Dave Osmundsen

Dave Osmundsen (He/Him/His) is an Autistic playwright and dramaturg whose work has been seen and developed at KCACTF Region 8, the Kennedy Center/NNPN MFA Playwrights Workshop, the Great Plains Theatre Conference, Purple Crayon Players, B Street Theatre, the William Inge Theatre Festival, the Midwest Dramatists Conference, Phoenix Theatre Company, Clamour Theatre Company, Premiere Stages, the Valdez Theatre Conference, and more. He was one of two recipients of the Blank Theatre and Ucross Foundation’s inaugural Future of Playwriting Prize. His play Light Switch received its world premiere with Spectrum Theatre Ensemble in April 2022. Light Switch was also the 2021 Distinguished Achievement recipient of the Jean Kennedy Smith Playwriting Award, an Honorable Mention finalist for BAPF 2021, longlisted for the Theatre503 International Playwriting Award, a finalist for the 2020 Carlo Annoni Playwriting Prize, and a semi-finalist for the 2020 National Playwrights Conference. His one-act, A Firework Unexploded, was a semi-finalist for the NYC Audio Theatre Writing Contest and was produced by Pint-Sized in London. His plays have been published by The Dionysian, Canyon Voices, Exposition Review, Fresh Words: Contemporary One Act Plays Volume 5, and Broadway Play Publishing. MFA: Arizona State University

Artistic Statement

Recommended by

(moths emerging from cocoons) one night in tennessee

by Jordan Elizabeth

Two Autistic individuals whose lives are at crossroads for different reasons jibe, rib, annoy, aggravate, and finally console each other through a recent death, a property dispute, and being Autistic in an Allistic world. Jordan Elizabeth Henry gives two Autistic characters space to be themselves, and not allow them to be defined by their relationships to Allistic folks. With a hint of magical realism from an overhanging cocoon, this lovely play is a blessing to Autistic performers.

Two Autistic individuals whose lives are at crossroads for different reasons jibe, rib, annoy, aggravate, and finally console each other through a recent death, a property dispute, and being Autistic in an Allistic world. Jordan Elizabeth Henry gives two Autistic characters space to be themselves, and not allow them to be defined by their relationships to Allistic folks. With a hint of magical realism from an overhanging cocoon, this lovely play is a blessing to Autistic performers.
Frankenstein's Bodies

by Ryan Stevens

A brilliantly theatrical and bold reimagining of the Frankenstein mythos, this play uses the framework of Mary Shelley's tale to discuss body dysphoria from a non-binary perspective. Particularly creative are the different body parts who share elliptical memories of the humans they were formerly attached to. This play also makes you question one's relationship to their body, and the horrifying lengths we go to to find a body we feel comfortable in. Fantastic work that left me shooketh!

A brilliantly theatrical and bold reimagining of the Frankenstein mythos, this play uses the framework of Mary Shelley's tale to discuss body dysphoria from a non-binary perspective. Particularly creative are the different body parts who share elliptical memories of the humans they were formerly attached to. This play also makes you question one's relationship to their body, and the horrifying lengths we go to to find a body we feel comfortable in. Fantastic work that left me shooketh!
The Last Living Gun

by Ryan Stevens

What starts as an alternative epic Western becomes a mystical and mythical dissection of trauma, capitalism, and the American culture’s relationship with violence. Stevens’s play incisively examines the potential for violence in all of us, even in a world without guns, while maintaining the buoyancy of a fable. With a colorful cast of characters and a brilliantly subversive plotline, “The Last Living Gun” exhilarates and charms one moment, then devastates and disturbs the next.

What starts as an alternative epic Western becomes a mystical and mythical dissection of trauma, capitalism, and the American culture’s relationship with violence. Stevens’s play incisively examines the potential for violence in all of us, even in a world without guns, while maintaining the buoyancy of a fable. With a colorful cast of characters and a brilliantly subversive plotline, “The Last Living Gun” exhilarates and charms one moment, then devastates and disturbs the next.
People Should Talk About What's Real

by Alli Hartley-Kong

“People Should Talk About What’s Real” tackles issues of marriage, infertility, and bodily agency from the perspective of five diverse and complex characters. Also scintillating is the exploration of whom we’re comfortable sharing information with—an anonymous public, or our partners, who are supposed to know us best? A pandemic-era play that offers hope for a post-COVID world that sadly went sideways.

“People Should Talk About What’s Real” tackles issues of marriage, infertility, and bodily agency from the perspective of five diverse and complex characters. Also scintillating is the exploration of whom we’re comfortable sharing information with—an anonymous public, or our partners, who are supposed to know us best? A pandemic-era play that offers hope for a post-COVID world that sadly went sideways.
Reclamation

by Elenna Stauffer

Where do I even begin with this marvelous play? As someone who doesn’t care one whit about Shakespeare, I found this play completely accessible (although the opening summary of “The Tempest” is useful). Stauffer skillfully and effortlessly employs iambic pentameter to depict the dynamics between the Gods. But as the play continues, it exceeds and expands space and form, becoming an interrogation of environmental theatre, the use of art, and what we do with people who continually need shelter.

Where do I even begin with this marvelous play? As someone who doesn’t care one whit about Shakespeare, I found this play completely accessible (although the opening summary of “The Tempest” is useful). Stauffer skillfully and effortlessly employs iambic pentameter to depict the dynamics between the Gods. But as the play continues, it exceeds and expands space and form, becoming an interrogation of environmental theatre, the use of art, and what we do with people who continually need shelter.

View all 239 recommendations

Dave Osmundsen

Scripts

(moths emerging from cocoons) one night in tennessee

Frankenstein's Bodies

The Last Living Gun

People Should Talk About What's Real

Reclamation