TJ Young

TJ Young

TJ Young is a Texas-born playwright and dramaturg based in Pittsburgh, where he serves as co-representative for the Dramatists Guild - Pittsburgh region. His plays include WE FLY, The Inseparables (Pittsburgh Public Theatre Commission), Isle of Noises (James Madison University Commission), No. 6 (2017 Harold and Mimi Steinberg Award Winner – KCACTF, Indiana Rep), Lyon’s Den (2018 Harold and Mimi Steinberg...
TJ Young is a Texas-born playwright and dramaturg based in Pittsburgh, where he serves as co-representative for the Dramatists Guild - Pittsburgh region. His plays include WE FLY, The Inseparables (Pittsburgh Public Theatre Commission), Isle of Noises (James Madison University Commission), No. 6 (2017 Harold and Mimi Steinberg Award Winner – KCACTF, Indiana Rep), Lyon’s Den (2018 Harold and Mimi Steinberg Distinguished Achievement awardee), Ruby’s Baby Blue (2016 John Cauble Short Play Award Regional Finalist- KCACTF), Hell is Empty (2017 John Cauble Short Play Award Regional Finalist - KCACTF), and Sperm Donor Wanted (2023 L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award Finalist). He is the recipient of the 2017 Ken Ludwig Playwriting Scholarship. He was the 2019 Spotlight Artist of Throughline Theatre Company in Pittsburgh, PA. He received his MFA in Dramatic Writing from Texas State University. He is also the NPP Chair for Region 2 of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, where is also aids with the Playwriting Intensive and teaches workshops both at the regional and national levels. He is currently an Associate Professor of Dramaturgy at Carnegie Mellon University.

Plays

  • WE FLY by TJ Young
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    8
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: mockumentary, american satire + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, political, satire
    Keyword: mockumentary, american satire, comedy, blm, Black Magical Realism, black surrealism, double casting, play with music, dark comedy
    Members of the Frankensburgh, Texas community have gathered to retell and recount the events that have transpired after the unexplained disappearance of Rashaad Powell. The ensemble has stitched together a narrative timeline led by journalist Travis Coleman, reenacting the individual voices, moments, and characters that have circled the inhabitants of this small town since the incident.
  • The Inseparables by TJ Young
    Recommendations: 9
    ·
    Cast: 
    9
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, comedy
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    Keyword: gender neutral casting, puppets + 3 more
    Genre: adaptation, comedy
    Keyword: gender neutral casting, puppets, stage combat, adaptation, full length play
    [Full Length] The North American Unified Theatre Collaborators of the West really want to put on a show. Like, really bad. Under the leadership of their founder and director, this group of actors has decided to stage a new adaptation of The Three Musketeers. Only, they aren't nearly as prepared as they should be. With puppets and pool noodles, this theatre group prepares for their glorious come back...that may not happen.
  • Isle of Noises by TJ Young
    Cast: 
    10–50
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, drama + 2 more
    Genre: adaptation, drama, fantasy, tragedy
    Inspired by The Tempest, this play is the untold story of Sycorax, Caliban, and Ariel. As Sycorax washes up on shore mid-labor, Ariel turns to the great fey who occupy the island to save Sycorax and Caliban. When Caliban comes of age, Sycorax conscripts Caliban to help seek revenge on those who did her wrong. Sensing a way to elevate above their station, Ariel begins a plot that wraps Sycorax and Caliban in their play for power.
  • Lilies by TJ Young
    Recommendations: 6
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: features LGBTQ characters, death + 2 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: features LGBTQ characters, death, LGBT Mental Health, A Family drama
    Forced together by death, Marie and Turner seek a point of connection in the back of a limo on the way from the gravesite.
  • Rocks The Cradle by TJ Young
    Recommendations: 5
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: comedy, holiday
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    Keyword: parenthood, family holidays
    Genre: comedy, holiday
    Keyword: parenthood, family holidays
    [10-min] Rex and Jackie hide out in the bathroom at a Christmas party. Rex is...busy, while Jackie struggles to accept the gift that her sister-in-law is giving them.
  • Touch/Starved by TJ Young
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: isolation, loneliness + 6 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: isolation, loneliness, alone, one person play, physical touch, divorce, anxiety, monologue
    [Monologue] The Lonely One searches for a way to self-soothe while aching for touch.
  • STROKE by TJ Young
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: artistic creation, addiction + 6 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, movement/physical
    Keyword: artistic creation, addiction, opioid addiction, magical realism/supernatural, Art and Painting, complex female lead, LGBTQ, full length
    [WORK IN PROGRESS]
    Trip, a once-great painter finds herself relegated to making educational art videos instead of the art she wishes to make. When Trip's ex-girlfriend, Meredith, shows up wanting to truly move on from their relationship, Trip comes up with a plan to keep Meredith around - even if just for a little bit longer. As Trip slips back into her old destructive habits, she is confronted by...
    [WORK IN PROGRESS]
    Trip, a once-great painter finds herself relegated to making educational art videos instead of the art she wishes to make. When Trip's ex-girlfriend, Meredith, shows up wanting to truly move on from their relationship, Trip comes up with a plan to keep Meredith around - even if just for a little bit longer. As Trip slips back into her old destructive habits, she is confronted by her muse who has also been trying to reach her, but for her own purposes. What is the cost of creativity? How can creation lead to destruction? Is any of it worth it?
  • WASH by TJ Young
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: drama, movement/physical + 1 more
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    Keyword: speculative fiction, Middle Passage + 4 more
    Genre: drama, movement/physical, science fiction
    Keyword: speculative fiction, Middle Passage, Black Culture, female scientist, underwater, shadow puppetry
    [WORK IN PROGRESS]
    A group of university scientists have made the discovery of a generation - a human who lives and breathes underwater. But the secret must be kept as they figure out what to do with this man, find where he came from, and determine what to do with him. They must come face-to-face with questions of ownership, humanity, and lineage as they discover more about this man in the tank.
  • Hell Is Empty by TJ Young
    Recommendations: 9
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: death, friendship + 4 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: death, friendship, assisted suicide, Hidden secrets, definitions of masculinity, hotel room
    [New Draft as of June 2021]
    Four friends return to their hotel suite after being caught in the rain. As they catch up, they are reminded of a blood oath they made to each other when they were children. The boundaries of their friendship are pushed as Marcus makes an ask that they can't all get behind. They are no longer who they were growing up, but does that promise they made each other still hold true?
  • Sperm Donor Wanted (or, The Unnamed Baby Play) by TJ Young
    Recommendations: 12
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: queer, gay + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: queer, gay, Lesbian, queer parents, pregnancy, funny
    After several attempts at having another child, wives Lisa and Bex turn to the internet for help. They find their help in a gay couple, Aaron and Charles. As we are pulled back through the events that got them to where they are, the lives of these four become more entwined and complicated than they had ever planned on. They lay their story bare, sharing their deepest fears about parenthood, the secret betrayals...
    After several attempts at having another child, wives Lisa and Bex turn to the internet for help. They find their help in a gay couple, Aaron and Charles. As we are pulled back through the events that got them to where they are, the lives of these four become more entwined and complicated than they had ever planned on. They lay their story bare, sharing their deepest fears about parenthood, the secret betrayals of their relationships, and say the things they never got to say.
  • Dark Skinned Pavement by TJ Young
    Recommendations: 11
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: Black America, black actors + 6 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: Black America, black actors, African-American family, black lives matter, family, issue-oriented, rising above pain and depression, both characters surmounting issues to form a relationship
    Ever since an incident that limited B.J.'s ability to work, Harpo has been putting food on the table by watching other people's children. After an incident at Harpo's in-home daycare threatens her business, B.J.'s cousin, Shay, introduces them to Dwaylan - a man that can keep Harpo in business. What Dwaylan wants in return might be more than Harpo is willing to give, as the memory of the one...
    Ever since an incident that limited B.J.'s ability to work, Harpo has been putting food on the table by watching other people's children. After an incident at Harpo's in-home daycare threatens her business, B.J.'s cousin, Shay, introduces them to Dwaylan - a man that can keep Harpo in business. What Dwaylan wants in return might be more than Harpo is willing to give, as the memory of the one child she couldn't protect comes crashing back into their lives.
  • Lyon's Den by TJ Young
    Recommendations: 15
    ·
    Cast: 
    8
    ·
    Genre: drama, tragedy
    ·
    Keyword: family, poetry + 3 more
    Genre: drama, tragedy
    Keyword: family, poetry, African American, coping with grief, accepting death
    The Lyons are a proud family. After moving to a new home, in hopes of rebuilding their lives after the loss of the youngest member of their family, they find that their troubles are quick to follow when a neighbor named Philip shows up at the door. We follow Q, a young poet and only Lyon son, as he takes us through the moments that lead to the demise of his family. This new work explores the pain of loss, the...
    The Lyons are a proud family. After moving to a new home, in hopes of rebuilding their lives after the loss of the youngest member of their family, they find that their troubles are quick to follow when a neighbor named Philip shows up at the door. We follow Q, a young poet and only Lyon son, as he takes us through the moments that lead to the demise of his family. This new work explores the pain of loss, the purpose of family, and how to make a house a home again after it has been torn apart.
  • Hop And Griz by TJ Young
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: adaptation, fable + 2 more
    Genre: adaptation, dark comedy, fable/folktale
    Keyword: adaptation, fable, magical realism/supernatural, supernatural
    Adapted from Bruh Rabbit and the Tar Baby. Shortly after the forceful removal of slave owners from their property, we find Hop and Griz working the land to prepare it for their families after crops were burned. Hop makes a wish to the gods of old that give way more than he anticipated. This is Part 1 of The Porch Swing Fables Play Cycle in early development.
  • Ruby's Baby Blue by TJ Young
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: cancer, a funeral + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: cancer, a funeral, mixed race, gay, black, living room
    After four years away from home, Jason has finally returned home for a party his mother is throwing for him. He has brought his husband along, only his mother and sister don't even know he is gay. The party isn't normal either as it is a living funeral for Jason. With the uncertainty of how long Jason has to live, they must finally confront the things that have gone unspoken for too long.
  • Effie by TJ Young
    Recommendations: 11
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: drag queen, family + 3 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: drag queen, family, gay, fathers and sons, identity
    Devin, otherwise known as Effie Vescent, is a drag queen in the middle of a performance that isn't going that great. When Devin's father shows up backstage to offer partial reconciliation, Devin must decide if the connection to his family is worth his morals.
  • Before The Fire by TJ Young
    Recommendations: 8
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: civil rights, faith + 3 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: civil rights, faith, American Southern history, southern, Black Church
    [10-minute] 1956. East Texas. As the Civil Rights movement is sweeping the nation, Reverend Walker is gearing up to send his choir to Alabama as part of a revival. That is until Pastor Stewart arrives to warn him of what might happen if he were to get involved.
  • STUFFED by TJ Young
    Recommendations: 30
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: breakup, couples + 2 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: breakup, couples, short, funny
    [10-minute] Milly and Johnny are broken up. They have been for months. But, they still sleep in the same bed. Johnny sleeps with a teddy bear he got from his new girlfriend and Milly finds out. The two bring it all to the surface when the bear reminds Milly of how much Johnny really hurt her.