Plays Written by Allyson Currin:
CAESAR AND DADA
RETURN TO LATIN
SOONER/LATER
Synopses:
Caesar and Dada – (4M 2W) Critically and popularly-acclaimed director Franz Lichter is the dictatorial impresario of Theatre for Truth in post-World War I Zurich, at the vanguard of realism onstage. He leads a witty troupe of world-weary expats, all reeling and rebuilding after the trauma of war. But when the sunshine-y and ambitious American actress Lily Brik arrives on the scene, Franz’s traditional production begins to veer towards the realm of that strange new art movement, Dada. With very dangerous implications.
Return to Latin – (1M, 5W) Three 50-something friends from Latin Academy for Young Women reunite for a high school reunion in a small North Carolina town. It’s easy to reminisce about the good ole days, of course – until an unexpected guest throws the entire weekend house party into a tailspin. In a comic and painful look at regret and aging, this play dives deeply into the magic of shared history, and the tragic ways that old friends and lovers inevitably grow apart.
Sooner/Later – (1M, 2W) Single mom Nora tries to navigate dating with the able and eager assistance of her teenaged daughter Lexie. The ease of her relationship with her daughter at home contrasts starkly with the rocky beginnings of a sort-of-romance with Griff, once her coffee shop nemesis. As Nora and Griff find their shaky way towards one another, Lexie finds herself isolated and alone, but in a profoundly existential way. The play turns mid-way through and so does Lexie – into a parent’s worst nightmare – as Nora and Griff do their best to cling together against all odds. This sideways romantic comedy dives through grief and loss, the dynamic and terrifying years of parenting teenagers, and the yearning for love in mid-life…all with a deeply metaphysical twist.
Bio:
Allyson Currin is an award-winning playwright of over thirty plays, as well as an actor and director. Her most recent world premieres include “The Silver Belles” at Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre and “Sooner/Later” at Cincinnati Playhouse. Plays of hers have been produced at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Mosaic Theater of DC, WSC Avant Bard, Charter Theatre, Source Theatre Company, American Century Theatre, Washington Jewish Theatre, The Nora, Project Y and Doorway Arts Ensemble, among others. She has twice been nominated for Outstanding New Play by the Helen Hayes Awards. She is a Founding Member of The Welders, a playwrights’ collective dedicated to establishing a non-institutional platform for new play development, which was honored by the Helen Hayes Awards’ John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company in 2016. The Welders garnered much national attention, including features in American Theatre Magazine, The Washington Post and Broadway World. She has written original libretti for several opera companies including “musica aperta” (including the national tour of “The Interior Castle”) and The In-Series, and has written original work for The National Museum for Women in the Arts, Strathmore Arts Center and The National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts.
She was a Playwright Observer at The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in 2016 with her play Sooner/Later (which was an O’Neill Semi-Finalist), and the Playwright-in-Residence for the 2012-13 Season with First Draft at Charter Theatre. She was also a commissioned playwright for Theatre J’s “Locally Grown” Initiative.
As an actor she has appeared at Olney Theatre, Signature Theatre, Studio Theatre, Source Theatre Company, Washington Shakespeare Company, Catalyst Theatre, Rep Stage, Everyman Theatre, Theatre J, The American Century Theater, Charter Theatre and Round House, in addition to her work in television and film. She is the former Chair of The Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival National Playwriting Program (Region 2), and served on its national board. She is a proud member of SAG/AFTRA, Actors Equity Association, and The Dramatist Guild.
Allyson has taught in the Theatre and Dance Department at The George Washington University since 1998, and has also taught in the theatre departments at St. Mary’s College and Goucher College. She is the recipient of the Gold Medallion, the highest regional teaching honor bestowed by The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She is currently the head of the MFA Playwriting Program at The Catholic University of America.
Allyson attended Wake Forest University (BA, cum laude), and has an MFA in Directing from The University of Virginia.
Website: www.allysoncurrin.com
* Please note that some titles are handled by Dramatists Play Service, Samuel French, Dramatic Publishing, Broadway Play Publishing, and Playscripts.com. Please ask if you don’t see a particular play.