William Whitehurst

William Whitehurst

William is the author of numerous dramatic works which have been produced in major markets in the UK, Europe and the US, including Edinburgh, London, Belgrade, New York and Los Angeles. Awards include winner, Renegade New Original Works Festival, One Act Category, 2018 and finalist, Alliance Theater of Atlanta’s Kendeda Playwriting Competition 2005 (He Who Outruns Rainstorms); Hollywood Fringe Encore Award 2016...
William is the author of numerous dramatic works which have been produced in major markets in the UK, Europe and the US, including Edinburgh, London, Belgrade, New York and Los Angeles. Awards include winner, Renegade New Original Works Festival, One Act Category, 2018 and finalist, Alliance Theater of Atlanta’s Kendeda Playwriting Competition 2005 (He Who Outruns Rainstorms); Hollywood Fringe Encore Award 2016 (Cockroach Dialogues); Best Play and Best Overall Production, San Francisco International Fringe Festival 2008 (Knuckleball); Best Play, Eclectic Theater’s Hurricane Season of One Acts, Los Angeles, 2004 (Menage a Trois); and first place, Theater League of South Florida Annual New Plays Prize 2002 (Mosshead). William holds an MFA in Creative Writing/Drama from Florida International University and an MFA in Theatre and Dramatic Writing from the University of Southern California. He is a co-founder (with Andy McQuade) of The Second Skin Theatre Company. He currently teaches history and English at the International French School of Singapore.

Plays

  • Knuckleball by William Whitehurst
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: LGBTQ, baseball + 2 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: LGBTQ, baseball, U.S. working class, complex love story
    In a moment of passion and intimacy, Ross proposes to Trish. She tells him she wants to marry him, but cannot. But he won’t take no for an answer—she must either marry him or explain why she won’t. And so she tells an extraordinary tale about who—and what—she really is. But is she telling the truth? And if she is, will the truth destroy these lovers, or save them? Knuckleball challenges us to rethink the nature...
    In a moment of passion and intimacy, Ross proposes to Trish. She tells him she wants to marry him, but cannot. But he won’t take no for an answer—she must either marry him or explain why she won’t. And so she tells an extraordinary tale about who—and what—she really is. But is she telling the truth? And if she is, will the truth destroy these lovers, or save them? Knuckleball challenges us to rethink the nature and meaning of love in our contemporary world.
  • Rasputin by William Whitehurst
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: Rasputin, Russia + 7 more
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic, drama
    Keyword: Rasputin, Russia, History, haemophilia, tsarina, Assassination, occult, Alexandra Romanov, aristocrats
    From the backward villages and primeval forests of Siberia, Rasputin comes to decadent St. Petersburg, thirsting for power, sex and revenge. But the mysterious ability he has to heal the Tsarina's son becomes not only a tool to gain power over her and Russia but a window into the contradictions of his own tormented soul. Con man or holy man? Saviour or destroyer? The fate of an empire hangs in the balance.
  • The Cockroach Dialogues by William Whitehurst
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: cockroaches, actors + 5 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, fantasy, horror
    Keyword: cockroaches, actors, acting, Los Angeles, music, folk music, producer
    Wayne, an aspiring actor and his singer-songwriter girlfriend Tea have moved to Los Angeles to pursue their careers in entertainment. But it’s been two years and neither of them have gotten a foot in the door and now their bank accounts are empty, their credit cards are maxed out and the refrigerator is empty. Worse, Wayne is being kept awake at night by a Cockroach, who desperately tries to convince Wayne to...
    Wayne, an aspiring actor and his singer-songwriter girlfriend Tea have moved to Los Angeles to pursue their careers in entertainment. But it’s been two years and neither of them have gotten a foot in the door and now their bank accounts are empty, their credit cards are maxed out and the refrigerator is empty. Worse, Wayne is being kept awake at night by a Cockroach, who desperately tries to convince Wayne to give up his acting career and get a “real job” so they can get some food on the table. When Tea gets a meeting with Bob, an industry executive, it seems they may have found a way out. But as the Cockroach says, "L.A. man, L.A. will throw you a curve..." A darkly comic look at the sacrifices artists must make in pursuit of their dreams.
  • Pigeon Man Apocalypse by William Whitehurst
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: child abuse, pigeons + 1 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, experimental, fantasy, horror
    Keyword: child abuse, pigeons, London
    Arthur Cork has walled himself up in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of London where he lives on only pigeons and rainwater. Until one day when a young couple with a baby move in next door and Arthur’s long dormant demons awake.
  • Watching the Detectives by William Whitehurst
    Cast: 
    7
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: Postmodernism, university + 5 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, mystery/thriller
    Keyword: Postmodernism, university, education, dark comedy, mystery, thriller, whodunnit
    Professor of English Dr. Alice Cameron comes to believe that Dr. Stuart Van Eisenstadt, a colleague in the department, has stolen the manuscript of her new book on the fictional detective as the “postmodern hero”, and is leaving behind clues to taunt her. Her relentless pursuit of the truth leads her into a dark labyrinth in which she must ultimately confront the contradictions of her own existence. The play...
    Professor of English Dr. Alice Cameron comes to believe that Dr. Stuart Van Eisenstadt, a colleague in the department, has stolen the manuscript of her new book on the fictional detective as the “postmodern hero”, and is leaving behind clues to taunt her. Her relentless pursuit of the truth leads her into a dark labyrinth in which she must ultimately confront the contradictions of her own existence. The play exploits the conventions of the "whodunnit" to explore what it means to be a university teacher in a "postmodern" cultural landscape.
  • A Man Is What A Man Does by William Whitehurst
    Cast: 
    8
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: Black comedy, abortion + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: Black comedy, abortion, beach, alcoholism, ghost, suicide, dive bar, cowardice
    Egged on by the angry ghost of Kevin McNabe, who haunts the dive bar where he was murdered, Billy Frick swears revenge on McNabe’s murderer, the notorious bouncer James Cronley. But Billy must first overcome his own fears of Cronley, a man so terrifying he scares everybody, even himself. And he’s been acting even stranger than usual lately. Could it be that Cronley has fallen for Kelly Shannon, the alcoholic...
    Egged on by the angry ghost of Kevin McNabe, who haunts the dive bar where he was murdered, Billy Frick swears revenge on McNabe’s murderer, the notorious bouncer James Cronley. But Billy must first overcome his own fears of Cronley, a man so terrifying he scares everybody, even himself. And he’s been acting even stranger than usual lately. Could it be that Cronley has fallen for Kelly Shannon, the alcoholic former girlfriend of Kevin McNabe, whom McNabe left pregnant before prematurely departing this earth? Kelly is in fact looking for a father for her child– and will take just about any man in Monroe Beach except Cronley. Kelly seeks to drown her frustrations in the bottle and Cronley’s efforts to save her and her unborn child while Billy plots his murder drag the inhabitants of this small beach community to the edge- and over. A dark comedy that nevertheless finds light in the most unexpected places.