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Chris Harcum

CHRIS HARCUM

  
Nationality:    USA
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    n/a

Chris Harcum is an award-winning actor and playwright. He grew up in North Carolina and dedicated his life to the Theater after interning at the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival while still attending high school. After training as an actor, he began writing to satisfy deeper creative urges. Since moving to New York City in 2002, over 20 of his works have been seen on NYC stages. His full-length plays include G. Dot's Revenge, Trading Lunches, Rabbit Island, Milk & Shelter, Instant Gratification and the Devil in Ms. Spelvin. Chris co-adapted and played the title role in a modern version of Moliere's the Hypochondriac. As a solo performer, he has created and performed Green, Some Kind of Pink Breakfast, Gotham Standards, Anhedonia Road, Mahamudra, the Monster and the City, Weight and Weightlessness and American Badass (0r 12 Characters in Search of a National Identity), which was published in the Plays and Playwrights 2009 anthology. His writing has also appeared in the New York Times and NYTheatre. As a teaching artist, he has worked with Neighborhood Playhouse Junior School, the Leadership Program, University of Virginia, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, CUNY Creative Arts Team, Queens Theatre in the Park, the Transport Group, and Best of Broadway. He is co-writing the screenplay for Meet the Hammernickys, a feature-length comedy, with the director Jason Cusato. Chris is a member of Actors' equity, Dramatists Guild and the League of Independent Theater.

Research:    Member of the Dramatists Guild of America (as at 2015)

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below is a list of Chris Harcum's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         American Badass, Or 12 Characters In Search Of A National Identity         American Gun Show         Anhedonia Road         Gotham Standards         Green         Hypochondriac, The         Mahamudra         Martin Denton, Martin Denton         Rabbit Island         Some Kind Of Pink Breakfast         Two Lovely Black Eyes         We Haven't Told Anyone About This
American Badass, Or 12 Characters In Search Of A National Identity

American Badass, Or 12 Characters In Search Of A National Identity
In a dozen monologues, a look at who we are in 2008 and how we may have gotten that way.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Kraine Theater, NY     28 Feb 2008

Organisations:
Virgodog Theatre and Fevvers Productions as part of the FRIGID New York Festival

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama 90 min

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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American Gun Show

Synopsis:
Love/hate America? So does Chris Harcum. Statistically, one in five Americans owns a gun. Everyday occurrences can erupt into hilarity or danger. It's enough to make you question whether it's safe to go to the theatre. Brecht meets stand-up in this solo show confrontation of violence in the land of Ted Nugent Disease. Not only will you laugh a lot but you'll be reminded that you are alive. 'Insanely funny' (Backstage). 'Excellent' (Village Voice). 'sprezzatura oozes' (Culturalcapital.com). 'Really dazzling talent' (NYtheatre.com). 'Unexpectedly poignant' (New York Times).

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Gryphon Venues At The Point Hotel, Edinburgh Festival Fringe     01 Aug 2013

Organisations:
Elephant Run District

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
comedy, satire 1 hour

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Anhedonia Road

Synopsis:
A solo performance set at the intersection of Don Quixote, The Wizard of Oz, Huckleberry Finn, and The Twilight Zone. Joe Harper, an everyman at the end of his rope, goes on an uncommon adventure to capture a yellow balloon. But this ain't no ordinary yellow balloon and it sends Joe crashing into a cast of colorful characters in an alternate-reality heartland where no GPS can help him. Are you on the right road?

Notes:
Part of Twainathon, A celebration of the work of the great American Author And humorist, Mark Twain

1st Produced:
The Brick's Hell Festival     01 Jun 2004

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
http://www.indietheaternow.com/Play/anhedonia-road   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
one act 60 min

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Gotham Standards

Synopsis:
World War II Generation vs. Gen X, losing a loved one, how we choose to live our lives, our influences, and who was the best Batman

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Lt. Clark's Theatre

1st Published:
http://www.indietheaternow.com/Play/gotham-standards   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy Performance art, 75 min Piece

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Green

Synopsis:
Green is a simple man living in complicated times. He's criminally poor, illegally artistic, and - as one of the last full-blooded humans in the universe - isn't welcome anywhere, except on the oxygen farms of the penal colony on Planet Plymouth Rock. But no one counts on Green being quite so human, and a trip to the interplanetary pokey soon turns into an epic misadventure with crooked politicians, rigged elections, double agents, bickering robot lovers, supernova recording artists, and the sweetest Scottish Mercenary in the galaxy.
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Metropolitan Playhouse
220 East 4th Street, New York, NY 10009     01 Dec 2011

Organisations:
Elephant Run District

1st Published:
http://www.indietheaternow.com/Play/green   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
sc-fi 75 min

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Hypochondriac, The

Synopsis:
the Imaginary Invalid is the perfect send-up of our nation's beleaguered healthcare system and the cure for the affliction from which we all suffer: a malnourished sense of humor! after a wildly popular presentation was cut short ironically due to illness, Deadline Productions is triumphantly remounting this new adaptation of Moliere's the Imaginary Invalid. a contemporary re-imagining of Moliere's last play, this production satirizes today's pill-popping culture and profit-driven health care system. the play takes place in a swank Manhattan loft apartment, awash with art that's now overflowing with pill bottles, bed pans and medical paraphernalia. the original musical interludes in the play are now replaced by faux pharmaceutical commercials which promote questionable drug treatments and their unpleasant side effects. the story revolves around argan, a wealthy and eccentric hypochondriac, who is plagued by a gold-digging wife, an insolent maid, a rebellious young daughter and an infestation of drug-peddling, incompetent doctors. argan is actually in fine health but is so doped up that the side effects alone have him convinced that he is dying. Through a series of hilarious tricks and outrageous disguises, argan's fast-talking maid and exasperated brother work furiously to cure argan of his true malady: his doctors are the real disease
- press release

Notes:
Original Playwright - Moliere, Adapted by Matthew A.J. Gregory, Greg Tito, Chris Harcum, Shira Gregory

1st Produced:
Cell Theatre, NY     2009

Organisations:
Deadline Productions

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Mahamudra

Synopsis:
Roy, an unmerciful theatre critic on a major power trip, must atone for his misdeeds in front of a live audience. When he turns his razor-sharp analysis on himself, he unlocks an imaginative world full of suspense and wonder.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The Brick in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY     2005

Organisations:
Moral Values Festival

1st Published:
http://www.indietheaternow.com/Play/mahamudra   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
one act 30 min

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Martin Denton, Martin Denton

Synopsis:
A play about a man who gave up his comfortable life as an accountant in D.C. to spend thousands of nights seated in new york audiences and even more days at his computer to bring attention to notable, but often under-recognized artists. In doing so, he revolutionized arts coverage and helped to usher in the indie theater movement. If you created or saw NYC indie theater during the last 20 years, chances are youve been impacted by his work. 

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Kraine Theatre, New York     2017

Organisations:
Elephant Run District

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama 90 min

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Rabbit Island

Synopsis:
Alex zigzags irregular relationships with an erratic therapist, his on-again off-again girlfriend, an untamed burlesque dancer and the Cleanse. But what more will it take for this verbose Canadian mime to become a Real New Yorker?
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Kraine theater
85 East 4th Street, New York, NY 10003     23 Feb 2012

Organisations:
Elephant Run District

1st Published:
http://www.indietheaternow.com/Play/rabbit-island   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
70 min one act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  2

Further Reference:
-

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Some Kind Of Pink Breakfast

Synopsis:
In Some Kind of Pink Breakfast, Chris Harcum is deciding whether to go to his high school reunion and takes the audience back to events in 1986. He plays 27 characters and uses only a chair as a prop to create a genuine and humorous world where real-life and 80s pop culture collide.
nytheatre.com

Notes:
Music by Debby Schwartz

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
http://www.indietheaternow.com/Play/some-kind-of-pink-breakfast   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy Solo Show, 60 min Show

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Two Lovely Black Eyes

Synopsis:
It's a solo show on everyday occurrences that could escalate to full-on violence and America's gun culture. It's done in a stand-up/storytelling style. I never become another character, through keen observers might see me slip into impressions of Mike Daisy, Eric Bogosian, Michael Feingold and Ben Brantley. there are also some thematic ties to old-fashioned Western films and I will have people play the Yippie Kai-yay Game. I kick the show off with a blues song about performing in downtown theater.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Frigid New York     01 Feb 2013

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
one man show

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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We Haven't Told Anyone About This

Synopsis:
In We Haven't Told anyone about This, nothing is as it seems in Lana and Eric's living room. When Paige arrives early for her catering job, she uncovers a Pandora's Box of deception, redemption, and sexual deviance. Blending Comedy of Manners and Greek Tragedy, this dark comedy gives a unique take on how we deal with heinous crimes that destroy people's lives. Can sex and violence make the world a little less wrong?
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
part of Unsex Me Here

1st Produced:
Manhattan Theatre Source
177 MacDougal Street, New York, NY 10011     11 Jul 2011

Organisations:
Elephant Run District

1st Published:
http://www.indietheaternow.com/Play/we-havent-told-anyone-about-this   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act Comedy 60 min

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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