Harrison Bryan

Harrison Bryan

HARRISON BRYAN is an award-winning NYC-based playwright, librettist, actor, producer, clown, and puppeteer. A proud member of The Dramatists Guild of America; Harrison is a Two-Time Awarded Finalist at NYC’s Steven Sondheim's “Write-A-Play Festival.” Recently, his play, "[ WORLD WAR <3 ]," received a special reading Off-Broadway at the prestigious Cherry Lane Theatre. His "Shakespeare...
HARRISON BRYAN is an award-winning NYC-based playwright, librettist, actor, producer, clown, and puppeteer. A proud member of The Dramatists Guild of America; Harrison is a Two-Time Awarded Finalist at NYC’s Steven Sondheim's “Write-A-Play Festival.” Recently, his play, "[ WORLD WAR <3 ]," received a special reading Off-Broadway at the prestigious Cherry Lane Theatre. His "Shakespeare Sharts," a series of Shakespeare-inspired parodies, have won and been nominated for several awards, including the Players Theatre "Short Play Festival" award for "Best Play." His writing has been featured, produced, read, and workshopped Off-Broadway at The Flea, MCC's "FreshPlay Festival", FringeNYC, The Cherry Lane, Broadway Comedy Club, Playthings Theatre Co., @ The Irish Rep, The Rude Mechanicals, Ugly Rhino, The Kraine, Urban Waves @ Open Hydrant, The Players Theatre, The Nuyorican, Dixon Place, People’s Improv Theatre, The Dramatist Guild Fund's Music Hall, Lucky Jacks, Pete's Candy Store, NYU, and Boston University. He also served as a Writer/Actor for 5 years w/ “FACES, Theatre Network for Teens,” using playwriting/improvisation to promote tolerance, peace, & anti-bullying. For more: www.HarrisonBryan.com

As an actor, he has performed Off-Broadway and regionally, in theatres all around the country. Selective credits include: Cherry Lane's "A Patron of the Arts" by Kate Cortesi {Princess Grace Fellowship w/New Dramatists}, Brecht on Brecht (PTP/NYC: Atlantic Theatre Co.), "Rescue Rue" (Daryl Roth Theatre), Christopher Boone in "The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-Time" [Helen Hayes Nomination, BWW Award, "Best Actor in a Play"] (Round House Theatre, Pioneer Theatre - regional premiere), Seymour in "Little Shop of Horrors" and Princeton/Rod in "Avenue Q" (Farmers Alley Theatre), Jason/Tyrone in "Hand to God" (Sarasota's "HANDY AWARD," F.S.T.) and Feste in "Twelfth Night" (Powerhouse Theatre Co.)

For MORE, please visit his website: www.HarrisonBryan.com/my-writing

Plays

  • [ World War <3 ] by Harrison Bryan
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
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    Keyword: LGBTQ, banter + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
    Keyword: LGBTQ, banter, World War Three, technology, communication, NYC, smartphones
    In the near [frighteningly foreseeable] future, mankind's ability to multitask on their smartphones has increased significantly. Cyber communication is at an all time high - while "making eye-contact" is a fleeting part of our nostalgic past. In a small, two-bedroom, NYC basement apartment, two same-sex couples deal with "reality" on their smartphones more than the reality of an...
    In the near [frighteningly foreseeable] future, mankind's ability to multitask on their smartphones has increased significantly. Cyber communication is at an all time high - while "making eye-contact" is a fleeting part of our nostalgic past. In a small, two-bedroom, NYC basement apartment, two same-sex couples deal with "reality" on their smartphones more than the reality of an imminent airstrike targeting New York City. It's the first day of World War Three...is there an app for that?
  • A HANUKKAH CAROL, or GELT TRIP! The Musical by Harrison Bryan
    Cast: 
    8
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, comedy + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: musical, holiday + 7 more
    Genre: adaptation, comedy, holiday, musical, parody/spoof
    Keyword: musical, holiday, Seasonal, hanukkah, Dickens, parody, adaptation, comedy, Musical comedy
    Narcissistic millennial influencer Chava Kanipshin (known to her followers as ”Queen Vava”) is obsessed with her social media empire… so much so that she has no time or energy for the real world, for actual friendships, or—least of all—for Hanukkah with her family. That is, until she is transported on an unforgettable trip that compels her to rethink everything… a trip led by Spirits of the Past, Present, and...
    Narcissistic millennial influencer Chava Kanipshin (known to her followers as ”Queen Vava”) is obsessed with her social media empire… so much so that she has no time or energy for the real world, for actual friendships, or—least of all—for Hanukkah with her family. That is, until she is transported on an unforgettable trip that compels her to rethink everything… a trip led by Spirits of the Past, Present, and Future. Think you know this story? Think again! Irreverent playwright Harrison Bryan teams with composer Aaron Kenny and lyricist Rob Berliner to subvert—and convert—this holiday classic.
  • STILL NOT by Harrison Bryan
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
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    Keyword: bench, banter + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: bench, banter, love, heartbreak, strangers, chemistry, waiting
    A young man walks past the same bench, every single day, his entire life. It's always empty. Until now. One Bench. Two Strangers. STILL NOT is an honest, comedic, skewed-romantic exploration into the traps of waiting for love...and the fear that it may never come.
  • SNOW by Harrison Bryan
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, fable/folktale + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: love, breakup + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, fable/folktale, romantic comedy
    Keyword: love, breakup, fairy tale
    Seven men in Snow's young millennial life have shaped her views of the difficult dating world that is: New York City. So, after she's mugged on the night of her birthday, it only makes sense for her to show up, unannounced, at the front door of her ex-boyfriend's apartment, right? After recounting what has been the most absurd and heart-breaking three years of her life, she seeks closure - in an...
    Seven men in Snow's young millennial life have shaped her views of the difficult dating world that is: New York City. So, after she's mugged on the night of her birthday, it only makes sense for her to show up, unannounced, at the front door of her ex-boyfriend's apartment, right? After recounting what has been the most absurd and heart-breaking three years of her life, she seeks closure - in an attempt to regain the "Happy" she feels she's lost.
  • Ghost Tour USA by Harrison Bryan
    Cast: 
    7
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, satire
    ·
    Keyword: satire, ghosts + 6 more
    Genre: dark comedy, satire
    Keyword: satire, ghosts, USA, southern, Fundamentalism, America, dark comedy, Spanish
    Welcome to St. FlowersDie, USA! A fictional town somewhere in the deepest South of the most rural Red-State America. In this biting satire - this frighteningly absurd and violent cannonball into the bloody swimming pool of American Southern Fundamentalism - we follow Mary, a gullible 16 year-old girl, whose only dream in life is to be a tour guide for "Ghost Tours USA." But when a surprising birthday...
    Welcome to St. FlowersDie, USA! A fictional town somewhere in the deepest South of the most rural Red-State America. In this biting satire - this frighteningly absurd and violent cannonball into the bloody swimming pool of American Southern Fundamentalism - we follow Mary, a gullible 16 year-old girl, whose only dream in life is to be a tour guide for "Ghost Tours USA." But when a surprising birthday wish comes true, and her Daddy's darkest secret is revealed, Mary's definition of "A Ghost" is forced to change forever.
  • IN FAIR CORONA... by Harrison Bryan
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2–3
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, comedy + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: coronavirus, Shakespeare + 6 more
    Genre: adaptation, comedy, parody/spoof, period, political
    Keyword: coronavirus, Shakespeare, spoof, Quarantine, Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence, contemporary shakespeare, based on Shakespeare
    In the middle of ACT V, Scene 2, of Shakespeare's ROMEO AND JULIET - [spoiler alert] - Friar Lawrence's letter, (y'know, the one with the really important, life-or-death, information in it), does NOT reach Romeo. Learning there's a virus potentially spreading through Verona, Friar Lawrence has to decide whether he should stay quarantined with Friar John (y'know, the other Friar in the...
    In the middle of ACT V, Scene 2, of Shakespeare's ROMEO AND JULIET - [spoiler alert] - Friar Lawrence's letter, (y'know, the one with the really important, life-or-death, information in it), does NOT reach Romeo. Learning there's a virus potentially spreading through Verona, Friar Lawrence has to decide whether he should stay quarantined with Friar John (y'know, the other Friar in the play..?) - OR save his favorite star-crossed lovers from their ill-fated doom.

  • ROMEO's JULES by Harrison Bryan
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, parody/spoof + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare + 4 more
    Genre: dark comedy, parody/spoof, period, tragedy, verse
    Keyword: Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare, death, love, afterlife, Relationships
    At the end of Shakespeare's ROMEO AND JULIET [Spoiler Alert] - they die. Their souls fly to the afterlife...and then what? Our favorite star-crossed lovers find themselves in an unknown liminal space confronting the "reality" of dramatic literature's most infamous romantic miscommunication.
  • IAGO's ROD by Harrison Bryan
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, parody/spoof + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: Shakespeare, Othello + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, parody/spoof, tragedy, verse
    Keyword: Shakespeare, Othello, iago, Roderigo, murder, love
    In the middle of ACT V, Scene 1, of Shakespeare's OTHELLO - [spoiler alert] - Iago betrays Roderigo, stabbing his "best friend" in the back. But what really happened during their final moment together...might just leave Shakespeare's most verbose liar - finally speechless.
  • OPHELIA LATER by Harrison Bryan
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, parody/spoof + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: Shakespeare, Hamlet + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, parody/spoof, tragedy, verse
    Keyword: Shakespeare, Hamlet, Ophelia, Gertrude
    After Act IV, Scene 5 of Shakespeare's HAMLET, Gertrude arrives back to the castle to - [spoiler alert] - tell Laertes of his sisters' unfortunate death. But what exactly happened by that willow tree that "grows aslant a brook" ? Could a mad mad Ophelia uncover the truth about what's really rotten in the state of Denmark?
  • (_______) This Country by Harrison Bryan
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: Mexican American, deportation + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, political, satire
    Keyword: Mexican American, deportation, pranks
    A young Mexican-American father gets a surprise visit from his old childhood friend...who happens to be a United States Deportation Officer. His wife's not too happy about this "surprise visit"...
  • Blue Lobster by Harrison Bryan
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, movement/physical + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: water, lobsters + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, movement/physical, parody/spoof
    Keyword: water, lobsters, LGBTQ, silly, Heart
    In this underwater ten-minute play, a rare BLUE lobster decides she wants to identify as something more than what her Mamma Lobster wants her to be.
  • Black and White and Red All Over by Harrison Bryan
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: love, communication + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: love, communication, gender, zebras, humanity, zoo, abstract
    In this little abstract poem-of-a-play, A Human and A Zebra discuss their curiosities, their inherent differences, and inevitably...their love.
  • THAT TIME A REAL CLOCK WAS UPSET ABOUT THE INANIMATELY INCORRECT CASTING OF DISNEY’s LIVE-ACTION REMAKE OF "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST" ...OR, JUST A CLOCK by Harrison Bryan
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: Disney, objects + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, political, satire
    Keyword: Disney, objects, casting
    A clock and a table discuss um...well, the title says it all doesn't it.
  • POINTALISM, or the study of points by Harrison Bryan
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, experimental + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: abstract, points + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, experimental, movement/physical, satire
    Keyword: abstract, points, critics
    This weird, almost existential, and abstract presentation of theatrical thought explores the relationship between a playwright, his script, and - well - everyone else who doesn't "get it"...WARNING: "POINTALISM, or the study of points" should only be performed by the bravest of theatre artists.
  • BALLS, The Monster-Catchin' Musical Comedy by Harrison Bryan
    Cast: 
    7–8
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: satire, puppets + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, farce, movement/physical, musical, parody/spoof, satire
    Keyword: satire, puppets, Pokemon, video games, adventure, parody, musical, comedy
    When the Spittle Squad radicalizes into a fascist regime, the status quo of the cuddle-punching monster world is threatened, leaving hope in the non-heroic hands of The Professor and his piece of shit grandson.

    It’s a wildly unauthorized satirical musical, with about 150 characters played by about 7 people and their carpal tunnel puppet hands. (co-written by Brandon Zelman and Broadway-bound...
    When the Spittle Squad radicalizes into a fascist regime, the status quo of the cuddle-punching monster world is threatened, leaving hope in the non-heroic hands of The Professor and his piece of shit grandson.

    It’s a wildly unauthorized satirical musical, with about 150 characters played by about 7 people and their carpal tunnel puppet hands. (co-written by Brandon Zelman and Broadway-bound composer, Joriah Kwamé.)