Spencer Huffman

Spencer Huffman

Spencer Huffman is a playwright, director, and actor based in Chicago. His plays include: EVIL PERFECT, THE SHAPE OF THE BONES, THE BASEBALL GODS, WHEN WE WERE LITTLE, and SHINE DOWN ON US. His plays have earned recognition from theatres and festivals across the country, including The National Playwrights Conference, Austin Film Festival, American Stage’s 21st Century Voices New Play Festival, Landing Theatre...
Spencer Huffman is a playwright, director, and actor based in Chicago. His plays include: EVIL PERFECT, THE SHAPE OF THE BONES, THE BASEBALL GODS, WHEN WE WERE LITTLE, and SHINE DOWN ON US. His plays have earned recognition from theatres and festivals across the country, including The National Playwrights Conference, Austin Film Festival, American Stage’s 21st Century Voices New Play Festival, Landing Theatre Co. New American Voices Festival, and Relative Theatrics, among others. Most recently, his play THE SHAPE OF THE BONES was translated into Hungarian and workshopped at FreeSZFE in Budapest. He has been a fellow at Millay Arts, The Marble House Project, and the Kerouac Project of Orlando. His directing work includes site-specific productions of FAR AWAY by Caryl Churchill, JERUSALEM by Jez Butterworth, BUG by Tracy Letts, and AALST by Duncan McLean and Pol Heyvaert, among others. Spencer's stage credits include: SPAY (Rivendell Theatre) and SPINNING INTO BUTTER (Janus Theatre Co).

Spencer is a 2022/2023 Fulbright Scholar, a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf, and an ensemble member at Bramble Theatre Co. BA: Kenyon College.

Plays

  • The Shape of the Bones by Spencer Huffman
    Cast: 
    9
    ·
    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: cult, identity + 2 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: cult, identity, angels, motherhood
    In a small, insular religious community, Dr. Riga, a charismatic and radical pastor, begins preaching that chosen members of her congregation can become angels. Ben, a twelve-year-old boy, believes he is one of the chosen few and expects his transformation to take place soon. Ben’s father, Brendan, supports his son’s religious conviction, while his mother, Meredith, sees Dr. Riga as a disingenuous threat to her...
    In a small, insular religious community, Dr. Riga, a charismatic and radical pastor, begins preaching that chosen members of her congregation can become angels. Ben, a twelve-year-old boy, believes he is one of the chosen few and expects his transformation to take place soon. Ben’s father, Brendan, supports his son’s religious conviction, while his mother, Meredith, sees Dr. Riga as a disingenuous threat to her son and the community. Meanwhile, Nel, another congregate, whose husband recently transcended into angelhood and disappeared ever since, finds herself suddenly alone, caught between raising a child and taking care of her invalid father. As Ben’s transformation approaches and Nel’s life crumbles, the congregation splinters, growing increasingly suspicious and vindictive. With stark intensity, THE SHAPE OF THE BONES tells the story of a community in quiet crisis, its members forced to choose between faith and family.
  • The Children of Good People by Spencer Huffman
    Cast: 
    8
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: affirmative action, dramedy + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, political, satire
    Keyword: affirmative action, dramedy, culture wars, identity politics, priviledge
    A radical, experimental theatre company called "The Kids" is excited to welcome two new ensemble members: Sissy, a disillusioned actor who has idolized The Kids for years, and Vince, a Black MIT dropout who auditioned hoping to make a few friends, despite lacking any theatre experience. At first, the new members seem like a perfect fit: Sissy is working with the company of her dreams, Vince suddenly...
    A radical, experimental theatre company called "The Kids" is excited to welcome two new ensemble members: Sissy, a disillusioned actor who has idolized The Kids for years, and Vince, a Black MIT dropout who auditioned hoping to make a few friends, despite lacking any theatre experience. At first, the new members seem like a perfect fit: Sissy is working with the company of her dreams, Vince suddenly has six potential friends, and The Kids have expanded and diversified their ensemble. But when Vince writes a controversial and potentially offensive play, the ensemble goes into crisis mode and devises a plot to fire him.
  • Evil Perfect by Spencer Huffman
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 3 more
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    Keyword: Equity, contemporary satire + 3 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, horror, political, satire
    Keyword: Equity, contemporary satire, horror, absurdist dystopia, Surreal dystopian
    In an otherworldly city obsessed with achieving absolute equity at all costs, Lily, a dissident at the end of her rope, meets Puck, the son of the city's charismatic matriarch. As their unlikely relationship grows and the city's enforcers close in, Lily and Puck hatch a terrifying plan: to revolt. Set in a tarnished society with twisted ideals, Evil Perfect is a messy and seductive play that attempts...
    In an otherworldly city obsessed with achieving absolute equity at all costs, Lily, a dissident at the end of her rope, meets Puck, the son of the city's charismatic matriarch. As their unlikely relationship grows and the city's enforcers close in, Lily and Puck hatch a terrifying plan: to revolt. Set in a tarnished society with twisted ideals, Evil Perfect is a messy and seductive play that attempts to reveal how good people with honorable intentions become evil.
  • The Baseball Gods by Spencer Huffman
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
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    Keyword: baseball, Boyhood + 6 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: baseball, Boyhood, motherhood, masculinity, sports, cancer, friendship, high school
    When nine-year-old Jamie met a boy named Sam who taught him how to throw a baseball, he knew he’d found his best friend. Over the next ten years of sleepovers and batting practice, whenever Jamie’s troubled family seemed on the brink of falling apart, Sam would be there to help. But with the State Championship and their high school graduation just days away, Sam reveals that he’s been diagnosed with testicular...
    When nine-year-old Jamie met a boy named Sam who taught him how to throw a baseball, he knew he’d found his best friend. Over the next ten years of sleepovers and batting practice, whenever Jamie’s troubled family seemed on the brink of falling apart, Sam would be there to help. But with the State Championship and their high school graduation just days away, Sam reveals that he’s been diagnosed with testicular cancer. Suddenly, Jamie faces an unfamiliar and painful question: How do you take care of someone who has always taken care of you? A dark comedy about two young men who love baseball almost as much as they love each other, The Baseball Gods is an intimate and tender portrait of adolescent masculinity in the midst of untimely tragedy.
  • Shine Down On Us by Spencer Huffman
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
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    Keyword: family, guilt + 8 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: family, guilt, revenge, midwest, ohio, drifter, cops, dementia, innocence, memory
    With the law hot on his tail and a bloody trail behind him, Franky arrives at his brother’s home seeking vengeance. Joe, a police officer torn between helping Franky and turning him in, must face his own role in Franky's bleak life. As Joe’s guilt mounts and the police close in on Franky, the brothers and their family grapple with their shared past and endure the painful process of taking responsibility...
    With the law hot on his tail and a bloody trail behind him, Franky arrives at his brother’s home seeking vengeance. Joe, a police officer torn between helping Franky and turning him in, must face his own role in Franky's bleak life. As Joe’s guilt mounts and the police close in on Franky, the brothers and their family grapple with their shared past and endure the painful process of taking responsibility for a family’s suffering.