Briandaniel Oglesby

Briandaniel Oglesby

Briandaniel writes plays for teens and plays for mature audiences. He is a mixed-Latino LGBT playwright based out of Austin and from Sacramento. His play SMALL STEPS was developed at the JAW Festival and Playwrights' Week at the Lark. His play HALFWAY, NEBRASKA was developed at Playwrights’ Week at the Lark, and went on to win the award for Outstanding Playwriting from the New York International Fringe...
Briandaniel writes plays for teens and plays for mature audiences. He is a mixed-Latino LGBT playwright based out of Austin and from Sacramento. His play SMALL STEPS was developed at the JAW Festival and Playwrights' Week at the Lark. His play HALFWAY, NEBRASKA was developed at Playwrights’ Week at the Lark, and went on to win the award for Outstanding Playwriting from the New York International Fringe Festival. His SHE GET NAKED IN THE END received the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Latinidad Award, and he is a three-time National Finalist for the festival for his short work. He frequently develops his plays-for-teens with a group of teenagers, using devising techniques and kinesthetic dramaturgy. This includes the inventive adaptation of Grimms' tales in THE TWELVE HUNTSMEN, adventure plays THE UNTITLED PIRATE PLAY and AND THEN, SHE PICKS UP THE SWORD, as well as a gay re-imagination of [a different] ROMEO & JULIET for middle schoolers he wrote and directed for his students. His adaptation of THE JUNGLE BOOK was commissioned and produced by Big Idea Theatre and published by Stage Rights. For ten years, he was Literary Manager for Barnyard Theatre, a company he co-founded that produced new work in a historic dirt-floored barn. He has an MFA in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts from the University of California at Riverside and a second MFA in Playwriting from the University of Texas at Austin.

Plays

  • The Twelve Huntsmen by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    15–60
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, adventure + 7 more
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    Keyword: fairy tale, food + 8 more
    Genre: adaptation, adventure, dark comedy, drama, fable/folktale, fantasy, period, satire, young audiences
    Keyword: fairy tale, food, large cast, feminist, young adult, teenagers, middle school, high school, college, Fantasy
    Large cast. Lots of female roles. Best for college or high school, but can be done with middle schoolers.

    This play can be done a million different ways.

    The Brothers Grimm tromp through the forest in search of fairy tales and stumble into a story: “Cesario” and a band of eleven women have disguised themselves as Huntsmen. The women tell stories inspired by food. Some are dark,...
    Large cast. Lots of female roles. Best for college or high school, but can be done with middle schoolers.

    This play can be done a million different ways.

    The Brothers Grimm tromp through the forest in search of fairy tales and stumble into a story: “Cesario” and a band of eleven women have disguised themselves as Huntsmen. The women tell stories inspired by food. Some are dark, some comic, some strange, some new, and some familiar. Each Huntsman has a story, but not all are told every night. This play can be different every performance.

    The energy of this play is "sleepover, but with, like, pirates."

    Now available for licensing through Stage Partners.
  • Small Steps by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Recommendations: 4
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    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: LGBTQ, Mars + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, romantic comedy, science fiction
    Keyword: LGBTQ, Mars, theatricality, gay, NASA, space, astronaut, astronomy
    When Skip Powers realizes that no one will ever love him, he volunteers to go to Mars -- and the Principal of NASA says, "Yeah, sure. You'll do." Skip is super gay and isn't really a participant in the gene pool, so it just makes sense to send him millions of miles on the the spaceship Atlantis on a mission that will, in all likelihood, kill him. And after crappy experiences on gay hookup...
    When Skip Powers realizes that no one will ever love him, he volunteers to go to Mars -- and the Principal of NASA says, "Yeah, sure. You'll do." Skip is super gay and isn't really a participant in the gene pool, so it just makes sense to send him millions of miles on the the spaceship Atlantis on a mission that will, in all likelihood, kill him. And after crappy experiences on gay hookup apps, he's more than prepared for the training with the Abstinence Coach -- but a little less prepared when the Love of His Life tries to keep him on earth. This play about what it means to attempt to live your life in the pursuit of great things spans a million years and fifty-five million miles.

    For Virtual/Hybrid Performance Edition: https://newplayexchange.org/plays/1245860/small-steps-virtual-performance-edition
  • Brothers, Sisters, Santos by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    5–8
    ·
    Genre: drama, experimental
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    Keyword: brothers, Sisters + 6 more
    Genre: drama, experimental
    Keyword: brothers, Sisters, brother and sister, Mexican immigrants, Immigrants, family, bilingual, mixed race
    Brothers, Sisters, Santos is a collection of three short plays about generations of immigrant siblings — the things that connect them, the things that tear them apart. These three plays can be produced together or individually. Selected as one of the top unproduced Latin@ plays of 2018 by 50PP.

    Act 1: Mentirosa | Melina is the smart sister, Graciela is the pretty one, and Rosa is the one who lies...
    Brothers, Sisters, Santos is a collection of three short plays about generations of immigrant siblings — the things that connect them, the things that tear them apart. These three plays can be produced together or individually. Selected as one of the top unproduced Latin@ plays of 2018 by 50PP.

    Act 1: Mentirosa | Melina is the smart sister, Graciela is the pretty one, and Rosa is the one who lies. Their lives change when a wolf comes to town.

    Act 2: Doctors Without Borders | Whatever Marco did, Teo would do. Teo became a doctor because Marco became a doctor. Then one day something changed. In the kitchen of their childhood, under the eyes of saints, the brothers replay what should have been. This is a play about what goes between the lines, how we earn our place in heaven, how earn our place on earth.

    Act 3. Between Brother and Sister | Martin and Briana recount a car trip when they were younger — and tell the story of the brother they lost.
  • Basement Demons and Trailer Saints by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: LGBTQ, demons + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: LGBTQ, demons, Taco Bell, teenagers, young adult, internet, technology
    In a small town in California, Maria wants nothing more than to meet this mysterious Hank Lord she’s been talking to online. Her sister is trying to live in the 90s. Neither know that Hank Lord is actually a demon.

    Meanwhile, Ella's job at Taco Bell isn't going well. Her manager won't talk with her, and she is coming to terms with her own sexuality, and she keeps hearing the cries...
    In a small town in California, Maria wants nothing more than to meet this mysterious Hank Lord she’s been talking to online. Her sister is trying to live in the 90s. Neither know that Hank Lord is actually a demon.

    Meanwhile, Ella's job at Taco Bell isn't going well. Her manager won't talk with her, and she is coming to terms with her own sexuality, and she keeps hearing the cries from the cows in the ground beef.

    This awkward comedy about people connecting and disconnecting was described by an audience member as "Clerks meets The Goonies."

    *VERSION FOR HIGH SCHOOL ALSO AVAILABLE*
  • The Briars by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, docudrama/historic + 3 more
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    Keyword: chorus, small town + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, movement/physical, period
    Keyword: chorus, small town, big city, larger than life, theatricality
    The Townsfolk become a four-part chorus telling the tale of Buddy Briar, eccentric and larger-than-life, the kind of man who owns a zoo. The Townsfolk recount the rise and fall of their great villain, benefactor, and entertainer.
  • She Gets Naked in the End by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: feminist, lesbian love + 5 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: feminist, lesbian love, LGBTQ, Grungy bars, Northern California, prose, bad parenting
    * Winner of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Latinidad Playwriting Award

    Every night, an untouchable woman walks into the bar, and she always, always, always leaves alone. Men fall over themselves for a shot at her, but it’s a woman from the past who drags the god back to the earth, the place where we all eat dirt.

    She Gets Naked in the End requires three...
    * Winner of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Latinidad Playwriting Award

    Every night, an untouchable woman walks into the bar, and she always, always, always leaves alone. Men fall over themselves for a shot at her, but it’s a woman from the past who drags the god back to the earth, the place where we all eat dirt.

    She Gets Naked in the End requires three versatile actors. “She” (aka Elle) plays herself at various ages; Alex plays several characters and ages, including Elle’s mother. “He” plays about ten terrible men and couple good ones.
  • Halfway, Nebraska by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: adoption, Nebraska + 5 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: adoption, Nebraska, brother and sister, mother and son, disturbed child, Safe Haven Law, family
    * Winner of The FringeNYC (New York International Fringe Festival) Award for Overall Excellence in Playwriting
    * Developed at Playwright's Week at the Lark

    Sheila drives her disturbed adoptive son Nate across the country. Nebraska has a Safe Haven law, which allows parents to leave their children at hospitals, no questions asked. Also in the car is nine-year-old Miri, her adoptive...
    * Winner of The FringeNYC (New York International Fringe Festival) Award for Overall Excellence in Playwriting
    * Developed at Playwright's Week at the Lark

    Sheila drives her disturbed adoptive son Nate across the country. Nebraska has a Safe Haven law, which allows parents to leave their children at hospitals, no questions asked. Also in the car is nine-year-old Miri, her adoptive daughter. As the miles tick away, the layers of Sheila and Nate’s complicated relationship peel apart. Halfway, Nebraska explores the limits of hope and what it means to love someone who may be too far damaged to save.
  • OR "the one with the dogs" by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
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    Keyword: mixed race, LGBTQ + 6 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: mixed race, LGBTQ, california, Dogfuckers, family farm, sexual discovery, brotherhood, rural conflicts
    In a crappy house in the fields of Northern California, surrounded by a dead walnut orchard, brothers Boomer and Dirt struggle with each other, with themselves, and with their dog-breeding business. As their prized pregnant pooch swells, they seem on the way to strike it big. Their dreams are disrupted when Boomer brings home Marisol, who should be a one-night stand, and Dirt finds a boy who will never grow up...
    In a crappy house in the fields of Northern California, surrounded by a dead walnut orchard, brothers Boomer and Dirt struggle with each other, with themselves, and with their dog-breeding business. As their prized pregnant pooch swells, they seem on the way to strike it big. Their dreams are disrupted when Boomer brings home Marisol, who should be a one-night stand, and Dirt finds a boy who will never grow up.

    Note: Dirt and Boomer are both mixed (half-Latino, half white). Boomer must be able to pass for white.
  • The Jungle Book by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    8–13
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    Genre: adaptation, adventure + 3 more
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    Keyword: Jungle Book, outsiders + 4 more
    Genre: adaptation, adventure, comedy, fable/folktale, young audiences
    Keyword: Jungle Book, outsiders, environment, community, puppets, madcap
    A modern, quirky take inspired by Rudyard Kipling's book. Rights available at Stage Rights. (stagerights.com)

    Adopted by Raksha of the Seeonee wolf pack and hunted by Shere Khan, Mowgli wants nothing more than to fit in. But fitting in with wolves isn’t easy for a man’s cub like Mowgli, and so he runs away, which sets in motion a long journey as he bounces from ape to snake to human...
    A modern, quirky take inspired by Rudyard Kipling's book. Rights available at Stage Rights. (stagerights.com)

    Adopted by Raksha of the Seeonee wolf pack and hunted by Shere Khan, Mowgli wants nothing more than to fit in. But fitting in with wolves isn’t easy for a man’s cub like Mowgli, and so he runs away, which sets in motion a long journey as he bounces from ape to snake to human communities.

    This is a play about community and what it means to be a perpetual outsider, with a environmentalist message to boot.

    This play has 13 named roles (needs a minimum of 8 actors), but can be expanded to accommodate a larger ensemble. The gender representation follows Kipling's story, but is flexible.

    Four Stars from Sacramento News and Review:

    “Oglesby brought a lot of wit and insight to the project…. a thoughtful-yet-active and entertaining all-ages family show, with enough cleverly inserted jokes to keep the grownups on board.”
  • Third Street by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Cast: 
    8–15
    ·
    Genre: adventure, comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: Renaissance faire, sword fighting + 5 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, fable/folktale, fantasy, young audiences
    Keyword: Renaissance faire, sword fighting, dragon, dinosaurs, LGBTQ, hero's journey, damsels in distress
    In a crap-filled alley, Shane trains for a Renaissance Faire tournament when the neighborhood bully, Otis, comes to beg him for help. Dinosaurs have resurrected, he claims, and someone has to believe him. Worlds collide as Shane tries to escape into fantasy and Otis is pursued by his nightmares.

    This is a play for middle school, high school, and college aged (or older), with sword fights,...
    In a crap-filled alley, Shane trains for a Renaissance Faire tournament when the neighborhood bully, Otis, comes to beg him for help. Dinosaurs have resurrected, he claims, and someone has to believe him. Worlds collide as Shane tries to escape into fantasy and Otis is pursued by his nightmares.

    This is a play for middle school, high school, and college aged (or older), with sword fights, dinosaurs, dragons, and surprise kiss.
  • Very Best Coffee by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Cast: 
    10–18
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
    In Orington, Men go to Football Rehearsal and Women go to Crying Practice. No one hates. No one loves. Amy is content serving coffee in her husband’s diner. Timothy is thinking about getting married – maybe next week. And Albert, he’s the star of the football team – the glue that holds everything together. This is the way things are done. Just don’t go out into the woods. Yessir, everything in Orington is good...
    In Orington, Men go to Football Rehearsal and Women go to Crying Practice. No one hates. No one loves. Amy is content serving coffee in her husband’s diner. Timothy is thinking about getting married – maybe next week. And Albert, he’s the star of the football team – the glue that holds everything together. This is the way things are done. Just don’t go out into the woods. Yessir, everything in Orington is good, good, good. And then one day, a stranger comes to town, and people begin to change. Chaos takes hold of the town as hidden desires are revealed and acted upon, as the weirdness emerges, and the social order comes roaring back to assert itself.
  • Two Truths and Lies by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    9–12
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: camp, Summer Camp + 2 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: camp, Summer Camp, teenagers, high school
    At a no-tech summer camp, teens re-invent themselves. Some spin fictions and live fantasies, while others deal with dead brothers and dark things, and another sees what he’s pretty sure is an alien. Relationships are formed and broken as the lies are on a collision course with uncomfortable truths.

    For mature teens and young adults
  • [a different] Romeo & Juliet by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    10–20
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: LGBTQ, middle school + 2 more
    Genre: adaptation, comedy, romantic comedy, young audiences
    Keyword: LGBTQ, middle school, Shakespeare, comic adaptation
    The gay adaptation for young people...

    Synopsis: In this reimagination for young people of the Bard’s classic play, Romeo Mongoose and Juliet Catapult are two boys who fall in love as their families' obnoxious and occasionally deadly feud disrupts the local tourism industry. As Lord Catapult schemes to have his son Juliet wed the wealthy heiress Paris Motel 6, Juliet and Romeo marry with the...
    The gay adaptation for young people...

    Synopsis: In this reimagination for young people of the Bard’s classic play, Romeo Mongoose and Juliet Catapult are two boys who fall in love as their families' obnoxious and occasionally deadly feud disrupts the local tourism industry. As Lord Catapult schemes to have his son Juliet wed the wealthy heiress Paris Motel 6, Juliet and Romeo marry with the help of the local Fry cook.

    The LGBTQ adaptation was written for a junior high drama class in Texas. Although a campy comedy, the play turns serious late – before finding a happy ending for Juliet and his Romeo. *LGBTYA*
  • Nameless in the Desert by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Cast: 
    4–50
    ·
    Genre: comedy, fable/folktale + 2 more
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    Keyword: sword fighting
    Genre: comedy, fable/folktale, melodrama, movement/physical
    Keyword: sword fighting
    A comedy that says, "You must give up whatever you most love to get what you most want."

    Nameless awakens in the desert. He doesn't know who he is, but he knows he has a desire for greatness -- and a sword. He goes gallivanting across the desert, learning how be a hero, defeating a great sand monster, and finally executing an evil king. Even achieving greatness, he is still...
    A comedy that says, "You must give up whatever you most love to get what you most want."

    Nameless awakens in the desert. He doesn't know who he is, but he knows he has a desire for greatness -- and a sword. He goes gallivanting across the desert, learning how be a hero, defeating a great sand monster, and finally executing an evil king. Even achieving greatness, he is still unhappy, and so he continues to search for answers.

    Originally written for teen actors, this play was further developed with adults. It's appropriate for all audiences, but probably best for teens and older.
  • The Untitled Pirate Play: a sea shanty by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Cast: 
    10–20
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, adventure + 6 more
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    Keyword: pirate, Sea shanty
    Genre: adaptation, adventure, comedy, fable/folktale, farce, melodrama, parody/spoof, young audiences
    Keyword: pirate, Sea shanty
    It’s the time of sea shanties and pirates.

    Seeking adventure - and to move out of his parents' basement - young Carl stows away aboard The Hubris, the greatest ship ever built. The Hubris is owned by Captain Greenery, who with his first mate Cankle seek to rescue a herd of corgis gifted to him by the Queen of England from a band of pirates. He has hired a crew of sailors, all named Jim, to...
    It’s the time of sea shanties and pirates.

    Seeking adventure - and to move out of his parents' basement - young Carl stows away aboard The Hubris, the greatest ship ever built. The Hubris is owned by Captain Greenery, who with his first mate Cankle seek to rescue a herd of corgis gifted to him by the Queen of England from a band of pirates. He has hired a crew of sailors, all named Jim, to work his ship. These sailors are themselves secretly pirates lead by Captain No Beard, who scheme to make The Hubris their own.

    This swashbuckling comic adventure includes sword fights, a kraken attack, a battle between ships (which can be performed with puppets), a tempest, a Caliban-like creature who lives on a moving island, a minotaur, references to The Goonies, a haunting underworld beneath the ocean, betrayal, and a friendship with a rat named Willard. It also asks, when power corrupts,what is the price we pay to make a legacy?

    Although written for young actors (middle school), this play is appropriate to be performed for and by any age.
  • And Then, She Picks Up the Sword (Theatre-for-Teens version) by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    12–20
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, adventure + 6 more
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    Keyword: LGBTQ, fairy tale
    Genre: adaptation, adventure, comedy, fable/folktale, fantasy, farce, period, romantic comedy
    Keyword: LGBTQ, fairy tale
    Well, the king is dead in the kingdom of Eastwood, and a kingdom needs a king, so it falls to Princess Wimberley to wed the obnoxious Prince Driftwood. Prince Driftwood seeks True Love, so he's not on board with this plan either. Both the prince and the princess run away from their wedding, fleeing into the Forbidden Forest of Tez, dragging their reluctant attendants behind. In the woods, there's a...
    Well, the king is dead in the kingdom of Eastwood, and a kingdom needs a king, so it falls to Princess Wimberley to wed the obnoxious Prince Driftwood. Prince Driftwood seeks True Love, so he's not on board with this plan either. Both the prince and the princess run away from their wedding, fleeing into the Forbidden Forest of Tez, dragging their reluctant attendants behind. In the woods, there's a dragon who's been turned into an old man and the boy he's adopted, a vain artisan-witch and her annoyed henchman, a chorus of strange Dreamcreepers, and soon an outraged mother-of-the-bride, her son, and a female knight wrestling with complicated feelings for the princess. This comedy originally written for teens is both inspired by and blows up familiar tropes in Shakespeare's romantic comedies.
  • Deleted Scenes from Fairy Tales by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    4–30
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, fable/folktale + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: fairy tale, Grimm + 2 more
    Genre: adaptation, fable/folktale, farce, parody/spoof, satire, young audiences
    Keyword: fairy tale, Grimm, middle school, teenagers
    Flexible Cast. Short (30-45 mins, but can be shorter or longer). Good for middle school students.

    A group of fairytale-telling creatures entertain a bored kid with new scenes from old stories. The number of actors and stories can be adapted to fit different needs.

    - The Little Mermaid who saves an orca and decides to leave behind her fins to become a crusader to Save the Whales....
    Flexible Cast. Short (30-45 mins, but can be shorter or longer). Good for middle school students.

    A group of fairytale-telling creatures entertain a bored kid with new scenes from old stories. The number of actors and stories can be adapted to fit different needs.

    - The Little Mermaid who saves an orca and decides to leave behind her fins to become a crusader to Save the Whales.
    - Rapunzel getting her hair stuck in a woodchipper - and having to save herself when the doofusey prince fails to rescue her.
    - Beauty and the Beast are unable to make their relationship work once the relationship happens... which is staged as a clown WWE wrestling fight.
    - An obscure story about Death's Messenger being unable to save the love of his or her life
    - The witch from Sleeping Beauty wasn't always so cruel. In fact, she wanted to be a dancer
    - Goldilocks breaks into the three bears house and throws a crazy party
  • [More] Deleted Scenes from Fairy Tales by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Cast: 
    8–40
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, adventure + 6 more
    ·
    Keyword: fairy tale, Grimm + 2 more
    Genre: adaptation, adventure, comedy, fable/folktale, farce, parody/spoof, satire, young audiences
    Keyword: fairy tale, Grimm, middle school, teenagers
    Flexible Cast. 60 mins, but can be adjusted to be shorter (by cutting scenes) or longer. Perfect for middle school students.

    A group of fairytale-telling creatures entertain a bored kid with new scenes from old stories. The number of actors and stories can be adapted to fit different needs.

    Includes:
    - The Three Little Pigs are in a band. Being creatives, they build their...
    Flexible Cast. 60 mins, but can be adjusted to be shorter (by cutting scenes) or longer. Perfect for middle school students.

    A group of fairytale-telling creatures entertain a bored kid with new scenes from old stories. The number of actors and stories can be adapted to fit different needs.

    Includes:
    - The Three Little Pigs are in a band. Being creatives, they build their houses out of straw, sticks, and bricks, but the winds of gentrification threaten to blow them down and turn them into breakfast tacos.
    - Humpty Dumpty and his wall are Instagram famous, but the phone is also a distraction...
    - The Boy Who Cried Wolf - The wolf is unemployed and seriously thinking about opening an Etsy store when he hears the boy calling him.
    - Snow White - The dwarves are member of the United Dwarven Miners Union, and when Snow White takes over the house they prove that the Union keeps them strong.
    - Rumplestiltskin name is not guessed, so he ends up having to raise the queen's baby. He's not really equipped for this.
    -In Little Red Riding Hood, Little Red does not guess that her grandma is, in fact, the wolf.... And the wolf must then take on some of Grandma's responsibilities.
    - Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The three bears vow vengeance and break into Goldilock's house to destroy her stuff.

  • Piper by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    6–9
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: queer parents, puppet
    Genre: adaptation, comedy, fable/folktale, farce
    Keyword: queer parents, puppet
    At 35, Piper had decided to give up on love and procreation. His family dies stupid young after all. When a one-night-stand leaves him with a random pair of Andrew Christian underwear, Piper does the logical thing and sews the abandoned briefs into a puppet. A magical fairy godmother drag queen brings this puppet to life, and Piper is left to raise his puppet child Andrew alone.

    This play is a...
    At 35, Piper had decided to give up on love and procreation. His family dies stupid young after all. When a one-night-stand leaves him with a random pair of Andrew Christian underwear, Piper does the logical thing and sews the abandoned briefs into a puppet. A magical fairy godmother drag queen brings this puppet to life, and Piper is left to raise his puppet child Andrew alone.

    This play is a queer, Pinocchio-inspired take on the single parent narrative.
  • The Apocalypse Project by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    9–30
    ·
    Genre: adventure, comedy + 7 more
    ·
    Keyword: climate change, teenagers + 6 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, dark comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, experimental, political, science fiction, tragedy
    Keyword: climate change, teenagers, apocalypse, high school, young adult, immigration, environment, speculative fiction
    It’s 2024. Four years ago, everyone over the age of 20 disappeared from the planet. No one knows why. Then it happened again.

    On the Altierra compound in Texas, young T dreams of the internet returning so she can be a Youtuber and document her generation. When a crisis expels a group, she joins the exiles on a trek across the broken land. This group faces constant danger as they search for safe-...
    It’s 2024. Four years ago, everyone over the age of 20 disappeared from the planet. No one knows why. Then it happened again.

    On the Altierra compound in Texas, young T dreams of the internet returning so she can be a Youtuber and document her generation. When a crisis expels a group, she joins the exiles on a trek across the broken land. This group faces constant danger as they search for safe-harbor - and possibly the answer to the question of what happened — at the rumored New Eden. This is a play about what happens when the young are left to deal with the disasters in a world they didn’t create.

    Along the way, the crew experience a strange and yet recognizable landscape. They encounter an authoritarian farm, anarchist Firestarters, feral children, Sad Disneyland, and ruined hometowns.

    There are moments of intensity and plenty of humor in this play that's about climate change, social change, coming-of-age, immigration, and the current moment. Notably, this play features a resolution that brings an adult audience member into the play.

    This play can be produced with as few as nine actors or many more of any gender.
  • Space Carl (or) How to Get Lost on Planet Venus by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Cast: 
    9–20
    ·
    Genre: adventure, comedy + 10 more
    ·
    Keyword: aliens, large cast + 5 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, fable/folktale, fantasy, farce, melodrama, parody/spoof, period, satire, science fiction
    Keyword: aliens, large cast, comedy, science, pirate, space, hero's journey
    In the time of knights and pirates Carl leaves his home of New Guatamica to see the world. His attempted hero's journey has him stumbling on a space ship carrying an alien with a mission - to return a crystal bogey to the McGuffin Temple on the Lost Planet Venus. In pursuit of Bob the Marley and now Carl are the henchpets representing the Zoloftian Queen of the Galactic Order, along with the massive...
    In the time of knights and pirates Carl leaves his home of New Guatamica to see the world. His attempted hero's journey has him stumbling on a space ship carrying an alien with a mission - to return a crystal bogey to the McGuffin Temple on the Lost Planet Venus. In pursuit of Bob the Marley and now Carl are the henchpets representing the Zoloftian Queen of the Galactic Order, along with the massive mantises Phil and Estelle.

    This play is intended to both embody and subvert traditional tropes in the hero's journey, while playing with the genre of science fantasy. As per usual, we seek to find a place for fun and meaning.

    This play features: a hermit-crab hermit poet, aliens who share a brain and heart, sword fights, spaceship battles, gigantic venus fly traps, body switchers, time travelers, talking cheese experiencing existential angst, and more. 
  • Icarus Livingstone Falls Into the Sea by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Cast: 
    6–20
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, comedy + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: high school, adaptation + 3 more
    Genre: adaptation, comedy, drama
    Keyword: high school, adaptation, Greek mythology, chorus, LGBTQ
    SYNOPSIS: A Chorus of the Dead puts the broken Icarus back together, telling him of his boyhood friendship with Tor, who would become the Minotaur in the Labyrinth, and with Theseus, who would kill him. The path to his final fall is far from straightforward, and the Chorus tells of the cruelty of the tyrant – Tor’s father and king – and the world that made them. Modern elements like Youtubers mounting the 24-...
    SYNOPSIS: A Chorus of the Dead puts the broken Icarus back together, telling him of his boyhood friendship with Tor, who would become the Minotaur in the Labyrinth, and with Theseus, who would kill him. The path to his final fall is far from straightforward, and the Chorus tells of the cruelty of the tyrant – Tor’s father and king – and the world that made them. Modern elements like Youtubers mounting the 24-hour Labyrinth Challenge make this a relevant take on a classic story. Appropriate for teens and adults.
  • [Virtual Performance Edition] Begin Anywhere, Little One; Spin the Lonely World, and Where You Land is Where You Start by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    7–25
    ·
    Genre: comedy, fable/folktale + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: transformation, magic + 8 more
    Genre: comedy, fable/folktale, fantasy, movement/physical, tragedy, zoom
    Keyword: transformation, magic, myth, fairy tale, middle school, teen, zoom, Virtual Performance, Dark Fairy Tale, la ronde
    Seven short plays about transformation are knitted together by a ring that's passed from a major character to a minor character. You can begin this play on any piece and eventually you will return to it.

    After a lonely woodcarver makes a puppet, who then carves more puppets to deal with her loneliness.
    An old woman encounters a rose that offers infinite life and instant death....
    Seven short plays about transformation are knitted together by a ring that's passed from a major character to a minor character. You can begin this play on any piece and eventually you will return to it.

    After a lonely woodcarver makes a puppet, who then carves more puppets to deal with her loneliness.
    An old woman encounters a rose that offers infinite life and instant death.
    An artist is shipwrecked on a magic island with his greatest foe.
    A young girl deals with the grief of losing her parents by hunting death.
    An apothecary deals with three obnoxious sorcerers.
    Forbidden lovers meet on an icy bridge, and one is taken by a waterfall spirit and turned to stone.
    A crow trades her plumage for shiny things, becoming human.

    Originally written immediately before the pandemic, this draft has been annotated to be produced as a virtual performance.

    This play has opportunities for eleven actors to have leading roles. Although it was originally written for an ensemble of middle school actors, it is also appropriate for older actors.

    It borrows from the La Ronde/ring structure.
  • Forever Christmastown by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Cast: 
    12–30
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: comedy, christmas + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, farce, holiday, satire
    Keyword: comedy, christmas, large cast, Renaissance faire, mockumentary
    Forever Christmastown is reopening. It's June. The holiday-inspired theme park in Bastrop County, Texas, (you know, like a Ren Faire, but about Christmas), was closed because of lawsuits, and then they had to deal with wild boars, but now they are back in business. They've hired Shannon Bennett, a 90's actress from Santa's Wife I, II, and IV, to play Mrs. Claus, along with an alternative...
    Forever Christmastown is reopening. It's June. The holiday-inspired theme park in Bastrop County, Texas, (you know, like a Ren Faire, but about Christmas), was closed because of lawsuits, and then they had to deal with wild boars, but now they are back in business. They've hired Shannon Bennett, a 90's actress from Santa's Wife I, II, and IV, to play Mrs. Claus, along with an alternative Santa (he's in a band, he prefers "Bwa-ha-ha" to "ho-ho-ho"), and a new, unpaid intern elf they're calling "Tinkle."

    And Tinkle, she's stupidly excited. See, her mother always told her that, well, Santa is her father. She's sure that the real Santa will pay the park a visit. You know, assuming that it isn't shut down for tax fraud. 

    These kinds of things tend to escalate, and after an odd 'miracle,' Tinkle finds herself leading a cult of Santacolytes. And when their "Mrs. Claus" runs off with the park's co-owner, she also finds herself leading a revolution as Forever Christmastown declares itself a sovereign nation.

    This is a play about toxic nostalgia and our tendency to double down on stupidity.

    This large cast comedy is intended to be produced out of the holiday season when a Christmas show would be inappropriate, but it also works for that winter timeslot. Casting is flexible.
  • The Secret Lives of Gamers and Dead Astronauts by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Cast: 
    5–6
    ·
    Genre: adventure, comedy + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: zoom, Alien + 7 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, drama, experimental, romantic comedy, science fiction, zoom
    Keyword: zoom, Alien, trans, astronaut, grief, comedy, Antartica, science, Mars
    An epistolary play for the internet age. SECRET LIVES is composed of old Youtube vids, Twitch streams, video calls, security footage, Public Access, and more.

    Five years ago, Corey’s astronaut sister died on an expedition to Mars. Now their brother Carl searches Antartica for meteorites while Corey's best friend Lexington tries to revolutionize Public Access Portland. Corey is stuck...
    An epistolary play for the internet age. SECRET LIVES is composed of old Youtube vids, Twitch streams, video calls, security footage, Public Access, and more.

    Five years ago, Corey’s astronaut sister died on an expedition to Mars. Now their brother Carl searches Antartica for meteorites while Corey's best friend Lexington tries to revolutionize Public Access Portland. Corey is stuck streaming games from his basement over Twitch when a mysterious stranger from another planet begins to play along.
  • On the Other Side of the Mirror: play for teen/YA Actors by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Cast: 
    10–25
    ·
    Genre: adventure, comedy + 7 more
    ·
    Keyword: dragons, site-specific + 6 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, drama, experimental, fable/folktale, fantasy, farce, immersive, young audiences
    Keyword: dragons, site-specific, journey play, immersive, Renaissance faire, imaginative design, middle school, high school
    This site-specific journey play that divides the audience and has them follow two interrelated stories told simultaneously.

    Half of the audience begins in the Den of Thieves in the Badlands following the story of Geeri, a budding sorcerer and an "other" who wants the dragon for his magic. The other half starts at the Royal Palace of New Dominoso, tracking the exploits of Nigel...
    This site-specific journey play that divides the audience and has them follow two interrelated stories told simultaneously.

    Half of the audience begins in the Den of Thieves in the Badlands following the story of Geeri, a budding sorcerer and an "other" who wants the dragon for his magic. The other half starts at the Royal Palace of New Dominoso, tracking the exploits of Nigel Wunderkind Kertuckle III, a great monster slayer, who wants the heart of the dragon for his own purposes. Set in motion by Magic Mirrors who only want to make mischief to entertain the audience, the stories are fated to converge in a magical ending of either sadness or reconciliation.

    For the audience following Geeri, Nigel is the villain, while Nigel’s audience sees threat from Geeri. Audience members who see both sides may notice that the system itself, which they are a part of, drives the conflict. There is a sinister apartheid system governing New Dominoso, one that Geeri, though oppressed by it, cannot see, and one that Nigel, though he benefits, comes to despise. Good versus evil is a bit more complicated than it appears to be.

    Minimal cast of 10 actors, can be done with more than 20.
  • Small Steps: Virtual Performance Edition by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Cast: 
    3–7
    ·
    Genre: adventure, comedy + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: zoom, LGBTQ + 6 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, dark comedy, farce, romantic comedy, science fiction, zoom
    Keyword: zoom, LGBTQ, Mars, gay, NASA, space, astronaut, astronomy
    A play built for social distancing before it was cool.

    Act 1 has Skip on quarantine. Act 2, he's on a one-man mission to Mars. This made the play ideal for adaptation for a virtual performance.

    When Skip Powers realizes that no one will ever love him, he volunteers to go to Mars -- and the Principal of NASA says, "Yeah, sure. You'll do." Skip is super gay and...
    A play built for social distancing before it was cool.

    Act 1 has Skip on quarantine. Act 2, he's on a one-man mission to Mars. This made the play ideal for adaptation for a virtual performance.

    When Skip Powers realizes that no one will ever love him, he volunteers to go to Mars -- and the Principal of NASA says, "Yeah, sure. You'll do." Skip is super gay and isn't really a participant in the gene pool, so it just makes sense to send him millions of miles on the the spaceship Atlantis on a mission that will, in all likelihood, kill him. And after crappy experiences on gay hookup apps, he's more than prepared for the training with the Abstinence Coach -- but a little less prepared when the Love of His Life tries to keep him on earth. This play about what it means to attempt to live your life in the pursuit of great things spans a million years and fifty-five million miles.

    Note: this is the latest 'hybrid' draft, intended for a live performance with a virtual component. There is another draft with some minor tricks for 'Virtual Performance Only' available upon request.

    For live/in-person edition: https://newplayexchange.org/plays/83346/small-steps
  • The Secret Lives of Gamers and Dead Astronauts_draft for teens by Briandaniel Oglesby
    Cast: 
    5–6
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: zoom, Alien + 8 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, experimental, romantic comedy, science fiction, tragedy, zoom
    Keyword: zoom, Alien, trans, astronaut, grief, comedy, Antartica, science, Mars, good roles for teens
    Originally written to be performed as a virtual production at a high school, this play is composed of old Youtube vids, Twitch streams, video calls, security footage, Public Access, and more. Although written for teen actors, this is also appropriate for adult actors.

    Five years ago, Corey’s astronaut sister died on an expedition to Mars. Now his brother Carl searches Antartica for meteorites...
    Originally written to be performed as a virtual production at a high school, this play is composed of old Youtube vids, Twitch streams, video calls, security footage, Public Access, and more. Although written for teen actors, this is also appropriate for adult actors.

    Five years ago, Corey’s astronaut sister died on an expedition to Mars. Now his brother Carl searches Antartica for meteorites while his best friend Lexington tries to revolutionize Public Access Portland. Corey is stuck streaming games from his basement over Twitch when a mysterious stranger from another planet begins to play along.