Alāna Rader

Alāna Rader

Alāna Rader (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based Playwright, Poet, Actor and Director who believes in highlighting the margins and championing the underdog. Alana’s full-length plays, include: Warning: a Dystopian Fable (2022 Princess Grace Award semi-finalist), Bugle Boy, a play with music, Migrate (The Barrow Group’s “First Fridays”) and her newest piece, Housewife (2022 Alpine Fellowship short list). All of these...
Alāna Rader (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based Playwright, Poet, Actor and Director who believes in highlighting the margins and championing the underdog. Alana’s full-length plays, include: Warning: a Dystopian Fable (2022 Princess Grace Award semi-finalist), Bugle Boy, a play with music, Migrate (The Barrow Group’s “First Fridays”) and her newest piece, Housewife (2022 Alpine Fellowship short list). All of these plays have received readings through Play Readings with Friends in NYC. During an Artist in Residency program, she wrote and created the Children's Theatre piece Down the Rabbithole: Into Other Realms, which she also directed. Alāna helped create and write the book of the new musical "Chaining Zero,” which was a 2021 NMTC Eugene O'Neill Semi-Finalist. "Chaining Zero" has had readings in Nashville, NYC and a workshop at Kent State University. Recent poetry can be found at Review Americana, Fleas on the Dog, Prolific Press and Fresh Words. Let’s connect and collaborate!  www.alanarader.com @lanaenchanted  

Plays

  • Warning
    What happens when women tell the story? The lines between fact and fable blur in the dystopian fantasy play “Warning,” where we are asked to confront power, truth, and the role women play in a society that has largely erased their stories from history. "Warning" weaves narratives and timelines from poetic Greek Mythology and 1918 Kansas, to an altered 2020. Cass, a reporter in, is being held captive...
    What happens when women tell the story? The lines between fact and fable blur in the dystopian fantasy play “Warning,” where we are asked to confront power, truth, and the role women play in a society that has largely erased their stories from history. "Warning" weaves narratives and timelines from poetic Greek Mythology and 1918 Kansas, to an altered 2020. Cass, a reporter in, is being held captive at the White House, during the chaos of a dystopian pandemic. Meanwhile Cassie, a young nurse in Kansas battles the Spanish Flu. These timelines begin to merge and overlap when the soothsayer Cassandra attempts to intervene, redeeming her own tragic narrative and breaking the cycles of silence and abuse. Cass escapes and shares her story, creating a cascade of women coming forward, which brings about a new revolution. In the last scene, we see Cass, now an anchor, introducing the first female President. In a world where powerful men are often the loudest voices in the room, will Cass manage to be heard above their roar? And, will truth create a catalyst for change that ripples out of the theatre and into our streets?
  • Success is Sweetest
    Amanda Gorman meets the ghost of Emily Dickinson at a Boston cafe and poetry ensues. Is it a spiritual encounter or a dream?
  • The Woods
    The Woods is a modern fairytale about the power of love and the
    bond we share with our Grandparents. Cora’s Grandfather built a
    house that burnt to the ground but three carved wooden hearts
    survived the fire. Each of those hearts representing a special
    moment in their lives. As Cora’s Grandma, who shares her name, lays
    dying in her hospital bed, she needs to share this secret...
    The Woods is a modern fairytale about the power of love and the
    bond we share with our Grandparents. Cora’s Grandfather built a
    house that burnt to the ground but three carved wooden hearts
    survived the fire. Each of those hearts representing a special
    moment in their lives. As Cora’s Grandma, who shares her name, lays
    dying in her hospital bed, she needs to share this secret with her
    granddaughter.
  • Edge
    EDGE is the story of Beatrice, on the ledge of her office building, contemplating death. Later, in the hospital, Beatrice has visions of herself at 8 years old. This inner child reignites her joy and reunites Beatrice with her passion and ultimately, herself.