Susan-Jane Harrison

Susan-Jane Harrison

Susan-Jane Harrison is a British American playwright and performer who trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, with a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of California at Davis. Unusual collaborations in Harrison’s artistic work have allowed her to develop across disciplines. Her work on Voice and Performance has been published in Academic journals in the UK and in Turkey. Harrison’s...
Susan-Jane Harrison is a British American playwright and performer who trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, with a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of California at Davis. Unusual collaborations in Harrison’s artistic work have allowed her to develop across disciplines. Her work on Voice and Performance has been published in Academic journals in the UK and in Turkey. Harrison’s work as performer and playwright has been seen in both the UK, USA & NZ. She has worked in the UK, most notably with BBC Radio, A&BC Theatre Co, RADA and the Royal National. In the USA, with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Aurora Theatre Company, Woman’s Will, ACT, California Shakespeare Company and A Traveling Jewish Theater. She is a Brady Fellow at 3Girls Theatre in San Francisco in the 2021-2023 Cohort for development of her play, “Today I Live” and a new play, “Touched”.

Plays

  • Touched by Susan-Jane Harrison
    Cast: 
    5–7
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 4 more
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    Keyword: futuristic, Diverse Ensemble Cast + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, experimental, immersive, romantic comedy, science fiction
    Keyword: futuristic, Diverse Ensemble Cast, diverse casting, changing social norms, current social landscape, Comedy/Social Commentary, contemporary social issues, non-binary character, non-binary roles
    In a futuristic version of our world, touch of any kind is illegal unless specifically consensual. But the rules around this are as ever, contradictory. Originally written for radio in 2013, "Touched" is a surprisingly pre-cognitive examination of social distance, isolation and fear of contact. A scientist and an anthropologist, unknown to each other and living in the same apartment building, act...
    In a futuristic version of our world, touch of any kind is illegal unless specifically consensual. But the rules around this are as ever, contradictory. Originally written for radio in 2013, "Touched" is a surprisingly pre-cognitive examination of social distance, isolation and fear of contact. A scientist and an anthropologist, unknown to each other and living in the same apartment building, act on their longing for contact in two very different ways, leading them to a dramatic face to face encounter.
  • Hunting Love by Susan-Jane Harrison
    Cast: 
    4–6
    ·
    Genre: commedia dell'arte, dark comedy + 5 more
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    Keyword: features Women's Roles, Diverse Ensemble Cast + 6 more
    Genre: commedia dell'arte, dark comedy, drama, fable/folktale, movement/physical, musical, period
    Keyword: features Women's Roles, Diverse Ensemble Cast, diverse family, diverse cast, Ancient Greek Myth, non-binary character, a play with music, actor-musicians
    A suicidal Aphrodite encounters a life-loving Narcissus …eager to escape his stony fate. A nymph regrets her greatest wish. A young girl tries to escape her incomparable mother. In Hunting Love, myth transforms across a generation as four souls strive for intimacy in a landscape defaced by wars, literal and metaphorical. How do we learn to love ourselves? Can we adapt our superpowers to fit within a family? And...
    A suicidal Aphrodite encounters a life-loving Narcissus …eager to escape his stony fate. A nymph regrets her greatest wish. A young girl tries to escape her incomparable mother. In Hunting Love, myth transforms across a generation as four souls strive for intimacy in a landscape defaced by wars, literal and metaphorical. How do we learn to love ourselves? Can we adapt our superpowers to fit within a family? And once a Goddess has your heart, will you ever get it back? In which kitchen sink meets the extraordinary. A play with music and song.
  • Fits & Starts by Susan-Jane Harrison
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy
    ·
    Keyword: adult children with aging mother, caring for a dying parent + 2 more
    Genre: dark comedy
    Keyword: adult children with aging mother, caring for a dying parent, diverse family, biracial
    A multicultural middle-aged couple are constantly interrupted in their attempts to have sex while they care for a difficult dying parent. The dying woman remembers a humiliating moment from her youth.
  • Alaska by Susan-Jane Harrison
    Cast: 
    4–6
    ·
    Genre: radio drama, satire + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: radio play, science fiction + 1 more
    Genre: radio drama, satire, science fiction
    Keyword: radio play, science fiction, political social satire
    A science fiction radio play. In a world where genders are separated, boy meets girl in a parallel universe. The time is now, the place Alaska. Alaska is the playwright's first play, a winner in First Bite: BBC Radio 4 Young Writer's Festival in 1995, this play was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September of 1995, featuring a young Michael Sheen. See video links to listen to the production. The...
    A science fiction radio play. In a world where genders are separated, boy meets girl in a parallel universe. The time is now, the place Alaska. Alaska is the playwright's first play, a winner in First Bite: BBC Radio 4 Young Writer's Festival in 1995, this play was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September of 1995, featuring a young Michael Sheen. See video links to listen to the production. The script is also available but needs to be scanned to be shared.