Jennifer O'Grady

Jennifer O'Grady

Playwright and poet Jennifer O'Grady's plays are produced and developed across the U.S. and internationally and include CHARLOTTE'S LETTERS (Rising Artist and 1st Place Henley Rose Awards; O'Neill Semifinalist and other honors); PARANORMAL LOVE (MTWorks Newborn Award; NEWvember Finalist; Panndora's Box Honorable Mention); FERTILE GROUND (Semifinalist for the O'Neill NPC, Princess...
Playwright and poet Jennifer O'Grady's plays are produced and developed across the U.S. and internationally and include CHARLOTTE'S LETTERS (Rising Artist and 1st Place Henley Rose Awards; O'Neill Semifinalist and other honors); PARANORMAL LOVE (MTWorks Newborn Award; NEWvember Finalist; Panndora's Box Honorable Mention); FERTILE GROUND (Semifinalist for the O'Neill NPC, Princess Grace/New Dramatists Fellowship and Panndora's Box); still small voice (Moxie Incubator Finalist); SUGAR (Gary Garrison Award Finalist) and more. Her work is published in multiple editions of the annual Best Ten-Minute Plays, Best New Ten-Minute Plays and Best Women's Stage Monologues among other anthologies. She is also an award-winning poet and author of the poetry books WHITE (Midlist Press First Series Award) and EXCLUSIONS & LIMITATIONS (Plume Editions/MadHat Press). Her poems appear in numerous places including Harper's, Poetry, The New Republic, The Kenyon Review, The Writer's Almanac, Poetry Daily, BBC Radio 4 and American Poetry: The Next Generation. Born and raised in New York City, she earned an MFA in poetry from Columbia University and a BA from Vassar, where she won awards for her writing. She lives with her family just outside New York City. (www.jenniferogrady.net)

Plays

  • CHARLOTTE'S LETTERS
    Current Finalist, Hudson Valley Theatre Festival / Rising Artist Playwriting Award / 1st Place Henley Rose Award / O'Neill Semifinalist / NEWvember Festival Dublin Selection / Writer2Writer Award / BETC's Generations Shortlist / AFF Playwriting Award 2nd Rounder / Top 25 Plays, Panndora's Box / Irish Rep's New Works Readings Selection / Selected for THE BEST WOMEN'S STAGE MONOLOGUES...
    Current Finalist, Hudson Valley Theatre Festival / Rising Artist Playwriting Award / 1st Place Henley Rose Award / O'Neill Semifinalist / NEWvember Festival Dublin Selection / Writer2Writer Award / BETC's Generations Shortlist / AFF Playwriting Award 2nd Rounder / Top 25 Plays, Panndora's Box / Irish Rep's New Works Readings Selection / Selected for THE BEST WOMEN'S STAGE MONOLOGUES 2022 and other honors

    (Full length) A fresh new take on the Brontës, intertwining Charlotte Brontë's two years as an unpublished young woman at a Belgian school--where she became close to her married male tutor/employer--with biographer Mrs. Gaskell's struggle to salvage Charlotte's posthumous reputation and trailblazing novels. In Victorian England, the novels of recently deceased author Charlotte Brontë are now widely banned for being too passionate. Gaskell intends to prove that Charlotte was innocent and her reclusive life, blameless--but when an alarming letter arrives from Brussels, Gaskell feels forced to investigate just how much of Charlotte's novels--including the bestselling but scandalous JANE EYRE--was based on her own life. A theatrical play about love, friendship, and the making of art and identity.
  • ELLERY
    Bechdel Group Reading Workshop Selection / Included in THE BEST WOMEN'S STAGE MONOLOGUES

    (Full length) Becca's life sucks--she hates her psychic abilities and is being haunted by her dead but still-critical mom and dead grandmother, for reasons none of them understands. When a dead young woman appears and pleads confusingly for help, Becca turns away--but unwittingly gives her best...
    Bechdel Group Reading Workshop Selection / Included in THE BEST WOMEN'S STAGE MONOLOGUES

    (Full length) Becca's life sucks--she hates her psychic abilities and is being haunted by her dead but still-critical mom and dead grandmother, for reasons none of them understands. When a dead young woman appears and pleads confusingly for help, Becca turns away--but unwittingly gives her best friend the chance to pursue a dangerous course that could harm Becca and another living woman. Mom Linda and Grandma Ida try coming to the rescue, but how can ghosts possibly impact the living? A play about living responsibly and being different. (Play 2 in The Ghost Trilogy of standalone plays)
  • FERTILE GROUND
    2022 O'Neill Semifinalist / 2022 Semifinalist, Princess Grace Award/New Dramatists Fellowship / 2022 Semifinalist, Panndora's Box New Works Festival

    (Full length in development) Novelist Leigh wants a baby but struggles with unexplained miscarriages. Her younger sister Olivia, a parent and psychologist on the tenure track, is having trouble finishing her study of maternal filicide due...
    2022 O'Neill Semifinalist / 2022 Semifinalist, Princess Grace Award/New Dramatists Fellowship / 2022 Semifinalist, Panndora's Box New Works Festival

    (Full length in development) Novelist Leigh wants a baby but struggles with unexplained miscarriages. Her younger sister Olivia, a parent and psychologist on the tenure track, is having trouble finishing her study of maternal filicide due to one of her subjects, whose motivations are disturbingly unclear. Leigh's husband Max wants to be done with fertility treatments so that he and Leigh can move on. As Olivia and Max begin leaning on each other for support, Leigh begins writing a new novel about filicide, and fact and fiction begin to collide and will have devastating consequences. A play about motherhood including its darker side.
  • JUGGLING WITH MR. FIELDS
    Finalist, Southwest Theatre Productions New Play Contest

    (Full length) In 1940s Hollywood aging, irreverent, nearly-alcoholic movie star W. C. Fields--shunned by film studios and eager for work--grudgingly hires a young English manservant to get his life in order, while Fields' live-in girlfriend Carlotta and his rising-actor friend Anthony Quinn vie for his attentions. But new servant...
    Finalist, Southwest Theatre Productions New Play Contest

    (Full length) In 1940s Hollywood aging, irreverent, nearly-alcoholic movie star W. C. Fields--shunned by film studios and eager for work--grudgingly hires a young English manservant to get his life in order, while Fields' live-in girlfriend Carlotta and his rising-actor friend Anthony Quinn vie for his attentions. But new servant Rodney brings a secret unwanted link to the past, in this imagined look at the hidden side of an iconic film star and drama about longing and belonging.
  • PARANORMAL LOVE
    MTWorks Newborn Award / NEWvember Finalist/ Panndora's Box Honorable Mention and other honors

    (Full length) Kevin and David were a loving couple, but now Kevin is dead and stuck in a boring afterlife with little to do but eat popcorn and watch the living. When David decides to marry a woman, Kevin seizes the chance to wrap up unfinished business--making sure David is happy, and reuniting two...
    MTWorks Newborn Award / NEWvember Finalist/ Panndora's Box Honorable Mention and other honors

    (Full length) Kevin and David were a loving couple, but now Kevin is dead and stuck in a boring afterlife with little to do but eat popcorn and watch the living. When David decides to marry a woman, Kevin seizes the chance to wrap up unfinished business--making sure David is happy, and reuniting two living friends, Joe and DeeDee, once best friends but now mysteriously estranged--which Kevin attempts with the aid of two reluctant dead friends, Craig and Waldo--until things begin to go wrong. A play about love, loss, and the power of memory. (Play 1 in The Ghost Trilogy of standalone plays)
  • QUASARS
    Included in THE BEST WOMEN'S STAGE MONOLOGUES and BEST CONTEMPORARY MONOLOGUES FOR WOMEN 18-35

    (Full length) When blocked sculptor Josh's wife Erin becomes seriously ill but won't slow down, Josh takes secretive measures to keep her at home. But their nine-year-old daughter witnesses his ploys, bringing unwanted scrutiny from a young Catholic priest. As Erin's illness worsens...
    Included in THE BEST WOMEN'S STAGE MONOLOGUES and BEST CONTEMPORARY MONOLOGUES FOR WOMEN 18-35

    (Full length) When blocked sculptor Josh's wife Erin becomes seriously ill but won't slow down, Josh takes secretive measures to keep her at home. But their nine-year-old daughter witnesses his ploys, bringing unwanted scrutiny from a young Catholic priest. As Erin's illness worsens, Josh must learn to let go--and try to grow up--with help from a troubled priest and a strange young woman with piercings. QUASARS examines our need for human connection and the uncertain comforts of faith and art.
  • SLANTED LIGHT
    2022 Bechdel Group Shortlist

    (Full length) Joanna is a poet and single parent working part-time in a funeral home--an odd choice, considering that Joanna can see dead people. When a dead teenage boy follows her home and ensconces himself in her attic, Joanna and her unhappy teenage daughter Miranda must learn some hard truths about living and dying. (Play 3 in The Ghost Trilogy of standalone plays)
  • still small voice
    2023 Moxie Incubator Finalist

    (Full length in development) Senior Janie lives alone in her New York City apartment. When Lizbeth, an old friend's granddaughter, arrives for what's supposed to be a short stay, it soon becomes apparent that Lizbeth has other, unsettling ideas--and that perhaps Janie does too. A play about how we see, or don't see, women.
  • TORN
    (Full length in development) A small group of interconnected people struggle with jobs, relationships, and personal responsibility eight months after a school shooting. An intimate and theatrical new play exploring the aftermath of American gun violence.
  • Admiral Grace Hopper Revisits
    Productions include 6th Street Playhouse and Rover Dramawerks

    (One Act/Solo) 85-year-old, former U.S. Navy Rear Admiral and computer pioneer Grace Hopper speaks about life, computer compilers, and kicking some ass in this short solo play about perseverance and passion. (Written for 365 Women a Year)
  • A Blessing
    Forthcoming production by Somerset Community College Short Play Festival

    (10 Min) On the day of her big departure, Lil and her mom Carly spar over their differing ideas of religion and what constitutes "comfort" for those who remain behind.
  • The Bookstore
    Produced by The Playhouse at White Lake and other theaters

    (10 Min) When a popular YA action novel appears on the shelves, a bored poetry book decides to make a little mischief.
  • Chem Class
    Selected for The Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival, City Lights Theatre Co's Lights Up Festival and other productions / Published in THE LANFORD WILSON NEW AMERICAN PLAY FESTIVAL 2022: THE SHORT PLAYS (SEMO Press, 2022)

    (10 Min) On their morning walk to school, Alex asks his friend Sofia to their Junior Prom. But Sofia's reaction isn't what Alex had hoped for--or so he...
    Selected for The Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival, City Lights Theatre Co's Lights Up Festival and other productions / Published in THE LANFORD WILSON NEW AMERICAN PLAY FESTIVAL 2022: THE SHORT PLAYS (SEMO Press, 2022)

    (10 Min) On their morning walk to school, Alex asks his friend Sofia to their Junior Prom. But Sofia's reaction isn't what Alex had hoped for--or so he thought. A play about taking risks and being ourselves.
  • Dishwasher
    (10 Min) Alan’s dishwasher has been acting up. Carter, a repairman, visits and discovers that even household appliances might require some kindness. A play about dysfunctional relationships and repairs.
  • Domestic Service
    Produced by White Mouse Theater

    (10 Min) When Oscar-nominated Black actress Louise Beavers is cast as yet another maid in another Hollywood movie but this one has a very shocking twist, she finds herself forced to make a difficult decision. (Written for 365 Women a Year)
  • Emily's Room
    Selected for Rover Dramawerks' 365 Women a Year Festival

    (15 Min) 54-year-old recluse Emily Dickinson and her 44-year-old Irish maid reach an unspoken understanding that, unknown by them, will alter the course of American literature. (Written for 365 Women a Year)
  • Expectations
    Selected for Short+Sweet Sydney and other productions

    (Short) Novelist Charles Dickens and his wife Kate Dickens speak about the legal separation Dickens initiated after twenty-two years of marriage and nine children—narratives that differ substantially from each other. A play about power and women's lives. (Written for 365 Women a Year)
  • First Day in Trade
    Selected for Rover Dramawerks' 365 Women a Year Festival
    Published in THE BEST TEN-MINUTE PLAYS 2017 (Smith and Kraus)

    (10 Min) At a New York publishing house, an impoverished assistant learns that one of the world's wealthiest women--editor Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis--might want to bum cigarettes from her. (Inspired by a true incident and written for 365 Women a Year)
  • Fridge
    Published in THE BEST TEN-MINUTE PLAYS 2021 (Smith and Kraus)
    Audience-choice Award, Kairos Italy Theater 10-Minute Play Festival
    Selected for Short + Sweet Perth, Theatre Three's Off-stage/On-line Seres and other productions

    (10 Min) A woman and her fridge. A play about failure and acceptance.
  • The Gorilla
    Produced by Primal Theater UK

    (10 Min) When a gorilla at the zoo takes a marked and surprising interest in Myra, she finds her life transforming--but for better or worse?
  • The Great Gaffe
    Selected for Monster Box Theatre's 365 Women Festival and other productions
    Published in THE BEST TEN-MINUTE PLAYS 2016 (Smith and Kraus)

    (10 Min) Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Edith Wharton gives a tea party for F. Scott Fitzgerald, struggling young author of THE GREAT GATSBY, with disastrous results. (Written for 365 Women a Year)
  • Greed (or the alligator play)
    (10 Min) Corey questions reality when an alligator appears at the picnic and eats up all the guac. A play about environmental encroachment, with a talking alligator.
  • Listening
    Audience-choice Award in Weathervane Playhouse's 8x10 Theatrefest, and other productions

    (10 Min--A Hailey Play, #1) Stuck for the weekend at her preoccupied, divorced dad's house (and never mind having to deal with Dad's new girlfriend, Sandra), sixteen-year-old Hailey learns that listening to old-people music can actually be life-altering.
  • Lucy Tries Again
    Produced by Crafton Hills College

    (10 Min) 16-year-old Lucy Ball has just been kicked out of her NYC drama school for being too shy and having insufficient talent. Back home with her mom, Lucy tries to figure out what if anything to do next. (Based on the life of iconic TV star Lucille Ball and written for 365 Women a Year)
  • Mending
    (10 Min) At Monticello the day after Thomas Jefferson's death, an enslaved woman, Sally Hemings, and her 21-year-old enslaved son by Jefferson wait to hear their fate. (Written for 365 Women a Year)
  • Menopause Play
    (10 Min) Fed up with having her menopausal symptoms unacknowledged and ignored, a playwright decides to write about it. This is her play, and you'd better listen.
  • Microwave
    Produced by PlayZoomers

    (10 Min) Teenager Ethan needs to defrost a meal before basketball practice but Mike, an aging microwave, refuses to open her door--forever. A play about give and take with a common household appliance.
  • A Midsummer Night's Script
    Selected for Funny Shorts Live!

    (10 Min) London, 1595--The Lord Chamberlain's Men are having trouble with their newest play, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. (A Will, Kempe & Ed Play--#2)
  • Most Wonderful
    Published in THE BEST NEW TEN-MINUTE PLAYS 2021 (Applause)

    (10 Min) Two unemployed roommates learn the meaning of Christmas with help from a can of beans and some dental floss.
  • Much Ado About Ed (A Will, Kempe & Ed Play)
    Reading by PlayZoomers July 2023

    (10 Min) London, 1596 - The Lord Chamberlain’s Men are having trouble with their new and shockingly unfunny comedy, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. (A Will, Kempe & Ed Play--#3)
  • The Mysterious Affair at the Christies
    Produced by Saw It Here First Productions, Rover Dramawerks and other theaters.

    (10 Min) An imagined glimpse into Agatha Christie's troubled first marriage and the roots of her long career as a novelist. (Written for 365 Women a Year)
  • On 9th Street
    Selected for The New Deal Creative Arts Center's 10x10 (2022)

    (!0 Min) Four Abstract Expressionist women artists anxiously await the opening of their group exhibition in a condemned building in downtown New York City. A play about the women of the 9th Street Show. (Written for 365 Women a Year)
  • Persephone
    Published in THE BEST NEW TEN-MINUTE PLAYS 2019 (Applause)
    Winner of Heartland Theatre Co's 10-Minute Play Contest and other productions

    (10 Min) A modern riff on the myth of Persephone, forced to leave her family behind forever. This Persephone returns to give her small child an unusual gift--a new mom.
  • A Piece of the Continent
    (10 Min) #45 as an older man contending with history textbooks and the realities of climate change--when it impacts him.
  • Pre-War
    Winner of Stage It! 10-Minute Play Contest & published in STAGE IT! 3 / New production coming from PlayZoomers in Sept 2023

    (10 Min) Traumatized by a recent loss, Elena finds it hard to leave her NYC apartment until she encounters Clara, her older Czechoslovakian neighbor, and the two women discover they have more in common than they realized.
  • Romeo and Richard (A Will, Kempe & Ed Play)
    Reading by PlayZoomers July 2023

    (10 Min) London, 1597 - The Lord Chamberlain's Men have trouble with their latest play, ROMEO AND JULIET, when Will becomes jealous. (A Will, Kempe & Ed Play--#4)
  • Shakespeare's Dilemma (A Will, Kempe & Ed Play)
    Selected for Caravan Theatre

    (10 Min) London, 1593 - The Lord Chamberlain's Men are having trouble with their plans for JULIUS CAESAR--and with their new and unwanted playwright. (A Will, Kempe & Ed Play--#1)
  • Shelved
    Produced by NextStage

    (10 Min) Two bickering, older French books stuck in the basement stacks of a library (and subjected to the inexplicable glares of the librarian) find themselves uniting when forced to foil a robbery plan.
  • A Split Second
    Selected for Plays for Us by The Actors Center

    (10 Min) In two different places two unrelated women--a parent with a missing child, and a traumatized driver--speak about recent events that, unknown to them, are tragically connected.
  • Sugar
    Selected for THE BEST TEN-MINUTE PLAYS 2023 (Smith and Kraus)
    Selected for Little Fish Theatre's 2023 PICK OF THE VINE, Lakeshore Players 2022 10-Minute Play Festival, Rockford New Words 2022 and more
    2023 Winner, Stage It! Ten-Minute Play Contest
    2023 Finalist, The Gary Garrison Playwriting Award for 10-Minute Plays

    (10 Min) Lilia is startled when her new neighbor Jaden...
    Selected for THE BEST TEN-MINUTE PLAYS 2023 (Smith and Kraus)
    Selected for Little Fish Theatre's 2023 PICK OF THE VINE, Lakeshore Players 2022 10-Minute Play Festival, Rockford New Words 2022 and more
    2023 Winner, Stage It! Ten-Minute Play Contest
    2023 Finalist, The Gary Garrison Playwriting Award for 10-Minute Plays

    (10 Min) Lilia is startled when her new neighbor Jaden knocks on her door and asks to borrow sugar. But Jaden has an urgent ulterior motive that has nothing to do with sugar, and everything to do with Lilia.
  • To Be or Not to Be Shakespeare (A Will, Kempe & Ed Play)
    Reading by PlayZoomers July 2023

    (10 Min) London, 1598 - The Lord Chamberlain’s Men have trouble when their new play HAMLET is a huge success and Ed becomes resentful. (A Will, Kempe & Ed Play--#5)
  • Waiting
    Selected for Weathervane Playhouse's 8x10 Theatrefest (2022)

    (10 Min--A Hailey Play, #2) It's a new year and teenager Hailey's dad is getting married to his girlfriend Sandra--except that Sandra doesn't actually know it yet. When Dad tries to surprise Sandra with an engagement ring but things go terribly wrong, Hailey comes to the rescue and proves once again that adults aren't always observant.
  • Walkies
    Selected for "Snowed Under" by Caravan Theatre

    (10 Min) An unexpected loss forges an unexpected connection. (CW: Pet loss)
  • We Were Happy
    Selected for American Lives Theatre’s Short & Stout (2022)

    (10-15 Min) Two Italian-American sisters remember growing up on New York's lower Eastside and find that their memories differ. But they were happy there. Maybe.
  • Abundance
    Selected for Dramatic Question Theatre's DQTini Series

    (1 Min) No one--and nothing--likes to be alone. A pandemic play for any two performers.
  • Cops
    (3 Min) Two adults describe their different encounters with the police.
  • Happy
    Selected for Gi60 US (2023)

    (1 Min) A tiny play about love and grief.
  • Invasion
    (1 Min) Where are all the people? Who cares? There's grass! (A pandemic play with goats.)
  • Kitty
    (5/6 Min) Things with Kitty don't work out quite the way Tyler expected. (Or: a stray cat seeks vengeance)
  • Matthew Weaver Finds Me
    (5 Min) Frustrated by the play she's writing for Matthew Weaver's birthday, Jennifer brainstorms with Matthew. A unicorn might appear. (Included in 40ish Short Plays About Matthew Weaver compiled by playwright Matthew Weaver)
  • New Kitten
    Selected for Gi60 US (2019)

    (1 Min) Max the cat is seriously pissed off--a new kitten has moved in and expects Max to share everything including the litter box. A tiny play about jealousy and transformation.
  • Out
    Selected for Gi60 UK (2019)

    (1 Min) A tiny play about the frustrations of dog-ownership.
  • Seek
    (5 Min) A father's love spans twenty years in five minutes; a daughter's love survives an unthinkable tragedy. (Written for CodeRedPlaywrights)
  • Tomorrow or Next Year
    Published in Feels Blind Literary

    (5 Min) Mackenzie wants to help; Caroline wants to forget. A play about growing up in today's United States.
  • What I Love
    (5 Min) A 10-year-old's love of baseball, and the man he will never become due to a life cut short by gun violence. (Written for CodeRedPlaywrights)
  • Bars
    Produced by Primal Theatre UK

    (Monologue) Sky, a pet parakeet, has a request. Or three.
  • Belle, ex-wife of a Beast
    Selected for The Writers Block Radio Hour

    (Monologue) A former princess speaks.
  • Cage
    Produced by Primal Theatre UK

    (Monologue) Thumper the pet rabbit describes their habit for the audience.
  • Circumnavigation
    Selected for Stage Left Theater's Fast and Furious

    (Monologue) Flash, a young goldfish, loves their new home. Really.
  • Closet Cat
    Selected for Gi60 US (2021)
    Published in some scripts literary magazine Issue 4

    (Monologue) Sometimes the best place to be is your owner's closet.
  • Egypt
    Selected for Mind the Gap Theatre's Housebound Series
    Published in some scripts literary magazine #5

    (Monologue) The six-month-old fetus of a murdered woman speaks. (CW: domestic violence; murder)
  • I'm Not Malala
    Selected for The PlayGround Experiment's Faces of America Festival #1

    (Monologue) Julia isn't Malala. But maybe Malala can help?
  • In Memory of Maria Mercader
    Performed and published in The COVID Monologues by Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble

    (Monologue) CBS news producer and my high-school friend Maria Mercader died during the COVID pandemic in New York. This was written to celebrate Maria and her life.
  • Invisible (one-minute version)
    Selected for Gi60 US (2022)

    (Monologue) Scout the dog explains the new invisible fence to a potential playmate.
  • Invisible (3-minute version)
    Selected for "Natural Distancing" at Civic Theater of Greater Lafayette

    (Monologue) Scout the dog explains the new invisible fence to a potential playmate.
  • January
    (Monologue) Bella, age twelve, ponders her mom’s reaction to Bella's interest in hanging out with the new girl at school, who isn’t like everyone else.
  • Like Knives
    Written by invitation for Brave New World Rep's "Over and Above" and performed by Laura San Giacomo

    (Monologue) A middle-aged bar owner has some words for her ageist male customer--after she locks the door.
  • Nest
    (Monologue) A woman struggles to remember the son now lost to her.
  • Only Human
    Selected for St. Paul's Arts Council's Short New Play Festival, The Factory Theater at Greenville U's New Play Festival and by other theaters around the country

    (Monologue) A Catholic priest remembers a tragedy in his past. (Written for CodeRed Playwrights)
  • Playgroup
    Selected for The Mother-logues by Red Herring Productions and Empower Her Voice U.K.

    (Monologue) At a weekly gathering for moms and babies, Lauren makes an unexpected confession.
  • Ready
    (Monologue) A teenager speaks about his readiness for the military despite the uncertainties ahead.
  • Street
    (Monologue) A street outside Cup Foods, Minneapolis, speaks to us.
  • Theoni V. Aldredge, Costume Designer, Speaks
    Produced by Tutti Bravi Productions

    (Monologue) Award-winning, Greek-American costume designer Theoni V. Aldredge speaks about what women and immigrants can do.