Lindsay Joelle

Lindsay Joelle is a Tucson-based writer drawn to the stories of misfits, rebels, and the unassimilated. Plays include TRAYF (Theater J, New Rep, Geffen Playhouse—LA Drama Critics Circle nomination for best writing; Goldberg MFA Playwriting Award); THE GARBOLOGISTS, an EST/Sloan Foundation commission (Philadelphia Theatre Company, City Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Forward Theater); and THE MESSENGERS, a sci-fi audio play commissioned by Audible. Former NNPN Playwright-in-Residence at Curious Theatre, alumna of the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop, Nashville Rep’s Ingram New Works Lab, Columbia University (BA), and Hunter (MFA). www.Lindsayjoelle.com

Lindsay Joelle is a Tucson-based writer drawn to the stories of misfits, rebels, and the unassimilated. Plays include TRAYF (Theater J, New Rep, Geffen Playhouse—LA Drama Critics Circle nomination for best writing; Goldberg MFA Playwriting Award); THE GARBOLOGISTS, an EST/Sloan Foundation commission (Philadelphia Theatre Company, City Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Forward Theater); and THE MESSENGERS, a sci-fi audio play commissioned by Audible. Former NNPN Playwright-in-Residence at Curious Theatre, alumna of the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop, Nashville Rep’s Ingram New Works Lab, Columbia University (BA), and Hunter (MFA). www.Lindsayjoelle.com

Scripts

THE GARBOLOGISTS

by Lindsay Joelle

Synopsis

Danny’s a white, blue-collar, New York City mansplainer. Marlowe’s the Black, female, ivy-educated newbie who just joined his garbage route. Thrown together in a 19-ton truck and forced to pick up what the world has discarded, two essential workers from different worlds discover there's more that binds them than taking out the trash. An unconventional buddy comedy in a garbage truck, The Garbologists is a...

Danny’s a white, blue-collar, New York City mansplainer. Marlowe’s the Black, female, ivy-educated newbie who just joined his garbage route. Thrown together in a 19-ton truck and forced to pick up what the world has discarded, two essential workers from different worlds discover there's more that binds them than taking out the trash. An unconventional buddy comedy in a garbage truck, The Garbologists is a hopeful story about finding common ground in uncommon times.

TRAYF

by Lindsay Joelle

Synopsis

Orthodox teens and lifelong best friends Zalmy and Shmuel are intent on saving the world, one mitzvah at a time. But when a curious outsider draws Zalmy into the forbidden secular pleasures of 1990s New York City, Shmuel must do everything in his power to keep their dreams intact or risk losing his friend forever. This road-trip bromance is a funny and heartwarming ode to the turbulence of youth, the universal...

Orthodox teens and lifelong best friends Zalmy and Shmuel are intent on saving the world, one mitzvah at a time. But when a curious outsider draws Zalmy into the forbidden secular pleasures of 1990s New York City, Shmuel must do everything in his power to keep their dreams intact or risk losing his friend forever. This road-trip bromance is a funny and heartwarming ode to the turbulence of youth, the universal suspicion that we don't quite fit in, and the faith and friends that see us through.

DALLOWAY: Summer at Bourton

by Lindsay Joelle

Synopsis

Clarissa, a bookish Victorian teen, auditions a slew of suitors to save her family from financial ruin, while an unexpected romance with a socialite suffragette dares her heart to forge a brave new path. A feminist, queer-positive, pop-period prequel to Virginia Woolf’s celebrated “Mrs. Dalloway.”

Clarissa, a bookish Victorian teen, auditions a slew of suitors to save her family from financial ruin, while an unexpected romance with a socialite suffragette dares her heart to forge a brave new path. A feminist, queer-positive, pop-period prequel to Virginia Woolf’s celebrated “Mrs. Dalloway.”

Achilles in Gitmo

by Lindsay Joelle

Synopsis

Hotshot military interrogator Achilles is determined to uphold her humanitarian ideals in the Trojan War on Terror, despite a growing number of worrisome bird omens, a secret love affair with her half-Trojan roommate Patroklos, and a Chorus of captives watching her every move. In this queer, feminist mashup of Homer’s Iliad and documented events from post 9/11 Guantanamo Bay, two female soldiers discover that in...

Hotshot military interrogator Achilles is determined to uphold her humanitarian ideals in the Trojan War on Terror, despite a growing number of worrisome bird omens, a secret love affair with her half-Trojan roommate Patroklos, and a Chorus of captives watching her every move. In this queer, feminist mashup of Homer’s Iliad and documented events from post 9/11 Guantanamo Bay, two female soldiers discover that in war, good intentions pave the road to Hades.

Hasidic Rom Com

by Lindsay Joelle

Synopsis

When Leah, a reserved New York City lawyer, falls in love with Jonathan, a charismatic and outspoken artist, she thinks she's met her perfect match...Until he reveals he's converting to Hasidic Judaism. In this zippy, irreverent comedy, a culturally Jewish atheist discovers how deep into orthodoxy she'll go for love. (Prequel to TRAYF.)

When Leah, a reserved New York City lawyer, falls in love with Jonathan, a charismatic and outspoken artist, she thinks she's met her perfect match...Until he reveals he's converting to Hasidic Judaism. In this zippy, irreverent comedy, a culturally Jewish atheist discovers how deep into orthodoxy she'll go for love. (Prequel to TRAYF.)

THE MESSENGERS

by Lindsay Joelle

Synopsis

In the midst of a decades-long intergalactic war, a Soldier and a Messenger discover that they share more than a mission...while a Runner and a Refugee find an unexpected path to freedom that will link their lives forever. A dark comedy about survival, connection, and the messages we carry in our bones.

In the midst of a decades-long intergalactic war, a Soldier and a Messenger discover that they share more than a mission...while a Runner and a Refugee find an unexpected path to freedom that will link their lives forever. A dark comedy about survival, connection, and the messages we carry in our bones.

A SMALL HISTORY OF AMAL, AGE 7

by Lindsay Joelle

Synopsis

Amal, an imaginative orphan confined to a hospital bed in Mumbai, lives a day of jungle adventures, high-speed train chases, and Bollywood love scenes, befriending the hospital's staff and patients. But when Mumbai's commuter trains are hit by a terrorist attack and the hospital struggles beyond capacity to treat the survivors, Amal gets lost in the shuffle. Now, it’ll take an explorer’s heart and a little...

Amal, an imaginative orphan confined to a hospital bed in Mumbai, lives a day of jungle adventures, high-speed train chases, and Bollywood love scenes, befriending the hospital's staff and patients. But when Mumbai's commuter trains are hit by a terrorist attack and the hospital struggles beyond capacity to treat the survivors, Amal gets lost in the shuffle. Now, it’ll take an explorer’s heart and a little Bollywood magic to defeat the God of Death. Based on Rabindranath Tagore's "The Post Office" and true historical events, this is an ensemble-centered, magical-realism story for all ages that explores the meaning of a life well-lived.