Adrienne Dawes

Adrienne Dawes

Adrienne Dawes is an award-winning Afro-Latina playwright and producer originally from Austin, TX. Her full length plays include: Teen Dad, Denim Doves, Am I White (2014, B. Iden Payne Award for Outstanding Script; David Mark Cohen New Play Award; Kilroys honorable mention), and You Are Pretty (2004, Stanley and Evelyn Lipkin Prize for Playwriting). Adrienne is a member of the Dramatists Guild, ScriptWorks, the...
Adrienne Dawes is an award-winning Afro-Latina playwright and producer originally from Austin, TX. Her full length plays include: Teen Dad, Denim Doves, Am I White (2014, B. Iden Payne Award for Outstanding Script; David Mark Cohen New Play Award; Kilroys honorable mention), and You Are Pretty (2004, Stanley and Evelyn Lipkin Prize for Playwriting). Adrienne is a member of the Dramatists Guild, ScriptWorks, the Latinx Theatre Commons, and company member of Salvage Vanguard Theater.

Plays

  • Casta by Adrienne Dawes
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    7–12
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    Genre: docudrama/historic, experimental + 1 more
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    Keyword: 1700s, Mexico + 8 more
    Genre: docudrama/historic, experimental, period
    Keyword: 1700s, Mexico, mixed race, mestizo, art history, casta paintings, Spain, mestizaje, bilingual, museum
    FULL LENGTH: Casta (working title) is inspired by a series of casta paintings by Miguel Cabrera, a mixed-race painter from Oaxaca. Casta paintings were a unique form of portraiture that grew in popularity over the 18th century in Nueva España that depicted different racial mixtures arranged according to a hierarchy defined by Spanish elites.

    When a lowly apprentice is commissioned to paint a...
    FULL LENGTH: Casta (working title) is inspired by a series of casta paintings by Miguel Cabrera, a mixed-race painter from Oaxaca. Casta paintings were a unique form of portraiture that grew in popularity over the 18th century in Nueva España that depicted different racial mixtures arranged according to a hierarchy defined by Spanish elites.

    When a lowly apprentice is commissioned to paint a casta series for a wealthy patron, he tries to conform his work to a set hierarchy but finds the images revolt, illuminating a complex portrait of fluid Latinx identities.

    Casta is in development with Salvage Vanguard Theater in Austin, TX with a creative team that includes director Jenny Larson and composer Graham Reynolds.

    Casta requires an ensemble of mixed-race Latinx actors, preferably fluent in Spanish.
    NOTE: NPX does not currently offer an opportunity to tag plays for mixed race or AfroLatinx actors so I've tagged all applicable tags under roles for race.
  • Teen Dad by Adrienne Dawes
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: african american family, family + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: african american family, family, trauma, mixed-race, teenagers, afrolatinx, latinx families, dramedy
    FULL LENGTH: Abby, a precocious emo-goth teenager, orchestrates a surprise reunion for her mother Tanya and birth father Tom, with the help of her mom's fiance/healer John. Hoping to provoke long-lasting reconciliation between her parents before her high school graduation, Abby's plans completely derail when Tom arrives with his new girlfriend Alisha. Can this family confront their past traumas,...
    FULL LENGTH: Abby, a precocious emo-goth teenager, orchestrates a surprise reunion for her mother Tanya and birth father Tom, with the help of her mom's fiance/healer John. Hoping to provoke long-lasting reconciliation between her parents before her high school graduation, Abby's plans completely derail when Tom arrives with his new girlfriend Alisha. Can this family confront their past traumas, "deal and heal?"

    "Teen Dad" subverts popular regional theatre "kitchen-sink beach house dramedy" to share a heartfelt, comedic exploration of generational trauma and recovery in a mixed race Black and Latinx family.

    ** 3 roles (Tom, Abby, and Alisha) are specifically written for mixed-race actors. NPX does not currently offer a way to tag roles for mixed-race actors.
  • Hairy & Sherri by Adrienne Dawes
    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama
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    Keyword: austin, foster care + 5 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: austin, foster care, special needs, american race relations, American Family, adoption, mixed race
    FULL LENGTH: Hairy and Sherri (Sharon) are an “adorkable” interracial couple living in gentrified East Austin. When they very graciously and publicly open their home to Ryshi, a 12-year-old former foster care youth with special needs, Hairy and Sherri are confronted with the ugly realities of their marriage and “good” intentions.  

    “Hairy & Sherri” is a biting, dark comedy that exposes the...
    FULL LENGTH: Hairy and Sherri (Sharon) are an “adorkable” interracial couple living in gentrified East Austin. When they very graciously and publicly open their home to Ryshi, a 12-year-old former foster care youth with special needs, Hairy and Sherri are confronted with the ugly realities of their marriage and “good” intentions.  

    “Hairy & Sherri” is a biting, dark comedy that exposes the limitations of the Texas foster care system and the evils of very well-intentioned people.
  • Am I White by Adrienne Dawes
    Recommendations: 4
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: drama, experimental
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    Keyword: biracial, mixed race + 5 more
    Genre: drama, experimental
    Keyword: biracial, mixed race, mental illness, prison, neo nazi, american race relations, passing
    FULL LENGTH: When Neo-Nazi terrorist Wesley Connor returns to prison after a failed bomb plot, he is confronted with two identities that threaten his position within the White Order of Thule most: fatherhood and his own mixed race heritage. Inspired by the true story of Leo Felton and Erica Chase, Am I White travels between linear narrative, recurring dreams and minstrel show nightmare to discover if a singular...
    FULL LENGTH: When Neo-Nazi terrorist Wesley Connor returns to prison after a failed bomb plot, he is confronted with two identities that threaten his position within the White Order of Thule most: fatherhood and his own mixed race heritage. Inspired by the true story of Leo Felton and Erica Chase, Am I White travels between linear narrative, recurring dreams and minstrel show nightmare to discover if a singular self exists in post-modern “post-racial” America.

    NOTE: There is not currently a mixed-race category for roles offered on NPX but this play requires 2 mixed race actors (1M/1F) and 3 White actors (1M, 2F).
  • Denim Doves by Adrienne Dawes
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    10
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 5 more
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    Keyword: feminist, Dystopia + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, experimental, farce, political, satire, science fiction
    Keyword: feminist, Dystopia, devised, intergenerational, laadan
    FULL LENGTH: “You are safe here, Sister.”

    Tucked safely into the woods of what was once Belle, MO, a modest compound is home to five sister wives and their reluctant Husband. While the wives enjoy many freedoms, they have one simple and sacred task: a wife must produce the next heir, or they all risk being cut from the braid. When a new wife mysteriously arrives the night of the Seedling, she...
    FULL LENGTH: “You are safe here, Sister.”

    Tucked safely into the woods of what was once Belle, MO, a modest compound is home to five sister wives and their reluctant Husband. While the wives enjoy many freedoms, they have one simple and sacred task: a wife must produce the next heir, or they all risk being cut from the braid. When a new wife mysteriously arrives the night of the Seedling, she disrupts their semi-annual procreation ritual. Will this new wife's radical ideas, ancient riot grrl songs, and acid wash denim compromise the safety and sanctity of this devout compound?

    Set in a dystopian future, Denim Doves is a collaboratively-devised feminist farce that explores themes of women in subjugation and the hilarious consequences of a rigid dick-tatorship.

    Original music by Erik Secrest with lyrics by Cyndi Williams.
  • RUN.HIDE.FIGHT by Adrienne Dawes
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: domestic violence, crisis + 5 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, political
    Keyword: domestic violence, crisis, trauma, workplace, workplace violence, gun control, activeshooter
    10 MIN: When a disgruntled employee disrupts an emergency preparedness drill, crisis actors Soloway and Linnea find themselves trapped in an all too real scenario of workplace violence.
  • You Are Pretty by Adrienne Dawes
    Cast: 
    7–10
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
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    Keyword: sex workers, site-specific + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
    Keyword: sex workers, site-specific, feminist
    FULL LENGTH: You are Pretty explores the intimate lives and loves of workers of the Hippie Ho House, a legal brothel located in Moundhouse, NV. The Hippie Ho House depends primarily on the earnings of its top performer Bunny, known for her kinky parties and exaggerated “polyorgasmic” performances. As the women work to entertain a rotating cast of clients, their livelihood is threatened when Bunny refuses a...
    FULL LENGTH: You are Pretty explores the intimate lives and loves of workers of the Hippie Ho House, a legal brothel located in Moundhouse, NV. The Hippie Ho House depends primarily on the earnings of its top performer Bunny, known for her kinky parties and exaggerated “polyorgasmic” performances. As the women work to entertain a rotating cast of clients, their livelihood is threatened when Bunny refuses a client for the first time.