Baylee Shlichtman

Baylee Shlichtman writes weird and magical plays about navigating relationships and autonomy. She is on the board of the Orange County Playwrights Alliance, the facilitator for the Wayward Artist's EMBARK New Play Cohort, and a part of the Flamboyan Emerging Writers Project. She has had her work produced or developed with AlterTheatre Ensemble, Breath of Fire Latina Theatre Ensemble, Curtis Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre/ LA, The Larking House, Long Beach Shakespeare Company, New Relic Theatre, Playground-LA, Secondary Location Productions, South Texas College Latinx New Play Festival, UC Irvine, Urbanite Theatre, The Vagrancy Theatre, The Wayward Artist, and The Workshop Theatre among others. She graduated from USC with a B.A. in Journalism.

Baylee Shlichtman writes weird and magical plays about navigating relationships and autonomy. She is on the board of the Orange County Playwrights Alliance, the facilitator for the Wayward Artist's EMBARK New Play Cohort, and a part of the Flamboyan Emerging Writers Project. She has had her work produced or developed with AlterTheatre Ensemble, Breath of Fire Latina Theatre Ensemble, Curtis Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre/ LA, The Larking House, Long Beach Shakespeare Company, New Relic Theatre, Playground-LA, Secondary Location Productions, South Texas College Latinx New Play Festival, UC Irvine, Urbanite Theatre, The Vagrancy Theatre, The Wayward Artist, and The Workshop Theatre among others. She graduated from USC with a B.A. in Journalism.

Scripts

And You Will Be Ashes Too

by Baylee Shlichtman

Synopsis

After a mysterious camping accident, two sisters come together to bury their Mom and maybe repair their relationship. Here, memory is flammable. And there's a ghost in the house.

After a mysterious camping accident, two sisters come together to bury their Mom and maybe repair their relationship. Here, memory is flammable. And there's a ghost in the house.

Clytemnestra: A Greek Triumph

by Baylee Shlichtman

Synopsis

Updated 6/13/24

Princess Clytemnestra of Sparta has always wanted to be an exception, even if she knows her place is to marry a king and give him sons. Then her father offers sanctuary to the exiled princes of Mycenae, and she is thrown together with the arrogant yet charismatic Prince Agamemnon. Their connection places her in the midst of passion, ancient curses, and tragedy. When war with Troy comes for...

Updated 6/13/24

Princess Clytemnestra of Sparta has always wanted to be an exception, even if she knows her place is to marry a king and give him sons. Then her father offers sanctuary to the exiled princes of Mycenae, and she is thrown together with the arrogant yet charismatic Prince Agamemnon. Their connection places her in the midst of passion, ancient curses, and tragedy. When war with Troy comes for Greece, she’ll have to make a fatal choice between love and liberation if she wants to reclaim herself.

Helen: Goddess of Arson

by Baylee Shlichtman

Synopsis

Updated 2/4/2024

Before she was Helen of Troy, Helen was a princess of Sparta. Of an age to be married, the famed mortal daughter of Zeus tolerates the advances of the most handsome warriors in Ancient Greece who compete for her hand. Complicating matters is the arrival of Menelaus of Mycenae, a bumbling prince with grievances to harbor. Their unlikely bond shapes Helen’s quiet resentment toward the expectation...

Updated 2/4/2024

Before she was Helen of Troy, Helen was a princess of Sparta. Of an age to be married, the famed mortal daughter of Zeus tolerates the advances of the most handsome warriors in Ancient Greece who compete for her hand. Complicating matters is the arrival of Menelaus of Mycenae, a bumbling prince with grievances to harbor. Their unlikely bond shapes Helen’s quiet resentment toward the expectation placed upon her as the world's most beautiful woman into an anger that threatens to ignite.

The House of Flightless Birds

by Baylee Shlichtman

Synopsis

Updated 10/30/23

When undiagnosed autistic Manuel tosses a wish to a satellite to make him feel less alone, an injured sparrow crashes from the heavens into his apartment patio. Manuel takes the bird inside to nurse it back to health in secret from his family, but all does not go according to plan. A play about masculinity, family, and care.

Updated 10/30/23

When undiagnosed autistic Manuel tosses a wish to a satellite to make him feel less alone, an injured sparrow crashes from the heavens into his apartment patio. Manuel takes the bird inside to nurse it back to health in secret from his family, but all does not go according to plan. A play about masculinity, family, and care.

In the Mouth of the Beast

by Baylee Shlichtman

Synopsis

A father-daughter caving team enters the treacherous Maw, a cave of unknown origin where the laws of physics and reality bend. Their goal is to retrieve an object theorized to possess properties that could be a game changer in clean energy research and the fight against climate change. But the Maw has an agenda of its own, one that will put their relationship to the test.

A father-daughter caving team enters the treacherous Maw, a cave of unknown origin where the laws of physics and reality bend. Their goal is to retrieve an object theorized to possess properties that could be a game changer in clean energy research and the fight against climate change. But the Maw has an agenda of its own, one that will put their relationship to the test.

Now Approaching Venus

by Baylee Shlichtman

Synopsis

Nina Escobar is destined for greatness. She’s going to be an astronaut just like Ellen Ochoa, and with her book-smarts and good grades, there’s no way she’ll fail. Meanwhile, the other Nina Escobar in her grade feels she’s destined to disappoint as she flounders through the school system. As both girls move through college and adulthood, they learn that life isn’t so cut and dry. Their personal journeys take...

Nina Escobar is destined for greatness. She’s going to be an astronaut just like Ellen Ochoa, and with her book-smarts and good grades, there’s no way she’ll fail. Meanwhile, the other Nina Escobar in her grade feels she’s destined to disappoint as she flounders through the school system. As both girls move through college and adulthood, they learn that life isn’t so cut and dry. Their personal journeys take them down roads neither of them anticipated, forcing them to come to terms with their identities outside of what they are told they can achieve.

Penelope: A Lesson in Drowning

by Baylee Shlichtman

Synopsis

*UPDATED 5/30/24*

Autistic Princess Penelope of Sparta has put off marriage for years by having her suitors challenge her father to a foot race she's rigged to ensure they'll never win. Self-proclaimed scoundrel Odysseus of Ithaca is sure he'll be the one to succeed by making Penelope fall so madly in love with him that she'll reveal the secret to winning. But Penelope won't be won over so easily, not when...

*UPDATED 5/30/24*

Autistic Princess Penelope of Sparta has put off marriage for years by having her suitors challenge her father to a foot race she's rigged to ensure they'll never win. Self-proclaimed scoundrel Odysseus of Ithaca is sure he'll be the one to succeed by making Penelope fall so madly in love with him that she'll reveal the secret to winning. But Penelope won't be won over so easily, not when getting married comes with the complete upheaval of the life she has worked so hard to order. A Greek Myth retelling/romcom about daddy issues, drowning, and occasionally awful disguises.

Sonia is Good

by Baylee Shlichtman

Synopsis

Updated 8/09/24

A loose riff on WAR AND PEACE about boundaries, self-love, and an eccentric hat.

There are three main concerns in Sonia's life right now:
1) Planning her childhood best friend's upcoming wedding
2) Covering for her flaky boss (and ex) at the Rodriguez Family Curio Shop
3) Stopping herself from transforming into a tree without anyone finding out.

Then a transient witch shows up and says she can...

Updated 8/09/24

A loose riff on WAR AND PEACE about boundaries, self-love, and an eccentric hat.

There are three main concerns in Sonia's life right now:
1) Planning her childhood best friend's upcoming wedding
2) Covering for her flaky boss (and ex) at the Rodriguez Family Curio Shop
3) Stopping herself from transforming into a tree without anyone finding out.

Then a transient witch shows up and says she can help break Sonia's curse--if she's willing to do the work. A potion transports Sonia to a dream space where confronts her relationships and her insecurities to find what she needs to prevent losing herself.

This Road in the Shape of My Spine

by Baylee Shlichtman

Synopsis

UPDATED 6/26/24

An absurdist play about a man who walks through a desert, going somewhere, searching for something. His concerned friend tags along, much to the man's dismay. The two bicker about extinct animals, reminisce about Bjork, and eventually encounter the divine as they try to relearn how to be there for each other after drifting apart.

UPDATED 6/26/24

An absurdist play about a man who walks through a desert, going somewhere, searching for something. His concerned friend tags along, much to the man's dismay. The two bicker about extinct animals, reminisce about Bjork, and eventually encounter the divine as they try to relearn how to be there for each other after drifting apart.

Wilt

by Baylee Shlichtman

Synopsis

Updated 5/15/23

Evan is on the run. When he wraps his car around a tree, he’s rescued by two very different sisters and taken to their house. It's a place where objects appear at will, the walls are loud, and the flowers have their secrets. And then there's the stuffed elephant from his past that just won't go away. WILT is a gothic fairytale about want, food, and what nice guys ultimately deserve.

Updated 5/15/23

Evan is on the run. When he wraps his car around a tree, he’s rescued by two very different sisters and taken to their house. It's a place where objects appear at will, the walls are loud, and the flowers have their secrets. And then there's the stuffed elephant from his past that just won't go away. WILT is a gothic fairytale about want, food, and what nice guys ultimately deserve.

The Club Oscuro Project

by Baylee Shlichtman

Synopsis

A researcher conducts an experiment with VR, only for the projection to develop humanlike responses.

A researcher conducts an experiment with VR, only for the projection to develop humanlike responses.

Dress (a sort of coda to Romeo and Juliet)

by Baylee Shlichtman

Synopsis

After a woman’s recent death, her mother and best friend choose a dress to bury her in.

After a woman’s recent death, her mother and best friend choose a dress to bury her in.

For Old Times' Sake

by Baylee Shlichtman

Synopsis

After making it in LA, a singer returns home to visit her childhood friend who happens to be a magical sentient mushroom. But the woods aren’t exactly what she remembers, neither is her friend. And neither is she.

After making it in LA, a singer returns home to visit her childhood friend who happens to be a magical sentient mushroom. But the woods aren’t exactly what she remembers, neither is her friend. And neither is she.

HIM

by Baylee Shlichtman

Synopsis

A woman has a chance encounter with a stranger. it's all a fantasy baby.

A woman has a chance encounter with a stranger. it's all a fantasy baby.

I think that this is where it's over for me

by Baylee Shlichtman

Synopsis

An autistic woman moves past a broken friendship by confronting her fear of drowning.

An autistic woman moves past a broken friendship by confronting her fear of drowning.

Portrait of a Demolitionist

by Baylee Shlichtman

Synopsis

ONE-ACT. Board game enthusiast Julie ditches the state and her boyfriend after a falling out and ends up at a rented house. Unfortunately for her, the painting in the living room comes to life, takes her food, and won't leave her alone.

ONE-ACT. Board game enthusiast Julie ditches the state and her boyfriend after a falling out and ends up at a rented house. Unfortunately for her, the painting in the living room comes to life, takes her food, and won't leave her alone.

The Unburdener

by Baylee Shlichtman

Synopsis

A Bystander observes the Unburdener as they reconcile their marginalized identity with the white, heteronormative, cis-gendered gaze of the audience.

A Bystander observes the Unburdener as they reconcile their marginalized identity with the white, heteronormative, cis-gendered gaze of the audience.

Undisputed

by Baylee Shlichtman

Synopsis

In this riff on KING LEAR, Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia compete for their father's crown in a no-holds-barred wrestling match.

In this riff on KING LEAR, Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia compete for their father's crown in a no-holds-barred wrestling match.

Witch Queen: A Snow White Reimagining

by Baylee Shlichtman

Synopsis

After years of no contact, Blanca unexpectedly drops in on her stepmother to ask for a deadly favor--one witch to another.

After years of no contact, Blanca unexpectedly drops in on her stepmother to ask for a deadly favor--one witch to another.