Dennis Bush

Playwright/screenwriter Dennis Bush's plays have been performed in New York, and throughout the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, the Philippines, South Africa and Egypt. His work has received awards at numerous theatre and film festivals.

In 2019, his play Head First, directed by Lester Thomas Shane and starring Cooper Koch and Austin Larkin, was a big hit of the Fresh Fruit Festival, drawing enthusiastic audiences and generating top box office receipts, along with rave reviews. It won Awards of Distinction for Outstanding Play, Outstanding Director, and Outstanding Actor in a Play (for both of the play's actors).

...Where You Eat, Dennis’ full-length ensemble comedy, directed by Meggy Lykins and produced by Golden Nugget...

Playwright/screenwriter Dennis Bush's plays have been performed in New York, and throughout the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, the Philippines, South Africa and Egypt. His work has received awards at numerous theatre and film festivals.

In 2019, his play Head First, directed by Lester Thomas Shane and starring Cooper Koch and Austin Larkin, was a big hit of the Fresh Fruit Festival, drawing enthusiastic audiences and generating top box office receipts, along with rave reviews. It won Awards of Distinction for Outstanding Play, Outstanding Director, and Outstanding Actor in a Play (for both of the play's actors).

...Where You Eat, Dennis’ full-length ensemble comedy, directed by Meggy Lykins and produced by Golden Nugget Theatrical, won Audience Favorite and Best Ensemble Performance awards for the 2018 Fresh Fruit Festival.

His full-length solo-actor play (Mary)Todd won awards for Outstanding Play, Outstanding Director (Lester Thomas Shane) and Outstanding Performance by an Actor (Xavier Reminick).

Dennis' play Mouthy Bitch, starring Kelsey Torstveit was was a critic's pick and a hit with audiences in its world premiere production at Cincinnati Fringe Festival. In 2016, a new production of Mouthy Bitch, directed by Jane C. Walsh, captivated audiences at both the Hollywood Fringe Festival and Las Vegas Fringe Festival.

His full-length comedies Like A Man and In the Sack have had well-received New York readings. His plays ...and others, Asylum, Below the Belt, and Fetal Pig have had successful NYC runs, and his plays Drift, Find Me, Nightmare, Ritual, Scratching the Surface, and Windows have had well-received readings in New York.

As of this writing, Bush has forty-nine published plays and monologue collections. His plays Asylum, ...and others, Below the Belt, Drift, and Find Me have had several hundred performances in the United States and around the world. Almost True will have its world premiere in Toronto in early 2020.

Bush has extensive credits as a coach for writers and actors, and as a script/dialogue consultant for all areas of the entertainment industry. In addition, he has had short fiction and creative nonfiction published in noted literary periodicals. Described by TheatreMania as, "a writer to be reckoned with," Dennis is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America.

Scripts

Like A Man

by Dennis Bush

Synopsis

Kenny’s a smart, sexy, charming and creative screenwriter. He can also be an asshole. With no shortage of bravado, Kenny walks around his apartment in nothing but a pair of baggy old boxers and still looks likes like he owns the world. Kenny’s roommate and best friend since childhood, Ryan, is young, gay, neurotic and witty. He wants a boyfriend but his track record doesn’t give him much hope.

Kenny’s...

Kenny’s a smart, sexy, charming and creative screenwriter. He can also be an asshole. With no shortage of bravado, Kenny walks around his apartment in nothing but a pair of baggy old boxers and still looks likes like he owns the world. Kenny’s roommate and best friend since childhood, Ryan, is young, gay, neurotic and witty. He wants a boyfriend but his track record doesn’t give him much hope.

Kenny’s buddy T.J. is the handyman for the building Kenny and Ryan live in. Sweet and naive, T.J. used to pump iron but is now more likely to down a few beers. He wants to be needed. And he’s got a secret. Ginger, the neighbor across the hall, wields her rack like a weapon. She needs attention and a plunger. Ryan’s best friend, Carly, an acerbic actress, wants an intimate relationship, her doctor’s ass and the right light in every situation.

When Ryan comes home to discover stained sheets – the result of Kenny’s messy sex with his ex-girlfriend – naked truths begin to get revealed. We discover Kenny’s sleazy sideline job, get a window into his sordid past and get a look at him without his boxers. We find out what drives Ryan’s OCD and see how far Carly will go to get a man. T.J. might reveal his secret but, for now, the duct tape on his mouth makes that hard.

In this lightening-fast romantic comedy filled with witty, literate dialog, everything is up for grabs. In the midst of cynicism and sex, there’s still room for sweetness and romance.

...Where You Eat

by Dennis Bush

Synopsis

It's not what I was expecting," Rusty says, as he takes an up-close look at a Meredith's vagina, a few minutes after meeting her. As a gay man in his early 20's, Rusty hasn't led a sheltered life, by any means, but his experience with women's private parts has been non-existent. Meredith is happy to let Rusty have a look, but she'd be happier if she could get her toilet to stop moaning so mournfully, when she...

It's not what I was expecting," Rusty says, as he takes an up-close look at a Meredith's vagina, a few minutes after meeting her. As a gay man in his early 20's, Rusty hasn't led a sheltered life, by any means, but his experience with women's private parts has been non-existent. Meredith is happy to let Rusty have a look, but she'd be happier if she could get her toilet to stop moaning so mournfully, when she flushes.

Rusty's sister Lisa's boyfriend is paralyzed from the waist down. And she's just had sex with Steve, who's in a relationship with Kelly, Meredith's best friend. Kelly's co-worker Carole's much-younger boyfriend Don has a history with both Rusty and Lisa. And, then, there's Dalton, who's more comfortable being naked than having a conversation – or being honest with himself or anyone else.

Rusty's search for meaning and, maybe, love takes him and Dalton, Meredith, Don, Carole, Steve, Lisa and Kelly on a pants-dropping, bed-hopping adventure through a world of dildos, deodorant, hummus, Whole Foods, trimmed armpits and cupped balls.

So, wash your hands and hold on tight. In this edgy, adult comedy, filled with witty, memorable dialogue, everything is up for grabs. In the midst of cynicism and sex, there's still room for sweetness and romance...Where You Eat.

In the Sack

by Dennis Bush

Synopsis

A summer evening in the suburbs: Two guys and a couple bottles of beer.

Barry mentions that his girlfriend wants him to have a surgical procedure to reduce the sag and swing of a certain sack he's very attached to. His buddy, Wayne, an opinionated truth talker and bullshitter, goes ballistic.

Wayne's wife, Paula, is a ballsy broad with a fondness for cocktails and a collection of Precious Moments...

A summer evening in the suburbs: Two guys and a couple bottles of beer.

Barry mentions that his girlfriend wants him to have a surgical procedure to reduce the sag and swing of a certain sack he's very attached to. His buddy, Wayne, an opinionated truth talker and bullshitter, goes ballistic.

Wayne's wife, Paula, is a ballsy broad with a fondness for cocktails and a collection of Precious Moments figurines. When push comes to shove, she knows how to knock Wayne into place.

Barry's girlfriend , Kristie, is pretty enough to believe that nobody's rules apply to her. While Barry and Paula share laughs in the kitchen, Kristie reveals some of Barry's disturbing behind-closed-doors behavior.

As the booze and bile flows, polite conversation turns to the baring of naked truths. The world of In the Sack spins on raucous laughs and deadly barbs.

It's all fun and games till everyone gets hurt.

Mouthy Bitch

by Dennis Bush

Synopsis

Kate Carden knows that, sometimes, keeping your boyfriend in a dog crate is a perfectly logical thing to do. In an unfiltered, no-holds-barred seminar, the self-described interpersonal guru takes her audience on a hilarious and heartbreaking exploration of relationships and reality, seasoned with adult language and candid sexual references. It's everything you wanted to know about relationships but didn't have...

Kate Carden knows that, sometimes, keeping your boyfriend in a dog crate is a perfectly logical thing to do. In an unfiltered, no-holds-barred seminar, the self-described interpersonal guru takes her audience on a hilarious and heartbreaking exploration of relationships and reality, seasoned with adult language and candid sexual references. It's everything you wanted to know about relationships but didn't have the balls to ask. But, just when Kate is on the verge of complete clarity, an unexpected discovery changes everything.

...and others

by Dennis Bush

Synopsis

A journey through the mind and memory of Amanda, a 26-year-old woman, ...and others explores the dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality syndrome) that resulted from a trauma she suffered at thirteen. Seven personas – female and male – struggle for control. With a mix of terrifying intensity, quirky humor, and heartbreaking revelations, this thirty-minute one-act play will give actors challenging...

A journey through the mind and memory of Amanda, a 26-year-old woman, ...and others explores the dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality syndrome) that resulted from a trauma she suffered at thirteen. Seven personas – female and male – struggle for control. With a mix of terrifying intensity, quirky humor, and heartbreaking revelations, this thirty-minute one-act play will give actors challenging roles to play, directors an opportunity for creative staging, and will have audiences on the edge of their seats.

Asylum

by Dennis Bush

Synopsis

Set in a state-run mental institution and, at times, in the minds of the patients, Asylum explores the flip side of sanity. We meet a former pop star who continues to live like she's in a music video, a girl who was harmed by her best friend's boyfriend, a young man who does operations on stuffed animals and himself, a woman who believes she's in the 11th month of a pregnancy, a dessert-obsessed man with a...

Set in a state-run mental institution and, at times, in the minds of the patients, Asylum explores the flip side of sanity. We meet a former pop star who continues to live like she's in a music video, a girl who was harmed by her best friend's boyfriend, a young man who does operations on stuffed animals and himself, a woman who believes she's in the 11th month of a pregnancy, a dessert-obsessed man with a Barbie voodoo doll, a lost boy who just wants to go home, and others. Through a tapestry of monologues that range from off-the-wall to terrifying, the characters search for their refuge, their shelter, their sanctuary...their home.