Christine Stoddard

Christine Sloan Stoddard is a Salvadoran-American writer, director, actor, and artist. She is the author of the critically acclaimed play "Mi Abuela, Queen of Nightmares," as well as several books, including Water for the Cactus Woman and Heaven Is a Photograph, among others. Her short story collection, Desert Fox by the Sea, won the Four Chambers Press prize in fiction and was published by the now-defunct Hoot ‘n’ Waddle in Phoenix, Arizona in 2019. The director of several films, she made the arthouse title, Sirena’s Gallery, her first feature. Her words and images have appeared in The Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan, Bustle, Ms. Magazine, The Feminist Wire, Marie Claire, Visible Poetry Project, Digital America, Yes! Magazine, and beyond. She has presented work at the Queens Botanical...

Christine Sloan Stoddard is a Salvadoran-American writer, director, actor, and artist. She is the author of the critically acclaimed play "Mi Abuela, Queen of Nightmares," as well as several books, including Water for the Cactus Woman and Heaven Is a Photograph, among others. Her short story collection, Desert Fox by the Sea, won the Four Chambers Press prize in fiction and was published by the now-defunct Hoot ‘n’ Waddle in Phoenix, Arizona in 2019. The director of several films, she made the arthouse title, Sirena’s Gallery, her first feature. Her words and images have appeared in The Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan, Bustle, Ms. Magazine, The Feminist Wire, Marie Claire, Visible Poetry Project, Digital America, Yes! Magazine, and beyond. She has presented work at the Queens Botanical Garden, Theatre Row, the Elisabet Ney Museum, the Abrons Arts Center, the Broadway Comedy Club, and elsewhere. Stoddard was born to a Salvadoran mother and an American father in Arlington, Virginia and is the oldest of three siblings. A graduate of VCUarts and The City College of New York, she lives in Brooklyn, NY, where she runs Quail Bell Press & Productions. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, the Authors Guild, and the Actors' Equity Association.

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Scripts

Mi Abuela, Queen of Nightmares

by Christine Stoddard

Cast Size
5—8
Genre
dark comedy,
drama,
experimental,
fable/folktale,
fantasy,
melodrama,
movement/physical,
verse

Maya, a young Salvadoran-American woman, navigates trauma and family mythology through magic and folklore as she comes of age in Phoenix, Arizona. Her story explores mother-daughter relationships, mixed race identity, being the first-generation child of an immigrant, growing up without a father, and fantasy as a coping mechanism, while featuring movement and dance. And there are owls, jaguars, and cacti—oh, my!...

Maya, a young Salvadoran-American woman, navigates trauma and family mythology through magic and folklore as she comes of age in Phoenix, Arizona. Her story explores mother-daughter relationships, mixed race identity, being the first-generation child of an immigrant, growing up without a father, and fantasy as a coping mechanism, while featuring movement and dance. And there are owls, jaguars, and cacti—oh, my! *Trigger warning: This play references sexual assault and suicide.

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Heartbreak in Tompkins Square Park

by Christine Stoddard

Cast Size
8
Genre
melodrama,
period,
political,
tragedy

Aiden, a gay white man in 1950s upper-class New York, enters a loveless marriage with Querida, a former stage actress with a shady family history, and has a son. His life changes when his secretary, Cadenza, a lesbian who escaped the Jewish orthodoxy, hatches a plan that will allow him to be with his lover Bentley, a Black painter and gallery owner.

Aiden, a gay white man in 1950s upper-class New York, enters a loveless marriage with Querida, a former stage actress with a shady family history, and has a son. His life changes when his secretary, Cadenza, a lesbian who escaped the Jewish orthodoxy, hatches a plan that will allow him to be with his lover Bentley, a Black painter and gallery owner.

Hashtag Mountain Girl

by Christine Stoddard

Cast Size
2—5
Genre
comedy,
experimental,
farce,
satire

A comedy play about social media influencers at a mountain lodge, cam girls at Area 51, and more.

A comedy play about social media influencers at a mountain lodge, cam girls at Area 51, and more.

My Favorite Sex Toy

by Christine Stoddard

Cast Size
2
Genre
comedy,
fantasy,
farce

A conversation between a woman and her sex toy.

A conversation between a woman and her sex toy.

Skink

by Christine Stoddard

Cast Size
5
Genre
drama,
experimental,
movement/physical

Miranda and Mario flee El Salvador because of their homeland's gang violence, leaving their children to be raised by their grandparents until they can send for them. When the gangs kill their children, they mourn the loss, with Miranda befriending a small lizard on their patio in Manassas, Virginia. How will their lives change when Miranda gets pregnant again?

Miranda and Mario flee El Salvador because of their homeland's gang violence, leaving their children to be raised by their grandparents until they can send for them. When the gangs kill their children, they mourn the loss, with Miranda befriending a small lizard on their patio in Manassas, Virginia. How will their lives change when Miranda gets pregnant again?

Heaven Is a Photograph

by Christine Stoddard

Cast Size
4
Genre
drama,
experimental,
fantasy,
movement/physical

Luz is hungry for the weight of a camera in her hands, but that desire feels wicked. Is it because her father is a war photographer and photography has always been his domain? Or is it because she's yet to become a woman who chases what she wants? And who’s to say photography can’t be her domain as a woman, too? At least she knows this: Salvation lies in pixels. Heaven is a photograph. This play tells the story...

Luz is hungry for the weight of a camera in her hands, but that desire feels wicked. Is it because her father is a war photographer and photography has always been his domain? Or is it because she's yet to become a woman who chases what she wants? And who’s to say photography can’t be her domain as a woman, too? At least she knows this: Salvation lies in pixels. Heaven is a photograph. This play tells the story of an art student and her journey of doubt, longing, and questioning. Join her as she finds her power behind the lens as a young artist in New York City.

This play is a dramatic reinterpretation of the poetry and photography book published by CLASH Books in 2020.

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Cyber Cinderella

by Christine Stoddard

Cast Size
6—7
Genre
comedy,
fable/folktale,
satire

A comedy play about Cinderella in the Digital Age.

A comedy play about Cinderella in the Digital Age.

Za’atar in El Salvador

by Christine Stoddard

Cast Size
5
Genre
drama,
experimental,
fantasy

Rosa, a Salvadoran woman of Palestinian descent, returns to her tiny hometown in El Salvador after being deported, with dreams of opening a Palestinian restaurant.

Rosa, a Salvadoran woman of Palestinian descent, returns to her tiny hometown in El Salvador after being deported, with dreams of opening a Palestinian restaurant.

Belladonna Magic

by Christine Stoddard

Cast Size
3
Genre
experimental,
fable/folktale,
fantasy

Belladonna Magic is an invitation and an offering. Come to the gully. Stand in that halo of light beneath the 300-year-old sycamore and close your eyes. Can you feel the sun warm your eyelids? Good. Then you've found the perfect spot. Let us recite the words together.

Based upon the book by the same title, published by Shanti Arts in 2019.

Belladonna Magic is an invitation and an offering. Come to the gully. Stand in that halo of light beneath the 300-year-old sycamore and close your eyes. Can you feel the sun warm your eyelids? Good. Then you've found the perfect spot. Let us recite the words together.

Based upon the book by the same title, published by Shanti Arts in 2019.

Clowns & Otters

by Christine Stoddard

Cast Size
2—4
Genre
comedy,
farce

An unlikely meeting between a clown and an otter ensues. Clowns DO have sex and did you know that otters have a thing for baby seals? But besides their perverted sides, they share their philosophies and approaches to fun and play. A clown pimp and a couple of shock jocks also make appearances, but we won't spoil it.

An unlikely meeting between a clown and an otter ensues. Clowns DO have sex and did you know that otters have a thing for baby seals? But besides their perverted sides, they share their philosophies and approaches to fun and play. A clown pimp and a couple of shock jocks also make appearances, but we won't spoil it.

Forget Fairytales

by Christine Stoddard

Cast Size
6—12
Genre
comedy,
fable/folktale,
farce

A carriage wreck of a comedy play...er, enchanted variety show led by fairies? Whether magic is real may be up for debate, but the fairy twerking in this bewitching show is very real. Based upon the "Forget Fairytales" comics series created by the playwright (www.forgetfairytalescomics.com).

A carriage wreck of a comedy play...er, enchanted variety show led by fairies? Whether magic is real may be up for debate, but the fairy twerking in this bewitching show is very real. Based upon the "Forget Fairytales" comics series created by the playwright (www.forgetfairytalescomics.com).

Clown Pimp

by Christine Stoddard

1
Cast Size
3
Genre
comedy

A struggling, first-generation college student named Leti considers becoming a party clown to pay her bills. But before she does that, she has to meet her clown pimp.

A struggling, first-generation college student named Leti considers becoming a party clown to pay her bills. But before she does that, she has to meet her clown pimp.

Area Code 305

by Christine Stoddard

Cast Size
2
Genre
drama

Rita and Charlie, a retired older couple in Florida, are divided between Rita's love of New York and Charlie's love of Miami. Will geographic preferences cause the end of their relationship?

Rita and Charlie, a retired older couple in Florida, are divided between Rita's love of New York and Charlie's love of Miami. Will geographic preferences cause the end of their relationship?

Manioc

by Christine Stoddard

Cast Size
4
Genre
fable/folktale,
tragedy

After the myth by the Aztecs of El Salvador

After the myth by the Aztecs of El Salvador

Watercolors for Johnny

by Christine Stoddard

Cast Size
3
Genre
drama,
zoom

Michelle and Johnny, a man with developmental disabilities, continue their teacher-student relationship over Zoom with art lessons in the midst of the unfolding Coronavirus pandemic.

Michelle and Johnny, a man with developmental disabilities, continue their teacher-student relationship over Zoom with art lessons in the midst of the unfolding Coronavirus pandemic.

Clootie Dumpling

by Christine Stoddard

Cast Size
2
Genre
romantic comedy

Ari, an elderly man who suspects that his wife Lila's memory might be slipping, brings up something from their Scottish vacation that she's sure to remember.

Ari, an elderly man who suspects that his wife Lila's memory might be slipping, brings up something from their Scottish vacation that she's sure to remember.

The Last Jaguar of El Salvador

by Christine Stoddard

Cast Size
1—2
Genre
experimental,
young audiences

A puppet show script presenting an encounter between a jaguar and a rainforest sprite. The piece teaches the public about jaguar endangerment and conservation in El Salvador.

A puppet show script presenting an encounter between a jaguar and a rainforest sprite. The piece teaches the public about jaguar endangerment and conservation in El Salvador.

The Rock's Song

by Christine Stoddard

Cast Size
2
Genre
young audiences

Aunt Catalina, a university geology professor, shares her love of rocks with her young niece Marlene in an encounter with magic and believing.

Aunt Catalina, a university geology professor, shares her love of rocks with her young niece Marlene in an encounter with magic and believing.