David Lipschutz

David Lipschutz

David Lipschutz (he/him) is a Chicago-based artist and ensemble member of Hell in a Handbag Productions. With Handbag, he wrote the Jeff Recommended THE GOLDEN GIRLS: THE LOST EPISODES, VOL. 3 (co-written with Handbag Artistic Director David Cerda), which has been performed with LAFF Shows/IndyFringe as well. He is also a member of the Playground Chicago 2022-23 Writers Pool.

David has written...
David Lipschutz (he/him) is a Chicago-based artist and ensemble member of Hell in a Handbag Productions. With Handbag, he wrote the Jeff Recommended THE GOLDEN GIRLS: THE LOST EPISODES, VOL. 3 (co-written with Handbag Artistic Director David Cerda), which has been performed with LAFF Shows/IndyFringe as well. He is also a member of the Playground Chicago 2022-23 Writers Pool.

David has written works performed throughout the United States, Canada, and the UK. Production credits include G'OY VEY! with Spoonie Theater [TANYS Award Recipient for Excellence in Playwriting]; AHAVAH (co-written with Dana Hall) with Crafton Hills College [Winner, Best New Work], The Farmington Players, and The Newmarket International Festival of Plays in Ontario, Canada; MODUS OPERANDI with Kankakee Valley Theatre Association [Runner Up, Best Play]; HYDRATION with Theatre West; PERFORMANCE ANXIETY and PERSEVERANCE with Left Edge Theatre; and THE SHOMER with Playground-Chicago.

His plays have been published with Fresh Words, some scripts, Left Edge Theatre, and Smith & Kraus, where HYDRATION is featured in "The Best Ten-Minute Plays 2022."  Later this year, AHAVAH will be featured in "The Best Ten-Minute Plays 2023," and THE SHOMER will be featured in the "The Best Men's Monologues 2023."

Plays

  • Ahavah
    Co-Written with Dana Hall. After his Bubbie’s death, Saul returns home to his family after a long absence to sit Shiva. Alice, Saul’s girlfriend joins him. Saul tries to portray the perfect version of what he thinks his family wants. However, a message from the beyond leads both Saul and Alice to some meaningful realizations.

    |10-minute play|
  • The All-New Dating Game! Video Game Edition
    It's everyone's favorite 1980's game show, "The All-New Dating Game!", but with a twist. On this particular episode, three familiar video game characters vie for the heart of one very special princess. Who will win? Tune in and find out!

    |10-minute play|
  • The Berenstain Bearadox
    A father has an existential crisis after reading his child a bedtime story.

    |2-minute monologue|

    NOTE: Zoom/virtual and 1-minute adaptations are also available upon request.
  • Birthright
    As her daughter's Bat Mitzvah date draws near, a mother finds herself in a struggle against a vampire of Jewish folklore.

    |10-minute radio play|
  • The [C]Han[n]uk[k]a[h] Play
    When Rae brings their new partner home to meet the family for the first time during the Jewish holiday of Hanukah (also spelled Channukkah, Hannuka, etc.), things don’t go exactly as planned.

    |10-minute play|
  • A Date With Dagon
    Co-Written with Dana Hall. Immortal fish-god Dagon emerges from the deepest, darkest depths of the Pacific Ocean on November 12, 2022, for holiday (a/k/a humanity’s destruction). However, before celebrating the holiday (a/k/a destroying humanity), Dagon decides to go on a date for the first time in over 10,000 years.

    |10-minute play|
  • G'Oy Vey!
    A virtual first date between Ezra, who is Jewish, and Taylor, who is not, goes awry when Ezra’s entire family shows up.

    |one-act virtual play|
  • George Santos is a Farshtunkener!
    A person gives their honest opinion of George Santos.

    |1-minute monologue|
  • The Greatest Jewish Summer Camp Game Ever Played
    This is the true story of Artie, an 8th grader, and his summer in the year 2000 at Camp Ramah (a Jewish summer camp in Wisconsin). Will he become champion of the annual tennis competition? Will he defeat the bully and win the heart of the girl of his dreams? Will it truly be the greatest Jewish summer camp game ever played?

    |5-minute play|
  • hYdration
    Two women have a chance encounter outside of a drag bar.

    |10-minute play|

    NOTE: Script available upon request.
  • The Lonely Devil Plays His Fiddle
    After committing the most cardinal of sins - "Thou shalt not hit Reply All on group emails" - Charles Daniels is sent straight to H*ll, where he meets the Devil and must perform in an epic musical battle to save his soul.

    |10-minute play|

    NOTE: Script available upon request.
  • Matzah Ball Soup
    Co-Written with Dana Hall. Inspired by the short play, AHAVAH. After his Bubbie's death, Saul returns home to his family after a long absence to sit Shiva. Alice, Saul’s girlfriend, joins him. While Saul is already in the room where services are being held, Alice is outside, contemplating whether or not to enter.

    |5-minute monologue|
  • Modus Operandi
    Things aren't as they seem as two detectives interrogate a suspect.

    |10-minute play|

    NOTE: Bogus Operandi, a 1980's adaptation of Modus Operandi, is also available upon request.
  • Performance Anxiety (Or: On Being Late To A Virtual Work Call)
    A man thinks he is going into a work Zoom call like any other day, but this time, Zoom seems to have a mind of its own.

    |one-act play|
  • PerSEVERance
    A live online workout class is interrupted by mysterious and potentially sinister events.

    |10-minute virtual play|
  • Pete & Petria's Petrifying Podcast
    Co-written with Dana Hall. Who doesn’t love true crime stories filled with paranormal activities and ghastly hauntings? Tune in each week to “Pete & Petria’s Petrifying Podcast” to hear tales of strange and terrifying events.

    |one-act radio play|
  • The Pi(e) Guy
    When Mathematics Professor Archie Medes returns home to help his ailing mother run the family pie shop, he gets more than he bargained for as his mathematical prowess thrusts him into the world of crime solving. THE PI(E) GUY is presented as a television pilot (a la Murder, She Wrote), but it is written to be performed on the stage.

    |one-act play|
  • The Shomer
    A shomer watches over the body of a recently deceased Jewish man.

    |10-minute play|
  • Tripping on Xanax at a Mumford & Sons Concert
    Yourtana and Jordy are sitting in BYO lawn chairs at a concert venue, waiting for Mumford & Sons to begin their set. After Jordy leaves to find the bathroom, leaving Yourtana alone, an unexpected guest takes his seat.

    |10-Minute Play|
  • Two Pigeons Talk About Sh*tting On People And Then They Sh*t On People, A Love Story
    Two pigeons talk about sh*tting on people. Then they sh*t on people. It is also a love story!

    |5-minute play| / |5-minute virtual play|