Carissa Atallah

Carissa Atallah

Carissa Atallah is a playwright from sunny Southern California. Her work has been championed by organizations including The Kennedy Center, Concord Theatricals, and Playwrights' Arena. Most recently, Carissa was named winner of the 45th Annual Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival for her script VOIR DIRE which also achieved finalist status in the Kennedy Center American College Theater...
Carissa Atallah is a playwright from sunny Southern California. Her work has been championed by organizations including The Kennedy Center, Concord Theatricals, and Playwrights' Arena. Most recently, Carissa was named winner of the 45th Annual Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival for her script VOIR DIRE which also achieved finalist status in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. "Voir Dire" is available for licensing through Concord Theatricals. Her full-length play BROWN FACE was a Bay Area Playwrights Festival semifinalist in 2020 and featured in Playwright Arenas' Ghost Light Series in 2021. Carissa was also selected for a new play development initiative with Rogue Artists Ensemble in 2019 and was named a semifinalist for The Future of Playwriting Prize in 2021. Carissa holds an MFA in Creative Writing for the Performing Arts from the University of California Riverside and a BA in English from the University of California Merced.

Plays

  • Brown Face by Carissa Atallah
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    5–8
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    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: brown face, Chicana + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, political
    Keyword: brown face, Chicana, Latinx, american immigration, college age, spoken word, American dreamers, full length
    Gracia is a Chicana writer and DREAMer. In order to draw attention to her work but not her undocumented status, Gracia convinces her white and US-born best friend Mariza to perform her poetry. When Gracia’s words launch Mariza into gaining a following as a Latinx artist and activist, their friendship is tested by issues of privilege and cultural appropriation. Part play, part poetry slam, “Brown Face” follows a...
    Gracia is a Chicana writer and DREAMer. In order to draw attention to her work but not her undocumented status, Gracia convinces her white and US-born best friend Mariza to perform her poetry. When Gracia’s words launch Mariza into gaining a following as a Latinx artist and activist, their friendship is tested by issues of privilege and cultural appropriation. Part play, part poetry slam, “Brown Face” follows a group of college students as they navigate their identities in the competitive world of spoken word poetry.
  • Voir Dire by Carissa Atallah
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    5–9
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 2 more
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    Keyword: metoo, Times Up + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, experimental, political
    Keyword: metoo, Times Up, feminism, socio-political, women, sexual assault, sexism
    Have you, or anyone close to you, been sexually assaulted in your lifetime?
    “Voir Dire”, a Kennedy Center award-nominated short play, follows a diverse set of women as they are interviewed for jury duty on a sexual assault case in New York City. Winner of the 45th Annual Samuel French Off Off Broadway Theater Festival. Available through Concord Theatricals.