Maria I. Arreola

Maria I. Arreola

Maria I. Arreola is a Chicana playwright from Blue Island, IL. She writes plays that make her laugh and she hopes will make others laugh as well. Maria is a 2021 Sewanee Writers’ Conference Scholar, a 24 Hour Plays Playwright alum, and a former Peter F. Sloss Artistic Fellow at Berkeley Rep. Outside of theater, she has her own podcast called Crush(ed).

Plays

  • Floating Girls Go To The Moon by Maria I. Arreola
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    5–10
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    Genre: drama, fantasy
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    Keyword: Sisters, Chicano Family + 1 more
    Genre: drama, fantasy
    Keyword: Sisters, Chicano Family, magical realism
    [ONE-ACT] With a traditional, overbearing mother, two Chicana sisters navigate the dynamics of their home in their own way. The eldest seeks freedom. Unable to truly be herself around her mother and the confines of their small apartment, she seeks a better place. The youngest strives to keep her family together, regardless of the cost. In a world where some girls become floating girls, these two sisters must decide to stay or to go.
  • Saving Myself by Maria I. Arreola
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: comedy
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    Keyword: asexuality, abstinence + 3 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: asexuality, abstinence, Catholicism, teenagers, catholic and queer
    [ONE-ACT] Saving Myself tells the story of four young women at a retreat centered around Church-sponsored abstinence-only sex ed: The young women’s retreat at Saint Barbara’s is off to a rough start. Fighting between participants, a last-minute stand-in facilitator, spooky coincidences, and finicky technology have all contributed to making this the “worst” (or perhaps the best) retreat ever?

    CW:...
    [ONE-ACT] Saving Myself tells the story of four young women at a retreat centered around Church-sponsored abstinence-only sex ed: The young women’s retreat at Saint Barbara’s is off to a rough start. Fighting between participants, a last-minute stand-in facilitator, spooky coincidences, and finicky technology have all contributed to making this the “worst” (or perhaps the best) retreat ever?

    CW: Referencing sexual assault and rape, specifically in relation to the film Maria Goretti
  • The Ángel Sisters by Maria I. Arreola
    Cast: 
    4–5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
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    Keyword: Sisters, church + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: Sisters, church, pain, past, Catholic family
    [ONE-ACT] Rosalia and Lugarda Angeles have been at odds ever since their mother died, disbanding the Angeles family church choir shortly thereafter. But now that Rosalia and Lugarda have their own separate church choirs, they've been asked by their priest to come together for the annual Christmas Eve mass. What are they to do?
  • Benny's Amusement Park by Maria I. Arreola
    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: comedy, zoom
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    Keyword: friendship, high school + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, zoom
    Keyword: friendship, high school, after work, amusement park
    [ONE-ACT] Benny's Amusement Park has a vacancy for the next Mr. Carrots and Laura fits the bill. There she meets two other Benny's employees and potential friends, Carlos and Gigi. But friendship can be hard and Carlos and Gigi's friendship is particularly fraught.
  • I'm Not Her by Maria I. Arreola
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: violence, ghost + 3 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: violence, ghost, amusement park, abuse, denial
    [SHORT PLAY] Dalia runs away from home and ends up at the abandoned amusement park, Treasure Trove. Convinced that she'll only be spending the night, she's surprised to find someone else already there. Julia, the ride attendant/park greeter/security guard/concessions manager/occasional patron, who attempts to entice her to stay.

    CW: Violence and domestic abuse