Sara Jean Accuardi

Sara Jean Accuardi

Sara Jean Accuardi is an award-winning playwright and the recipient of the 2021 Oregon Literary Arts Leslie Bradshaw Fellowship for Drama. Her work has been produced and developed at Theatre Vertigo, the Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, Something Marvelous, Victory Gardens, Portland Center Stage, Chicago Dramatists, The Blank Theatre, Spooky Action Theater, Shaking the Tree Theatre, and PlayMakers Repertory...
Sara Jean Accuardi is an award-winning playwright and the recipient of the 2021 Oregon Literary Arts Leslie Bradshaw Fellowship for Drama. Her work has been produced and developed at Theatre Vertigo, the Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, Something Marvelous, Victory Gardens, Portland Center Stage, Chicago Dramatists, The Blank Theatre, Spooky Action Theater, Shaking the Tree Theatre, and PlayMakers Repertory Company among others. Her play, THE DELAYS, received the 2019 Drammy Award for Outstanding Original Script and was named an Oregon Book Awards finalist, and her play, THE STORYTELLER, won the inaugural Thomas Wolfe Playwriting Competition and was a finalist for the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. Sara Jean holds an MFA in Writing for the Screen and Stage from Northwestern University, and is a member of the Dramatist Guild and LineStorm Playwrights.

Plays

  • THE STORYTELLER by Sara Jean Accuardi
    Recommendations: 8
    ·
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, comedy + 7 more
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    Keyword: Fathers and Daughters, homelessness + 8 more
    Genre: adaptation, comedy, dark comedy, drama, fable/folktale, fantasy, immersive, romantic comedy, tragedy
    Keyword: Fathers and Daughters, homelessness, mother, teenagers, coming of age, first love, growing up, letting go, family, Shakespeare
    "I have done nothing but in care of thee,
    Of thee, my dear one—thee my daughter," - William Shakespeare, The Tempest

    [full length] Winner of the International Thomas Wolfe Playwriting Competition and a finalist for the 2019 O'Neill Center's National Playwrights Conference. Randi has lived off the grid with her father for as long as she can remember. She knows better...
    "I have done nothing but in care of thee,
    Of thee, my dear one—thee my daughter," - William Shakespeare, The Tempest

    [full length] Winner of the International Thomas Wolfe Playwriting Competition and a finalist for the 2019 O'Neill Center's National Playwrights Conference. Randi has lived off the grid with her father for as long as she can remember. She knows better than to question things—at least, until now. THE STORYTELLER is a riff on THE TEMPEST that explores the magic and power of the narratives we create.
  • THE DELAYS by Sara Jean Accuardi
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, docudrama/historic + 3 more
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    Keyword: new years, travel + 8 more
    Genre: dark comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, holiday, immersive
    Keyword: new years, travel, work family, holiday, minimum wage, time, Co-workers, LGBTQ, generations, stuck
    [full length] In an airport, where everyone's busy going somewhere, THE DELAYS focuses on a group going nowhere. A play about the small moments that connect us. Winner of the 2019 Drammy Award for Outstanding Original Script.

    “It’s a moving, well-crafted play that shows how easy it is to get trapped… I enjoyed THE DELAYS immensely. Accuardi’s writing is sharp, and I love her decision to...
    [full length] In an airport, where everyone's busy going somewhere, THE DELAYS focuses on a group going nowhere. A play about the small moments that connect us. Winner of the 2019 Drammy Award for Outstanding Original Script.

    “It’s a moving, well-crafted play that shows how easy it is to get trapped… I enjoyed THE DELAYS immensely. Accuardi’s writing is sharp, and I love her decision to reveal the characters’ lives in reverse. Somehow, knowing the end makes the journey even more poignant.” – Krista Garver, Broadway World

    “Accuardi's play is both new and a masterpiece... It takes regret and satisfaction, pain and joy, and fuses them together to create a tapestry of spectacularly honest stories and characterizations." - Bennett Campbell Ferguson, Willamette Week
  • < 3 by Sara Jean Accuardi
    Recommendations: 17
    ·
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 2 more
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    Keyword: social media, friendship + 8 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, mystery/thriller, tragedy
    Keyword: social media, friendship, high school, teenagers, mother, peer pressure, growing up, coming of age, family, infidelity
    [full length] 14-year-old Ellie is a good kid. It’s the worst. 25-year-old David is grown-up. It’s the worst. Is it more dangerous to grow up too fast or too slowly?
  • BREAK by Sara Jean Accuardi
    Recommendations: 9
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: drama, political + 1 more
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    Keyword: education, teachers + 5 more
    Genre: drama, political, tragedy
    Keyword: education, teachers, middle school, bullying, suicide, accountability, public school
    [full length] In the wake of tragedy and budget cuts, four teachers try to make it through a Monday.
  • PORTRAIT OF THE WIDOW KINSKI by Sara Jean Accuardi
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: art, artist + 4 more
    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama, fantasy, period
    Keyword: art, artist, dreams, memory play, music, family
    [full length] A promising artist falls into obscurity. Decades later, his widow works tirelessly to find an audience for his neglected work. But the opportunity to finally secure her husband’s legacy forces her to take a hard look at the past and what was left behind.
  • LOVE SCENES by Sara Jean Accuardi
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    5–13
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: ensemble, love + 7 more
    Genre: adaptation, comedy, dark comedy, romantic comedy, verse
    Keyword: ensemble, love, community, Shakespeare, family, friendship, heartbreak, Apartment, Relationships
    [full length] 6 couples. 6 scenes. 1 apartment building. 24 hours. Ah, love.
  • THE IMPORTANCE by Sara Jean Accuardi
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    17
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: tya, gen z + 8 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, young audiences
    Keyword: tya, gen z, teens, high school, ensemble, Oscar Wilde, teen coming of age, metatheatrical, large cast, Flexible Casting
    [full length] TYA. As a group of high schoolers rehearses for a production of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, they come to realize what’s really important.

    “One must be serious about something if one wants to have any amusement in life.” - Oscar Wilde, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
  • LANDSCAPE by Sara Jean Accuardi
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: co-parenting, divorce + 8 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, political, radio drama
    Keyword: co-parenting, divorce, audio drama, 2020 Presidential Election, Rudy Giuliani, Brecht, customer service, connection, COVID, 2020
    An audio play told through phone-calls, voice mails, and text messages between the employees of Four Seasons Total Landscaping in the hours leading up to the infamous press conference on November 7, 2020. The play explores connection amid a backdrop of political absurdity.
  • FEZZIWIG'S FORTUNE by Sara Jean Accuardi
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    5–6
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, drama + 4 more
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    Keyword: christmas, holiday + 5 more
    Genre: adaptation, drama, fable/folktale, fantasy, melodrama, period
    Keyword: christmas, holiday, dealing with loss, death, beloved characters, family, A Christmas Carol
    This play, co-written by Josie Seid and Sara Jean Accuardi, lifts Mr. Fezziwig from the pages of A Christmas Carol to tell a story all his own. Set after the jubilant Christmas ball where we meet young Scrooge’s benevolent employer in Dickens's tale, this story looks past Fezziwig’s merry smile to find a man who may be in need of a Christmas miracle all of his own. Fezziwig’s Fortune is an origin story...
    This play, co-written by Josie Seid and Sara Jean Accuardi, lifts Mr. Fezziwig from the pages of A Christmas Carol to tell a story all his own. Set after the jubilant Christmas ball where we meet young Scrooge’s benevolent employer in Dickens's tale, this story looks past Fezziwig’s merry smile to find a man who may be in need of a Christmas miracle all of his own. Fezziwig’s Fortune is an origin story about family, forgiveness, and the importance of what ties us together.
  • Joy Frickin' Hates Her Dumb Stupid Room by Sara Jean Accuardi
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    2–4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: COVID 19, teens + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, experimental, melodrama, young audiences
    Keyword: COVID 19, teens, tya, animals, Quarantine, art, connection, loneliness, hell
    [10-minute play] 13-year-old Joy is really over being in quarantine. Her hamster, the reincarnation of Hieronymus Bosch -- you know, that 15th-century painter who created those totally bonkers hellscapes-- is really over being a hamster. Will they find connection in isolation?

    Commissioned by Portland Center Stage at the Armory for PlayatHome.org
  • Commencement by Sara Jean Accuardi
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: divorce, divorce affects the kids + 8 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: divorce, divorce affects the kids, grandparents, mother, fathers, absent father, grandchildren, graduation, family, broken family
    [10-minute play] Two mothers, whose children are in the midst of a bitter divorce, attend their granddaughter's 5th grade promotion ceremony.
  • Orbiting the Sun by Sara Jean Accuardi
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: mothers, birthday + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: mothers, birthday, divorce, Parenting, a mother's love, growing up, tradition, ritual, mother and son
    [10-minute play] A mother and son do their best to mark the passage of time.
  • A Science Thing by Sara Jean Accuardi
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: estranged parents, abandonment + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: estranged parents, abandonment, second chances, science, blind date, Heart, family, bittersweet
    [10-minute play] A couple meet in the Theory Eatery at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), Portland, OR.
  • That Water Moment by Sara Jean Accuardi
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: parenthood, disability + 4 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: parenthood, disability, special needs, disabled persons, autism, birthday party
    A 10-minute play about parenting and struggling with the unknown.

    "Most touching was Sara Jean Accuardi’s “That Water Moment,” which hinged on the balance of frustration and faith in the lives of young parents (played by Kerry Ryan and Isaac Lamb) struggling with the care of a developmentally disabled child." - Marty Hughley, The Oregonian
  • Off Duty by Sara Jean Accuardi
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama, political + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: police, single parent + 5 more
    Genre: drama, political, tragedy
    Keyword: police, single parent, friendship, Relationships, lunch, terrorism, Law Enforcement
    A 10-minute play about two low-ranking police officers on their lunch break trying to make sense of the world and proceed as normal in the chaos of a catastrophic event.
  • Cold Call by Sara Jean Accuardi
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: ticket sales, call center + 1 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: ticket sales, call center, telemarketing
    [10-minute play] The arts don’t sell themselves; somebody’s got to do it. A 10-minute play about the intersection of humanity and ticket sales.
  • Rough Edge by Sara Jean Accuardi
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: biography, comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: food court, 1990s + 8 more
    Genre: biography, comedy, dark comedy, period
    Keyword: food court, 1990s, Tonya Harding, class, frozen yogurt, figure skating, Ambition, fast food, mall, Olympics
    [10-minute play] It's 1994, and two Cool Temptations employees at Clackamas Town Center discuss the fate of Portland's most infamous Olympian. 
  • Ever-Fixed by Sara Jean Accuardi
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: Stalking, love + 6 more
    Genre: adaptation, drama, mystery/thriller
    Keyword: Stalking, love, Relationships, broken heart, ex-lovers, uncomfortable, fear, abuse
    A 10-minute play based on Shakespeare's sonnet 116.