DJ Hills

DJ Hills

DJ Hills (they/them) is a cross-genre writer, working in the intersections of poetry, prose, and performance. Their play TRUNK BRIEF JOCK THONG was shortlisted for the 2023 Yale Drama Series. Other plays have been developed and/or produced most recently at Carnegie Mellon University (ADULT THINGS), Single Carrot Theatre (WE BROKE UP.), The Kennedy Center (JUNIPER JONES & THE ROCKET SHE BUILT), and...
DJ Hills (they/them) is a cross-genre writer, working in the intersections of poetry, prose, and performance. Their play TRUNK BRIEF JOCK THONG was shortlisted for the 2023 Yale Drama Series. Other plays have been developed and/or produced most recently at Carnegie Mellon University (ADULT THINGS), Single Carrot Theatre (WE BROKE UP.), The Kennedy Center (JUNIPER JONES & THE ROCKET SHE BUILT), and University of California Los Angeles (A DRIVING PLAY).

Other writing appears most recently in Wigleaf, SmokeLong Quarterly, and Poetry Online. Their poetry chapbook LEAVING EARTH was published by Split Rock Press in Fall 2022. Proudly born and raised in the shadow of the Appalachians, DJ currently lives in Los Angeles where they are pursuing their MFA in Playwriting at UCLA.

Plays

  • Adult Things by DJ Hills
    Cast: 
    4–100
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy
    ·
    Keyword: war, millennials + 2 more
    Genre: dark comedy
    Keyword: war, millennials, LGBTQ, Surrealism
    Set in the near future, in a Hamptons "more Mad Max than Maxi Dress," ADULT THINGS follows three vapid young adults, a newly drafted soldier, and a baby that happens to be a butternut squash in the midst of an international war. When the traumas of war begin to spill over the walls of their beach compound, the characters' apathy is pushed to a breaking point as they confront the violence and...
    Set in the near future, in a Hamptons "more Mad Max than Maxi Dress," ADULT THINGS follows three vapid young adults, a newly drafted soldier, and a baby that happens to be a butternut squash in the midst of an international war. When the traumas of war begin to spill over the walls of their beach compound, the characters' apathy is pushed to a breaking point as they confront the violence and terror they have been sheltered from for so long.
  • TRUNK BRIEF JOCK THONG by DJ Hills
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: LGBTQ, family + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: LGBTQ, family, childhood friendship, coming of age
    A group of queer eighteen-year-olds gather for the first time since graduation. As the night is upturned by unwelcome guests and exposed skeletons, everyone is forced to grapple with their own understandings of identity, ambition, and family.
  • I'm Here Now by DJ Hills
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: intimate partner violence, trans + 2 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: intimate partner violence, trans, friendship, lgbtqia
    Years ago, Casey left an abusive relationship, settling for an isolated life across the country, free of the obligations of family or friends. However, when an old friend, Veronica, reenters their life, and romance with a new flame starts to bloom, Casey confronts their past and their own struggles with intimacy. Navigating the ways domestic violence can complicate perceptions of people, space, and time, I’M...
    Years ago, Casey left an abusive relationship, settling for an isolated life across the country, free of the obligations of family or friends. However, when an old friend, Veronica, reenters their life, and romance with a new flame starts to bloom, Casey confronts their past and their own struggles with intimacy. Navigating the ways domestic violence can complicate perceptions of people, space, and time, I’M HERE NOW invites us to celebrate the beauty and autonomy of our ever-changing selves.
  • Juniper Jones & the Rocket She Built by DJ Hills
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: climate change, pregnancy + 4 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: climate change, pregnancy, sisterhood, LGBTQ, rural America, space exploration
    Juniper Jones is building a rocket to another planet--she's just not sure which one. Pregnant with an astronaut's child, Juniper finds herself torn between her little sister and best friend on earth and the possibility of a future far from home. Set in a rural America recovering from the ravages of climate change, JUNIPER JONES & THE ROCKET SHE BUILT explores the tensions between motherhood and...
    Juniper Jones is building a rocket to another planet--she's just not sure which one. Pregnant with an astronaut's child, Juniper finds herself torn between her little sister and best friend on earth and the possibility of a future far from home. Set in a rural America recovering from the ravages of climate change, JUNIPER JONES & THE ROCKET SHE BUILT explores the tensions between motherhood and sisterhood, the families we're born with, and the families we choose.
  • where our dead are buried by DJ Hills
    Cast: 
    8–10
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: LGBTQ, family + 2 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: LGBTQ, family, rural America, poetry
    A visit from the "queer prodigal son," forces a family in rural West Virginia to confront their buried trauma and the encroaching presence of a terrifying creature newly emerged from the trees.