Jen Browne

Jen Browne

Jen Browne is a NJ based playwright and actor with a major affinity for big magical ideas, collaborative and devised work, and finding the joy in every project. She is a two-time Bay Area Playwright Festival semi-finalist (Standing in the River While the World Falls Down (2023); Wadada and the Whale (2019). Her work has been presented by Pipeline Theatre Company, New York Fringe Festival, Dixon Place, Caps...
Jen Browne is a NJ based playwright and actor with a major affinity for big magical ideas, collaborative and devised work, and finding the joy in every project. She is a two-time Bay Area Playwright Festival semi-finalist (Standing in the River While the World Falls Down (2023); Wadada and the Whale (2019). Her work has been presented by Pipeline Theatre Company, New York Fringe Festival, Dixon Place, Caps Lock Theatre, Irish Arts Center, Houston Fringe Festival, ESPA/Primary Stages and others. She studied collaborative and creative theatre at Queens University in Belfast, NI and received a BA in Theatre Arts from Rowan University in New Jersey. She is a founding member of playwright collective Lather Rinse Repeat.

Plays

  • Standing in the River While the World Falls Down by Jen Browne
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: drama, experimental + 2 more
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    Keyword: mothers and daughters, magic + 2 more
    Genre: drama, experimental, mystery/thriller, tragedy
    Keyword: mothers and daughters, magic, murder, domestic abuse
    Willow Blind conjures the dead women and mothers of her family tree to help her find her daughter Sweetheart. Believing Sweetheart’s husband Astro had something to do with her disappearance, the women seek to exact magical revenge on him. Flowing in and out of time the threads of Astro and Sweetheart’s relationship are slowly pulled apart and intertwined with Willow’s search. Along the way Willow re-discovers...
    Willow Blind conjures the dead women and mothers of her family tree to help her find her daughter Sweetheart. Believing Sweetheart’s husband Astro had something to do with her disappearance, the women seek to exact magical revenge on him. Flowing in and out of time the threads of Astro and Sweetheart’s relationship are slowly pulled apart and intertwined with Willow’s search. Along the way Willow re-discovers the strength hidden in her family tree and herself but will justice be served or not?

    This play is ready for a reading, a workshop, or other development opportunity.
  • A True Story by Jen Browne
    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: Fathers and Daughters, adventure + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, experimental, movement/physical
    Keyword: Fathers and Daughters, adventure, trauma, forgiveness, memory, family, siblings, Sisters
    Alba, Lissa, and Mimsy have been on the hunt for their father since they were young girls. When the phone rings out of the blue it is of course time for a press conference, a wrestling match, and some time in the spotlight. A True Story is an absurdist play about an absent father and his three daughters. It explores memory and how time and desire can change the way we remember the past.

    Let's workshop this!
  • Wadada and the Whale by Jen Browne
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: comedy, drama
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    Keyword: death and grief, faith + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: death and grief, faith, whales
    Following two brothers after the death of their parents Wadada and the Whale explores grief, faith, and what happens when you're trapped in your own mythology.

    Still in development this early draft is ready for the next phase of growth and adventure.
  • Hags, Mopes, and the End of All Existence by Jen Browne
    Recommendations: 5
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: love, old age + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, fantasy
    Keyword: love, old age, life and death
    Hags and Mopes have been married for as long as they can remember and they've had just about enough of each other so maybe it's not such a bad thing there's a comet making its way straight towards them, the blizzard of the century isn't letting up, or that the cow and the goat have moved to Florida because the end is near and they can barely remember the beginning.

    Hags,...
    Hags and Mopes have been married for as long as they can remember and they've had just about enough of each other so maybe it's not such a bad thing there's a comet making its way straight towards them, the blizzard of the century isn't letting up, or that the cow and the goat have moved to Florida because the end is near and they can barely remember the beginning.

    Hags, Mopes, and the End of All Existence is an absurd tale exploring age, love, and the race against time nobody can elude, not even chickens.
  • The Diabolical Starfish by Jen Browne
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    1–2
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    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: puppets, grief and healing + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, fantasy
    Keyword: puppets, grief and healing, magical realism
    A solo work for person and puppet, explores the isolated but predictably contented life of Charlie. Distrust of the outside world binds Charlie and shower cap compandre, Charley, to their New York apartment. All is well until their routine filled reality is shattered and the outside world demands their attention.
  • A Llama Stole My Heart by Jen Browne
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy
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    Keyword: Sisters, funeral + 3 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: Sisters, funeral, grief, love, llamas
    Sisters, Marielle and Cynthia, live on opposite ends of the spectrum. Cynthia is practical and grounded and Marielle is breezy and brash. Planning a funeral for their eccentric Aunt Junie the two sisters have to work together to convince the funeral home to fulfill their Aunt's last wish.

    Originally written for a radio environment it can easily be adapted to zoom or the stage.
  • This Is Your Prez! by Jen Browne
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    4–6
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    Genre: comedy, political + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, political, radio drama
    It's Kindergarten Art Week on This is Your Prez! where candidates compete in a talent show style competition for a spot on the campaign trail for President of the United States of America! Who's going to win the hearts of the American people and who's gonna hear "BYE-BYE"?
  • I Will Do the Best I Can by Jen Browne
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: comedy, farce + 2 more
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    Keyword: environment, global warming + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, farce, political, satire
    Keyword: environment, global warming, Politics, climate activist, climate change
    It's just another day for The International Environmental Council for Keeping Things the Same so of course they're up to their usual no good interrogation antics until prisoner 2050D aka Greta Thurnberg walks in on counts of anti-
    democratic behavior, sowing panic, out of balance
    priorities, and for being a witch and puts wrench in the works.
  • More Parties, More Fun by Jen Browne
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: comedy, political + 1 more
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    Keyword: Politics
    Genre: comedy, political, satire
    Keyword: Politics
    Kitten has an invite to Elephant, Donkey AND Penguin's parties but which will she choose? All of them seem fun but are they really? Why does picking a party have to be so hard?
  • Little Sacrifices by Jen Browne
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: family, apocalypse
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: family, apocalypse
    Arlene and her children celebrate her birthday in a root cellar while her husband Michael prepares to defend their isolated cabin in the woods. Stories of family the children have never met pepper an anxiety ridden room as it slowly becomes clear that perhaps what threatens them most is already there.
  • The Cake by Jen Browne
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    1–2
    ·
    Genre: comedy
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    Keyword: short, coming of age
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: short, coming of age
    A giant birthday cake meets with a therapist as it deals with a personal crisis.
  • The Win-ners by Jen Browne
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: adventure, comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: working together, teamwork
    Genre: adventure, comedy, movement/physical, young audiences
    Keyword: working together, teamwork
    Adwin, Hadwin, and Lindwin scientists extraordinaire, are a little down on their luck and currently are hopelessly lost in strange a wood. Nothing goes right until they start to work together, because when you work together everybody's a winner!
  • Love is a Blind Squirrel by Jen Browne
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: comedy, young audiences
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    Keyword: love, tap dancing + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, young audiences
    Keyword: love, tap dancing, film noir
    Wendy is her own unique little bird looking for love, which as we all know can be tough. So like any other determined gal she enlists the help of investigative cupid Ethel E. Eros to help her track down her one true love.
  • The Nudist and Her Son by Jen Browne
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: comedy, drama
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    Keyword: divorce, family + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: divorce, family, beach, mother and child relationships
    Alison is going through a divorce, a not entirely unexpected divorce but still a divorce. She and her son Tim escape to the beach but there's no escaping reality, not really.