain Theatre, The Workshop Theatre, ARTHouse INKubator, NYU Production Lab’s Development Studio and the Latinx Playwright’s Circle. Her play “House Bill 3979: Amendment #10: The Life and Works of Dr. Hector P. Garcia” was commissioned and produced by Texas A&M-University-Corpus Christi in 2022.
Iraisa Ann is currently under commission with the Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia and Michigan State University. She is a recipient of the 2023 Latinx Playwright’s Circle Mentorship, working with mentor Migdalia Cruz. Thanks to a Lucille Lortel Micro-commission, Iraisa Ann is currently writing and developing her one-woman show “January 6th: A Celebration,” to reclaim the date January 6th, a significant religious holiday in the Catholic Latine community.
As a screenwriter, her screenplay La Reina del Bronx won best screenplay at Fusion Film Festival and was a semifinalist for the Vail Screenwriting Competition. Iraisa Ann recently performed off-Broadway in Arlene Hutton’s According to the Chorus. She’s taught students of all ages and is an adjunct professor of Dramatic Writing at NYU.

MFA in Dramatic Writing, NYU, BA Theatre and English University of Notre Dame.iraisaannreilly.com

Plays

  • Good Cuban Girls by Iraisa Ann Reilly
    Recommendations: 7
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: comedy, drama + 3 more
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    Keyword: unplanned pregnancy, Cuban + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, faith-based, movement/physical, political
    Keyword: unplanned pregnancy, Cuban, immigration, first generation American, pregnancy, women
    Marisol is home from college for the summer-with a big secret. How will she break this news to the matriarchs of her family without inducing her grandmother's instantaneous death? Good Cuban Girls is a coming of age story that navigates the first generation American struggle for cultural preservation in the face of exile. This bilingual play is an examination of faith, family and culture through three...
    Marisol is home from college for the summer-with a big secret. How will she break this news to the matriarchs of her family without inducing her grandmother's instantaneous death? Good Cuban Girls is a coming of age story that navigates the first generation American struggle for cultural preservation in the face of exile. This bilingual play is an examination of faith, family and culture through three generations of Good Cuban Girls.
    Produced by Teatro Del Sol in Residence at Arden Theatre Company 2019
  • The Jersey Devil Is a Papi Chulo by Iraisa Ann Reilly
    Recommendations: 13
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    Cast: 
    7
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 4 more
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    Keyword: bilingual, Latinx + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, farce, parody/spoof, political, satire
    Keyword: bilingual, Latinx, New Jersey, Immigrant, women, Men, Camping, post covid-19
    The Jersey Devil Is A Papi Chulo is a comedic, bilingual, post-quarantine play. Five American-Latina friends embark on a camping trip in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey for the bachelorette party that should have been. There they encounter two white “papi chulos” (‘hotties’) who are doing this camping thing right: with running water. The boys hatch a plan inspired by reality television in order to determine...
    The Jersey Devil Is A Papi Chulo is a comedic, bilingual, post-quarantine play. Five American-Latina friends embark on a camping trip in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey for the bachelorette party that should have been. There they encounter two white “papi chulos” (‘hotties’) who are doing this camping thing right: with running water. The boys hatch a plan inspired by reality television in order to determine which of the femme-fatales they will save from deportation through marriage. But will the boys be able to save the women from The Jersey Devil?


    Latinx New Play Festival 2023
    Finalist Leah Ryan Prize 2022
    Sol Project Sol Fest 2022
    Yale Drama Series Short List, 2022
    Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Latinx Playwrighting Award
    Second Place Mark Twain Prize for Comedic Playwriting

  • Saturday Mourning Cartoons by Iraisa Ann Reilly
    Recommendations: 7
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: drama, faith-based + 1 more
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    Keyword: bilingual, Latine + 7 more
    Genre: drama, faith-based, political
    Keyword: bilingual, Latine, Latinx family, healthcare, nursing homes, Covid's effect on people of color, nursing, COVID-19 pandemic, faith
    Jessica and Benny have a falling out over whether to put their abuela, Yolanda, in a nursing home. Ultimately, Benny wins the argument, and Yolanda is sent to “el home.” When a pandemic hits and they are no longer able to go inside during visiting hours, the family is forced to confront one another while visiting her at the window. Yolanda will never find herself alone, as she is constantly in the care and...
    Jessica and Benny have a falling out over whether to put their abuela, Yolanda, in a nursing home. Ultimately, Benny wins the argument, and Yolanda is sent to “el home.” When a pandemic hits and they are no longer able to go inside during visiting hours, the family is forced to confront one another while visiting her at the window. Yolanda will never find herself alone, as she is constantly in the care and presence of a special visitor. Saturday Mourning Cartoons is a play about dealing with change when everything changes at once, and mourning alone in a time of collective mourning.

    Arkansas New Play Festival 2023
    Bay Area Playwrights Festival 2022
    Finalist Goldberg Playwrighting Prize 2022
    Semi-Finalist Blue Ink Playwriting Award 2023
    Semi-Finalist Premiere Stages Festival 2023
  • Miss America Pretty by Iraisa Ann Reilly
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: Latinx, beauty pageant + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, fantasy, political
    Keyword: Latinx, beauty pageant, feminist, gentrification, Body image
    In Miss America Pretty, Cristina Morales is mourning the death of her mother and working at a casino on the brink of bankruptcy in Atlantic City. Feeling trapped by life and the barrier island she calls home, Cristina is visited by the ghost of Miss America Past, who promises to turn her into a pageant queen. Can Cristina become Miss America without losing herself in the process?

    Latinx...
    In Miss America Pretty, Cristina Morales is mourning the death of her mother and working at a casino on the brink of bankruptcy in Atlantic City. Feeling trapped by life and the barrier island she calls home, Cristina is visited by the ghost of Miss America Past, who promises to turn her into a pageant queen. Can Cristina become Miss America without losing herself in the process?

    Latinx Playwright's Circle Mentorship with Migdalia Cruz 2023
  • Madame Anastasia's Crystal Ball by Iraisa Ann Reilly
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: drama, political + 1 more
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    Keyword: New Jersey, female friendships + 8 more
    Genre: drama, political, tragedy
    Keyword: New Jersey, female friendships, Adolescence, economic collapse, astrology, Jersey Shore, online dating, addiction, teenagers, Bruce Springsteen
    The summer of 2006 was supposed to be the best one yet for best friends Marina and Jenni. Chasing after boys, working at Angelo’s Pizza on the boardwalk, and partying at night. But ten years later, in 2016, Marina returns, harboring a secret and trying to figure out why her life took a wrong turn after that summer. Nothing is the same, with nearby Atlantic City full of bankrupt casinos, and a friendship that is...
    The summer of 2006 was supposed to be the best one yet for best friends Marina and Jenni. Chasing after boys, working at Angelo’s Pizza on the boardwalk, and partying at night. But ten years later, in 2016, Marina returns, harboring a secret and trying to figure out why her life took a wrong turn after that summer. Nothing is the same, with nearby Atlantic City full of bankrupt casinos, and a friendship that is ripping apart at the seams. Why didn’t the psychic medium warn them about all of this ten years ago? And if she had, would they have listened?
    Semifinalist, Bay Area Playwright's Festival 2021.
  • Cloistered by Iraisa Ann Reilly
    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: comedy, young audiences
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    Keyword: New York City, animals + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, young audiences
    Keyword: New York City, animals, Nun, History
    A nun and a rat meet at Ft. Tryon Park in NYC, and they become friends.
  • Ocean Beach by Iraisa Ann Reilly
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama
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    Keyword: family, female + 2 more
    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama
    Keyword: family, female, Alzheimer's Disease, adoption
    It’s been a while since Rose’s mother, Esther could remember much. Her disease has caused her to slip into an unresponsive coma, and Rose sits by her side during what will be the final hours of her life. Knowing that her mother can hear her, she decides to read letters which she found while cleaning out her childhood home. The letters were written by Rose’s father, Joseph, in the month’s leading up to their...
    It’s been a while since Rose’s mother, Esther could remember much. Her disease has caused her to slip into an unresponsive coma, and Rose sits by her side during what will be the final hours of her life. Knowing that her mother can hear her, she decides to read letters which she found while cleaning out her childhood home. The letters were written by Rose’s father, Joseph, in the month’s leading up to their wedding in 1947. As Rose reads the letters, Joseph and Esther appear reliving their love story, and their daughter discovers the life they lived before they were her parents. Two people who were never going to marry until one day when everything changed. A day that Rose never knew about until her parents decided to tell her through the letters.
  • One Day Old by Iraisa Ann Reilly
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    7–9
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    Genre: adaptation, docudrama/historic + 3 more
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    Keyword: Latinx, Cuban + 4 more
    Genre: adaptation, docudrama/historic, drama, fantasy, political
    Keyword: Latinx, Cuban, refugee, History, magical realism, dreams
    One day Old tells the true story of Operacion Pedro Pan through the lens of a dream. Wendy is the daughter of a Cuban exile and a college freshman away from home for the first time. She loses a necklace that her father gave her- one of the few physical items that her family has since they fled Cuba in the early 1960s. In a dream, she meets Pedro, a seventeen year-old man from 1962 who has fled Cuba through the...
    One day Old tells the true story of Operacion Pedro Pan through the lens of a dream. Wendy is the daughter of a Cuban exile and a college freshman away from home for the first time. She loses a necklace that her father gave her- one of the few physical items that her family has since they fled Cuba in the early 1960s. In a dream, she meets Pedro, a seventeen year-old man from 1962 who has fled Cuba through the underground operation that came to be known as Operacion Pedro Pan. Together they navigate a spiritual world that transcends the past and present. Pedro searches for his family as Wendy discovers what she was really after all along.
  • The Merit Badge by Iraisa Ann Reilly
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: drama, experimental + 1 more
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    Keyword: immigration, child separation + 1 more
    Genre: drama, experimental, political
    Keyword: immigration, child separation, foster care
    Fabiola, a girl scout, tries to scale a wall in the middle of the night. Her friend India finds her. Fabiola explains she is trying to get to a park on the other side of the wall where her mom is waiting to see her through a fence. Will India help her even though it might mean going against the vow of serving God and Country? Will she risk her merit badge to help a sister?
  • La Reina Del Bronx by Iraisa Ann Reilly
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: comedy, docudrama/historic + 4 more
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    Keyword: Latinx, drag + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, period, political, tragedy
    Keyword: Latinx, drag, bilingual, Spanish, immigration, 1960s
    The Bronx, 1965. Carmen and Juanito were friends in Havana. Now they are refugees in the Bronx. She helps him get ready for a drag show as she tries to get the new dirt about "el jefe" from the factory that they work at. Carmen comes to realize that sometimes you don't want to know "el chisme".
  • The Heartbreakers by Iraisa Ann Reilly
    Recommendations: 4
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: comedy
    Genre: comedy
    Millenials navigate the dating world- the flipside to Tom Petty.
  • Not 21 Yet by Iraisa Ann Reilly
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama + 3 more
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    Keyword: Iraq, war
    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama, period, political, tragedy
    Keyword: Iraq, war
    2005. Two estranged friends from Atlantic City embark on different paths; College and Iraq. Written prior to 11/8/16, yet with references to #Trump.
  • Tom Petty by Iraisa Ann Reilly
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: comedy, parody/spoof
    Genre: comedy, parody/spoof
    Two women talk at the mall talking about 'that guy' at work. And he shows up.