Jennifer Chaney

Jennifer Chaney

Jennifer writes to inspire discussion and tell stories of the human condition. She pursued a dream to study theatre arts and creative writing at the University of Oregon, earning her BA in 2021, after involvement in over fifty theatrical productions. This followed multiple careers as a pre-K teacher, librarian, and various escapades in the hospitality industry. She attends the University of Idaho as an MFA...
Jennifer writes to inspire discussion and tell stories of the human condition. She pursued a dream to study theatre arts and creative writing at the University of Oregon, earning her BA in 2021, after involvement in over fifty theatrical productions. This followed multiple careers as a pre-K teacher, librarian, and various escapades in the hospitality industry. She attends the University of Idaho as an MFA Candidate studying theatre and playwriting. In 2002 she wrote ”Through the Pub Door,” a one-act, comedic love story of a traveling troubadour set in 1215 which garnered a Writer’s Digest award, along with two playwright competition awards and community performances. Her 10 minute play “The Appointment,” was selected for a concert reading at the KCACTF Festival in Fort Collins, Colorado and a Zoom performance for the NW10 Festival 2020. She lives on the Oregon Coast and spends her summers giving history tours at a historic, haunted lighthouse.
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Plays

  • The Spirits of Sylvia Beach by Jennifer Chaney
    Cast: 
    8–9
    ·
    Genre: comedy, farce
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    Keyword: Literary Heroes, Contemporary farce + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, farce
    Keyword: Literary Heroes, Contemporary farce, ghosts, Ouija, female characters by female playwright, constructive gender roles
    Authors gather for tea, literary debate and fanciful parlor games in a whimsical, beachside hotel. Some happen to be ghosts.
    Lucy Kent dreams of becoming a famous writer, but until that day, she works as a housekeeper in the whimsical Sylvia Beach Hotel, where authors are literally part of the décor. As Lucy begins to suspect there are spirits with unfinished business living among the literary infused...
    Authors gather for tea, literary debate and fanciful parlor games in a whimsical, beachside hotel. Some happen to be ghosts.
    Lucy Kent dreams of becoming a famous writer, but until that day, she works as a housekeeper in the whimsical Sylvia Beach Hotel, where authors are literally part of the décor. As Lucy begins to suspect there are spirits with unfinished business living among the literary infused rooms, an odd couple arrive to stay in the Edgar Allan Poe room. With upheaval on the menu, a séance is the only answer to directly contact the spirits and ask them to move on. What is to become of Lady Jane Austen, free-thinking Virginia Woolf, modernist Gertrude Stein, the queen of mystery Agatha Christie and the dark, bleeding heart of Mr. Poe? And who is the new mysterious author in their future?
  • Digging Up Grandma by Jennifer Chaney
    Cast: 
    8
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: A Family Comedy/drama
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, movement/physical, satire
    Keyword: A Family Comedy/drama
    This two act, full length follows the Price family who border on dysfunction, as they attempt to carry out the final wish of their quirky, family patriarch. As they try to remember where they buried Grandma, they dig up a lot more than the cookie jar they buried her in fifteen years earlier. Will they achieve their goal - to mix the cremations together and pour them into the Pacific ocean at sunrise or will the...
    This two act, full length follows the Price family who border on dysfunction, as they attempt to carry out the final wish of their quirky, family patriarch. As they try to remember where they buried Grandma, they dig up a lot more than the cookie jar they buried her in fifteen years earlier. Will they achieve their goal - to mix the cremations together and pour them into the Pacific ocean at sunrise or will the family implode with secrets first?
  • The Face Of The Deep by Jennifer Chaney
    Cast: 
    9–20
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, docudrama/historic + 2 more
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    Keyword: female protagonist, female holocaust survivor + 8 more
    Genre: adaptation, docudrama/historic, drama, period
    Keyword: female protagonist, female holocaust survivor, child in the Holocaust, refugee, hungary, Jewish, yellow star house, graphic novel, faith crisis, classical music
    It is June, 1944 in cosmopolitan Budapest, Hungary when Esther, a young Jewish woman and her small child are called up for deportation. Fearing the worst, Esther’s goal is to save the life of her child. Esther obtains false documents on the black market, narrowly escaping detection from a Yellow Star House in the city. Seeking refuge in a Lake Balaton vineyard, they find safety with an old winemaker and his...
    It is June, 1944 in cosmopolitan Budapest, Hungary when Esther, a young Jewish woman and her small child are called up for deportation. Fearing the worst, Esther’s goal is to save the life of her child. Esther obtains false documents on the black market, narrowly escaping detection from a Yellow Star House in the city. Seeking refuge in a Lake Balaton vineyard, they find safety with an old winemaker and his mother. As the war between Germany and the USSR closes in on the Hungarian countryside and overhead, Esther is discovered by a German Nazi Commandant who strikes up an unrequited romance. Memories of her harrowing journey to survive the unspeakable and the payments she makes by risking her life to save her child are recalled in a mix of dialogue and projections. Based on a graphic novel created sixty years after World War II, by the daughter Esther protected from death.
  • Better Living Through Chemistry by Jennifer Chaney
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: satire
    Genre: satire
    Although Theresa and Will have great chemistry, is that enough for a sensible woman and a sentimental artist?
  • The Appointment by Jennifer Chaney
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    3–4
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, science fiction
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    Keyword: Social Science Fiction, Alienated teenager + 2 more
    Genre: dark comedy, science fiction
    Keyword: Social Science Fiction, Alienated teenager, discussions of suicide, dealing with religion
    14 year old Emma has just walked into a room for her once in a lifetime appointment, but doesn't seem to be on the schedule. Will she decide to go back to the real world or see what's next?
  • Peace, Love & Taco Sauce by Jennifer Chaney
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy
    Genre: dark comedy
    Back in the ether of 1979 San Francisco, two traveling Deadheads on their way to a concert cross paths with robbers at sunrise. Randomness, mushrooms and taco sauce ensue.