River Timms

River Timms

River Timms was born in Alabama and raised in the sticks. They graduated from Belmont University with a B.A in Theatre in 2018 after years of trying to find their "thing". As an up-and-coming playwright, River's work has been seen in multiple staged readings and productions in Nashville. Their style is influenced by leftist politics, magical realism, Christian liberation theology, and the LGBT...
River Timms was born in Alabama and raised in the sticks. They graduated from Belmont University with a B.A in Theatre in 2018 after years of trying to find their "thing". As an up-and-coming playwright, River's work has been seen in multiple staged readings and productions in Nashville. Their style is influenced by leftist politics, magical realism, Christian liberation theology, and the LGBT experience. River was part of the 2020-2021 New Works 615 cohort, a local playwriting cohort under the umbrella of the Nashville Rep's Ingram New Works project, where they collaborated and co-wrote ‘Little Hollow, TN’, a multi-media theatrical adventure. They are also a burgeoning adaptor, adapting classics such as the Garden of Eden tale ('The Naughty Tree') and A Christmas Carol ('Christmas Carol Circuit Party') for queer-inspired club settings. ‘The Naughty Tree’ was written in collaboration with Kindling Arts Festival, and it was selected as the Best Local Theatre Performance by The Nashville Scene in 2022. River currently lives in Nashville, acting as the Resident Playwright and Literary Manager of Woven Theatre.

Plays

  • Until the Waves Come by River Timms
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: drama, experimental + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: apocalypse, breakdown of society + 8 more
    Genre: drama, experimental, fantasy, immersive, science fiction, tragedy
    Keyword: apocalypse, breakdown of society, romance, Meta-theatrical, art in dark times, Survival, flood, spectacle, experimental, speculative
    (FULL LENGTH, NO INTERMISSION, FANTASY/DRAMA, 1.5-2 hours)

    “I don’t want to be afraid of love at the end of the world.”

    A giant wave rips through a city, and five people are trapped on the rooftop of a skyscraper surrounded by the floodwaters. They must rely on each other to survive, but with no rescue in sight, how long will they last? How long can they even keep it together? This...
    (FULL LENGTH, NO INTERMISSION, FANTASY/DRAMA, 1.5-2 hours)

    “I don’t want to be afraid of love at the end of the world.”

    A giant wave rips through a city, and five people are trapped on the rooftop of a skyscraper surrounded by the floodwaters. They must rely on each other to survive, but with no rescue in sight, how long will they last? How long can they even keep it together? This is a fantastical play brimming with spectacle and metatheatrical antics that focuses on what we do when we lose everyone and everything except the strangers and acquaintances around us.
  • burnout. by River Timms
    Recommendations: 10
    ·
    Cast: 
    7–8
    ·
    Genre: drama, political + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: Student debt, working class + 8 more
    Genre: drama, political, tragedy
    Keyword: Student debt, working class, gay, healthcare, weed, Stoner, leftist, LGBTQ, Realism, labor
    (FULL LENGTH, NO INTERMISSION, DRAMA, 1.5-2 hours)

    "NO I DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY YOU TODAY AND I WON'T TOMORROW AND I WON'T THE NEXT DAY STOP CALLING ME I'M FIGURING IT OUT"

    Noah is just like any normal millennial; he is burdened with thousands upon thousands of dollars of student loan debt, and he copes with his stress by consuming large amounts of...
    (FULL LENGTH, NO INTERMISSION, DRAMA, 1.5-2 hours)

    "NO I DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY YOU TODAY AND I WON'T TOMORROW AND I WON'T THE NEXT DAY STOP CALLING ME I'M FIGURING IT OUT"

    Noah is just like any normal millennial; he is burdened with thousands upon thousands of dollars of student loan debt, and he copes with his stress by consuming large amounts of marijuana. His job as a barworker doesn't pay nearly enough to keep the bills in order or even pay rent, and he survives by the grace of his boyfriend and roommate, Ryan. As Noah begins to look for options in maneuvering through his own personal debt crisis, his encroaching deadline to begin payments draws ever closer, and the stress pushes him to the limit as he tries to juggle his relationships, his finances, and his health the best he can.

    'burnout.' is the prequel to my play 'Tall Tales' and part one of the two-part series that I lovingly call 'Noah's Arc.' You don't need to read both to understand this story. They are separate narratives; they just recontextualize one another when read as a set.

    Patch Notes for v3.0 (Updated 2/28/21):

    +Gave Aubrey more... things.
    +Added another scene between Noah and Ryan
    +Recontextualized and changed more scenes
    +Gave Grace and Ryan more characterization and fleshing out
    +Added like six more pages (and I wholly blame my dramaturg for this)

    Patch Notes for v2.0 (Updated 11/04/20):

    +Made Grace an actual character
    +Fleshed out characters with more dialogue, monologue, etc.
    +Overhauled and radically changed several scenes
    +Added one and a half fight scenes (!)
    +Added masks. Lots of masks.
    +Finalized form and format
    +Tightened dialogue in places
    +Deepened certain characters and their relationships
    +Fixed font issues in the middle of the play
    +50% MORE utilization of the chorus of Stupid Motherfuckers
    +Wrote an actual summary
    +Added three pages (the shame)
  • Tall Tales by River Timms
    Recommendations: 18
    ·
    Cast: 
    6–7
    ·
    Genre: drama, faith-based + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: horror, christianity + 7 more
    Genre: drama, faith-based, fantasy, horror, mystery/thriller
    Keyword: horror, christianity, LGBTQ, gay, queer, southern, southern gothic, Deep South, ghost story
    (FULL LENGTH, HORROR/DRAMA, 1.5-2 hours)
    [Also! Ending spoilers for ‘burnout.’ in the synopsis for ‘Tall Tales.’]

    "What do you want from me?! What did I do?!"

    Alabama is equally haunted by Christ and ghosts, and this is a play about both.

    After losing his job and breaking up with his boyfriend, Noah is forced to return to his hometown in rural...
    (FULL LENGTH, HORROR/DRAMA, 1.5-2 hours)
    [Also! Ending spoilers for ‘burnout.’ in the synopsis for ‘Tall Tales.’]

    "What do you want from me?! What did I do?!"

    Alabama is equally haunted by Christ and ghosts, and this is a play about both.

    After losing his job and breaking up with his boyfriend, Noah is forced to return to his hometown in rural Alabama. He meets his childhood friends to find that his old world has changed dramatically in the eight years that he’s been gone; his tiny town is dying as the city nearby expands, most of his friends are stuck in dead-end jobs that they never wanted, and his first ex-boyfriend has returned to church and is now engaged to a woman. As Noah tries to find his new place in what he tried to leave behind, murders begin to occur, scandals are brought to light, and tragedy strikes in this slow-burn horror play about being othered in the Deep South.

    "At once it is a deeply personal introspection of growing up in a sternly religious and judgmental evangelical community in Alabama while it is also a larger-than-life, suspenseful seasonal tale of monsters, murders, and mayhem... there is some smart and snappy dialogue, more than a little humor and some revelations that are off-putting and disquieting." -Jeffery Ellis, Broadway World

    “I ALSO enjoyed ‘Night In the Woods.’” -our stage manager’s boyfriend

    'Tall Tales' is the sequel to my play 'burnout.' and part two of a two-part series which I lovingly call 'Noah's Arc.' You need not read 'burnout.' to understand this play; they are both whole narratives that recontextualize each other when read as a set.

    CW: homophobic slurs
  • This Is Just a Box by River Timms
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    6–7
    ·
    Genre: drama, political + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: sci-fi, assisted suicide + 2 more
    Genre: drama, political, science fiction
    Keyword: sci-fi, assisted suicide, technology, capitalism
    (FULL LENGTH, NO INTERMISSION, SCI-FI/DRAMA, 1.5 hours)

    "You have to be brilliant. You have to create something legendary, something that lasts. And this is it."

    Meg has created an astonishing and deadly machine called The Box that she believes will change the world. Then, The Box opens.

    (THIS IS A FIRST DRAFT. Edits will continue to happen. This is why...
    (FULL LENGTH, NO INTERMISSION, SCI-FI/DRAMA, 1.5 hours)

    "You have to be brilliant. You have to create something legendary, something that lasts. And this is it."

    Meg has created an astonishing and deadly machine called The Box that she believes will change the world. Then, The Box opens.

    (THIS IS A FIRST DRAFT. Edits will continue to happen. This is why there are no character descriptions yet!)
  • The Naughty Tree by River Timms
    Cast: 
    5–99
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, comedy + 8 more
    ·
    Keyword: LGBTQ, garden of eden + 7 more
    Genre: adaptation, comedy, experimental, fable/folktale, faith-based, fantasy, immersive, movement/physical, musical, verse
    Keyword: LGBTQ, garden of eden, creation, myth, Bible, Genesis, cabaret, collaborative, drag
    (FULL LENGTH, CABARET/COMEDY, 60-75 MINS.)

    Gather 'round, children! Mother Nature is here to tell you the story of Adam, Eve, and the creation of the world. Written in collaboration with the Kindling Arts Festival and co-created with Daniel Jones, this queer, cabaret-style retelling of the Garden of Eden myth made waves with its raucous premiere at The Blue Room in Nashville, being lauded by...
    (FULL LENGTH, CABARET/COMEDY, 60-75 MINS.)

    Gather 'round, children! Mother Nature is here to tell you the story of Adam, Eve, and the creation of the world. Written in collaboration with the Kindling Arts Festival and co-created with Daniel Jones, this queer, cabaret-style retelling of the Garden of Eden myth made waves with its raucous premiere at The Blue Room in Nashville, being lauded by critics and audiences alike. It's a story you know, but you've never seen it told this way, baby.

    *This is a theatrical piece that necessitates collaboration with interdisciplinary artists in your community, and it was written with this in mind. By itself, it is a fun script. With other artists, it becomes a force of nature, a true celebration
  • Opus: The Totally Real, Not Made Up Story of a Boy and His Skeleton by River Timms
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: adventure, comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: DnD, LGBTQ + 7 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, drama, fantasy
    Keyword: DnD, LGBTQ, genderqueer, Fantasy, role play, tarot, magic, hell, fairy tale
    (FULL LENGTH, MODERN FANTASY/ADVENTURE, 2-2.5 hours)

    "Hell can be Heaven with the right people."

    Dakota is a new player in Animal Town, a storytelling game invented by his friend Mason to create weird stories and better the lives of the players. When a mysterious villain called The Fox sends his player character to Hell, Dakota meets a skeleton named Ronald Opus. However...
    (FULL LENGTH, MODERN FANTASY/ADVENTURE, 2-2.5 hours)

    "Hell can be Heaven with the right people."

    Dakota is a new player in Animal Town, a storytelling game invented by his friend Mason to create weird stories and better the lives of the players. When a mysterious villain called The Fox sends his player character to Hell, Dakota meets a skeleton named Ronald Opus. However, Hell is not a place of fire and brimstone in Animal Town, but rather “just another place to live." As Dakota becomes more attached to Opus and his own Animal Town experience, the barriers between the real world and the world of Animal Town begin to fade, and the story becomes much too real for Dakota's own good.
  • dis/member by River Timms
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    1–2
    ·
    Genre: drama, horror + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: death, serial killer + 5 more
    Genre: drama, horror, verse
    Keyword: death, serial killer, cannibalism, romance, LGBTQ, grief, monologue
    (SHORT PLAY, DRAMA/HORROR?, 10 MIN.)

    After being killed by his boyfriend, a dead man expresses his final thoughts on their relationship as his killer prepares his body for consumption.

    *This is a short play for two actors; however, it could also be performed as a monologue piece
  • Reserved Seat by River Timms
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: drama, tragedy
    ·
    Keyword: grief, death + 1 more
    Genre: drama, tragedy
    Keyword: grief, death, monologue
    (SHORT PLAY, MONOLOGUE, 10 min.)

    A young man reflects after the memorial service of a distant "friend".