Adrienne Dawes

Adrienne Dawes

Adrienne Dawes (she/her) is an Afro-Latina playwright, screenwriter, and teaching artist originally from Austin, TX. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild, WGAw, ScriptWorks, the Latinx Theatre Commons, and a company member of Salvage Vanguard Theater.

Plays

  • SCABS (10 MIN) by Adrienne Dawes
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
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    Keyword: WGAstrike, Strike + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
    Keyword: WGAstrike, Strike, TV, television, scab, ginger beer, writer's room, women in the workplace
    When Octavia, a first-time staff writer, immediately jumps to Co-Executive Producer on her second job after the 2023 WGA strike, her colleague Maree astutely suspects - SCAB! (This play is NOT sponsored by Fever Tree ginger beer minis).
  • 'Zat You, It's Me? (10 MIN) by Adrienne Dawes
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: early aughts, 2000s + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, holiday
    Keyword: early aughts, 2000s, Sarah Lawrence College, prank, holiday, christmas, college, raunchy
    A raunchy, riotous holiday comedy set in the early aughts about Sarah Lawrence roommates who, just before Winter Break amid conference week (aka finals) try to solve one of campus' most enduring mysteries/annoyances: the identity of the "It's Me guy" prankster.
  • Solar Eclipse of the Heart (10 MIN) by Adrienne Dawes
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
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    Keyword: standup comedy, comedy club + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
    Keyword: standup comedy, comedy club, bad relationships, meet cute
    A wannabe stand-up comedian's dream of shining in the comedic spotlight is eclipsed by their disruptive heckler-partner.
  • This Bitch: Esta Sangre Quiero by Adrienne Dawes
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    9–20
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: Lope de Vega, influencers + 8 more
    Genre: adaptation, comedy, farce, romantic comedy
    Keyword: Lope de Vega, influencers, bawdy, bilingual, college age characters, golden age, Spanish, social media, gen z, comedia
    UNPRODUCED FULL-LENGTH: When Diana, a ruthless and power-hungry Pilates influencer, learns that her social media manager Teodoro is hooking up with her makeup artist Madeinusa, it sparks bitter jealousy. Even though it would be social suicide for her to date someone with zero followers, Diana finds herself falling madly in love but if she can’t have Teodoro . . . no one can!

    THIS BITCH: ESTA...
    UNPRODUCED FULL-LENGTH: When Diana, a ruthless and power-hungry Pilates influencer, learns that her social media manager Teodoro is hooking up with her makeup artist Madeinusa, it sparks bitter jealousy. Even though it would be social suicide for her to date someone with zero followers, Diana finds herself falling madly in love but if she can’t have Teodoro . . . no one can!

    THIS BITCH: ESTA SANGRE QUIERO is a big, bawdy, bilingual Gen Z comedy inspired by Lope de Vega’s epic Golden Age comedia “El perro del hortelano.”

    Original Music by Eric Johnson
    Lyrics by Adrienne Dawes & Lope de Vega (adapted by khattieq)
  • Hairy & Sherri by Adrienne Dawes
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
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    Keyword: foster care, American Family + 6 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: foster care, American Family, adoption, gentrification, disability, child abuse, austin, social work
    FULL LENGTH: Hairy and Sherri (Sharon) are an “adorkable” interracial couple living in gentrified East Austin. When they very graciously and very publicly open their home to Ryshi, a 12-year-old former foster care youth with special needs, Hairy and Sherri are confronted with the horrifying realities of their marriage and “good” intentions.  
  • Dupe by Adrienne Dawes
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: identical twins, urban literature + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, farce
    Keyword: identical twins, urban literature, authorship, black writers, New York City, long lost identical twins, African American culture and identity, twins, Shakespeare
    UNPRODUCED FULL LENGTH: When Parker Davis, an emerging Black writer, discovers her image has been stolen and appropriated as the author photo for the infamous urban book series “Pastor Prey,” she tries to enlist the help of her estranged identical twin sister/entertainment lawyer Poesía Whetstone to sue the publishing company.

    The threat of a potential lawsuit prompts Feeling Grasso, white...
    UNPRODUCED FULL LENGTH: When Parker Davis, an emerging Black writer, discovers her image has been stolen and appropriated as the author photo for the infamous urban book series “Pastor Prey,” she tries to enlist the help of her estranged identical twin sister/entertainment lawyer Poesía Whetstone to sue the publishing company.

    The threat of a potential lawsuit prompts Feeling Grasso, white author of the "Pastor Prey" series and CEO of Ghettro Publishing, to reach out to her estranged identical twin sister/famous YA novelist Great Domanico for an introduction to her lawyer . . . Poesía Whetstone.

    “Dupe" is a very loose, accidental adaptation of "Comedy of Errors" (with a dash of Rachel Dolezal & Quan Millz) that explores identity, authorship, and sisterhood.
  • Teen Dad by Adrienne Dawes
    Recommendations: 11
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: African-American family, family + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: African-American family, family, trauma, mixed race, teenagers, afro-latinx, Latinx family, dramedy, published
    UNPRODUCED 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...
    UNPRODUCED 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.
  • Casta by Adrienne Dawes
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    7–12
    ·
    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, mestizos, art history, casta paintings, Spain, mestizaje, bilingual, Museums
    FULL LENGTH: Casta 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...
    FULL LENGTH: Casta 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.
  • End of the Day, Ep 1 by Adrienne Dawes
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: love island uk, reality tv + 8 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, farce
    Keyword: love island uk, reality tv, British, absurd comedy, absurd farce, clown show, clowning, climate change, pandemic, nihilism
    UNPRODUCED FULL-LENGTH:
    EPISODE ONE - Tud, Myleigh, and Lancelot are perhaps the only surviving contestants of a British reality dating show broadcast during a massive extinction event. Isolated from the outside world, they dance between denial and acceptance, searching for love and meaning in a pointless, absurd existence.

    Inspired by absurdist theatre, Sims 4, and Love Island UK,...
    UNPRODUCED FULL-LENGTH:
    EPISODE ONE - Tud, Myleigh, and Lancelot are perhaps the only surviving contestants of a British reality dating show broadcast during a massive extinction event. Isolated from the outside world, they dance between denial and acceptance, searching for love and meaning in a pointless, absurd existence.

    Inspired by absurdist theatre, Sims 4, and Love Island UK, "End of the Day” is an eight-play cycle that examines the unique anxieties, uncertainties, and frustrations of trying to find love in the “coronial age.”
  • Am I White by Adrienne Dawes
    Recommendations: 6
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: drama, experimental
    ·
    Keyword: biracial, mixed race + 4 more
    Genre: drama, experimental
    Keyword: biracial, mixed race, mental illness, prison, neo-Nazi, american race relations
    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.
  • Denim Doves by Adrienne Dawes
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    10–12
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 4 more
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    Keyword: feminist, Dystopia + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, experimental, farce, political, science fiction
    Keyword: feminist, Dystopia, devised, intergenerational, laadan, reproductive freedom
    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 (10 MIN) by Adrienne Dawes
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: domestic violence, crisis + 6 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, political
    Keyword: domestic violence, crisis, trauma, workplace, workplace violence, gun control, active shooter, published
    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.
  • ATTENZIONE!!! PICKPOCKET!!! (10 MIN) by Adrienne Dawes
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: pickpocket, Italy + 3 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: pickpocket, Italy, white lotus, tourist, anti-capitalism
    Giulia's a Sicilian pickpocket evading TikTok exposure. Portia's an American tourist on a solo trip to Italy to find herself. So, like - what's the scam?!
  • Mercury in Gatorade (10 MIN) by Adrienne Dawes
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: astrology, television + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: astrology, television, child actors, near future
    In the near future, former child actors reconvene fifteen years after the finale of "Mercury in Gatorade," the wacky and surreal astrology-themed kids' show. When a CGI reference appears on set as a stand-in for the show's mercurial superhero, Zo D. Ack Ack Ack, the returning Cosmo Kidz contemplate Zo's life and legacy.
  • asleep and SCREAMING (10 MIN) by Adrienne Dawes
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: insomnia, anxiety + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, holiday, horror
    Keyword: insomnia, anxiety, Oklahoma, writing, demons, halloween comedy
    Collin, an insomniac ghostwriter on a deadline, rents a creepy AirBNB in the middle of no place Oklahoma in hopes of finishing his latest horror book for popular author Val Pallingrooth. He invites Trey to join as a cute, lil sexy distraction but sinister forces work overtime to keep Collin asleep . . . and SCREAMING.