Ariana Burns

Ariana Burns

ARIANA BURNS is a playwright, dramaturg, artist, stagehand, producer, and anthropologist. Her plays include The Three Keys of Captain Hellfire; Silver Wings on Blue; Tiny Lives, Tiny Deaths; and Patchwork. BURNS' work has been produced and/or developed by the Lewiston Civic Theatre, Theatre Outside the Belljar, Shade of Difference, and the University of Idaho as well as independently in Honolulu, HI &...
ARIANA BURNS is a playwright, dramaturg, artist, stagehand, producer, and anthropologist. Her plays include The Three Keys of Captain Hellfire; Silver Wings on Blue; Tiny Lives, Tiny Deaths; and Patchwork. BURNS' work has been produced and/or developed by the Lewiston Civic Theatre, Theatre Outside the Belljar, Shade of Difference, and the University of Idaho as well as independently in Honolulu, HI & Potsdam, NY.

Awards include: second place, David Mark Cohen National Playwriting Award, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival - ATHE for The Three Keys of Captain Hellfire; a reading at the Northwest Drama Conference of A Stick in the Spoke; a prize & production of Patchwork by the Northwest Playwrights Guild.

She has worked for Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Idaho Repertory Theatre, Mount Baker Theatre, Shade of Difference, the Dread Admiral’s Sunshine Factory, Laughing Horse Summer Theatre, the University of Idaho's Conferences and Events, and the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival.

Burns is on the board of directors for the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre & a member of LMDA. She has a B.F.A. in technical theatre & an M.A. in anthropology from the University of Idaho. She has studied screenwriting under Colin Higgins and playwriting under Micki Panttaja & David M. Cohen.

Plays

  • The Three Keys of Captain Hellfire by Ariana Burns
    Cast: 
    14–20
    ·
    Genre: adventure, comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: pirate, women + 3 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, fantasy, period
    Keyword: pirate, women, shanties, comedy, bar fight
    The Three Keys of Captain Hellfire by Ariana Burns, original shanties by Shandeen
    Wilhelmina Dowdy has a secret. Seven years ago she was Captain Hellfire of the pirate ship, the Early Revenge. A sudden tempest shipwrecked her and her crew, along with their amassed stolen loot. Dowdy protected the treasure and waited. Now her crew returns, old, meaner, and not much wiser to finally divvy up the booty. A...
    The Three Keys of Captain Hellfire by Ariana Burns, original shanties by Shandeen
    Wilhelmina Dowdy has a secret. Seven years ago she was Captain Hellfire of the pirate ship, the Early Revenge. A sudden tempest shipwrecked her and her crew, along with their amassed stolen loot. Dowdy protected the treasure and waited. Now her crew returns, old, meaner, and not much wiser to finally divvy up the booty. A comedy by Ariana Burns, original shanties by Shandeen.
  • Cheap Atomic Romance A Play in Ten Scenes by Ariana Burns
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    9–10
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, period, science fiction
    CHEAP ATOMIC ROMANCE is set in a desert at small American diner. It is the beginning of the Atomic Age, when despite the danger, this new energy source promised a “World of Tomorrow." Mardell who is said to do “impossible things” comes to the diner to visit her Aunt Edna. When a bomb test goes awry and sets fire to Edna’s pond, Edna decides her place will be saved by her miraculous niece.

    ...
    CHEAP ATOMIC ROMANCE is set in a desert at small American diner. It is the beginning of the Atomic Age, when despite the danger, this new energy source promised a “World of Tomorrow." Mardell who is said to do “impossible things” comes to the diner to visit her Aunt Edna. When a bomb test goes awry and sets fire to Edna’s pond, Edna decides her place will be saved by her miraculous niece.

    CHEAP ATOMIC ROMANCE is framed within a traditional motif of Westerns and film noir: the stranger comes to town, upsets the local order with his or her presence, and then is looked to for restoration of balance. The stranger is Mardell who is said to do “impossible things.”

    CHEAP ATOMIC ROMANCE looks at romances, both great and small, that provide people with reasons to work, to hope, and to live.

    This script is an ensemble show for seven women and three men set in and around the environs of the diner.
  • Tiny Lives, Tiny Deaths by Ariana Burns
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, experimental + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: death, grief
    Genre: dark comedy, experimental, fable/folktale, fantasy, tragedy
    Keyword: death, grief
    Set at the wake, four characters struggle with the passing of a close friend. A look at the grieving process and the effort to continue on. Death just wants to collect the Ghost and go.
  • Silver Wings on Blue by Ariana Burns
    Cast: 
    10
    ·
    Genre: comedy, docudrama/historic + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: 20th century history of women, aviation + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, musical
    Keyword: 20th century history of women, aviation, women in World War II, 20th century history
    Silver Wings on Blue is the story the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) who logged millions of miles in the air ferrying military aircraft and towing targets for gunnery practice during World War II.

    The hardships and triumphs are seen through three fictional pilots whose exemplify the WASP experience: patriotism, love of flight, and determination in the face of hazardous planes,...
    Silver Wings on Blue is the story the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) who logged millions of miles in the air ferrying military aircraft and towing targets for gunnery practice during World War II.

    The hardships and triumphs are seen through three fictional pilots whose exemplify the WASP experience: patriotism, love of flight, and determination in the face of hazardous planes, treacherous weather, the scorn and mistrust of men, and in a few cases, sabotage. The script is framed by first-hand source material from letters and parody songs.

    The script is an ensemble show with eight women and two men playing a variety of roles in a black box with the option for multi-media equipment.
  • Torches by Ariana Burns
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: fire, love + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: fire, love, comedy, monologue
    Monologue
  • Fire Starter by Ariana Burns
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: fire, love + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: fire, love, life
    A monologue from the play Bone Drift.
  • The Oubliette by Ariana Burns
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, fable/folktale + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: horror, dark comedy
    Genre: dark comedy, fable/folktale, fantasy, tragedy
    Keyword: horror, dark comedy
    Friends try to relate when one is hemmed in by fear.
  • Home by Ariana Burns
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama, zoom
    ·
    Keyword: ten minute Zoom Play
    Genre: drama, zoom
    Keyword: ten minute Zoom Play
    At her house due to Covid-19, Itzel chats with Kiera about her father's dementia, travel, and what exactly home is if it's not a house.