Diana Grisanti
Playwright | Educator
Collaborations & Special Projects
Photo credit: Bill Brymer, 2015
Published by Playscripts.
That High Lonesome Sound
(co-written with Jeff Augustin,
Charise Castro Smith, & Cory Hinkle)
flexible, 11 to 41 actors possible
Bluegrass has a long and winding history, from Scottish ballads to African-American work songs, from Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys to the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. In a lively theatrical album of scenes created for the Acting Apprentice Company, four writers respond with playfulness and poignancy to the signature sounds, inherited stories, and cultural impact of this very American--and very Kentucky--music tradition.
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Premiere: Humana Festival of New American Plays, directed by Pirronne Yousefzadeh
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Commissioned by Actors Theatre of Louisville
Photos courtesy of Theatre [502], 2014.
Excerpt published in the Louisville Literary Review, no. 77.
The Stranger and Ludlow Quinn
(a serialized epic, co-written with Steve Moulds)
5w, 5m
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He put the rabbit in the hat. He mastered time and space. He bested Houdini. He’s the magician’s magician. He’s Ludlow Quinn, and he’s returned to Louisville. You may not have heard of this fabled magician, but high school freshman Bonnie Burke is about to learn his dramatic story. When Bonnie uncovers an ancient tome in her great-great-great grandmother's attic that belonged to the mysterious Mr. Quinn, she gets swept up in a century of Louisville lore and legend.
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Commissioned by Theatre [502]
Presented in 11 serialized installments at Baron's
Theater, directed by Amy Attaway and Gil Reyes
Richie Farmer Will Have His Revenge on Durham
(a short musical co-written with Matt Schatz)
1w, 2m, an announcer, a guitarist, and a chorus
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It’s 1992. The evil Christian Laettner has just hit his iconic buzz-beater against the University of Kentucky, and Big Blue Nation is in a state of collective mourning. Meanwhile, UK cheerleader Carly has a secret: she’s in love with the Devil (a.k.a. Laettner) himself! A raucous grunge musical about fandom, the 90s, and hating Duke.
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Presented at Austin's Frontera Fest, directed by
Gabriel Jason Dean
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Winner: Best of Fest
The Ideal City Project
(multi-writer/performer/director anthology, based on a concept by set designer Lizzie Bracken)
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Devlin had it all. Perfect weather. Beautiful architecture. A glorious municipal anthem. But then it mysteriously disappeared. Archeologists have since discovered the ruins, and now an intrepid group of theatremakers will recreate the rise and fall of this ancient civilization.
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Presented at the Cohen New Works Festival, UT Austin
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Photo credit: Lizzie Bracken, 2011.