Monet Hurst-Mendoza

Monet Hurst-Mendoza

Monet Hurst-Mendoza is an NYC-based playwright from Los Angeles, CA. Her plays have been developed with Rising Circle Theater Collective, Astoria Performing Arts Center, American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Atlantic Acting School/NYU Tisch, The Flea Theater, WP Theater, The Public Theater, Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, Westport Country Playhouse, and Long Wharf Theatre, among others. Monet is an alum of...
Monet Hurst-Mendoza is an NYC-based playwright from Los Angeles, CA. Her plays have been developed with Rising Circle Theater Collective, Astoria Performing Arts Center, American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Atlantic Acting School/NYU Tisch, The Flea Theater, WP Theater, The Public Theater, Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, Westport Country Playhouse, and Long Wharf Theatre, among others. Monet is an alum of the Emerging Writers Group at The Public Theater, R&D Group at The Civilians, Fresh Ground Pepper's Playground Playgroup, WP Theater Playwrights Lab, and the Van Lier Fellowship at New Dramatists. She has held residencies at MacDowell, The MITTEN Lab, and SPACE on Ryder Farm. Her play TORERA was featured on the 2019 Kilroys List and received its world premiere at The Alley Theatre in 2023.

Monet served as a Core Member of Rising Circle Theater Collective for eight years where she helped develop INKtank/PlayRISE—a developmental writers lab and new works festival for emerging playwrights of color. Remezcla profiled her in July 2019 as one of the "8 Most Exciting Latino Playwrights Making Work Right Now."

Finalist: Playwright's Week and the New York Jerome Fellowship at The Lark, Old Vic New Voices US/UK Exchange, the Many Voices Fellowship at The Playwright's Center, the Playwrights Realm Writing Fellowship, Artemisia Fall Festival, The Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, Forward Flux Three New American Plays Project, and the Leah Ryan FEWW Prize (Honorable Mention, 2017). Smith Prize for Political Theatre and Cherry Lane Mentor Project nominations. Broadway: Assistant to JT Rogers for OSLO at Lincoln Center Theater.

Monet served as writer/producer for seasons 21-24 of "Law and Order: SVU". During her time on the writing staff, episodes she co-wrote garnered five Imagen Award nominations and three wins, honoring positive portrayals of Latinos in the media. Current commissions: Westport Country Playhouse and The Kennedy Center. Proud member of The Kilroys, Florida Studio Theatre’s Playwright Collective, The Dramatist Guild, and WGAE. B.A. Marymount Manhattan College.

*Profile photo by Jenn Spain Photography

Plays

  • Torera by Monet Hurst-Mendoza
    Recommendations: 8
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    Cast: 
    4–8
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: Mexico, bullfighting + 6 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: Mexico, bullfighting, female empowerment, Latinx, class, gender, breaking tradition, family
    Childhood friends Elena Ramírez and Tanok Cárdenas come from different worlds, but share one dream: to become matadors in Mexico's bullfighting circuit. Elena's mother, Pastora, is the live-in housekeeper for her childhood confidant, renowned rejoneador, Rafael Cárdenas. Though class and gender divide this household, Pastora raises Tanok and Elena side by side, while keeping a watchful eye on her...
    Childhood friends Elena Ramírez and Tanok Cárdenas come from different worlds, but share one dream: to become matadors in Mexico's bullfighting circuit. Elena's mother, Pastora, is the live-in housekeeper for her childhood confidant, renowned rejoneador, Rafael Cárdenas. Though class and gender divide this household, Pastora raises Tanok and Elena side by side, while keeping a watchful eye on her daughter's budding interest in bullfighting from Rafael's young protégé. As Elena and Tanok grow, she proves a much more skilled fighter than Tanok, and what began as child's play is now a vocation. Determined to rise to the top of this sport on her own merits, Tanok agrees to help Elena achieve her dreams by training her away from the prying eyes of their parents. But when legacy, tradition, and family secrets collide, who will rise and who will fall?

    For a copy of this play, please contact agent or playwright directly.
  • Blind Crest by Monet Hurst-Mendoza
    Recommendations: 5
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    Cast: 
    4–6
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    Genre: drama, political
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    Keyword: gender politics, Gritty + 4 more
    Genre: drama, political
    Keyword: gender politics, Gritty, Race, USA, Mass Incarceration, black lives matter
    Tyrell Johnson sits on Death Row for the double-murder of two undercover detectives. Mara Hernandez is a fresh-faced corrections officer, newly appointed to the night watch. Together, this unlikely pair, form an intense bond and make a pact to have a baby. A dark twist on the “boy-meets-girl” and inspired by the unfolding true story of Ronnell Wilson and Nancy Gonzalez, Blind Crest investigates racial identity...
    Tyrell Johnson sits on Death Row for the double-murder of two undercover detectives. Mara Hernandez is a fresh-faced corrections officer, newly appointed to the night watch. Together, this unlikely pair, form an intense bond and make a pact to have a baby. A dark twist on the “boy-meets-girl” and inspired by the unfolding true story of Ronnell Wilson and Nancy Gonzalez, Blind Crest investigates racial identity and mass incarceration in the U.S. by compelling us to ask, "what is the value of a Black life in America, and at what cost are we willing to fight for it?”

    For a copy of this play, please contact agent or playwright directly.
  • Veil'd by Monet Hurst-Mendoza
    Recommendations: 7
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    Cast: 
    5–7
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    Genre: adaptation, adventure + 5 more
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    Keyword: magical realism, fairy tale + 6 more
    Genre: adaptation, adventure, comedy, fable/folktale, fantasy, romantic comedy, young audiences
    Keyword: magical realism, fairy tale, burqa, sharks, family, Afghan-American, Immigrants, parenthood
    Not every fairy tale has sunshine. Dima is a 16-year old outcast with a rare skin allergy who hides behind her mother's old burqa. Her best friend is a talking nurse shark named Speedo that she keeps hidden in her room. Strained between their daughter’s obsessive attachment to her burqa and her inability to step outside, Dima's parents fear that she will never experience the world around her. That is...
    Not every fairy tale has sunshine. Dima is a 16-year old outcast with a rare skin allergy who hides behind her mother's old burqa. Her best friend is a talking nurse shark named Speedo that she keeps hidden in her room. Strained between their daughter’s obsessive attachment to her burqa and her inability to step outside, Dima's parents fear that she will never experience the world around her. That is, until she begins a secret friendship with her "Prince Charming"--a streetwise, hipster poet-boy named Elliot, who throws poems through her window. Together (and with a little encouragement from Speedo), Dima and Elliot embark on a magical journey of first love, culminating in an unforgettable trip to the Atlantic Ocean. Rapunzel never had it this bad. Or this good.

    For a copy of this play, please contact agent or playwright directly.
  • Lilia by Monet Hurst-Mendoza
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: faith-based, period
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    Keyword: Latinx, female empowerment + 7 more
    Genre: faith-based, period
    Keyword: Latinx, female empowerment, Mexico, Catholic, Temptation, religion, small town, people of color, sexual identity
    In a small Yucatecan town circa 1960’s Mexico, 14 year-old religiously devout Lilia is forced to turn to prostitution as a means of making a living. When young Lilia develops an unconventional friendship with a compassionate new priest in town, everyone’s faith is tested. Caught between the secrets and lies that force us to question the morality of human nature, "Lilia" presents a passionate allegory...
    In a small Yucatecan town circa 1960’s Mexico, 14 year-old religiously devout Lilia is forced to turn to prostitution as a means of making a living. When young Lilia develops an unconventional friendship with a compassionate new priest in town, everyone’s faith is tested. Caught between the secrets and lies that force us to question the morality of human nature, "Lilia" presents a passionate allegory about choosing between duty and desire.

    For a copy of this play, please contact agent or playwright directly.