Mickey Birnbaum

Mickey Birnbaum

MICKEY BIRNBAUM - SHORT BIOGRAPHY

Big Death & Little Death, Woolly Mammoth, Washington D.C.(2005), produced subsequently at the Road Theatre with Larry Biederman directing; PEN USA Literary Awards Finalist. Bleed Rail, The Theatre@Boston Court (2007); Garland Award for Playwriting. Backyard, Echo Theater (2014), Sage Award, PEN USA Literary Awards Finalist. Developed screenplays for Universal...
MICKEY BIRNBAUM - SHORT BIOGRAPHY

Big Death & Little Death, Woolly Mammoth, Washington D.C.(2005), produced subsequently at the Road Theatre with Larry Biederman directing; PEN USA Literary Awards Finalist. Bleed Rail, The Theatre@Boston Court (2007); Garland Award for Playwriting. Backyard, Echo Theater (2014), Sage Award, PEN USA Literary Awards Finalist. Developed screenplays for Universal, Paramount, Columbia/Sony, Interscope, Warner Brothers, and Appian Way Productions. Collaborated with director Steven Shainberg (Secretary, Fur) on the screenplay for The Big Shoe, and the adaptation of John Irving’s novel The Fourth Hand. MFA, University of Riverside, Palm Desert. Mickey teaches screenwriting at Santa Monica College, and playwriting and screenwriting at the University of Riverside Palm Desert Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts.

Plays

  • Bleed Rail by Mickey Birnbaum
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: dark comedy, horror + 2 more
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    Keyword: slaughterhouse, Iraq + 4 more
    Genre: dark comedy, horror, political, tragedy
    Keyword: slaughterhouse, Iraq, economy, war, pregnancy, poverty
    In an iconic Midwestern industrial town, two young men struggle to make sense of their economic and emotional depression. Ryan works in a slaughterhouse; Keith works in Liberty Burger, a fast-food chain. When Jewel, a homeless pregnant girl, turns to them for help, it brings out Keith's most avaricious impulses, and Ryan's most protective ones. But even as Ryan prepares to become a father for the...
    In an iconic Midwestern industrial town, two young men struggle to make sense of their economic and emotional depression. Ryan works in a slaughterhouse; Keith works in Liberty Burger, a fast-food chain. When Jewel, a homeless pregnant girl, turns to them for help, it brings out Keith's most avaricious impulses, and Ryan's most protective ones. But even as Ryan prepares to become a father for the first time, a horrific workplace accident throws into question his very ability to survive.
  • Backyard by Mickey Birnbaum
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
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    Keyword: backyard, wrestling + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
    Keyword: backyard, wrestling, immigration, border, Mexico, San Diego
    In a backyard in suburban San Diego, three teenagers prepare for a backyard wrestling match, while a wife welcomes back her absent husband with her own brand of violence. At the border fence separating the U.S. and Mexico, a Mexican wrestler waits for his son to come home. Mickey Birnbaum’s full-contact dark comedy explores the walls that separate families and the walls that separate countries. Come see the...
    In a backyard in suburban San Diego, three teenagers prepare for a backyard wrestling match, while a wife welcomes back her absent husband with her own brand of violence. At the border fence separating the U.S. and Mexico, a Mexican wrestler waits for his son to come home. Mickey Birnbaum’s full-contact dark comedy explores the walls that separate families and the walls that separate countries. Come see the tag team match of the century, with the survival of two families in the balance!
  • Big Death & Little Death by Mickey Birnbaum
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    5–8
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy
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    Keyword: pit bulls, magical realism + 1 more
    Genre: dark comedy
    Keyword: pit bulls, magical realism, Iraq war
    Dad's home from the Iraq war, but he's not the same man who left. There are pit bull puppies in the ceiling, and a terrible car crash killed Mom. Gary's sleeping with the guidance counselor, and a mysterious drug called BUB is heightening everyone's consciousness. This dark comedy about families, wars, and pets premiered at Woolly Mammoth, with subsequent productions in San Francisco,...
    Dad's home from the Iraq war, but he's not the same man who left. There are pit bull puppies in the ceiling, and a terrible car crash killed Mom. Gary's sleeping with the guidance counselor, and a mysterious drug called BUB is heightening everyone's consciousness. This dark comedy about families, wars, and pets premiered at Woolly Mammoth, with subsequent productions in San Francisco, Providence, Houston, and Los Angeles. It was a PEN West Literary Awards Finalist and a Helen Hayes finalist.