Jennifer O'Grady

Jennifer O'Grady

Playwright and poet Jennifer O'Grady's plays are produced across the U.S. and internationally. Her full-length plays include CHARLOTTE'S LETTERS (Rising Artist Award; 1st Place Henley Rose Award; O'Neill Semifinalist and other honors); PARANORMAL LOVE (MTWorks Newborn Award; NEWvember Finalist; Panndora's Box Honorable Mention, other honors); still small voice (2023 Moxie Incubator...
Playwright and poet Jennifer O'Grady's plays are produced across the U.S. and internationally. Her full-length plays include CHARLOTTE'S LETTERS (Rising Artist Award; 1st Place Henley Rose Award; O'Neill Semifinalist and other honors); PARANORMAL LOVE (MTWorks Newborn Award; NEWvember Finalist; Panndora's Box Honorable Mention, other honors); still small voice (2023 Moxie Incubator Finalist); FERTILE GROUND (2022 Semifinalist: O'Neill Conference, Princess Grace Award/New Dramatists Fellowship and Panndora's Box) and more. Her plays are included in multiple editions of the annual Best Ten-Minute Plays, Best New Ten-Minute Plays and Best Women's Stage Monologues, among other anthologies, and have been presented by The Irish Rep, The Barrow Group, 6th Street Playhouse, The Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival, Attic Salt Theatre, NEWvember Festival Dublin, Little Fish Theatre, Short + Sweet, Lakeshore Players Theatre, Rover Dramawerks, Weathervane Playhouse, Gi60 and many others. She is also the author of two poetry books, WHITE (Midlist First Series Award for Poetry ) and EXCLUSIONS & LIMITATIONS (MadHat Press). Her poems appear in numerous places including Poetry, Harper's, The New Republic, The Writer's Almanac, The Kenyon Review, 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. She and her family live near New York City. (www.jenniferogrady.net)

Plays

  • still small voice by Jennifer O'Grady
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: women, senior woman + 6 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: women, senior woman, NYC, good role for a young woman, Societal Assumptions, two-hander, New York City, sociopath
    2023 Moxie Incubator Finalist

    (Full length, new and in development--reach out for script) Senior Janie lives alone in her NYC 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.
  • CHARLOTTE'S LETTERS by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 15
    ·
    Cast: 
    7
    ·
    Genre: biography, drama + 6 more
    ·
    Keyword: Brontë, Jane Eyre + 8 more
    Genre: biography, drama, experimental, fantasy, immersive, mystery/thriller, period, political
    Keyword: Brontë, Jane Eyre, feminism, writing, women, love, identity, book banning, teaching, features great roles for women
    Rising Artist Award/1st Place Henley Rose Award/NEWvember Festival Dublin/O'Neill Semifinalist/Top 25 Plays, Panndora's Box/ 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 tutor/employer,...
    Rising Artist Award/1st Place Henley Rose Award/NEWvember Festival Dublin/O'Neill Semifinalist/Top 25 Plays, Panndora's Box/ 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 tutor/employer, Monsieur Heger--with biographer Mrs. Gaskell's struggle to salvage Charlotte's posthumous reputation and feminist novels. In Victorian England the books of recently deceased author Charlotte Brontë are now widely banned for being too passionate. Her literary friend Mrs. Gaskell intends to prove that Charlotte was innocent and her reclusive life, blameless--but when an alarming letter arrives from Brussels, Mrs. Gaskell is forced to investigate just how much of Charlotte's novels--including the bestselling but scandalous JANE EYRE--was based on her own life. A vividly theatrical play about love, friendship and the making of art and identity.
  • FERTILE GROUND by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: motherhood, filicide + 8 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: motherhood, filicide, Incarceration, miscarriage, Mental Health, women, biological clock, infertility, marriage, academic pressure
    2022 Semifinalist, O'Neill NPC
    2022 Semifinalist, Princess Grace Award/New Dramatists Fellowship
    2022 Semifinalist, Panndora's Box New Works Festival

    (Full length in development--reach out for script) Novelist Leigh wants a baby but struggles with unexplained miscarriages. Her younger sister Olivia, a parent and psychologist on the tenure track, is having difficulty...
    2022 Semifinalist, O'Neill NPC
    2022 Semifinalist, Princess Grace Award/New Dramatists Fellowship
    2022 Semifinalist, Panndora's Box New Works Festival

    (Full length in development--reach out for script) Novelist Leigh wants a baby but struggles with unexplained miscarriages. Her younger sister Olivia, a parent and psychologist on the tenure track, is having difficulty finishing her new study of maternal filicide due to one of her subjects, an incarcerated woman 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 new play about motherhood, including its darker side.
  • PARANORMAL LOVE by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 6
    ·
    Cast: 
    7
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: ghosts, love + 8 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, immersive, romantic comedy, science fiction
    Keyword: ghosts, love, drag queen, grief, LGBTQ, death, afterlife, photographer, psychic, loneliness
    MTWorks Newborn Award/ Panndora's Box Honorable Mention/NEWvember Finalist 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 Lila, a woman, Kevin seizes the chance to wrap up unfinished business--making sure David is happy, and reuniting...
    MTWorks Newborn Award/ Panndora's Box Honorable Mention/NEWvember Finalist 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 Lila, a woman, Kevin seizes the chance to wrap up unfinished business--making sure David is happy, and reuniting Joe and DeeDee, two living friends now mysteriously estranged--which Kevin attempts with the aid two dead friends, 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)
  • TORN by Jennifer O'Grady
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: drama, immersive
    ·
    Keyword: gun violence, school shooting + 7 more
    Genre: drama, immersive
    Keyword: gun violence, school shooting, mass shooting, personal responsibility, family, tornado, grief, love, PTSD
    (Full length--new and in development) A 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 ongoing epidemic of American gun violence and its living victims.
  • JUGGLING WITH MR. FIELDS by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 6
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: biography, comedy + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: W.C. FIelds, classic movies + 7 more
    Genre: biography, comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, period
    Keyword: W.C. FIelds, classic movies, 1940s Hollywood, cinema, fame, celebrity, alcoholism, fathers & sons, love
    2020 Finalist, Southwest Theatre Productions New Play Contest

    (Full length) In 1940s Hollywood wealthy, irreverent, aging and 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 rising-actor friend Anthony Quinn vie for his attentions. But new...
    2020 Finalist, Southwest Theatre Productions New Play Contest

    (Full length) In 1940s Hollywood wealthy, irreverent, aging and 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 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 poignant drama play about longing and belonging.
  • ELLERY by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: psychic, ghosts + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, horror, immersive, mystery/thriller, science fiction
    Keyword: psychic, ghosts, women, senior woman, love, parnormal, moral responsibility, mystery, mother-daughter
    Bechdel Group Selection / Included in THE BEST WOMEN'S STAGE MONOLOGUES

    (Full length) Becca hates her psychic abilities, and is being haunted by her dead but still-critical mother 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...
    Bechdel Group Selection / Included in THE BEST WOMEN'S STAGE MONOLOGUES

    (Full length) Becca hates her psychic abilities, and is being haunted by her dead but still-critical mother 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 see and come to the rescue, but can ghosts help? A play about living responsibly and being different. (Play 2 in The Ghost Trilogy of standalone plays)
  • QUASARS by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: faith, religion + 8 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, immersive
    Keyword: faith, religion, marriage, art, sculptor, motherhood. illness, love, priest, Parenting, grief
    Selected for THE BEST WOMEN'S STAGE MONOLOGUES and BEST CONTEMPORARY MONOLOGUES FOR WOMEN 18-35

    (Full length) When 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...
    Selected for THE BEST WOMEN'S STAGE MONOLOGUES and BEST CONTEMPORARY MONOLOGUES FOR WOMEN 18-35

    (Full length) When 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. A play about the need for human connection and the uncertain comforts of faith and art.
  • SLANTED LIGHT by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: ghost, psychic + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, science fiction
    Keyword: ghost, psychic, funeral home, poetry, mother-daughter, love, teenagers, loss, loneliness and isolation
    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)
  • COMPLEX ANALYSIS by Jennifer O'Grady
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: mass shooting, school shooting + 7 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: mass shooting, school shooting, psychotherapy, poverty, Mental Health, mental illness, clinic, gun violence, love
    (Full length) Anthea heads a struggling trauma clinic, where she treats Nathan, a man student and school-shooting survivor; Cooper, a boy whose mother was murdered; and Carl, a widower unable to let go. When Anthea's life falls into crisis, she finds herself forced to hire Christine, an eager new therapist whose sessions with Nathan quickly blur the lines between helping and harming--and between danger and love.
  • Sugar by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 18
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: domestic violence, domestic abuse + 4 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: domestic violence, domestic abuse, neighbor, two-hander, 2 women, sugar
    Selected for THE BEST TEN-MINUTE PLAYS 2023 (Smith and Kraus)
    2023 Finalist, The Gary Garrison Playwriting Award for 10-Minute Plays
    Selected for Little Fish Theatre's PICK OF THE VINE, Lakeshore Players 10-Minute Play Festival, Rockford New Words and more

    (10 Min) Lilia is startled when her new neighbor Jaden knocks on her door and asks to borrow sugar. But Jaden has an urgent...
    Selected for THE BEST TEN-MINUTE PLAYS 2023 (Smith and Kraus)
    2023 Finalist, The Gary Garrison Playwriting Award for 10-Minute Plays
    Selected for Little Fish Theatre's PICK OF THE VINE, Lakeshore Players 10-Minute Play Festival, Rockford New Words and more

    (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.
  • Persephone by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 34
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: motherhood, grief + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, fable/folktale, science fiction, tragedy
    Keyword: motherhood, grief, love, ghosts, myth, mother-daughter
    Published in THE BEST NEW TEN-MINUTE PLAYS 2019 (Applause)

    (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.
  • Fridge by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 19
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: adventure, comedy + 10 more
    ·
    Keyword: fridge, refrigerator + 6 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental, fable/folktale, fantasy, immersive, radio drama, science fiction, young audiences, zoom
    Keyword: fridge, refrigerator, kitchen appliances, failure, Hope, parent-child relationships, repair, love
    Published in THE BEST TEN-MINUTE PLAYS 2021 (Smith and Kraus)

    (10 Min) A woman and her fridge. A play about failure and acceptance.
  • Chem Class by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 7
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: audiodrama, Highschool + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, political, radio drama, young audiences, zoom
    Keyword: audiodrama, Highschool, LGBQT+, coming out, friendship, high school athletes, walking, college age actors, teen actors
    Selected for the Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival 2022 / Publication forthcoming in THE LANFORD WILSON NEW AMERICAN PLAY FESTIVAL 2022: THE SHORT PLAYS (Southeast Missouri State U. Press)

    (10 Min) On their morning walk to school, 11th-grader 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...
    Selected for the Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival 2022 / Publication forthcoming in THE LANFORD WILSON NEW AMERICAN PLAY FESTIVAL 2022: THE SHORT PLAYS (Southeast Missouri State U. Press)

    (10 Min) On their morning walk to school, 11th-grader 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. (Written for THE WALKING PLAYS)
  • Most Wonderful by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 14
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: christmas, holiday + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, holiday
    Keyword: christmas, holiday, adult friendship, actors, roommates, zoom, friendship, single
    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.
  • Expectations by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 16
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic + 6 more
    ·
    Keyword: Charles Dickens, women + 6 more
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic, drama, immersive, period, political, radio drama, zoom
    Keyword: Charles Dickens, women, historical women, women's history, marriage, identity, patriarchy, motherhood
    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)
  • Pre-War by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 11
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: stillbirth, agoraphobia + 8 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: stillbirth, agoraphobia, refugee, NYC, holocaust survivor, senior woman, Immigrants, pregnancy, 365 Women, women
    Winner of Stage It! Ten-Minute Play Contest and published in STAGE IT 3: Twenty Ten-Minute Plays

    (10 Min) Traumatized by a recent loss, Elena finds it hard to leave her NYC apartment until she meets Clara, her older refugee neighbor, and the women discover they have more in common than they thought.
  • The Great Gaffe by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 12
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: biography, comedy + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: 1920s Paris, F. Scott Fitzgerald + 6 more
    Genre: biography, comedy, dark comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, period, tragedy
    Keyword: 1920s Paris, F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, Edith Wharton, alcoholism, 365 Women, American Literature, classic novels
    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)
  • First Day in Trade by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 6
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: biography, comedy + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: Jacqueline Kennedy, celebrity + 6 more
    Genre: biography, comedy, dark comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, political
    Keyword: Jacqueline Kennedy, celebrity, women, women's history, publishing, 365 Women A Year Playwriting Project, middle-age woman, President
    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; written for 365 Women a Year)
  • Listening by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 9
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: lp records, divorce + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, immersive, radio drama, young audiences, zoom
    Keyword: lp records, divorce, singing, music, teenager, Ella Fitzgerald, intergenerational, teenage girls
    Audience-choice winner 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.
  • Waiting by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: takeout, engagement + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, farce, immersive, satire, young audiences
    Keyword: takeout, engagement, diamond ring, Fathers and Daughters, biological clock, children of divorce, teenage girl
    Selected for Weathervane Playhouse's 8x10 Theatrefest

    (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.
  • A Split Second by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 14
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: opioids, opioid crisis + 5 more
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller, political, tragedy
    Keyword: opioids, opioid crisis, police, motherhood, missing child, drug addiction, trauma
    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.
  • The Gorilla by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 6
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 6 more
    ·
    Keyword: gorilla, gun control + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental, fantasy, farce, political, science fiction
    Keyword: gorilla, gun control, conservation, zoo, wildlife, women, love, transformation, silence
    Produced by Primal Theater UK

    (10 Min) When a gorilla at the zoo takes a surprising interest in Myra, she finds her life transforming--but for better or worse?
  • The Bookstore by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 12
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 6 more
    ·
    Keyword: books, bookstore + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, fantasy, horror, parody/spoof, science fiction, young audiences, zoom
    Keyword: books, bookstore, poetry, pop culture, jealousy, boredom, young adult
    Productions by The Playhouse at White Lake and others

    (10 Min) When a popular YA action novel appears on the shelves, a bored poetry book decides to make a little mischief.
  • The Mysterious Affair at the Christies by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 7
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: biography, dark comedy + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: Agatha Christie, World War I + 5 more
    Genre: biography, dark comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, mystery/thriller, period, zoom
    Keyword: Agatha Christie, World War I, Hercule Poirot, classic mystery, marriage, writing, novel
    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)
  • We Were Happy by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: biography, comedy + 7 more
    ·
    Keyword: immigration, women + 7 more
    Genre: biography, comedy, dark comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, experimental, immersive, science fiction, zoom
    Keyword: immigration, women, women's history, memory, aging, family, Sisters, NYC, Lower East Side history
    Selected for American Lives Theatre’s Short & Stout

    (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.
  • Emily's Room by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 7
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: biography, comedy + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: poetry, women + 6 more
    Genre: biography, comedy, dark comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, period
    Keyword: poetry, women, Emily Dickinson, women's history, 365 Women, irish, American Literature, women40+
    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 to them, will alter the course of American literature. (Written for 365 Women a Year)
  • Shelved by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 6
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: adventure, comedy + 6 more
    ·
    Keyword: library, books + 7 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, dark comedy, drama, fantasy, farce, mystery/thriller, young audiences
    Keyword: library, books, robbery, aging, literature, older actors, theft, grief, French
    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.
  • Microwave by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 6 more
    ·
    Keyword: basketball, teenage + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, fantasy, radio drama, science fiction, young audiences, zoom
    Keyword: basketball, teenage, aging, microwave oven, negotiation, ageism
    Produced by PlayZoomers

    (10 Min) Ethan needs to defrost a meal before basketball practice but Mike, an aging microwave, refuses to open her door to him--forever. A play about give and take with a common household appliance. (One of several plays about kitchen appliances)
  • On 9th Street by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: biography, comedy + 6 more
    ·
    Keyword: women, Abstract Expressionism + 6 more
    Genre: biography, comedy, dark comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, period, political, zoom
    Keyword: women, Abstract Expressionism, art, 365 Women a Year, feminism, 1950s, women's history, NYC
    Produced by the The New Deal Creative Arts Center

    (!0 Min) Four Abstract Expressionist women artists 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)
  • Dishwasher by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 7 more
    ·
    Keyword: dishwasher, alternative relationships + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, fantasy, parody/spoof, satire, science fiction, young audiences, zoom
    Keyword: dishwasher, alternative relationships, kindness, LGBTQ, dysfunction, repair, kitchen appliances
    (10 Min) Alan’s dishwasher has been acting up. Carter, a repairman, visits and discovers that even household appliances require some kindness. A play about dysfunctional relationships and repairs. (One of several plays about kitchen appliances)
  • A Midsummer Night's Script by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 7 more
    ·
    Keyword: Shakespeare, comedy + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, farce, parody/spoof, period, satire, young audiences, zoom
    Keyword: Shakespeare, comedy, theater, actors, Elizabethan England, London, A Midsummer Night's Dream
    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)
  • Shakespeare's Dilemma by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 6 more
    ·
    Keyword: Shakespeare, London + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, farce, parody/spoof, period, political, young audiences, zoom
    Keyword: Shakespeare, London, Elizabethan England, theater, actors, Edward de Vere, Julius Caesar
    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)
  • Admiral Grace Hopper Revisits by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: biography, comedy + 8 more
    ·
    Keyword: navy, women + 6 more
    Genre: biography, comedy, dark comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, immersive, political, radio drama, science fiction, zoom
    Keyword: navy, women, women's history, senior woman, technology, Computer, science, 365 Women a Year
    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)
  • Domestic Service by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: racism, 1940s Hollywood + 6 more
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic, drama, period, political, tragedy
    Keyword: racism, 1940s Hollywood, Louise Beavers, classic movies, blackface, 365 Women a Year, Los Angeles, holiday
    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)
  • Lucy Tries Again by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: biography, comedy + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: teenager, mother-daughter + 6 more
    Genre: biography, comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, period, young audiences, zoom
    Keyword: teenager, mother-daughter, Lucille Ball, acting, 365 Women a Year, persistence, great roles for teens or young adults, teen girl
    Produced by Crafton Hills College

    (10 Min) 16-year-old Lucy Ball has 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; written for 365 Women a Year)
  • Mending by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: women's history, slavery + 8 more
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic, drama, period, political, tragedy, zoom
    Keyword: women's history, slavery, motherhood, Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, President, patriarchy, women, U.S. history, women40+
    (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)
  • Walkies by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: dog, 2 women + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: dog, 2 women, women40+, divorce, winter, grief, anger
    Selected for "Snowed Under" by Caravan Theatre

    (10 Min) An unexpected tragedy forges an unexpected connection. (CW: Pet loss)
  • Menopause Play by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    4–6
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 7 more
    ·
    Keyword: menopause, peri-menopause + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, farce, immersive, political, radio drama, satire, zoom
    Keyword: menopause, peri-menopause, theater, middle age women, women, feminism
    (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.
  • Greed (or the alligator play) by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: environment, alligator + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, farce, political, satire
    Keyword: environment, alligator, animals, greed, picnic, nature, man vs nature, danger, Endangered Species
    (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.
  • A Piece of the Continent by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: biography, comedy + 8 more
    ·
    Keyword: climate change, Dystopia + 6 more
    Genre: biography, comedy, dark comedy, drama, farce, horror, parody/spoof, political, satire, science fiction
    Keyword: climate change, Dystopia, environment, Politics, Trump, Jared Kushner, President, Alternate history
    (10 Min) #45 as an older man contending with history textbooks and the realities of climate change--when it impacts him.
  • Abundance by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 7
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: coronavirus, Covid-19 + 4 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, mystery/thriller, radio drama, science fiction, tragedy, zoom
    Keyword: coronavirus, Covid-19, virus, pandemic, 2020, Viral Outbreak
    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.
  • New Kitten by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: cats, kitten + 8 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, young audiences, zoom
    Keyword: cats, kitten, transformation, youth, aging, teaching, pets, envy, jealousy, sibling rivalry
    Produced by Gi60 US

    (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.
  • Tomorrow or Next Year by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: gun control, high school + 4 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: gun control, high school, school shooting, gun violence, good roles for teenagers, PTSD
    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.
  • Seek by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama, tragedy + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: gun violence, code red playwrights + 5 more
    Genre: drama, tragedy, zoom
    Keyword: gun violence, code red playwrights, daughter-father relationship, hide and seek, grief, love, mass shooting
    (5 Min) A father's love spans twenty years in five minutes; a daughter's love survives an unthinkable tragedy.
    (Written for CodeRedPlaywrights)
  • What I Love by Jennifer O'Grady
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: code red playwrights, gun violence + 6 more
    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama, immersive, tragedy
    Keyword: code red playwrights, gun violence, school shooting, baseball, love, grief, child, child loss
    (5 minutes) 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)
  • Out by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 9
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, farce + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: dogs, pets + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, farce, young audiences
    Keyword: dogs, pets, frustration, one-minute comedy
    Produced by Gi60 UK

    (1 Min) A tiny play about the frustrations of dog-ownership.
  • Invasion by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 6
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: pandemic, Covid-19 + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, fantasy, zoom
    Keyword: pandemic, Covid-19, 2020, coronavirus, goats, man and nature, animals, virus, Quarantine
    (1 Min) Where are all the people? Who cares? There's grass! (A pandemic play with goats.)
  • A Midsummer Night's Script (5-minute version) by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: inspired by Shakespeare, William Shakespeare + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, farce, period, satire, zoom
    Keyword: inspired by Shakespeare, William Shakespeare, Elizabethan theatre, playwriting, acting, Elizabethan England
    (5 Min version written for Caravan Theatre and published in A YEAR WITH THE CARAVAN]
  • Cops by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama, immersive + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: police, cops + 5 more
    Genre: drama, immersive, political, radio drama, zoom
    Keyword: police, cops, Driving, fear, murder, American Law Enforcement, Law Enforcement
    (3 Min) Two adults describe their different encounters with the police.
  • Kitty by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: cats, stray cats + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, horror, science fiction
    Keyword: cats, stray cats, animal, hook-up, Dark and Stormy, comedy horror, comedy/horror play, vengeance, halloween
    (6 min) Things with Kitty don't work out quite the way Tyler expected. (Or: a stray cat seeks vengeance)
  • Matthew Weaver Finds Me by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: Matthew Weaver, birthday + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, experimental, farce, parody/spoof
    Keyword: Matthew Weaver, birthday, Unicorn, playwriting, collaboration, friendship, theater, imagination
    (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)
  • Only Human by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 16
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: drama, faith-based + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: gun control, Catholic priest + 5 more
    Genre: drama, faith-based, immersive, radio drama, tragedy, zoom
    Keyword: gun control, Catholic priest, faith, mass shooting, trauma, code red playwrights, gun violence
    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 CodeRedPlaywrights)
  • Circumnavigation by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 11
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: fish, pets + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, immersive, radio drama, science fiction, zoom
    Keyword: fish, pets, fear, isolation, goldfish, monologue, Hope, animals
    Selected for Stage Left Theater's Fast and Furious

    (Monologue) Flash, a young goldfish, loves their new home. Really.
  • Closet Cat by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 10
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, immersive + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: cats, pets + 8 more
    Genre: dark comedy, immersive, radio drama, zoom
    Keyword: cats, pets, closet, pandemic, hiding, isolation, 2020, virus, Covid-19, fear
    Selected for Gi60 US and published in some scripts literary magazine #4

    (Monologue) Sometimes the best place to be is your owner's closet.
  • Egypt by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: drama, experimental + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: domestic abuse, domestic violence + 5 more
    Genre: drama, experimental, immersive, political
    Keyword: domestic abuse, domestic violence, motherhood, pregnancy, murder, grief, abuse of women
    Selected for Mind the Gap Theatre's Housebound Series and 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 by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: drama, immersive + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: gun control, school shooting + 6 more
    Genre: drama, immersive, political, radio drama, young audiences, zoom
    Keyword: gun control, school shooting, high school, middle school, teenagers, fear, teenage girls, gun violence
    Selected for The PlayGround Experiment's Faces of America Festival #1

    (Monologue) Julia isn't Malala. But maybe Malala can help?
  • Cage by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 7
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: pets, isolation + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, immersive, radio drama, science fiction, zoom
    Keyword: pets, isolation, rabbit, cages, animals, fear, monologue
    Produced by Primal Theatre UK

    (Monologue) Thumper the pet rabbit describes their habit for the audience.
  • Invisible (one-minute version) by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: culture of fear, fear + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, horror, immersive, satire, science fiction
    Keyword: culture of fear, fear, dog, pets, isolation, border, animal
    Selected for Gi60 US (2022)

    (Monologue) Scout the dog explains the new invisible fence to a potential playmate.
  • Invisible (3-minute version) by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: dogs, pets + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, immersive, radio drama, zoom
    Keyword: dogs, pets, animals, border, culture of fear, monologue, fear
    Selected for "Natural Distancing" at Civic Theater of Greater Lafayette

    (Monologue) Scout the dog explains the new invisible fence to a potential playmate.
  • Belle, ex-wife of a Beast by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 12
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 6 more
    ·
    Keyword: princess, Disney + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, fable/folktale, immersive, radio drama, satire, zoom
    Keyword: princess, Disney, fairy tale, feminism, comedy, metoo
    Selected for The Writers Block Radio Hour

    (Monologue) A former princess speaks.
  • In Memory of Maria Mercader by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic + 6 more
    ·
    Keyword: COVID, COVID 19 + 8 more
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic, drama, immersive, political, radio drama, tragedy, zoom
    Keyword: COVID, COVID 19, friendship, loss, grief, 2020, monologue, Asian American, CBS, journalist
    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.
  • Like Knives by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: aging, male gaze + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, immersive, radio drama, zoom
    Keyword: aging, male gaze, bar, revenge, feminism, ageism, feminism ageism, female empowerment
    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.
  • Playgroup by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: motherhood, feminism + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, immersive, radio drama, zoom
    Keyword: motherhood, feminism, baby, hypocrisy, contemporary parenting, Birth, confession
    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.
  • Nest by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: drama, immersive + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: memory, dementia + 7 more
    Genre: drama, immersive, tragedy
    Keyword: memory, dementia, early onset dementia, grief, motherhood, baseball, birds, monologue, senior woman
    (Monologue) A woman struggles to remember the son now lost to her.
  • Street by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: drama, immersive + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: monologue, Black Lives Matters + 3 more
    Genre: drama, immersive, tragedy
    Keyword: monologue, Black Lives Matters, George Floyd, Minneapolis, inanimate objects
    (Monologue) A street outside Cup Foods, Minneapolis, speaks to us.
  • January by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: drama, immersive + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: middle school, differences + 4 more
    Genre: drama, immersive, radio drama, young audiences
    Keyword: middle school, differences, friendship, female friendship, children, monologue
    (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.
  • Bars by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 8 more
    ·
    Keyword: pets, birds + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, fantasy, immersive, political, radio drama, science fiction, young audiences, zoom
    Keyword: pets, birds, cages, parakeet, comedy, animal rights
    Produced by Primal Theatre UK

    (Monologue) Sky, a pet parakeet, has a request. Or three.
  • Lion Cut by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: cats, pets + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental, immersive, radio drama, zoom
    Keyword: cats, pets, animals, disillusionment, identity, monologue
    (Monologue) Snowball the cat struggles with new ideas about human beings.
  • Theoni V. Aldredge, Costume Designer, Speaks by Jennifer O'Grady
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: costumes, theater + 7 more
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic, drama, immersive, radio drama
    Keyword: costumes, theater, film, historical women, Greek-American, Immigrants, monologue, feminism, 365 Women a Year
    Produced by Tutti Bravi Productions

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