About
Unknown Playwrights is where unknown playwrights can become known. We profile current and historical playwrights every Thursday. You will see playwrights who were famous 300 years ago but have been neglected. You can also see playwrights who wrote/write in languages besides English and are relatively unknown in the Anglosphere. You’ll meet talented playwrights who are working nowadays in relative obscurity.
An alphabetical listing of all playwrights featured on the blog follows this brief write up.
Every Monday we have Monologue Mondays, where you can view and comment on monologue videos from Youtube. A complete list of monologues follow the list of playwrights.
A new feature is Theatre Horror Stories
Unknown Playwrights is a project put together by playwright and translator Bryan Stubbles. You can find him on Twitter or read his plays on NPX.
If you want to watch his play about a suicidal candy bar, just click here.
If you’re into Liberian murder mysteries set during WW2, please buy lots and lots of copies of this play. If you wanna see Frida Kahlo beat up Donald Trump, check out this play.
His recent translation of an Indonesian play can be found here. His even more recent translation of a Korean piece can be found here.
Also, if you’re a playwright and want an amazing play submission resource, please check out Play Submissions Helper. Enjoy!
The Playwrights
Manuel Antonio Álvares de Azevedo
Madalene Barnum (Thanksgiving Plays)
Florence Bell (Feline Theatre)
Diana Burbano (Gun Violence Plays)
Irene Woodbridge Clark (Feline Theatre)
Victoria Heindel (Milk as Theatre)
Isabella H. Huggins (Milk as Theatre)
Eric Jones (Gun Violence Plays)
Effie Louise Koogle (Halloween Plays)
Frances Sankstone Mintz (Feline Theatre)
Mark Harvey Levine (Gun Violence Plays)
John Minigan (Gun Violence Plays)
Minnie H. Niemeier (Milk as Theatre)
Effa Estelle Preston (Thanksgiving Plays)
Estelle Silverman (Milk as Theatre)
War Food Administration (Niacin Theatre)
Frances Gillespy Wickes (Valentine’s Day play)
Edyth M. Wormwood (Halloween Plays)
Theatre Horror Stories
We Changed the Deadline (and didn’t tell you)
A Famous Theatre Wasted a Year of My Life
Sequels Verboten! (except we just made that up)
Big City Folk (don’t know how to use a phone)
The Monologues
American Klepto by Allison Moore
Bad Jews (Daphna) by Joshua Harmon
The Beanstalk by Tara Meddaugh
The Best Marriage Advice by Tara Meddaugh
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Maggie) by Tennessee Williams
Cinema Limbo (Vicky) by Wade Bradford
Cymbeline (Imogen/Innogen) by Shakespeare
Dido, Queen of Carthage by Marlowe
Dreams in Captivity (Deafening Applause/My Father’s Blue Eyes/Barry’s monologue) by Gabriel Davis
FOB (Grace & Dale) by David Henry Hwang
Fourteen (Mrs. Pringle) by Alice Gerstenberg
Fuenteovejuna (Laurencia) by Lope de Vega
A Girl’s Guide to Coffee (Alex) by Eric Coble
Henry IV, part 2 (Rumor) by Shakespeare
How to Be a Bitch by Frank Edwards (maybe) in English and Portuguese
An Ideal Husband (Mabel Chiltern) by Oscar Wilde
In the Boom Boom Room (Chrissy & Susan) by David Rabe
Incendiary (Elise) by Adam Szymkowicz
Ipheginia at Aulis (Iphigenia, Agamemnon & Clytenmestra) by Euripides
Iphigenia in Splott (Iphigenia/Effie) by Gary Owen
It Came from Texas by Josh Weckesser
Jitney (Rena) by August Wilson
Jitney (Becker) by August Wilson
Kim Kutledge by Josh Weckesser
Lacey’s Last Chance by Gabriel Davis
Laughing Wild/Tuna fish monologue by Christopher Durang
Laundry and Bourbon (Elizabeth & Hattie) by James McLure
Life is a Dream/La vida es sueño (Segismundo) by Calderón de la Barca – in 4 languages!
March in Line by Tara Meddaugh
My Name is Tania Head by Alexandra Wood
Nice People Dancing to Good Country Music (Catherine) by Lee Blessing
No Smoking/No Fumadores (Lady/Señora) by Jacinto Benavente
Picnic (Madge & Millie) by William Inge
Pretty Theft (Allegra) by Adam Szymkowicz
Quiche isn’t Sexy by Gabriel Davis
Rather Be a Man by Joseph Arnone
Rare Birds (Evan & Janet) by Adam Szymkowicz
References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot (Gabriela) by José Rivera
Romeo & Juliet (the Nurse) by Shakespeare
St. Valentine’s Day (Elinor/Letty) by Annie Eliot
Single Crutch by Tara Meddaugh
Slow Dance on the Killing Ground (Rosie, Glas) by William Hanley
Star-Spangled Girl (Sophie) by Neil Simon
Stop Kiss (Callie & Sara) by Diana Son
Strawberries in January (Sophie) by Evelyne de la Chenelière
A Streetcar Named Desire (Blanche) by Tennessee Williams [+ in Portuguese]
Titus Andronicus (Aaron) by Shakespeare
Thunderbolts and Dunderheads (Iris) by Todd McGinnis
The Two Noble Kinsmen (Jailer’s Daughter) by Shakespeare & Fletcher
When It Rains Gasoline by Jason D. Martin
Would You Love Me If… by Joseph Arnone
Intimate Theatre
Unknown Playwrights 