Shayne Kennedy

Shayne Kennedy

Shayne Kennedy is a Chicago area playwright whose work has been produced in her hometown, as well as in parts around the midwest. Her play "Agreed Upon Fictions" premiered at 16th Street Theatre in the fall of 2014 and enjoyed an extended, Jeff-Recommended run. Her short play "Blood Harmony" premiered in Omaha, Nebraska in 2015 and was nominated for a TAG Award for Best New Work. She is the...
Shayne Kennedy is a Chicago area playwright whose work has been produced in her hometown, as well as in parts around the midwest. Her play "Agreed Upon Fictions" premiered at 16th Street Theatre in the fall of 2014 and enjoyed an extended, Jeff-Recommended run. Her short play "Blood Harmony" premiered in Omaha, Nebraska in 2015 and was nominated for a TAG Award for Best New Work. She is the mother of three, and a knitter, and works frequently in theaters around Chicago as an Audio Describer for the blind.

Plays

  • Laundry Day at Mrs. Thoreau's by Shayne Kennedy
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: comedy
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    Keyword: 19th century America, Henry David Thoreau + 3 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: 19th century America, Henry David Thoreau, Walden Pond, feminism, American Literature
    Based on the fact, confirmed in many places, that Henry David Thoreau brought his laundry home to his mother while he was living at Walden Pond, this short play explores the way women are conditioned to set aside their own wants and talents in order to cultivate the dreams of the men they love.
  • Mrs. Whitman's Words for Women by Shayne Kennedy
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: drama, period
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    Keyword: feminism, Reproductive Rights + 6 more
    Genre: drama, period
    Keyword: feminism, Reproductive Rights, World War I, birth control, women's rights, flu pandemic, American Education 1917-1918, American History 1917-1918
    It is 1918. Three young women meet in the Martha Cook Building, one of the first all-female dorms on the campus of the University of Michigan. They begin to feel the constraints of a system designed to turn them into excellent wives and hostesses, and rebel against it, eventually concocting a scheme to illegally distribute information about birth control to factory girls in Detroit.
  • Handled by Shayne Kennedy
    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: dark comedy
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    Keyword: Depression, family + 4 more
    Genre: dark comedy
    Keyword: Depression, family, mental illness, parenthood, Twitter, social media
    A teenage girl returns home after undergoing a 6-week residential course of treatment for depression and other issues. She discovers that her mother has created and maintained a Twitter persona for her while she has been gone--a bright, shiny, "life is good," kind of girl. A daughter attempts to get her mother to see her for who she is. A mother attempts to steer her daughter around obstacles and pain, and toward happiness.
  • Christmas Cookies by Shayne Kennedy
    Cast: 
    8
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    Genre: comedy, holiday
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    Keyword: christmas, women
    Genre: comedy, holiday
    Keyword: christmas, women
    Michelle, under the impression that no one knows that she and her husband have separated, has broken into the house they used to share, in order to host her Annual Holiday Cookie Exchange. Guests arrive, cookies are exchanged, stories are told, secrets are revealed and animals are murdered. Well, one animal is murdered. Accidentally. Sort of.
  • Andy's in the Basement by Shayne Kennedy
    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: basketball, sports + 6 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: basketball, sports, NCAA athletics, recruiting, alcoholism, addiction, parenthood, family
    Kelly and Tim's management of their son's NCAA recruiting process takes a back seat to the frequent presence of his troubled friend in their home.
  • Blood Harmony by Shayne Kennedy
    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: music, rock and roll + 3 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: music, rock and roll, family, band, siblings
    Two members of a musical sibling trio meet their mother/manager in the green room after opening for a fairly famous solo artist. As the main act's music strains through the door, they come to a few realizations about where they are headed.
  • Plans to Form a Human Chain Faltered by Shayne Kennedy
    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: comedy, farce
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    Keyword: charity, fundraiser + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, farce
    Keyword: charity, fundraiser, volunteer
    Bethany's volunteer efforts threaten to overwhelm her as she attempts to get a one-hundred yard section of a "human chain" (think Hands Across America, if you are old enough) organized. Her tyrannical supervisor terrifies, her brother is forced into disguise, and her ex-fiancé arrives masquerading as a clown. There's just not a lot of room for hand holding.
  • Saint Jude and the Hopeless Cause by Shayne Kennedy
    Cast: 
    7
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    Genre: comedy
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    Keyword: office, saint + 1 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: office, saint, god
    As the Patron of Hopeless Causes, Jude is overwhelmed at work. His requests for prayers come in to heaven at a rate he cannot possibly handle. His boss, St. Genesius of Arles, Patron of Office Workers, feels Jude simply isn’t working up to his potential. While heaven’s inter-office struggle heats towards its boiling point, insight and assistance come from the patrons of ice skaters, actors, difficult...
    As the Patron of Hopeless Causes, Jude is overwhelmed at work. His requests for prayers come in to heaven at a rate he cannot possibly handle. His boss, St. Genesius of Arles, Patron of Office Workers, feels Jude simply isn’t working up to his potential. While heaven’s inter-office struggle heats towards its boiling point, insight and assistance come from the patrons of ice skaters, actors, difficult marriages, housekeepers, and the former patron of travelers.
  • Want by Shayne Kennedy
    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: adaptation, drama
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    Keyword: Chicago, Tattoo + 2 more
    Genre: adaptation, drama
    Keyword: Chicago, Tattoo, frank norris, mcteague
    An adaptation of Frank Norris' 1899 novel, "McTeague." Norris' 19th century unlicensed San Francisco dentist becomes a 2008 unlicensed Chicago tattoo artist. When the girl he is dating wins a huge jackpot in a raffle, it looks like things might be looking up for Mack. Base human instinct rules the day, however, as those close to the money quickly default to greed, jealousy, and violence.
  • Agreed Upon Fictions by Shayne Kennedy
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: drama
    Genre: drama
    Katie and Brian's smooth suburban life is rocked when their elderly neighbor, Harold, is found in possession of child pornography. His apparent dementia complicates their responses to this news, and to their almost daily interactions with him. As they adopt different modes of dealing with Harold, and protecting their 13 year-old son, Katie and Brian struggle to find the safety and comfort of common ground...
    Katie and Brian's smooth suburban life is rocked when their elderly neighbor, Harold, is found in possession of child pornography. His apparent dementia complicates their responses to this news, and to their almost daily interactions with him. As they adopt different modes of dealing with Harold, and protecting their 13 year-old son, Katie and Brian struggle to find the safety and comfort of common ground. (NOTE: The play is not at all graphic. Were it on screen, it would probably merit a PG rating.)