Rachel Hynes

Rachel Hynes

Rachel Hynes is a devisor, director and performer who creates and writes physical plays featuring fantastical characters and flawed, robust, female protagonists (aka real people). Her original work has been seen in Seattle, London, Spain, Philadelphia, Baltimore and New York.

Rachel is a proud member of the very first Pass It On cohort of playwright's collective, The Welders. She is the Co-...
Rachel Hynes is a devisor, director and performer who creates and writes physical plays featuring fantastical characters and flawed, robust, female protagonists (aka real people). Her original work has been seen in Seattle, London, Spain, Philadelphia, Baltimore and New York.

Rachel is a proud member of the very first Pass It On cohort of playwright's collective, The Welders. She is the Co-Artistic Lead of Joy and Pang Productions, creating accessible, online, interactive theatre, actively collaborating with audiences. She is also writing a musical about a girl with an elevator shoe. Ask her about it.

Rachel received her MFA in Lecoq Based Actor Created Theatre in conjunction with Naropa University at the London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA). She is a DCCAH Artist Fellow and a winner of the Larry Neal Award for Dramatic Writing.

Plays

  • The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Rachel Hynes
    Cast: 
    6–32
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, drama + 6 more
    Genre: adaptation, drama, fable/folktale, movement/physical, mystery/thriller, period, tragedy, young audiences
    It's 1804 and the yellow fever plague is devastating the city of New York. Washington Irving manages to escape illness and death, only to find himself in Tarry Town, a small, quaint village where everyone seems to see ghosts. The town tells Irving the story of Ichabod Crane, a young teacher with head firmly planted upon his shoulders, who tried to join their community. Along the way, Ichabod Crane meets...
    It's 1804 and the yellow fever plague is devastating the city of New York. Washington Irving manages to escape illness and death, only to find himself in Tarry Town, a small, quaint village where everyone seems to see ghosts. The town tells Irving the story of Ichabod Crane, a young teacher with head firmly planted upon his shoulders, who tried to join their community. Along the way, Ichabod Crane meets Katrina, the cynical and secretive daughter of a local merchant. Their connection grows and it sparks a rivalry between him and the local golden boy, Brom Bones. As Ichabod endures the snubs of his rival and the town folk, the lines between ghosts and humans begins to blur. On the night of Katrina's big party, Ichabod disappears. Was it a ghost or a person? Who killed Ichabod Crane?
  • The Trojan Women Project by Rachel Hynes
    Cast: 
    13–30
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, drama + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: Greek chorus, gentrification + 6 more
    Genre: adaptation, drama, experimental, movement/physical, political, tragedy
    Keyword: Greek chorus, gentrification, sexual assault, immigration, motherhood, LGBTQ, Hillary Clinton, Washington DC
    The Trojan Women Project investigates American Women and the War on Women. What are the problems facing American women? What do we consider to be a woman's issue? Where do these ideas comes from? What are our hopes for the future?

    Using a diverse ensemble of 12 women (ages 22-72), one gender-fluid person and two men who only ever appear on video, the Trojan Women Project blends physical...
    The Trojan Women Project investigates American Women and the War on Women. What are the problems facing American women? What do we consider to be a woman's issue? Where do these ideas comes from? What are our hopes for the future?

    Using a diverse ensemble of 12 women (ages 22-72), one gender-fluid person and two men who only ever appear on video, the Trojan Women Project blends physical movement, Greek Chorus work and 13 rich, individual characters, trying to live their lives in a gentrifying neighborhood in Washington, DC.
  • Half Life (a zombie love letter for no one) by Rachel Hynes
    Cast: 
    2–5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: zombies, Black comedy + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, experimental, movement/physical
    Keyword: zombies, Black comedy, absurdism
    Regina has been in a car accident. She tries to get back into her life, but everyone is scared of her. Is she dead, a zombie, or as she continually asserts, "just hurt real bad?"

    When you've been forever changed by trauma, how do you continue with normal life? This absurdist journey sees our protagonist, Regina, navigate recovery and grief, while only feeling half-alive.
  • Tale of a Tiger by Rachel Hynes
    Cast: 
    1–15
    ·
    Genre: drama, fable/folktale + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: fairy tale, women + 4 more
    Genre: drama, fable/folktale, movement/physical, young audiences
    Keyword: fairy tale, women, magical realism, poetry, storytelling, family
    Sometimes life changes your shape...literally. A young girl lives in the forest with her father, both grieving for her absent mother. After her father locks her in the cupboard for three days, she begins to see tigers everywhere. As she moves from girl to teen to young adult, she becomes inseparable from her her tiger companion and learns to live with all the tiger gives her, and all that she gives up. Tale of...
    Sometimes life changes your shape...literally. A young girl lives in the forest with her father, both grieving for her absent mother. After her father locks her in the cupboard for three days, she begins to see tigers everywhere. As she moves from girl to teen to young adult, she becomes inseparable from her her tiger companion and learns to live with all the tiger gives her, and all that she gives up. Tale of a Tiger is a remodeled fairytale that directly addresses generational trauma.