Dakota Pariset

Dakota Pariset(he/him) is a Chicago actor, producer and playwright by way of Nebraska. He co-founded and currently serves as the sole-creative director of microChicago, dedicated to cultivating and promoting short and microform theatre. He previously served as the founding artistic director for The Lightbulb Factory(in hibernation) and was artistic director for Bring Your Own Theatre from October 2019 through December 2022, where a number of his 10 minute plays have been produced(“BYOT News at 10…at 7”, “Christmas In July”, “End of the World Party”, “Go For the Head”). A deep advocate for the Storefront movement in Chicago, he has assisted numerous independent and growing companies and productions, and is a member of The Apartment Series, A Short Leap Theatre Company, where he is a...

Dakota Pariset(he/him) is a Chicago actor, producer and playwright by way of Nebraska. He co-founded and currently serves as the sole-creative director of microChicago, dedicated to cultivating and promoting short and microform theatre. He previously served as the founding artistic director for The Lightbulb Factory(in hibernation) and was artistic director for Bring Your Own Theatre from October 2019 through December 2022, where a number of his 10 minute plays have been produced(“BYOT News at 10…at 7”, “Christmas In July”, “End of the World Party”, “Go For the Head”). A deep advocate for the Storefront movement in Chicago, he has assisted numerous independent and growing companies and productions, and is a member of The Apartment Series, A Short Leap Theatre Company, where he is a Community Liaison, PlayGround-Chicago, where he was a founding company member in addition to joining the 2024-2025 Writer’s Pool and is an alumni of The Artistic Home Meisner Studio.
Playwriting credits include:
“Good Guys” - Inaugural “Direct Address”, hosted by Goodman Theatre, produced by Pocket Theatre(artistic director Joel Willison)
“a Cold War” - March 2025 PlayGround-Chicago at Theatre Wit, produced by Playground-Chicago(producer, Devin Christor. Artistic director, Jim Kleinmann)
“Nebraska”(microFest 2: Swing States), “Granville”(Red Line) - microChicago
“When Peter Met Wendy” - The Lightbulb Factory(2023), Curious Theatre Branch’s Rhinoceros Festival - 2025(producers Stefan Brun, The Labyrinth Club, co-artistic directors Beau O’Reilly and Jenny Magnus)
“Salt” - The Lightbulb Factory’s Short Circuit New Works Festival(April 2022)
“Love Songs(EP)” - Chicago Park District(Berger Park) Reading Series(curated by Eileen Tull) and digital production through The Lightbulb Factory(2021).
“A Hopeful Transmission” - some scripts literary magazine, Issue 5: What Now?
“Dear Representative” - The PGE Faces of America Monologue Festival #3 - Semi-Finalist
“Happiness” - First Kiss Theatre Company’s March 2022 Monologue Competition - Finalist

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Scripts

The Microplays 1

by Dakota Pariset

Cast Size
2—12
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
drama,
experimental,
immersive,
political,
romantic comedy,
satire,
tragedy,
zoom

Album 1 of an an ongoing collection of microplays by Dakota Pariset, with pieces ranging in length from 15 seconds to one minute in length, Including:

1. Lights Up
2. Begin…
3. That Moment
4. Waiting
5. On Being…
6. Instagram Post
7. Work Song
8. Voicemail
9. Pale Blue Dot
10. Letter or, Hope
11. A Blank Piece of Paper

Album 1 of an an ongoing collection of microplays by Dakota Pariset, with pieces ranging in length from 15 seconds to one minute in length, Including:

1. Lights Up
2. Begin…
3. That Moment
4. Waiting
5. On Being…
6. Instagram Post
7. Work Song
8. Voicemail
9. Pale Blue Dot
10. Letter or, Hope
11. A Blank Piece of Paper

Love Stories

by Dakota Pariset

Cast Size
2—15
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
drama,
experimental,
farce,
romantic comedy,
tragedy,
zoom

A collection of monologues and short plays exploring love, heartbreak, and everything in between. Included are:
~Waiting, a microplay about waiting together
~App, a duologue about online dating
~Saying It, about the anxiety of taking the jump
~Three Love Stories, a romantic triptych
~Wreckage, a break up
~A Moment
~Elevator, a weeks worth of short episodes in the orbiting of two strangers
~Love Songs(EP), a...

A collection of monologues and short plays exploring love, heartbreak, and everything in between. Included are:
~Waiting, a microplay about waiting together
~App, a duologue about online dating
~Saying It, about the anxiety of taking the jump
~Three Love Stories, a romantic triptych
~Wreckage, a break up
~A Moment
~Elevator, a weeks worth of short episodes in the orbiting of two strangers
~Love Songs(EP), a monologue cycle of the lifecycle of a relationship

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Collection 2023

by Dakota Pariset

Cast Size
2—12
Genre
adaptation,
comedy,
dark comedy,
drama,
experimental,
romantic comedy,
tragedy

A collection of short form written over the course of 2023, ranging from a reimagining of Peter Pan and Wendy Darling in a modern space to a painful longing to hold on and let go in the wreckage of a relationship. Included are also a variety of monologues inspired by the heartbreaking beauty of everyday life, as well as some exploration into the microplay form and utilizing even smaller spaces to find the...

A collection of short form written over the course of 2023, ranging from a reimagining of Peter Pan and Wendy Darling in a modern space to a painful longing to hold on and let go in the wreckage of a relationship. Included are also a variety of monologues inspired by the heartbreaking beauty of everyday life, as well as some exploration into the microplay form and utilizing even smaller spaces to find the heaviest heart.

Short Plays:
Okay, Saying It, Smoke, Wreckage and When Peter Met Wendy.

Monologues:
Jack, Getting Older, Caught, Everything, Another Kind of Love Letter, Peter, Extraordinary, Us, and a monologue from "Magnolia".

Microplays:
Work Song, On Being..., Waiting, Voicemail, Instagram Post, Pale Blue Dot and Letter or, Hope.

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Collected Monologues: 2022

by Dakota Pariset

Cast Size
1—18
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
drama,
experimental,
farce,
romantic comedy,
satire,
zoom

A collection of 11 original monologues ranging from struggles in connecting, making sense of love and the journey of living. Also including “7 Voicemails,” a short collection of various messages you might find(or prefer to miss) on your answering machine.

A collection of 11 original monologues ranging from struggles in connecting, making sense of love and the journey of living. Also including “7 Voicemails,” a short collection of various messages you might find(or prefer to miss) on your answering machine.

Elevator

by Dakota Pariset

5
Cast Size
2
Genre
drama,
experimental,
pantomime,
romantic comedy

A series of brief encounters over the course of a week, between two people waiting to get on an elevator.

A series of brief encounters over the course of a week, between two people waiting to get on an elevator.

Collected Monologues: 2021

by Dakota Pariset

1
Cast Size
1—14
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
drama,
experimental,
political,
romantic comedy,
satire,
zoom

A collection of fourteen original monologues ranging from the search for love, thoughts on dating, the struggles of being an artist working survival jobs, the end of the world as we know it, and hope.

A collection of fourteen original monologues ranging from the search for love, thoughts on dating, the struggles of being an artist working survival jobs, the end of the world as we know it, and hope.

Three Love Stories

by Dakota Pariset

2
Cast Size
1—3
Genre
comedy,
radio drama,
romantic comedy,
zoom

i. Dating, a brutally honest let down; ii. Dear You, a letter to a somebody; iii. Love Story, an inner monologue traversing a life shared with a would-be love. "Three Love Stories" is a short, sweet rumination on the beautiful struggle and dreams of finding love.

i. Dating, a brutally honest let down; ii. Dear You, a letter to a somebody; iii. Love Story, an inner monologue traversing a life shared with a would-be love. "Three Love Stories" is a short, sweet rumination on the beautiful struggle and dreams of finding love.

Good Guys

by Dakota Pariset

1
Cast Size
3
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy

Bob may've just sold his soul ... or made the deal of a life time. Either way, he can't leave.

Bob may've just sold his soul ... or made the deal of a life time. Either way, he can't leave.

The New Testament

by Dakota Pariset

1
Cast Size
2
Genre
comedy

A quirky reimagining of how The New Testament came to be.

A quirky reimagining of how The New Testament came to be.

Go For the Head(A BYOT Play)

by Dakota Pariset

1
Cast Size
2
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
drama,
horror,
mystery/thriller,
science fiction,
zoom

A mysterious outside force threatens humanity as a young couple join a Zoom call that could very well be their last, in more ways than one.

A mysterious outside force threatens humanity as a young couple join a Zoom call that could very well be their last, in more ways than one.

Salt

by Dakota Pariset

1
Cast Size
2
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
drama

Alex and Ryan are two friends living together just out of college. Alex has started to figure things out while Ryan just can't seem to get their life started. An argument explodes over dinner, and what ensues is an all-to-familiar laundry list of grievances, passive aggressions, and a friendship hanging in the balance.

Alex and Ryan are two friends living together just out of college. Alex has started to figure things out while Ryan just can't seem to get their life started. An argument explodes over dinner, and what ensues is an all-to-familiar laundry list of grievances, passive aggressions, and a friendship hanging in the balance.

A Hopeful Transmission

by Dakota Pariset

2
Cast Size
2—4
Genre
comedy,
drama,
radio drama,
romantic comedy,
zoom

After a chance romantic encounter, a lone caller tries to find the person who took their breath away, one call at a time.

After a chance romantic encounter, a lone caller tries to find the person who took their breath away, one call at a time.