Rachel Lynett

Rachel Lynett

Rachel Lynett (she/they) is a Black/Afro-Latine playwright and producer.. So far in 2021, her plays have been featured at Theatre Lab, Magic Theatre, True Colors, Florida Studio Theatre, Transformation Theatre, Edgewood College, and as part of the Amplified Series at Indiana University, Bloomington. Rachel Lynett is the 2021 recipient of the Yale Drama Prize for their play, Apologies to Lorraine Hansberry (You...
Rachel Lynett (she/they) is a Black/Afro-Latine playwright and producer.. So far in 2021, her plays have been featured at Theatre Lab, Magic Theatre, True Colors, Florida Studio Theatre, Transformation Theatre, Edgewood College, and as part of the Amplified Series at Indiana University, Bloomington. Rachel Lynett is the 2021 recipient of the Yale Drama Prize for their play, Apologies to Lorraine Hansberry (You Too August Wilson) and their plays Last Night and HE DID IT made the 2020 Kilroy’s List. Rachel Lynett is also the Artistic Director of Rachel Lynett Theatre Company and Executive Director of Page by Page.

Plays

  • Abortion Road Trip
    Minnie and Lexa join Driver on a road trip from San Antonio to New Mexico to get an abortion. While on their journey, each of three women discuss all of the baggage we carry with us and how the circumstances leading to three very different abortions shaped them into who they are.

  • Adored You
    (one-act) LILA and ALEX meet in a coffee shop. Over the next three years (in a single day), they try to form a life together, with all the ups and downs that comes with being in love.
  • Apologies to Lorraine Hansberry (You Too August Wilson)
    Set in the fictional world of a post-second Civil War, Bronx Bay, an all-black state (and neighborhood) is established in order to protect "blackness." It's a utopia but enforcing utopia proves to be tricky when it comes to defining who is Black and who isn't. 
  • As You Are
    In a loose adaptation of Shakespeare's AS YOU LIKE, AS YOU ARE is a play with music about an apartment community stuck inside trying to find joy in the darkest of situations. Orlando, a recovering addict, struggles to pay rent and "earn" his stay while also trying to woo the artist, Ros who's looking for the perfect moment to catch with her camera. Silvius, a high school teacher, tries his...
    In a loose adaptation of Shakespeare's AS YOU LIKE, AS YOU ARE is a play with music about an apartment community stuck inside trying to find joy in the darkest of situations. Orlando, a recovering addict, struggles to pay rent and "earn" his stay while also trying to woo the artist, Ros who's looking for the perfect moment to catch with her camera. Silvius, a high school teacher, tries his chances with exhausted nurse Phoebe while Audrey, a classically trained musician tries to come to terms with being good but not great. Throughout the play, each character attempts to adjust to a new normal and what it means to find joy in the midst of great loss.
  • black kitchen sink
    Alison just has to deal with her estranged family for three days while they prepare for the funeral of her even more estranged grandfather who she calls "The Grim Reaper." But, as the weekend progresses, Alison learns that a secret she had been keeping for years about Grim has never really been a secret at all. And no one did anything to save her. Alison must finally stop always living in the future...
    Alison just has to deal with her estranged family for three days while they prepare for the funeral of her even more estranged grandfather who she calls "The Grim Reaper." But, as the weekend progresses, Alison learns that a secret she had been keeping for years about Grim has never really been a secret at all. And no one did anything to save her. Alison must finally stop always living in the future and face her family and the cycle of abuse that haunts them.
  • Black Mexican
    Who gets to be a part of Latinidad? While Valery fights to prove Ximena isn't Cuban, Alia has given up fighting that she is Latine. As the women in this play discover the truth about themselves and each other, they also have to face the internal bias that allowed a white woman to be Cuban but didn't allow a Belizean to call herself Latine.

    Very early draft
  • Can You Not
    (early draft) (30-minute play)

    Jess is determined to "un-alive" herself. Unfortunately for her, she chose a public park and Ryan, some rando, won't leave her alone.
  • Choosing You
    As Aurora moves through her day, she considers the two very different lives she might have lived. (10 min play)
  • Dandelion Peace
    At a community garden, Moira struggles to keep the peace (and keep her status as garden president) as Zuri and Anita go head to head over "invasive species."
  • Dear Helena
    In a loose adaptation of ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, friends surprise Helena by throwing her a divorce party. Though the intention is to celebrate being free from a toxic man, the women share a time when they assumed all would end well and the reasons why we accept the love we think we deserve.
  • Echo Me
    As time flows in and out of this memory play, Massiel experiences many different 2020s as she tries to reconcile moving back to New York and the world changing forever.
  • The Field
    (In the spirit of Taylor releasing songs from the vault, I figured I'd do the same with some of my plays)

    Facing homelessness and displacement, a family attempts to stay together in a world determined to tear them apart.

    (This is a play I gave up on. I want to work on editing it in 2022 and would love a workshop opportunity.)
  • Good Bad People
    June returns home in an attempt to make amends with her family, after her brother, Amiri, is shot by a police officer. But when her family refuses to make a statement and her personal beliefs are questioned, suddenly June is forced into the spotlight and must decide which is more important: making amends with her family or standing up for her brother's life.
  • He Did It
    He did it. They know he did it. But can they ignore his crimes if it means that'll make them famous?

    Ada & Lex know Jefferson raped their friend but they need him in order to become a breakthrough. For their show and their dreams to work, they need Jefferson. Ada and Lex must decide if they can alienate their friends for the sake of their careers. And if they can excuse a horrendous...
    He did it. They know he did it. But can they ignore his crimes if it means that'll make them famous?

    Ada & Lex know Jefferson raped their friend but they need him in order to become a breakthrough. For their show and their dreams to work, they need Jefferson. Ada and Lex must decide if they can alienate their friends for the sake of their careers. And if they can excuse a horrendous crime done by an artistic "genius."
  • I'm f*cking tired of writing plays about this
    Yet another police killing of a black person, yet another play about it. Be better.

    (Very early draft)
  • In Transit
    Becca and Ryan run into each other at an airport after not having seen each other for five years. As they work through the awkwardness of seeing each other and catching up on their lives, they navigate what they meant to each other and if they could ever be that way again. (10 min play)
  • Last Night
    (This play was commissioned by Theatre Lab at Florida Atlantic University)

    After a shooting at a lesbian bar, as an act of resistance, Mia opens up the bar the next night. Together with bartender Rory, Rory's girlfriend Leslie, and a student named Sara they unpack what it means to queer today, the battles we're still fighting, and where to find joy.
  • Letters to Kamala
    Right before election night, three major political women in US history come to visit Kamala and offer her words of wisdom.
  • maybe once
    At the end of the universe, two cosmic beings talk about dysmorphia and what it means to love not only each other but also how to love the bodies we've been assigned.
  • Missing Socks and a Line of Coke
    Through various scenarios, Naomi wonders if she'll ever be a mom and what kind of mom she'll be. (A very early draft)
  • Monogapolyish (Formerly Refuge)
    After Derek's transition, Julia is unsure how to be a good partner. She suggests a triad. But as the play progresses, Julia has to face whether or not she actually wants to fix her marriage or if she's looking for someone to be her replacement.
  • my soul to take
    After learning that her friend, Kasey, has been assaulted by a local famous activist, Theresa rushes in to help. The problem is how reliable is Kasey's story and what lines do we draw in regards to what counts as informed consent, assault, and, well, cheating?

    (This is a very rough draft. More like an outline that a full draft)
  • N*gga Rich / Mufaro in the City
    (first draft)

    The actual title of this play is Nigga Rich but only Black people can say that title. If you are not Black, the title for you is "Mufaro in the City"

    In the play, a Black family tries to convince the patriarch to move out of a condemned building. But he refuses to be forced out. As the play goes on, questions of generational wealth and at what cost do we...
    (first draft)

    The actual title of this play is Nigga Rich but only Black people can say that title. If you are not Black, the title for you is "Mufaro in the City"

    In the play, a Black family tries to convince the patriarch to move out of a condemned building. But he refuses to be forced out. As the play goes on, questions of generational wealth and at what cost do we protect each other become central issues for all of the characters. How do we protect what's being stolen from us?
  • oranges
    (10-min) It's the end of the world. JACKS and MICKEY need to decide if they'd rather stay on Earth and try to make something out of disaster or if they'll go to Mars with everyone else.
  • Pick Me Up
    Jenna, a law student, and Lely, a struggling adjunct, meet in a hotel room. As they attempt to figure out how they know each other, they dissect what it means to be alive
  • Rich B*tch
    (an early draft)

    Dani agrees to spend a weekend with her rich friends to celebrate her best friend's wedding as a sort of "bachelor party" but no one was expecting the various proverbial (and literal) cuts they would ultimately cause.
  • Shitty Catholic School Sex
    Rain and Jay try to process a night gone horribly awry the night before Jay's wedding.

    CW: This play contains conversations around s*xual assault.
  • Tent City Gospel
    (Formerly titled AKA The Pitts)

    Fighting homelessness and an upcoming brutal winter, a community of people come together to celebrate the highs and lows of just trying to survive.
  • Twelfth (Or What Enby Dreamers Will)
    A very loose adaptation of both TWELFTH NIGHT and ORLANDO. As V falls in love with both Orlando and Liv, they have to decide what kind of love they want and who (and how) they want to love and be loved.
  • Well-Intentioned White People
    After an attack influenced by her race, Cass wants to just forget about it and move on with her life but her (white) roommate and the dean of the university push her to "make an example of it." Suddenly Cass is roped into planning a diversity day and trying to convince her roommate not to plan a sit-in. Well-Intentioned White People explores how liberals attempt to deal with discrimination not...
    After an attack influenced by her race, Cass wants to just forget about it and move on with her life but her (white) roommate and the dean of the university push her to "make an example of it." Suddenly Cass is roped into planning a diversity day and trying to convince her roommate not to plan a sit-in. Well-Intentioned White People explores how liberals attempt to deal with discrimination not directed at them and how sometimes "well intentions" can be just as problematic.
  • White People by the Lake
    (Early draft)

    In a metatheatrical play, Saida agrees to go to her partner, Erin's home for a funeral despite knowing that Erin's family is very "woke" and not at all as racist-free as they claim. As the two fight about what it means to be an interracial couple with problematic families, the play explores the various tropes found in the many, many, many white people by the lake plays.
  • You Were Mine
    Aisling and Noah struggle to plan a funeral for their shared partner, Jacks. As they try to figure out the logistics, they begin to discover new things about Jacks and themselves.