Victor Lesniewski

Victor Lesniewski

Victor Lesniewski's plays include The Fifth Domain (World Premiere at Contemporary American Theater Festival), Couriers and Contrabands (World Premiere at TBG Theatre in NYC, Critic Howard Miller’s Best of Off & Off-Off Broadway List), Cloven Tongues (World Premiere at The Wild Project in NYC), Where Bison Run (Ars Nova Out Loud Reading Series, NY Times Profile), Pipistrellus (The Dramatists Guild...
Victor Lesniewski's plays include The Fifth Domain (World Premiere at Contemporary American Theater Festival), Couriers and Contrabands (World Premiere at TBG Theatre in NYC, Critic Howard Miller’s Best of Off & Off-Off Broadway List), Cloven Tongues (World Premiere at The Wild Project in NYC), Where Bison Run (Ars Nova Out Loud Reading Series, NY Times Profile), Pipistrellus (The Dramatists Guild Fellowship), Khardal (Berkeley Rep’s The Ground Floor), Cold Spring (Ashland New Plays Festival), and The Hunt for Benedetto Montone (Ashland New Plays Festival). He is a former Uncharted Artist in Residence at Ars Nova and has been a two-time semi-finalist for the Princess Grace Award, a semi-finalist for the P73 Playwriting Fellowship, a semi-finalist for the New Dramatists Residency, a finalist for the Heideman Award, and a two-time finalist for the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. Victor was the only American to be shortlisted for the inaugural Theatre503 Playwriting Award which included six writers culled from over 1,600 applicants. In recent years he has developed work at Roundabout Theatre Company, New York Theatre Workshop, Geva Theatre Center (NY), SF Playhouse (CA), Playwrights’ Arena (CA), Pioneer Theatre Company (UT), Northern Stage (VT), Palm Beach Dramaworks (FL), Benchmark Theatre (CO), and La Mama Umbria. He is a member of The Playwrights Union and is proud to sit on The Dramatists Guild’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Access Committee.

Plays

  • The Hunt for Benedetto Montone by Victor Lesniewski
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: drama, period + 1 more
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    Keyword: World War II, Holocaust + 2 more
    Genre: drama, period, political
    Keyword: World War II, Holocaust, Italy, nationalism
    Amid the German occupation of Italy during World War II, Pietro struggles to provide for his family while caught between Fascist law and Catholic morality. A play about our susceptibility to government-sponsored fear and hatred.
  • Tentative City by Victor Lesniewski
    Cast: 
    9
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    Genre: drama, political
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    Keyword: homelessness, tent city + 2 more
    Genre: drama, political
    Keyword: homelessness, tent city, philosophy, ensemble
    Personal philosophies collide as the denizens of a tent city collaborate, commiserate, and struggle to improve their lives. An exploration of our American ideal through the lens of its homeless.
  • The Fifth Domain by Victor Lesniewski
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller + 1 more
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    Keyword: cyber warfare, espionage + 3 more
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller, political
    Keyword: cyber warfare, espionage, hacking, NSA, China
    Recently removed from his position at the NSA, Troy latches on to a new opportunity, but his eagerness blinds him to the work’s repercussions in the world of cyber war. A slick thriller with reflections on patriotism, espionage, and government accountability in our digital age.
  • Cold Spring by Victor Lesniewski
    Recommendations: 4
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: parenthood, abuse + 2 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: parenthood, abuse, middle class, suburban America
    After a teenager accuses his baseball coach of sexual assault, four parents attempt to deal with the response of their close-knit community while the ramifications resound through their own relationships.
  • Khardal by Victor Lesniewski
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    7
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    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller + 1 more
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    Keyword: Syrian Civil War, spirituality + 1 more
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller, political
    Keyword: Syrian Civil War, spirituality, Arab Spring
    Khardal traces the intersection of two disparate souls amid the Syrian Civil War: Asim, a coordinator trying to build a network of opposition factions, and Rana, a journalist trying to rediscover her culture and spirituality. Asim and Rana find themselves drawn closer and closer together as Asim's team traverses the country and the conflict advances from peaceful protests to revolution to utter chaos.
  • Pipistrellus by Victor Lesniewski
    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: drama, period + 1 more
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    Keyword: engineering, World War I + 1 more
    Genre: drama, period, political
    Keyword: engineering, World War I, Russia
    At the start of World War I, the Russian engineer Nikolai Lebedenko began work on the Tsar Tank, a machine that Tsar Nicholas II believed would end the conflict in a matter of months. Pipistrellus traces the story of this machine -- still the largest armored vehicle ever built -- and its engineer’s complex relationship with the Royal Family. A reflection on love in war, the power of invention, and the...
    At the start of World War I, the Russian engineer Nikolai Lebedenko began work on the Tsar Tank, a machine that Tsar Nicholas II believed would end the conflict in a matter of months. Pipistrellus traces the story of this machine -- still the largest armored vehicle ever built -- and its engineer’s complex relationship with the Royal Family. A reflection on love in war, the power of invention, and the psychology behind building machines of mass destruction.
  • Couriers and Contrabands by Victor Lesniewski
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    7
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    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller + 2 more
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    Keyword: spies, American Civil War + 1 more
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller, period, political
    Keyword: spies, American Civil War, untold stories of women and slaves
    1864. Petersburg, Virginia. As the Civil War rages on, Confederate operatives in control of a courier line work to gather information on the Union's efforts. Little do they know that they themselves are being watched by a contraband masquerading as a slave who acts in the interest of the North. Couriers and Contrabands is an intriguing spy thriller about the unsung heroes behind the scenes.
  • Amid Purpleheart by Victor Lesniewski
    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: drama, political
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    Keyword: Race, football + 2 more
    Genre: drama, political
    Keyword: Race, football, sports, fathers and sons
    Derrick reluctantly returns to his Minnesota hometown to check on his father, whose illustrious NFL career may have left him with degenerative brain disorder. But to evaluate his father’s memory, Derrick must confront the past he has been trying to forget. Amid Purpleheart is not only a play about concussions and neuroscience, but growing up biracial in white America.
  • Cloven Tongues by Victor Lesniewski
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: drama, political
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    Keyword: sex trafficking, spirituality + 1 more
    Genre: drama, political
    Keyword: sex trafficking, spirituality, Bosnian War
    When Lela, an immigrant with an unknown past, is arrested and held at the border, she is taken in by Jenny, a social worker, and Ronald, a priest, who find it takes nothing less than a miracle to unlock her deepest secrets. As Lela's brutal personal history is revealed, Jenny and Ronald struggle with how best to heal her and find that they must also come to terms with their reasons for trying to help her in the first place.
  • Where Bison Run by Victor Lesniewski
    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: drama, political
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    Keyword: hockey, sports + 1 more
    Genre: drama, political
    Keyword: hockey, sports, Belarus
    Sparks fly when a young hockey star from Belarus comes to the United States for the first time to play in the NHL. As Vitaly comes of age in a strange new culture, his teammates and handlers are soon caught up in the tricky waters of American and Belarusian politics. A gripping story of sport and diplomacy, on and off the ice.