Joshua Kahn

Joshua Kahn

Joshua Kahn is a playwright currently based in San Diego, California. He was born and raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles and acted in a couple of commercials before the age of 7. This ruined his ego. After a few years of forced hiatus, Joshua began acting in local theatres and ultimately enrolled in NYU Tisch as an undergraduate Drama student. He ended up graduating with a BFA in Film/Television Production,...
Joshua Kahn is a playwright currently based in San Diego, California. He was born and raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles and acted in a couple of commercials before the age of 7. This ruined his ego. After a few years of forced hiatus, Joshua began acting in local theatres and ultimately enrolled in NYU Tisch as an undergraduate Drama student. He ended up graduating with a BFA in Film/Television Production, because nothing makes sense anymore. He's interned and written and directed and now lives in San Diego, where he is the co-founder of Wildly Successful Theatre Co.

Otherwise, he does the crossword puzzle every night and records an 80-year old joke from his Grandpa's army-issued joke book every morning.

Plays

  • My Wheel Is A Circle Because It Is Round by Joshua Kahn
    Cast: 
    7
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: medieval, Execution + 6 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, horror, political, satire, tragedy
    Keyword: medieval, Execution, executioner, bad dreams, nightmare, Dream logic, Surreal, dystopian America
    Tinsel Schmidt drives the bus. She likes driving the bus. She would prefer to continue driving the bus instead of being conscripted into service as a public executioner following a military coup. In a surreal and dream-like narrative, Tinsel stumbles through a violent and nonsensical America, confronts her status as an overnight celebrity, tries to protect her friends and family, and, heck, maybe even learns a...
    Tinsel Schmidt drives the bus. She likes driving the bus. She would prefer to continue driving the bus instead of being conscripted into service as a public executioner following a military coup. In a surreal and dream-like narrative, Tinsel stumbles through a violent and nonsensical America, confronts her status as an overnight celebrity, tries to protect her friends and family, and, heck, maybe even learns a thing or two about herself along the way.
  • Spooky Saturday! by Joshua Kahn
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: boomer-millennial conflict, Boomer + 6 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, horror, parody/spoof, satire
    Keyword: boomer-millennial conflict, Boomer, millennials, small town, escape, psychological, freaky friday, body swap
    A body swapping psychological horror. A young, idealistic woman preparing to leave for college winds up trapped in the body of her bitter Grandfather. As they attempt to swap back, they learn some hard lessons about themselves, each other, and the young woman's hopelessly clueless Dad (the Grandfather's son).
  • Do Not Approach by Joshua Kahn
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: homelessness, pets + 5 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: homelessness, pets, dogs, Animal abuse, animal rescue, hypocrisy, urban
    Two neighbors argue about a lost dog.
  • She by Joshua Kahn
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: dating apps, future + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, fantasy, satire, science fiction
    Keyword: dating apps, future, capitalism, automation, incel, simulation, artificial intelligence
    Set in the "near future," a 30-something schlub with incel tendencies falls in love with an artificial intelligence, but runs up against a paywall he can't afford. After some digging on the origins of the AI, he discovers a truth that's darker and more insidious than he could have ever imagined. Yes, it's sort of like Spike Jonze's "Her," but meaner.
  • Buffalo Grand by Joshua Kahn
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: grandparents, grandchildren + 8 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: grandparents, grandchildren, green card, road trip, Las Vegas, New York, Screenwriter, movie star, nostalgia, millennials
    An entitled 20-something goes on an impromptu, ill-advised cross country road trip with his senile Grandfather. And then he goes on an ill-advised road trip back with his fiancee. All the while, he slowly comes up on the limits of his own capabilities, frustratedly lashing out and harming those around him. A character study of millennial male ego...with laughs!(?)
  • Less Than Three by Joshua Kahn
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: parallel universe, nostalgia + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, romantic comedy
    Keyword: parallel universe, nostalgia, college, high school, age difference, hook-up, Sex, intimacy issues
    Ahh, 2010. Times were different back then. A weekend-long romance between a college senior anxious about life after graduation and a high school junior anxious about the little things. The story is told in two parallel timelines: In one, the relationship proceeds unabated and runs its course... In the other, a crucial piece of information is divulged early on that derails it all. A play about the different...
    Ahh, 2010. Times were different back then. A weekend-long romance between a college senior anxious about life after graduation and a high school junior anxious about the little things. The story is told in two parallel timelines: In one, the relationship proceeds unabated and runs its course... In the other, a crucial piece of information is divulged early on that derails it all. A play about the different choices we could've made and whether those choices would've even made a difference in the long run.
  • Goy Vey!, or, The First Bar Mitzvah by Joshua Kahn
    Cast: 
    8
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: American Jews, judaism + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, farce, satire
    Keyword: American Jews, judaism, bar mitzvah, WASPS, cultural appropriation
    Mason Makegood has it all, but wants even more. He's long been a pillar of his small, WASPy community, but decides to apply to law school and make his name out in the wider world. The catch? To make himself seem more diverse, he applied as a Jewish candidate and invited the admissions department to attend his adult bar mitzvah! Will he be able to put on a successful and authentic bar mitzvah in time?! Of...
    Mason Makegood has it all, but wants even more. He's long been a pillar of his small, WASPy community, but decides to apply to law school and make his name out in the wider world. The catch? To make himself seem more diverse, he applied as a Jewish candidate and invited the admissions department to attend his adult bar mitzvah! Will he be able to put on a successful and authentic bar mitzvah in time?! Of course not.

    (Honestly, I don't think this one turned out too good, but there are a few clever jokes in there.)
  • Untitled Creature Play by Joshua Kahn
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: science fiction, aliens + 7 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, fantasy, horror, mystery/thriller, science fiction
    Keyword: science fiction, aliens, nihilism, apocalypse, comedy of manners, horror, psychological horror, children, anxiety about the future
    (will be titled eventually)

    A young married couple welcomes a mysterious guest for a dinner party. The guest is an extraterrestrial creature. The party is for a mysterious "cultural exchange."