CQ, or C. Quintana

CQ, or C. Quintana

CQ or C. Quintana she/any) is a queer writer with Cuban and New Orleans roots. Most recently, CQ received a 2023 NYSCA grant alongside INTAR to develop her new play, THE PIPIT PLAY DEVELOPMENT CENTER, and a 2022 commission with the Carthage College New Play Initiative for her play THE GENDERLESS PLAY EXPERIMENT. Her Audible Emerging Playwrights Fund audio play commission, THE 126-YEAR-OLD ARTIST, is...
CQ or C. Quintana she/any) is a queer writer with Cuban and New Orleans roots. Most recently, CQ received a 2023 NYSCA grant alongside INTAR to develop her new play, THE PIPIT PLAY DEVELOPMENT CENTER, and a 2022 commission with the Carthage College New Play Initiative for her play THE GENDERLESS PLAY EXPERIMENT. Her Audible Emerging Playwrights Fund audio play commission, THE 126-YEAR-OLD ARTIST, is forthcoming (via Audible) in 2023.

CQ's play CITIZEN SCIENTIST was shortlisted for the Neukom Institute Literary Arts Award in Playwriting and received second place for Barrington Stage Company's Burman New Play Award. Her play AZUL was produced at Diversionary Theatre in 2021 and received its world premiere at Southern Rep in 2019; in 2017 the play was selected for the Kilroys List and an honorable mention for the Arch Bruce Brown Playwriting Award and the Leah Ryan Fund Prize. SCISSORING, which had its world premiere at INTAR in the summer of 2018 is now available from Dramatists Play Service. Other produced plays include: BEASTGIRL with music by Janelle Lawrenc (Kennedy Center TYA), EVENSONG (Astoria Performing Arts Center), ENTER YOUR SLEEP (Yale Cabaret), and BLANK CANVAS (“Best Short” Downtown Urban Theatre Festival), and theatre for young audiences: FLOR TO SOMEWHERE, MÚSICA, MÚSICA, MÁXIMO MÚSICA (Peppercorn Theatre Company).

She is the recipient of commissions from The Kennedy Center, Audible, The Civilians, Palo Alto Playhouse, Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Project, Actor’s Express, and Peppercorn Theatre Company, and fellowships from Playwrights Realm, Van Lier New Voices at the Lark, CubaOne, Queer/Art, and Lambda Literary. She is an alum of EST's cohort of emerging playwrights, Youngblood, the WP Lab, and a graduate of the MFA Playwriting program at Columbia University.

Plays

  • The Genderless Play Experiment by CQ, or C. Quintana
    Cast: 
    7
    ·
    Genre: comedy, experimental + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: queer joy, ABSURD LGBTQ + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, experimental, movement/physical
    Keyword: queer joy, ABSURD LGBTQ, fourth wall breaking, Audience Interaction
    An inter-braided love story centering YOU in six human characters, or soul types, THE GENDERLESS PLAY EXPERIMENT (GPE) is a direct-address exploration of queer joy that breaks down preconceived notions about identity and salutes the endless human journey of self-discovery. Taking cues from Taylor Mac’s THE LILY'S REVENGE, Diana Oh’s MY LINGERIE PLAY, and Aleshea Harris’s WHAT TO SEND UP WHEN IT GOES DOWN,...
    An inter-braided love story centering YOU in six human characters, or soul types, THE GENDERLESS PLAY EXPERIMENT (GPE) is a direct-address exploration of queer joy that breaks down preconceived notions about identity and salutes the endless human journey of self-discovery. Taking cues from Taylor Mac’s THE LILY'S REVENGE, Diana Oh’s MY LINGERIE PLAY, and Aleshea Harris’s WHAT TO SEND UP WHEN IT GOES DOWN, GPE invites audiences into a big-hearted celebration of love and community across the spectrum of experience.

    (Featuring "Glitterchange #2" with music by Ben Bonnema)
  • The 126-Year-Old Artist by CQ, or C. Quintana
    Cast: 
    5–7
    ·
    Genre: drama, radio drama
    Genre: drama, radio drama
    "If this is one of those robocalls, please delete my number,” orders Reinalda Paraíso, a painter whose work lies at the heart of C. Quintana’s new play, The 126-Year-Old Artist. On the other end of the line is Yésica Ortega, a young, queer, Latine curator who “discovers” Reinalda's work at a flea market and becomes obsessively determined to make a name for them both. However, as the women are thrust...
    "If this is one of those robocalls, please delete my number,” orders Reinalda Paraíso, a painter whose work lies at the heart of C. Quintana’s new play, The 126-Year-Old Artist. On the other end of the line is Yésica Ortega, a young, queer, Latine curator who “discovers” Reinalda's work at a flea market and becomes obsessively determined to make a name for them both. However, as the women are thrust into the spotlight, this new commission for the Audible Emerging Playwright Fund proves the path to success isn’t always straight and that the truth isn’t always black and white.
  • AZUL by CQ, or C. Quintana
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: Cuba, Cuban-American + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, political
    Keyword: Cuba, Cuban-American, latina, LGBTQ, legacy, family, memory
    At age nine, Yadra left Castro’s Cuba. Now, as Alzheimer’s sets in, her mind returns to that time and place, and her American-born daughter, Zelia, brings family secrets to light. With her wife, Zelia embarks on a journey to understand the love that led her mother’s beloved tia-abuela to stay behind—and to better understand herself. Spanning two countries and three generations, Azul fuses music and memory to...
    At age nine, Yadra left Castro’s Cuba. Now, as Alzheimer’s sets in, her mind returns to that time and place, and her American-born daughter, Zelia, brings family secrets to light. With her wife, Zelia embarks on a journey to understand the love that led her mother’s beloved tia-abuela to stay behind—and to better understand herself. Spanning two countries and three generations, Azul fuses music and memory to ask: what is the true language of love?
  • BEASTGIRL with music by Janelle Lawrence by CQ, or C. Quintana
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: fable/folktale, movement/physical + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: Afro-Latina, Latinas + 3 more
    Genre: fable/folktale, movement/physical, musical, verse, young audiences
    Keyword: Afro-Latina, Latinas, myth, theater for young audiences, breaking fourth wall
    A musical for young adults based on the folkloric chapbook BEASTGIRL AND OTHER ORIGIN MYTHS by ELIZABETH ACEVEDO, The play explores the mythological and geographic identities of three first gen Dominican-American sisters. From the Dominican Republic to an apartment rooftop in New York City, Beastgirl considers what it means to walk the world as “beastly” beings and how the myths that make us can be both blessing and birthright.
  • Citizen Scientist by CQ, or C. Quintana
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    7
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: science, astronomy + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: science, astronomy, diversity, planet, citizen scientist, planet hunter
    Kian, an actuary, and Neema, an astronomer, meet exploring the starfield for exoplanets and battling their recent losses. Together, they discover the planet Kepler-64b and learn what it means to be present here on Earth.

    ​
  • Scissoring by CQ, or C. Quintana
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    7–8
    ·
    Genre: comedy, docudrama/historic + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: Catholic, teaching + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, political
    Keyword: Catholic, teaching, private school, Eleanor Roosevelt, Lorena Hickok, LGBTQ, openness
    When Abigail Bauer takes a job as a teacher at a conservative Catholic school, she is forced to step back into the closet against the wishes of her long-term girlfriend. As she struggles to reconcile her professional ambitions, personal relationships, religious beliefs, and internalized shame, Abigail receives guidance from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Eleanor’s devoted friend and lover, Lorena Hickok....
    When Abigail Bauer takes a job as a teacher at a conservative Catholic school, she is forced to step back into the closet against the wishes of her long-term girlfriend. As she struggles to reconcile her professional ambitions, personal relationships, religious beliefs, and internalized shame, Abigail receives guidance from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Eleanor’s devoted friend and lover, Lorena Hickok. Through it all, Abigail must find the courage to be unabashedly herself.
  • TOBIAS: a novel in performance by CQ, or C. Quintana
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: drama, experimental + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: queer history, New Amsterdam + 2 more
    Genre: drama, experimental, period
    Keyword: queer history, New Amsterdam, New York history, Mohawk heritage
    Tobias was a real person; far more than footnote in one of North America's earliest-known scandals. TOBIAS: A Novel in Performance is a hybrid theatrical experience, melding the forms of narrative-fiction and playwriting to explore a distinct connection across three backgrounds: Mohawk, African, and Dutch. Tobias, as narrator, leads the audience though a gripping examination of the often-complicated lines...
    Tobias was a real person; far more than footnote in one of North America's earliest-known scandals. TOBIAS: A Novel in Performance is a hybrid theatrical experience, melding the forms of narrative-fiction and playwriting to explore a distinct connection across three backgrounds: Mohawk, African, and Dutch. Tobias, as narrator, leads the audience though a gripping examination of the often-complicated lines between power, sex, and love: both then and now.
  • Evensong by CQ, or C. Quintana
    Cast: 
    8
    ·
    Genre: drama, political
    ·
    Keyword: working homeless, LGBTQ + 7 more
    Genre: drama, political
    Keyword: working homeless, LGBTQ, Latino, Texas, New York City, subway, poetry, shelter, Spanish
    Teofilo “Teo” Aguilar is a young Mexican-American gay man and member of New York City’s working homeless population. A Texas transplant with big dreams, Teo works as a bank teller, goes on mediocre online dates, and searches for stability and human connection while navigating the tangled shelter system. Using structural elements of choral music and conventions of theatrical magic, EVENSONG is a tale of survival...
    Teofilo “Teo” Aguilar is a young Mexican-American gay man and member of New York City’s working homeless population. A Texas transplant with big dreams, Teo works as a bank teller, goes on mediocre online dates, and searches for stability and human connection while navigating the tangled shelter system. Using structural elements of choral music and conventions of theatrical magic, EVENSONG is a tale of survival, growth, and faith in moments of loneliness and solitude.
  • Enter Your Sleep by CQ, or C. Quintana
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: Depression, friendship + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, experimental, melodrama
    Keyword: Depression, friendship, suicide, Childhood, LGBTQ, Tulsa, first love, Soulmates, New York City
    Childhood best friends, Glory Zico and P.K. Whylde, meet in a wild night of dreams to unravel their complex friendship, battle their sadness, and, ultimately, face a looming, dark truth. Throughout the wild ride, Z and P.K. visit their worst fears and challenge one another and themselves as they transform into figures from their lives and imaginations.
  • The Great Lonely Roamer & The Night That Changed Everything by CQ, or C. Quintana
    Cast: 
    9
    ·
    Genre: comedy, farce + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: global warming, gentrification + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, farce, political
    Keyword: global warming, gentrification, gun control, Texas, New York City, polar bear, millennials
    On New Year’s Eve, a polar bear arrives in suburban Texas in search of a new home, while his sister winds up in New York City to track him down. Add a raucous trucker and his pregnant wife, a first date laced with supercharged marijuana, plus a couple of newbie police officers—and a wild night ensues. A night that will impact the future of an entire species...
  • Mr. San Man by CQ, or C. Quintana
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, movement/physical
    ·
    Keyword: LGBTQ, love + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, movement/physical
    Keyword: LGBTQ, love, department of sanitation, colleagues
    M is a devoted Latine sanitation worker, grappling with the decision to transition and facing the end of their relationship with their live-in girlfriend. All the while, the “epitome of trans* masculinity” provides comfort and chaos in dream and song. Mr. San Man is an exploration of gender and love, at home and in the workplace. What roles do we play in the lives of our friends, colleagues, and loved ones, and...
    M is a devoted Latine sanitation worker, grappling with the decision to transition and facing the end of their relationship with their live-in girlfriend. All the while, the “epitome of trans* masculinity” provides comfort and chaos in dream and song. Mr. San Man is an exploration of gender and love, at home and in the workplace. What roles do we play in the lives of our friends, colleagues, and loved ones, and how and when do they surprise us—for better and worse?
  • Flor to Somewhere by CQ, or C. Quintana
    Cast: 
    4–6
    ·
    Genre: adventure, comedy + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: latina, Rocket Scientist + 3 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, drama, fable/folktale, young audiences
    Keyword: latina, Rocket Scientist, Aerospace Engineer, dreams, destiny
    Have you ever dreamed of flying your own rocket ship? Well, Flor can, but there's one thing stopping her. Before she can find out what it takes to explore the galaxy, she has to find a home here in her new town, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Hailing from Mexico City, and equipped with her invisible rocket ship, she embarks on an adventure through time and space. Get ready to blast off and join us in Flor...
    Have you ever dreamed of flying your own rocket ship? Well, Flor can, but there's one thing stopping her. Before she can find out what it takes to explore the galaxy, she has to find a home here in her new town, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Hailing from Mexico City, and equipped with her invisible rocket ship, she embarks on an adventure through time and space. Get ready to blast off and join us in Flor's search for somewhere.