Allison Gregory

Allison Gregory

Allison Gregory’s plays have been produced nationally and internationally by a fusion of professional theatres, academic stages, and non-traditional spaces. She has received support and commissions/grants/development from Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Kennedy Center, South Coast Repertory, The New Harmony Project, Hedgebrook, Indiana Repertory Theatre, The Playwright’s Center, the Skirball-Kenis Foundation,...
Allison Gregory’s plays have been produced nationally and internationally by a fusion of professional theatres, academic stages, and non-traditional spaces. She has received support and commissions/grants/development from Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Kennedy Center, South Coast Repertory, The New Harmony Project, Hedgebrook, Indiana Repertory Theatre, The Playwright’s Center, the Skirball-Kenis Foundation, GEVA, Seattle Repertory Theatre, ACT Theater, Orlando Shakespeare Festival, The National New Play Network, Northwest Playwright’s Alliance, Wordsmiths/LATC, and Banff Playwright’s Conference.
Allison’s spirit of invention takes many forms. Her plays range from satires centering on under-represented historical women which ask us to reconsider how we got where we are, to muscular contemporary interpretations of mythology and fairytales, to intimate dramas and rowdy, irreverent children’s theatre. Her work includes NOT MEDEA and WILD HORSES, which were O’Neill Finalists and received multiple Rolling World Premieres through NNPN; MOTHERLAND, a reimagining of Brecht’s Mother Courage for a diverse world, and TRENT'S LAST CASE, an adaptation of a popular 1913 detective novel.

Her plays for young audiences include Go Dog. Go!, adapted from the P.D. Eastman book and co-written with Steven Dietz; Peter and the Wolf; a revved-up Red Riding Hood; Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells!; Junie B. is Not A Crook; and Junie B., Toothless Wonder -- all adapted from the beloved book series by Barbara Park and appearing at over 200 theatres nationwide. Her play Ronia, the Robber's Daughter, adapted from the Astrid Lindgren novel, premiered recently in Poland. Allison has been recognized by TYA USA as “One of the 10 Most Produced TYA Playwrights”.
Her plays are published by Dramatic Publishing, Playscripts, Smith & Krauss, and Rain City Press. http://allisongregoryplays.com/


Plays

  • The Loyals
    Meet Peggy Shipman: young, bright, socially prominent, politically ambivalent.
    At eighteen she becomes Mrs. Benedict Arnold. But wait -- is she a knowing partner in her infamous husband’s treason? Is she playing a conniving role in his outrageous attempt to destroy a adolescent country fighting for its independence? Or is she merely a naïve spouse, betrayed along with George Washington and the rest of...
    Meet Peggy Shipman: young, bright, socially prominent, politically ambivalent.
    At eighteen she becomes Mrs. Benedict Arnold. But wait -- is she a knowing partner in her infamous husband’s treason? Is she playing a conniving role in his outrageous attempt to destroy a adolescent country fighting for its independence? Or is she merely a naïve spouse, betrayed along with George Washington and the rest of America? And how does she get her hair so high?
    The Loyals is a gripping investigation into espionage and patriotism during the American Revolution – and the greatest act of disloyalty this young country had ever seen. History is the fundamental lens through which we view the present. With this romantic comedy about treason, I seek to investigate the intersection of historical fact and my own narrative invention, while telling a two-hundred and forty year-old narrative that throws light and resonance on today’s political shenanigans.
  • Motherland
    A self-made woman does her crafty best to protect her wayward children, keep her food truck business thriving, and impart some kind of moral code in an inner city battling collapse. In Motherland grit, guile, and guns are everyday parenting tools, and hope comes at a cost. A funny, raw, timely new play inspired by Mother Courage and Her Children.
  • Not Medea
    What if the show you came to see is not the show you need to see? A working mother escapes to the sanctuary of the theatre and manipulates the show-- and the audience, inadvertently sharing her own conflicted story. Straddling the worlds of myth, magic, and today’s headlines, Not Medea is one woman's intimate tale that every parent will relate to, told in a boldly theatrical setting. Fiercely funny and...
    What if the show you came to see is not the show you need to see? A working mother escapes to the sanctuary of the theatre and manipulates the show-- and the audience, inadvertently sharing her own conflicted story. Straddling the worlds of myth, magic, and today’s headlines, Not Medea is one woman's intimate tale that every parent will relate to, told in a boldly theatrical setting. Fiercely funny and unsettling, brutally raw and surprising, her arresting story is one of love, tragedy, and unexpected hope.

  • Wild Horses
    A savagely-funny play about a summer that changed an adolescent girl forever, told by her grown-up self. As her friends challenge and cajole her and her family falls apart around her, she questions the core of her own humanity. The pathos and hubris of teenage years, the struggle for identity, independence, and authenticity, and the desire to find one's place in a complicated world — it all come rushing at...
    A savagely-funny play about a summer that changed an adolescent girl forever, told by her grown-up self. As her friends challenge and cajole her and her family falls apart around her, she questions the core of her own humanity. The pathos and hubris of teenage years, the struggle for identity, independence, and authenticity, and the desire to find one's place in a complicated world — it all come rushing at us as she takes us on the ride of her life.