Kari Bentley-Quinn

Kari Bentley-Quinn

Kari Bentley-Quinn is a playwright based in New York City. Her plays have been presented at or developed with Lark Play Development Center, Lesser America, Halcyon Theatre, Animus Theatre Company, Theatre of NOTE, Premiere Stages at Kean University, Astoria Performing Arts Center, The Brick Theater, The Secret Theatre, Artemisia Theater, Caps Lock Theater, Packawallop Productions, FringeNYC, Team Awesome Robot...
Kari Bentley-Quinn is a playwright based in New York City. Her plays have been presented at or developed with Lark Play Development Center, Lesser America, Halcyon Theatre, Animus Theatre Company, Theatre of NOTE, Premiere Stages at Kean University, Astoria Performing Arts Center, The Brick Theater, The Secret Theatre, Artemisia Theater, Caps Lock Theater, Packawallop Productions, FringeNYC, Team Awesome Robot, and more.

Kari’s full length plays include Paper Cranes (Backstage Critic's Pick), The Unlikely Ascent of Sybil Stevens (The Secret Theatre New Voices Project), The Ocean Thought Nothing (O’Neill NPC Finalist), Prepared (Kilroys List Honorable Mention), The Worst Mother in the World (Bay Area Playwrights Festival Finalist), Wendy and the Neckbeards (The Relentless Award Honorable Mention), and Hyannis (Ashland New Plays Festival Winner).

Kari is a co-founder of Mission to (dit)Mars, a theater company based in Queens, New York City. As part of the company, Kari was a leader of the Propulsion Lab, a bi-weekly writers group that supported emerging playwrights, as well as the Launch Pad Reading Series, which gives plays written in the lab their first public readings. Alongside her fellow co-founders, Kari has facilitated the development of more than 30 new plays, some of which have been produced all over the country, as well as internationally.

Kari has been a finalist for the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Dramatists Guild Fellowship, The Playwrights Realm Writing Fellows, the Public Theater Emerging Writers Group, the Leah Ryan FEWW Prize, and was a nominee for the Doric Wilson Playwriting Award. She is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild, and a current member of Project Y Playwrights Group. Kari has an MFA in Playwriting from Hunter College under Tina Howe, Arthur Kopit, and Mark Bly, and where she was the recipient of the Rita and Burton Goldberg Playwriting Award.

Plays

  • The World I Have Known by Kari Bentley-Quinn
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: current events, parts for older women + 5 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: current events, parts for older women, grief, New York City, family, COVID-19 pandemic, 9/11
    In February 2020, Bella diMartino returns to Astoria, Queens on a work trip. She discovers that her mother, Abby, has temporarily separated from her father, Gio. Abby suffers from complicated grief - her eldest daughter, Clara, worked in the World Trade Center on 9/11, and never came home. When the COVID-19 pandemic descends, the family and the city itself once again must grapple with an impossibly changed world.
  • Hyannis by Kari Bentley-Quinn
    Recommendations: 19
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    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: addiction, small town + 5 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: addiction, small town, LGBTQ, current events, opioid crisis, family, small business
    In a small Cape Cod town, Michelle and her mother Fran run a small shop where they sell beach gear, souvenirs, snow globes, and the best fudge around. Michelle's son, Tommy, has just come home from his second stint in rehab, and the financial toll of his heroin addiction has hit the business' bottom line. Meanwhile, a young woman named Lauren is home from college to tend to her ailing mother, and she...
    In a small Cape Cod town, Michelle and her mother Fran run a small shop where they sell beach gear, souvenirs, snow globes, and the best fudge around. Michelle's son, Tommy, has just come home from his second stint in rehab, and the financial toll of his heroin addiction has hit the business' bottom line. Meanwhile, a young woman named Lauren is home from college to tend to her ailing mother, and she and Tommy make a connection that changes them both forever. Set over the course of a summer and a winter, Hyannis takes a look at the plague of despair and drugs infecting small town America.
  • Wendy and the Neckbeards by Kari Bentley-Quinn
    Recommendations: 19
    ·
    Cast: 
    11
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: Toxic Masculinity, internet harassment + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, political, satire
    Keyword: Toxic Masculinity, internet harassment, misogyny, dark comedy, sexual assault, body positivity, social media, satire
    Wendy - a 17 year old plus sized, body positive Instagram influencer - is having her life exploded by internet trolls - represented by a Chorus of Neckbeards. Jess discovers that her long term boyfriend Chad spends his time harassing young women on the internet to "blow off steam". From here, the two stories converge in an examination of the current era of internet harassment, toxic masculinity, and...
    Wendy - a 17 year old plus sized, body positive Instagram influencer - is having her life exploded by internet trolls - represented by a Chorus of Neckbeards. Jess discovers that her long term boyfriend Chad spends his time harassing young women on the internet to "blow off steam". From here, the two stories converge in an examination of the current era of internet harassment, toxic masculinity, and the cycle of abuse towards women in America.
  • Prepared by Kari Bentley-Quinn
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: drama, political
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    Keyword: non-linear, gun violence + 7 more
    Genre: drama, political
    Keyword: non-linear, gun violence, family, America, teenagers, drama, mass shooting, survivalism, conspiracy theories
    A teenage boy has closed himself off to the world, opting for only computer games, darkened windows, and a steady diet of homeschooled lessons from his survivalist mother, Lydia. His gradual estrangement from his father and brother – coupled with Lydia’s loosening grip on reality – creates a dangerous atmosphere of fear and isolation at home. A series of events push mother and son to a breaking point, testing...
    A teenage boy has closed himself off to the world, opting for only computer games, darkened windows, and a steady diet of homeschooled lessons from his survivalist mother, Lydia. His gradual estrangement from his father and brother – coupled with Lydia’s loosening grip on reality – creates a dangerous atmosphere of fear and isolation at home. A series of events push mother and son to a breaking point, testing their delicate alliance like never before.

  • Awards Season by Kari Bentley-Quinn
    Recommendations: 4
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    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: women, abuse + 8 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: women, abuse, Relationships, Hollywood, social media, sexual assault, Me Too Movement, women of color, abuse of power, assault survivor
    It's Awards Season, and Diane and Kim have both been nominated for Oscars in a film they co-starred in. Diane invites Kim to her house for a celebratory cocktail. When it is revealed that Kim intends to come forward with sexual harassment allegations against the producer of their film, the two women struggle to come to terms with their already tenuous relationship, the Me Too movement, and what it means...
    It's Awards Season, and Diane and Kim have both been nominated for Oscars in a film they co-starred in. Diane invites Kim to her house for a celebratory cocktail. When it is revealed that Kim intends to come forward with sexual harassment allegations against the producer of their film, the two women struggle to come to terms with their already tenuous relationship, the Me Too movement, and what it means to be a woman in the entertainment industry.
  • The Diver by Kari Bentley-Quinn
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: adventure, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: refugee, climate change + 7 more
    Genre: adventure, drama, political
    Keyword: refugee, climate change, future, New York, LGBTQ, diversity, Dystopia, Race, America
    Thirty years from now, New York City is hit by a massive tsunami that has changed the landscape and the citizens of the city forever. Amena Fakhoury, one of the last Syrian refugees living in the United States, has been scuba diving to find the lost items of the people who were taken in the wave, and for any evidence of the people she lost. In the meantime, the Muslim community she lives in is being oppressed,...
    Thirty years from now, New York City is hit by a massive tsunami that has changed the landscape and the citizens of the city forever. Amena Fakhoury, one of the last Syrian refugees living in the United States, has been scuba diving to find the lost items of the people who were taken in the wave, and for any evidence of the people she lost. In the meantime, the Muslim community she lives in is being oppressed, jailed and monitored by a privatized police force. THE DIVER is a play about New York, our possible future, and what people do when someone is lost.
  • The Worst Mother in the World by Kari Bentley-Quinn
    Recommendations: 11
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: family, motherhood + 6 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: family, motherhood, abuse of women, Reproductive Rights, postpartum depression, full length, pregnancy, female friendship
    New mom Nina has a healthy baby boy, a loving husband...and is struggling with terrifying nightmares and anxiety attacks. Her therapist, Bonnie, is trying to help her discover how she can be a better mother to her infant son. In the meantime, Bonnie's estranged daughter, Mary, arrives home with some life changing news. When Nina and Mary become friends, Bonnie's professional and personal life gets a lot more complicated.
  • The Ocean Thought Nothing by Kari Bentley-Quinn
    Recommendations: 10
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: magical realism, teenagers + 5 more
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller, period
    Keyword: magical realism, teenagers, non-linear, mystery, 1990s, Depression, best friends
    When seventeen year old aspiring marine biologist Colleen goes missing, all eyes are on her boyfriend Robbie, a sensitive young man with a violent past. When Robbie heads out on his boat to look for Colleen off the coast of southwest Connecticut, he encounters a lost humpback whale in Long Island Sound. Robbie’s search for Colleen and his desperate attempt to help the lost whale collide in unexpected and mysterious ways.

  • The Unlikely Ascent of Sybil Stevens by Kari Bentley-Quinn
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: family, drug addiction + 5 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: family, drug addiction, human survival, social media, fame, plane crash, baseball
    Sybil Stevens, a Chicago-based flight attendant, finds her life completely changed when she is the sole survivor of a devastating plane crash. Sybil, still suffering physical and emotional ramifications from the crash, agrees to do a talk show at the urging of her young, publicity hungry nephew. When Joe, the man who saved her life, makes a surprise visit to Chicago, Sybil finds herself having to deal with the...
    Sybil Stevens, a Chicago-based flight attendant, finds her life completely changed when she is the sole survivor of a devastating plane crash. Sybil, still suffering physical and emotional ramifications from the crash, agrees to do a talk show at the urging of her young, publicity hungry nephew. When Joe, the man who saved her life, makes a surprise visit to Chicago, Sybil finds herself having to deal with the unexpected aftereffects of both the crash and her newfound fame.

    Published on Indie Theater Now:
    http://www.indietheaternow.com/Play/the-unlikely-ascent-of-sybil-stevens
  • Airlock by Kari Bentley-Quinn
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: adventure, drama + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: space, climate change + 5 more
    Genre: adventure, drama, mystery/thriller, science fiction
    Keyword: space, climate change, one act, suspense, future, sci-fi, science
    Three brave souls - a Hollywood actor, a leading scientist, and a college student - are chosen to take a one-way mission to Mars, in hopes that they can be one of the first colonizers on the red planet. The launch goes according to plan. Not much else does.
  • Paper Cranes by Kari Bentley-Quinn
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: LGBTQ, sexuality + 5 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: LGBTQ, sexuality, grief, BDSM, love, family, origami
    Mona is a recent widow obsessed with the Japanese ritual of folding origami cranes as she grieves the loss of her beloved husband. Mona's teenage daughter, Maddie, is struggling with the demands of her bereft mother and her sexual identity, and begins a romantic relationship with an older woman named Julie. Meanwhile, Julie's best friend, Amy, has begun an intense S&M relationship with a man who...
    Mona is a recent widow obsessed with the Japanese ritual of folding origami cranes as she grieves the loss of her beloved husband. Mona's teenage daughter, Maddie, is struggling with the demands of her bereft mother and her sexual identity, and begins a romantic relationship with an older woman named Julie. Meanwhile, Julie's best friend, Amy, has begun an intense S&M relationship with a man who is guarding a dark secret. From there, the stories of these five people intertwine, revealing the lasting scars of grief and the desire to be loved.

  • Smelly Shelly by Kari Bentley-Quinn
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy
    ·
    Keyword: bullying, social media + 2 more
    Genre: dark comedy
    Keyword: bullying, social media, middle school, reunion
    Shelly runs into her middle school tormentor at a coffee shop. Things get weird.
  • I've Been Here by Kari Bentley-Quinn
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: women, music + 3 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: women, music, illness, body, healing
    Catherine is in the hospital and can hear, see, and think but cannot respond or speak. A monologue about the healing power of music. Written for Caps Lock Theater's PUSSYFEST.
  • The Mirror by Kari Bentley-Quinn
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: women, childbirth + 3 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: women, childbirth, Body image, self-love, sexuality
    A monologue about the body after childbirth. Written for Caps Lock Theater's PUSSYFEST.