Diana Grisanti
Playwright | Educator
Selected Full-Length Plays
Mandatory
7w, 4m, plus a choir
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Something bad went down between Matt and Fabi. Rumors swirl, and then the dominoes start to fall. Fabi tells a lie, a beloved guidance counselor loses her job, and more and more people get involved—students, parents, the boys' school. Local celebrity Joy Kimball decides to settle this issue. Justice is demanded. But is it for Fabi, or the counselor, or something else entirely?
Commissioned by Weber State University.
Produced under the title The Class of '94 at Weber State University. Directed by Jennifer A. Kokai.
Photos courtesy of Weber State University, 2018.
Photos courtesy of Actor's Theatre of Charlotte, 2015.
The Patron Saint of Losing Sleep
4w, 2m
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Ada is a customer service specialist with a thirst for justice and a bout of insomnia. When she receives a call from a woman in need, she takes a trip and tries to help. But things go wrong. With the aid of pop psychiatry and divine intervention, Ada must confront her regrets, past and present, if she's ever going to sleep again.
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Premiere: Actor's Theatre of Charlotte. Directed by Elissa Goetschius.
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Subsequent productions:
Actors Bridge Ensemble (Nashville). Directed by Leah
Lowe.
Looking for Lilith (Louisville). Directed by Shannon
Wooley Allison.
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Developed with Playwrights' Week at the Lark
Winner: nuVoices Festival, Actor's Theatre of Charlotte
Winner: InterAct Development Award
Finalist: Princess Grace Award
Runner-Up: Leah Ryan Award
Photos courtesy of Actor's Theatre of Charlotte, 2014.
Published by Dramatic Publishing Company.
River City
2w, 4m
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Just weeks after her father’s death, Mary discovers a childhood photograph of him from a past he never talked about. Determined to excavate her heritage, Mary goes on a quest to uncover a half-century of secrets buried in the West End of Louisville, Kentucky.
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National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere:
Actor's Theatre of Charlotte, dir. Ann Marie Costa
Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis), dir. Dale McFadden
Borderlands Theater (Tucson), dir. Esther Almazán
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Subsequent productions:
Voices of the South (Memphis). Directed by Alice
Berry.
Theatre [502] (Louisville). Directed by Amy Attaway.
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Winner: nuVoices Festival, Actor's Theatre of Charlotte
Winner: Austin Critics' Table David Mark Cohen New Play Award
Finalist: Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate
Playwriting Competition
Photo credit: Phillip Franck, 2019.
Bowling for Beginners
flexible; at least 8, majority w & nb
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They train. They bowl. They attend class. They climb Jacob’s Ladder. And then they do it all again the next day. Bowling for Beginners is a theatrical exploration of a world inhabited by championship female athletes in a sport with few spectators. But once you understand the game, you'll learn what it takes to win.
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Recipient of a Vanderbilt University Sports and
Society Micro-Grant
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Developed at Vanderbilt University with Dr. Christin
Essin.
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Productions:
Commonwealth Theatre Center, dir. Mitchell Martin
Vanderbilt University, dir. David Ian Lee
Indiana University, dir. Jenny McKnight