Jason Pizzarello

Jason Pizzarello

Jason Pizzarello is a Connecticut-based playwright and author. He is the co-founder of Stage Partners, a licensing house for new plays (yourstagepartners.com). He is currently developing his play "Brat" with Veterans Repertory Theater, winner of their 2021/22 Full-length Playwriting Competition. He's also developing "Lost Near Daytona, Found" (Semi-finalist, Arts in the Armed Forces...
Jason Pizzarello is a Connecticut-based playwright and author. He is the co-founder of Stage Partners, a licensing house for new plays (yourstagepartners.com). He is currently developing his play "Brat" with Veterans Repertory Theater, winner of their 2021/22 Full-length Playwriting Competition. He's also developing "Lost Near Daytona, Found" (Semi-finalist, Arts in the Armed Forces Bridge Award) with The Tank /dir. Meghan Finn. Other plays/recent productions include: "Off the Trail with Squeak and Squawk," an immersive outdoor theater adventure (grant recipient, Frances R. Dewing Foundation) at CT’s Stamford Museum & Nature Center; "Bethel Park Falls" (Everyday Inferno Theatre Company/NYC Central Park, published with Playscripts); "After People Like You" (Blue Riders at Classic Stage; Finalist, Arts in the Armed Forces Bridge Award); "All I Really Need to Know I Learned From Being a Zombie" (Irondale Ensemble in Brooklyn; published w/ Playscripts), "When I Had Three Sisters" (Soho Rep Writer/ Director Lab), "Once There Was a Boy" (Fordham Alumni Theatre Company; semi-finalist, Princess Grace Award, O’Neill Playwrights Conference); InsideOut (HERE Arts Center; Innovative Theatre Award nomination); and "Saving the Greeks: One Tragedy at a Time" (14th St. Y Theater; published with Playscripts). Five of his short plays were selected by the Actors Theatre of Louisville as Heideman Award finalists. Over thirty of his plays for young actors are published and have been performed over 3,000 times in all 50 states and in over 25 countries, including a Norwegian and Bengali translation. His work has been featured in Actor’s Choice: Scenes for Teens, Actor’s Choice: Monologues for Women, and Random Acts of Comedy (Playscripts).

​When he’s not writing, he proudly serves as a logistics officer with the New York Army National Guard. He’s also equally proud to serve as the silly father of two young daughters.

Plays

  • Brat by Jason Pizzarello
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: Military family, mother and son + 3 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: Military family, mother and son, combat veterans, Afghanistan, PTSD
    FULL-LENGTH. A mother and son - both veterans of the forever war in Afghanistan - struggle to reintegrate into the civilian world and mend their broken relationship. Jake signed up to follow in his mother’s footsteps, but doesn’t get what he expected when he returns home to confront everything, and everyone, that's been waiting for him.
  • Lost Near Daytona, Found by Jason Pizzarello
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: home, class + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, satire
    Keyword: home, class, family pets, florida, cats, child loss
    FULL-LENGTH. When a beloved lost cat is found by a deranged couple in Florida, the cat’s real owners will do whatever it takes to win her back...especially if it involves a machete. A dark comedy about class, adopted families, our obsession with pets, and why indoor cats and outdoor cats never get along.
  • It Could Be Worse by Jason Pizzarello
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
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    Keyword: dark comedy, Italian + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
    Keyword: dark comedy, Italian, florida, mobster, dad and daughter
    FULL-LENGTH. When Frank gets an unexpected call from his estranged daughter Kat, he has to step up to the plate and find a way to get her out of a drug deal gone bad. Unfortunately things continue to go bad, and then worse. Kat was hoping Frank would be able to use his prior connections as a fixer for the mob to fix their fix so she could enjoy the rest of her Spring Break with her girlfriend Hailey. But Frank...
    FULL-LENGTH. When Frank gets an unexpected call from his estranged daughter Kat, he has to step up to the plate and find a way to get her out of a drug deal gone bad. Unfortunately things continue to go bad, and then worse. Kat was hoping Frank would be able to use his prior connections as a fixer for the mob to fix their fix so she could enjoy the rest of her Spring Break with her girlfriend Hailey. But Frank isn't the fixer he used to be, Hailey has alternate plans, and Kat is desperate for anything resembling stability. She'll have to settle for a reconciliation and a dance with a pink bear.
  • As If, Cassandra by Jason Pizzarello
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    8–20
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    Genre: adaptation, dark comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: modernized Greek tragedy, Cassandra + 8 more
    Genre: adaptation, dark comedy, drama, tragedy
    Keyword: modernized Greek tragedy, Cassandra, ancient greek mythology, Ancient Greek Myth, prophecy, high school, prom, high school romance, cheerleaders, fate
    One-act. A modern twist on the classic Cassandra story, we follow cheerleader and high school senior Cassie as she attempts to thwart a tragic fate. Prom is approaching, which Cassie is dreading because of a dark and deadly premonition. Is it possible for to convince her friends she's not nuts and avoid the inevitable? Published by Stage Partners.
  • The Continuum Tales by Jason Pizzarello
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    5–41
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 3 more
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    Keyword: sci-fi, Twilight Zone + 3 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, horror, mystery/thriller, science fiction
    Keyword: sci-fi, Twilight Zone, black mirror, failure of technology, future
    FULL-LENGTH SHORT PLAY COLLECTION. A birthday for a man who doesn't know his age. A song that taunts a desperate prisoner. A storm bearing down on an unusual roadside motel. A couple finds them all in a mysterious book, said to be cursed, called... The Continuum Tales. In the spirit of The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror, this genre-bending collection of seven short plays explores weird, futuristic, and...
    FULL-LENGTH SHORT PLAY COLLECTION. A birthday for a man who doesn't know his age. A song that taunts a desperate prisoner. A storm bearing down on an unusual roadside motel. A couple finds them all in a mysterious book, said to be cursed, called... The Continuum Tales. In the spirit of The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror, this genre-bending collection of seven short plays explores weird, futuristic, and haunting worlds eerily similar to our own. Filled with strange and humorous tales of technology gone wrong, nightmares of the mind, and what happens when we let our fears get the best of us, this modern sci-fi collection is sure to entertain. Published by Playscripts.
  • After People Like You by Jason Pizzarello
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama
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    Keyword: Dystopia, New York City + 4 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: Dystopia, New York City, subway, post-apocalypse America, friendship, future America
    FULL-LENGTH. It's 10:49pm and two couples -- Anna and Diego, and Tim and Keri -- are taking the same R train to Forest Hills, Queens. They've all just been to the same wedding, but they haven't spoken in five years -- and as their subway ride progresses, we learn that there's more than that silence fueling the space between them. This R train-ride takes place in the future, in the wake of a...
    FULL-LENGTH. It's 10:49pm and two couples -- Anna and Diego, and Tim and Keri -- are taking the same R train to Forest Hills, Queens. They've all just been to the same wedding, but they haven't spoken in five years -- and as their subway ride progresses, we learn that there's more than that silence fueling the space between them. This R train-ride takes place in the future, in the wake of a climate related event called the Surge -- but the characters are still living their lives, dealing with the litany of mundane and monstrous problems that confront ordinary people, apocalypse or not. Through the spiky specificity of its characters and the careful narrative revelations, this play asks: is this a great time to be alive? Is being alive enough?
  • Bethel Park Falls by Jason Pizzarello
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    5–25
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    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: ensemble, nature + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, romantic comedy
    Keyword: ensemble, nature, magical realism, outdoors
    FULL-LENGTH. The residents of the small town of Bethel are facing a crisis: Their beloved park has been sold out from under them and it's sending their lives into a tailspin. In nine interconnected vignettes, sixteen locals grapple with the loss of jobs, homes, and spouses, but find love, courage, and forgiveness as the park magically transforms through four seasons of the year in a single day. From a...
    FULL-LENGTH. The residents of the small town of Bethel are facing a crisis: Their beloved park has been sold out from under them and it's sending their lives into a tailspin. In nine interconnected vignettes, sixteen locals grapple with the loss of jobs, homes, and spouses, but find love, courage, and forgiveness as the park magically transforms through four seasons of the year in a single day. From a tired security guard trying get home to her kids, to a young mayor in over his head, to a nostalgic fisherman who can't seem to catch anything, everyone takes a fall... and picks themselves up again. Bethel Park Falls draws a group of complex, fascinating, funny people together into one poignant story about the spaces where communities connect. Published by Playscripts.
  • harold eventually reconciles with his sister in one second. by Jason Pizzarello
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: experimental, tragedy
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    Keyword: metaphysical, time + 2 more
    Genre: experimental, tragedy
    Keyword: metaphysical, time, family, military
    10-minute play. Harold and his sister experience a reconciliation through a metaphysical exploration of time. Heroes must always return home. Those on the receiving end reunite or relive the loss over and over again without reality, as it was, ever really sticking - in time, in space, in dimension.
  • When I Had Three Sisters by Jason Pizzarello
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: Sisters, siblings + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, farce, satire
    Keyword: Sisters, siblings, theatre, Anton Chekhov, Farce, Black comedy, satire, The Three Sisters, ghosts
    FULL-LENGTH. A young man with grandiose notions of being a famous theater director decides to stage a production or Chekov's Three Sisters in his living room—the only place theater is still real and alive—and if it’s good enough, he believes, the audiences are bound to find it. In the end, although their attempted staged Three Sisters is an utter failure, they end up acting out a ridiculous version of the...
    FULL-LENGTH. A young man with grandiose notions of being a famous theater director decides to stage a production or Chekov's Three Sisters in his living room—the only place theater is still real and alive—and if it’s good enough, he believes, the audiences are bound to find it. In the end, although their attempted staged Three Sisters is an utter failure, they end up acting out a ridiculous version of the play’s plot in real life.

    Originally developed in the The Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, directed by Lila Neugebauer (Sarah Benson, Artistic Director).
  • Half Right by Jason Pizzarello
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    7
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama
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    Keyword: military, coming of age + 1 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: military, coming of age, 9/11
    A post-9/11 coming-of-age story about a group of young men in Army Basic Training who suspect a fellow soldier of being a terrorist. Under the influence of society’s culture of fear, the new soldiers are thrust into an environment of inevitable violence and war, and face a Muslim comrade with suspicious behavior. Their reaction moves from doubt and taunting to increasing intolerance and to a final explosion of...
    A post-9/11 coming-of-age story about a group of young men in Army Basic Training who suspect a fellow soldier of being a terrorist. Under the influence of society’s culture of fear, the new soldiers are thrust into an environment of inevitable violence and war, and face a Muslim comrade with suspicious behavior. Their reaction moves from doubt and taunting to increasing intolerance and to a final explosion of violence. Ultimately a study of the psychology of terrorism, the play examines the tension between groupthink and individuality, between rational and emotional reactions under duress, and between morality and immorality.