Nicholas Pilapil

Nicholas Pilapil is a Filipino American playwright. His plays include "The Bottoming Process" (world premiere with IAMA Theatre Company, Victory Gardens Ignition Festival of New Plays), "if all that You take from this is courage, then I've no regrets" (winner of the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Festival), and "God Will Do The Rest" (forthcoming world premiere with Artists at Play & Latino Theater Company). His work has also been developed with Geffen Playhouse, Playwrights Foundation, American Stage, Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA, The Workshop Theater, and The Fountain Theatre, among others. Nicholas is an alum of The Writers’ Room at the Geffen Playhouse, IAMA Theatre Company’s Emerging Playwrights Lab, The Vagrancy Playwrights Group, and artEquity.

Nicholas Pilapil is a Filipino American playwright. His plays include "The Bottoming Process" (world premiere with IAMA Theatre Company, Victory Gardens Ignition Festival of New Plays), "if all that You take from this is courage, then I've no regrets" (winner of the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Festival), and "God Will Do The Rest" (forthcoming world premiere with Artists at Play & Latino Theater Company). His work has also been developed with Geffen Playhouse, Playwrights Foundation, American Stage, Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA, The Workshop Theater, and The Fountain Theatre, among others. Nicholas is an alum of The Writers’ Room at the Geffen Playhouse, IAMA Theatre Company’s Emerging Playwrights Lab, The Vagrancy Playwrights Group, and artEquity.

Scripts

God Will Do The Rest

by Nicholas Pilapil

Synopsis

In the wake of her divorce, Connie—the black sheep of the de Dios family—is back in her childhood home after being estranged for almost two decades. But a de Dios doesn’t forgive or forget. When the whole family—her tough-as-nails father, wayward son, bougie sister with the white doctor boyfriend, and flamboyant favorite aunt—all gather to celebrate her glamorously overbearing mother’s milestone birthday, what...

In the wake of her divorce, Connie—the black sheep of the de Dios family—is back in her childhood home after being estranged for almost two decades. But a de Dios doesn’t forgive or forget. When the whole family—her tough-as-nails father, wayward son, bougie sister with the white doctor boyfriend, and flamboyant favorite aunt—all gather to celebrate her glamorously overbearing mother’s milestone birthday, what could possibly go wrong? With Santo Niño prayers, karaoke, and chicken adobo, "God Will Do The Rest" exposes the complicated ways Filipino Americans grapple with their love and duty to family. (Forthcoming: World Premiere with Artists at Play and Latino Theater Company, August 29-September 29)

The Bottoming Process

by Nicholas Pilapil

Synopsis

Two writers meet at WeWork and fall in love—or something like it. One is a famed novelist, and the other is a nobody who's mostly funny on Twitter. One is nearing middle age, and the other is flailing through their twenties. One is White, and the other is definitely Not. As they mate, date, and cohabitate, they'll grapple with issues of race, sex, power, and the model minority myth, all to find out who's really...

Two writers meet at WeWork and fall in love—or something like it. One is a famed novelist, and the other is a nobody who's mostly funny on Twitter. One is nearing middle age, and the other is flailing through their twenties. One is White, and the other is definitely Not. As they mate, date, and cohabitate, they'll grapple with issues of race, sex, power, and the model minority myth, all to find out who's really on top.

My Dog Died; and Other Concerns

by Nicholas Pilapil

Synopsis

Nick's dog died—and life decides to bite back. Between battling grief and drowning in mourning, Nick relives growing up brown, overweight and Catholic; coming of age with a killer illness; and disorderly navigating his twenties with bipolar. But with newfound loss in his heart, he finds hidden trauma behind the memories he thought were the truth.

Nick's dog died—and life decides to bite back. Between battling grief and drowning in mourning, Nick relives growing up brown, overweight and Catholic; coming of age with a killer illness; and disorderly navigating his twenties with bipolar. But with newfound loss in his heart, he finds hidden trauma behind the memories he thought were the truth.

if all that You take from this is courage, then I've no regrets

by Nicholas Pilapil

Synopsis

After a brush with danger, a strong-willed matriarch reminisces with her grandson on all the things their histories have taught them. This 10-minute play explores Filipino American identity, intergenerational disconnect, and weighing your wars to make sure you're not fighting for nothing.

After a brush with danger, a strong-willed matriarch reminisces with her grandson on all the things their histories have taught them. This 10-minute play explores Filipino American identity, intergenerational disconnect, and weighing your wars to make sure you're not fighting for nothing.

Multiple Loads

by Nicholas Pilapil

Synopsis

Under a moon that the sky won't see for another ten years, Luca and Uri share a fateful night that will test their beliefs in love and destiny. Yet on another unforgettable night, under that same gem in the sky, a decade of lost love and found purpose dares to change the path of their lives forever. "Multiple Loads" is a play about the bookends of love and how the stories told in between become folklore. (10...

Under a moon that the sky won't see for another ten years, Luca and Uri share a fateful night that will test their beliefs in love and destiny. Yet on another unforgettable night, under that same gem in the sky, a decade of lost love and found purpose dares to change the path of their lives forever. "Multiple Loads" is a play about the bookends of love and how the stories told in between become folklore. (10-minute version under Supporting Materials)

Before and After

by Nicholas Pilapil

Synopsis

Rose is the most popular girl at North Bay Hills High. She’s all that! But, don’t touch her Asian hair or you’ll live to regret it, because she puts the mean girls to shame. Judy is the new girl at school, and she's clueless—and dreams of being just like everyone else. But her dreams soon become reality when Rose lures her into the glamorous world of being a badass bitch, and in true teen movie fashion, turns...

Rose is the most popular girl at North Bay Hills High. She’s all that! But, don’t touch her Asian hair or you’ll live to regret it, because she puts the mean girls to shame. Judy is the new girl at school, and she's clueless—and dreams of being just like everyone else. But her dreams soon become reality when Rose lures her into the glamorous world of being a badass bitch, and in true teen movie fashion, turns her from a basketcase into a princess. But it’s not easy being popular and fabulous at North Bay Hills. And Judy's teen dream soon starts to unravel and she's forced to choose between her life before and after.

Young Dumb Broke High School Kids

by Nicholas Pilapil

Synopsis

Everything sucks for high school kids Bliss, Olivia, and Miles. Bliss is a dreamer but she's knocked up and knocked down, Olivia is a lover with no one to love her back, and Miles is an orphan who would kill to have a family. And together they sling back slushies, barf down chili cheese fries, and try to sort out their lives in the most dangerous ways. They're unloved and fucked up...and it's whatever.

Everything sucks for high school kids Bliss, Olivia, and Miles. Bliss is a dreamer but she's knocked up and knocked down, Olivia is a lover with no one to love her back, and Miles is an orphan who would kill to have a family. And together they sling back slushies, barf down chili cheese fries, and try to sort out their lives in the most dangerous ways. They're unloved and fucked up...and it's whatever.

Celebrity Trash

by Nicholas Pilapil

Synopsis

A modern-day adaptation of "Miss Julie," August Strindberg’s iconic play about class and sex, "Celebrity Trash; or another Miss Julie play" adds explorations of race, white male privilege, and the machine of celebrity pop culture to the mix. After a sex tape scandal, Harlow, an 'It Girl' famous for her fame, tries to rehab her image, but when her father throws a lavish party in their mansion, she's tempted again...

A modern-day adaptation of "Miss Julie," August Strindberg’s iconic play about class and sex, "Celebrity Trash; or another Miss Julie play" adds explorations of race, white male privilege, and the machine of celebrity pop culture to the mix. After a sex tape scandal, Harlow, an 'It Girl' famous for her fame, tries to rehab her image, but when her father throws a lavish party in their mansion, she's tempted again by Hollywood's excess—and by one her father’s social-climbing employees. What follows is a dangerous game of seduction as the two battle each other in a struggle for power and an escape from their trapped existences.

saving all my worries for that day You don't need Me

by Nicholas Pilapil

Synopsis

Luz and Felip have a love that defies the boundaries of Heaven and Earth—but only during the window when the morning becomes the earliest hour of the afternoon. A 10-minute play about whether finding your soulmate is a love of choice or destiny.

Luz and Felip have a love that defies the boundaries of Heaven and Earth—but only during the window when the morning becomes the earliest hour of the afternoon. A 10-minute play about whether finding your soulmate is a love of choice or destiny.