Diana Grisanti
Playwright | Educator
Plays for Young Actors and Young Audiences
StageOne Family Theatre, 2020
Photo credit: Jon Cherry
Published by Stage Partners.
Lawbreakers! (a fast and furious history of women's suffrage)
flexible; at least 5w, 1m
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Lawbreakers! is a 75-minute whirlwind about two stepsisters who have a terrible fight, bonk heads, and awake to find themselves at the Akron Women’s Rights Convention of 1851. From there, they whizz through seven decades of US history, meeting a host of suffragists, abolitionists, and freedom fighters—Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, Angelina Weld Grimké, Alice Paul, and the Remond sisters, to name a few. Think: intersectional feminism meets Bill and Ted. Producing theatres are encouraged to register young voters after the show.
Premiere: StageOne Family Theatre
Directed by Sydney Chatman
Commissioned by StageOne Family Theatre
Derring-Do
flexible, 11ish to 22ish
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Abigail's mother is an Antarctic explorer, Sonny's is a lion tamer, and Tyler's dad holds the world record for shallow diving. What's a child to do when their parent is hellbent on flirting with death? Why, they join a support group, of course. Derring-Do takes us inside the world of CODI—Children of Daredevils International. This circus-infused tragicomedy explores childhood anxiety, parental angst, and the fear of loss in a melting world.
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Commissioned and Produced by Creede Repertory Theatre. Directed by Brittni Shambaugh Addison.
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Creede Repertory Theatre, 2019.
Photo credit: John Gary Brown.
Cleveland Play House Theatre Academy 2018.
Photo credit: Michelle Berki.
The Starkweather-South High School Physics Club First Annual End-of-Year Lock-In, or ghost party
6w, 1m
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“Phones off; friends on!” When their annual end-of-year trip to Cedar Point is cancelled for mysterious reasons, the six teens of the Starkweather-South High School Physics Club settle for an overnight lock-in at their school. But, this seemingly lame sleepover soon morphs into a night to remember! Friendships are tested. Secrets are revealed. Spontaneous dance parties emerge. And, the school’s resident ghost roams the halls. A comedic-drama about the bonds of friendship and having the courage to be yourself.
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Premiere: Cleveland Play House Theatre Academy. Directed by Brittni Shambaugh Addison.
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Subsequent productions:
Youth Theatre Northwest (Seattle). Directed by Erin
Murray.
Kaiser High School (Honolulu).
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Commissioned by Cleveland Play House
The Baker Goes to War
(co-written with Steve Moulds)
flexible, 12ish to 30ish
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In the midst of a never-ending war, a baker rises to fame with the most delicious confections anyone’s ever tasted. But when a group of opportunistic investors discovers her secret ingredient, they cook up a scheme to keep profits flowing—even if it sabotages the baker’s chance at happiness.
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Commissioned and produced by Commonwealth
Theatre Center
Photos courtesy of Commonwealth Theatre Center, 2015.