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J Stephen Brantley

J STEPHEN BRANTLEY

  (1970 - )
Nationality:    USA
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Literary Agent:    n/a

J.Stephen Brantley's work has been commissioned by Lincoln Center Director's Lab and Performance Space 122, where his Distortion Taco was named a Village Voice Pick Of the Year. His award-winning plays include Break, Blood Grass, Gatos Locos & the ave Maria, Good God enters Flossing, eightythree Down, Hard Sparkle, and the Jamb. Brantley is a graduate of NYU's experimental Theatre Wing, a member of emerging Artists Theatre and the Dramatists Guild, and a winner of the Georgia Theatre Conference award. Brantley is a student of Kabbalah who lives with his partner in New York City and Southampton Village.

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

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below is a list of J Stephen Brantley's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Blood Grass         Break         Chicken-Fried Ciccone         Church of Why Not, The         Distortion Taco: Analog Hunger In A Digital World         Eightythree Down         Furbelow         Gatos Locos And the Ave Maria         Good God Enters Flossing         Hard Sparkle         I Like To Be Here: Jackson Heights Revisited, Or, This Is A Mango         Jackson Heights 3Am         Jamb, The         Nevertheless         Pirira         Shiny Pair Of Complications         Someone You Know Is Starving Tonight         Sparkhampton: the Wickapogue Plays         Struck         Swan Song
Blood Grass

Synopsis:
When a strange young man with a knife in his gut appears in Mary's garden on a cool autumn night, she is forced to confront her past and admit her part in a terrible calamity she'd thought long buried. Sex, murder, the turning of soil.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Universal Theatre, Provincetown Ma    

Organisations:
Universal Theatre 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:
Short Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Break

Synopsis:
During the late hours of a summer night on the coast of eastern Long Island, a displaced englishman and the drug addict who breaks into his home confront their differences and, more importantly, discover their secret similarities.

Notes:
part of emerging Artists theatre's Spring 2008 edition of their semi-annual new works festival

1st Produced:
Universal Theatre, Provincetown Ma     2008

Organisations:
emerging Artists Theatre, eaTfest, NYC; the eclectic Theatre Company, L.a.

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

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 One act. - - Gay, theme/character, full length

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Chicken-Fried Ciccone

Synopsis:
To heroin and back

Notes:
Part of "23rd Annual HOT!"

1st Produced:
Dixon Place, New York     28 Jul 2014

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:
Gay monologue

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Church of Why Not, The

Synopsis:
The Church of Why Not is a new play exploring a remarkable institution on the Upper West Side, The Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew, where Methodists, Ethiopian Evangelicals, Conservative Jews, and LGBT Christian Latinos share space with recovery programs, tutoring, activist organizations, a homeless shelter, and a youth band, Pilates classes and a food pantry that feeds thousands. Created through Theatre 167's unique deeply collaborative system of collective authorship, the play is staged the very place that inspired it. Featuring an ensemble cast of 19 performers, The Church of Why Not tells the stories of believers and skeptics, the well-heeled and the homeless, activists and addicts. Some need food, some crave connection, and others need help  with math, guitar chords, a Bar Mitzvah. At times funny, at times heartbreaking, The Church of Why Not celebrates both our spiritual diversity and our common humanity.

Notes:
written by Camilo Almonacid, Jenny Lyn Bader, and J.Stephen Brantley; Conceived and Directed by Ari Laura Kreith

1st Produced:
West End Theater at the Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew, 263 W. 86th Street, 2nd Floor, NY     2015

Organisations:
Theatre 167

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:
piece

Parts:
Male:  9            Female:  10            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Distortion Taco: Analog Hunger In A Digital World

Synopsis:
Rocker Trip returns to home to San antonio to rekindle a dangerous flame with ex Kate, but his plans go terribly wrong. Sex, drugs, saints and angels, high art and attempted murder in a rock n roll fantasy set in Spring of 1993.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
New York University, Experimental Theatre Wing, NYC     1996

Organisations:
Performance Space 122, New York City

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Eightythree Down

Synopsis:
It's New Year's eve 1983 and Martin's plan for a quiet night in his parents' basement is thrown into chaos when his old friend Dina and her hooligan roommates arrive with a gun, a bag of stolen books, and a dangerous idea.

Notes:
Winner Georgia theatre Conference Award

1st Produced:
Under St. Marks
94 St. Marks Place, New York, NY 10009     01 Sep 2011

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
http://www.indietheaternow.com/Play/eightythree-down   

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. - - Gay, theme/character, full length

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Furbelow

Synopsis:
A fable about fame, friendship, and really nice fabrics.

Notes:
part of NKU's 2013 YES Festival Of New Plays

1st Produced:
Northern Kentucky University's Corbett Theater, Nunn Drive, Highland Heights, Kentucky     2013

Organisations:
-

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

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:
2 act 120 min

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  8

Further Reference:
-

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Gatos Locos And the Ave Maria

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Minor Latham Playhouse, Barnard College, New York     1992

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Good God Enters Flossing

Synopsis:
It's a normal morning for Josh, Dinsmore, and Billy until the ark Of the Covenant spontaneously materializes in their living room. What sort of message is God sending, and why would He choose a trio of trendy Brooklyn queers to spread the Word?

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Universal Theatre, Provincetown Ma     01 Jan 2009

Organisations:
Universal Theatre 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:
Short comedy. - - Gay, theme/character, full length

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Hard Sparkle

Synopsis:
actress Anne Eaton-Hart has taken to her bed. Swindled of millions and having lost an emmy to Susan Lucci, anne is convinced she's dying. While her devoted accountant Eddie does his level best to lift her spirits, nothing less than divine intervention will resurrect the self-obsessed star.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Eat At Tada, New York City     01 Nov 2009

Organisations:
emerging Artists Theatre

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:
Short comedy. - - Gay, theme/character, full length

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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I Like To Be Here: Jackson Heights Revisited, Or, This Is A Mango

Synopsis:
Theatre 167's Jackson Heights Trilogy  collaboratively written by 18 playwrights  featured 37 actors in 93 roles speaking 14 languages ("an epic song of America's most diverse neighborhood"Theatermania). I LIKE TO BE HERE is the newest, edgiest piece from this multilingual, multicultural company. In the span of one very late night, new faces encounter existing characters and re-imagined scenes from the Trilogy. Drag queens, car dispatchers, under-slept parents, gamblers, insomniacs, and dreamers find one another on the streets of Jackson Heights.

Notes:
written by Jenny Lyn Bader, J. Stephen Brantley, Ed Cardona, Les Hunter, Tom Miller, Melisa Tien And Joy Tomasko; conceived by Laura Kreith. Part of E PLURIBUS, the 2nd Annual Theater:Village Festival

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Theatre 167

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:
collaborative piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Jackson Heights 3Am

Synopsis:
Seven playwrights explore the most culturally diverse neighborhood in the world from 10pm-4am - its brightest lights and loneliest corners - in dance clubs, all-night bakeries, sex shops, laundromats, side streets, and alleyways. they ate arepas prepared by the "sainted arepa lady" and, two blocks away, saw the homeless fed by the local hero a.k.a. "angel of Queens" under the elevated trains. they interviewed numbers-players, sex trafficking experts, bartenders, cops, and cross-dressers. they were invited to dance, to gamble, and to watch an undercover police operation. . . and they were invited to let their imaginations run dark, funny, sexy, and very very late. It was written using collaborative methods developed by theatre 167, with the seven playwrights sharing characters and storylines, melding distinct voices and languages into one whole.
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
written by Jenny Lyn Bader, J. Stephen Brantley, ed Cardona, Les Hunter, Tom Miller, Melisa Tien And Joy Tomasko; conceived by Laura Kreith

1st Produced:
Ps 69, 77-02 37th Ave And Queens Theater In The Park, NY     13 Jan 2012

Organisations:
Theatre 167 in association with Queens Theatre

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

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  large cast

Further Reference:
-

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Jamb, The

Synopsis:
Tuffer and RodErick are turning forty. Neither wants to face it. While Tuffer continues to smoke, snort and screw his way through Manhattan's much younger gay male population, RodErick's gone as strait as possible by embracing activism and martial Arts. With the arrival of Tuffer's latest boy toy, Brandon, RodErick can take no more. after a failed quasi-intervention, he insists that Tuffer accompany him to his mother's house to sober up in rural New Mexico. When RodErick's mother abigail, a formerly successful folk singer, throws the guys a very organic birthday party, twenty years of tension comes to a head. the foursome find themselves in a spiritual exile on the high desert, each on the verge of something new, almost somewhere, in the jamb.

Notes:
Previous readings in NYC At Orange Hanky, Planet Connections theatre Fest, Dixon Place.

1st Produced:
Eclectic Company Theatre, Los Angeles Ca     01 Jan 2010

Organisations:
eclectic Company Theatre

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. - - Gay, theme/character, full length

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Nevertheless

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Blue Box At The Bowery Poetry Club, New York     2010

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Pirira

Synopsis:
July 20, 2011. As the African nation of Malawi erupts in riots around them, American aid workers Jack and Ericka take shelter in the storeroom of a struggling NGO. Half a world away, Malawian student Gilbert and his gay co-worker Chad begin another day in the back room of a Manhattan florist. By the day's end they discover their lives are inextricably linked across continents, language and time.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Long Island City's Chain Theatre, Queens, NY     17 Oct 2013

Organisations:
Theatre 167

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

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. - - Gay, theme/character, 80 min

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Shiny Pair Of Complications

Synopsis:
A gay man has a heart to heart with his father just before his wedding

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Lgbt Community Center, New York     11 Jun 2010

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:
Gay one act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Someone You Know Is Starving Tonight

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Nyu Experiment Theatre Wing, New York     1995

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Sparkhampton: the Wickapogue Plays

Synopsis:
This is from Hard Sparks' publicity materials: "We're bringing powerful and provocative theatre to Long Island's east end by staging original plays outside the confines of traditional theatre spaces. each play in the SparkHampton series will be written expressly for the location in which it's performed. and Indie theatre Now, the online publishing outpost of New York theatre experience, Inc. will publish the entire SparkHampton series. For the Wickapogue Plays, we'll be at the Southampton Village residence of fashion stylist Irene albright. (the exact address for the event will be emailed to attendees when they purchase their tickets.)"
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
written by J. Stephen Brantley, Crystal Skillman, Daniel Talbott

1st Produced:
Site Specific Location On Long Island's East End, NY     25 Jun 2012

Organisations:
Hard Sparks

1st Published:
http://www.indietheaternow.com/Play/the-wickapogue-plays   

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:
site specific piece

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Struck

Synopsis:
after suffering a stroke, novelist adrian is visited by his longtime friend Veronica. Despite constant interruption by adrian's assistant Bit, Veronica manages to get her friend 'out of that chair' - and onto the floor in a smack-down of New York art world egos.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Turtle Shell Productions, 8-Minute Madness, New York City     2008

Organisations:
Turtle Shell Productions, NYC;

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 act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Swan Song

Synopsis:
The Wickapogue Plays were written by three very different playwrights specifically for one very inspiring location. They were performed as an evening of theatre in the backyard of a beautiful home near the ocean in Southampton, NY. The home's decking, lawn, driveway, pool, and view of surrounding agricultural reserves were all utilized in performance. During the process of writing and rehearsing the three separate pieces, director Daniel Talbott noticed some interesting parallels in characters written by J.Stephen Brantley and Crystal Skillman. These characters were both to be played by Jelena Stupljanin, and Daniel wondered if she might not play the same woman in both pieces. With a few quick revisions, Crystal and J.Stephen placed the character of Dina in each of their plays, one year apart.

Notes:
part of SparkHampton: The Wickapogue Plays

1st Produced:
Southampton Home Of Irene Albright     25 Jun 2012

Organisations:
Hard Sparks

1st Published:
in SparkHampton: The Wickapogue Plays", http://www.indietheaternow.com/Plays   

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:
short play

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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