kristine m. reyes

I’m happy to announce that my full-length comedic satire about the egg freezing industry, Eggs on Ice, has gotten its first production! Hawai’i Pacific University in Honolulu is presenting a student production for 6 performances – live, in-person and livestreamed!

Last night was our opening night performance, and it was a joy to finally watch this play fully staged, even if I couldn’t be there in person (thank goodness for livestreams!). Director Lanaly Cabalo has cast a young, talented and diverse ensemble that gives such a lively and funny performance that’s so fun to watch. The entire design team is excellent — everything from the set to costumes to camera work has come together so wonderfully to bring this play to life. I’m so grateful for all the hard work everyone has put into producing this play – during a pandemic, no less. Thank you to Lanaly and HPU for giving Eggs on Ice its first production!

Performance dates & times ($5 for the livestream; approx. 85 min. runtime):

Nov. 4, 5, 6 at 7:30pm HST (10:30pm PT / 1:30am ET the following morning)

Nov. 13 at 7:30pm HST (9:30pm PT / 12:30am ET the following morning)

Nov. 7 and 14 at 2pm HST (4pm PT / 7pm ET)

Purchase in-person and livestream tickets here:

https://www.hpu.edu/cla/arts-at-hpu/theatre.html

I’m thrilled to announce that my full-length play Eggs on Ice (Semifinalist, The O’Neill NPC and Bay Area Playwrights Festival; Nominee, The Cherry Lane Mentor Project) will receive its first public reading as part of kef theatrical productions‘ The Bluestone Project: Season Two on Friday, March 8th at 4pm! Directed by Carlos Armesto, the cast features Marisa Marquez, David Shih, Ariel Estrada, Sarah Matteucci, Rachel Yong and Mary Theresa Archbold.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/KEFs-THE-BLUESTONE-PROJECT-Season-2-Announced-20190122

Synopsis:
Denise is the top sales/marketing rep at Eggs on Ice, a premier egg freezing clinic, who believes in the company’s mission to help give women more reproductive choices. Led by the enigmatic and cocksure Dr. Freeze, the company aims to be a full-service facility for all fertility needs, second to none. As Denise takes the audience on a tour of the company and its clientele, she starts noticing strange new policies being put into place and begins to question if something more sinister is at play. Set in the very near future, Eggs on Ice is a satirical play about the egg freezing industry and how it markets to young professional women, preying and capitalizing on their fears and insecurities under the guise of helping them to “have it all.”

This has been a long gestating play that began as a monologue for Caps Lock Theatre’s Pussyfest in 2014. Since then, I’ve written and developed it in the Mission to (dit)Mars Propulsion Lab, where it also received a workshop reading in their Salon Reading Series in August 2018.

It has been a fun and challenging play to write, and it continues to evolve with each new draft. I’m excited to share the play with an audience for the first time!

The reading is free to attend and will take place at The Bruce Mitchell Room at ART/NY. RSVP by emailing thebluestoneproject@gmail.com.

It’s been a long while since I’ve posted updates to my website, but I wanted to share some news about a project I’m really proud to be involved in. Read on to find out more!

Last year, I was invited to write a short play for Truth & Reconciliation of Womyn, a project created and curated by Tony Award-winning actress and social justice activist Tonya Pinkins. The project is an anthology of original short plays and songs by female writers that addresses stories of oppression between womyn throughout history and contemporary times, as a way to build bridges towards healing. It’s an incredible line-up of fellow female writers, and I’m honored to be included. It’s been a privilege hearing these powerful, moving stories, beautifully acted by a rotating ensemble of fierce, diverse womyn, and I’m excited to continue on this journey with this special project.

My play, The Grandmothers, is centered around the Asian comfort women of World War II, a topic I previously wrote about in my one-act play Lola Luning’s First Steps. This new play has given me an opportunity to look at this issue from a different perspective, and gives voice to the Japanese perspective, as well. It was inspired and is set at the comfort women memorial in San Francisco’s Chinatown, seen here:

The Column of Strength by Steven Whyte. San Francisco, CA. Photo by playwright.

In The Grandmothers, an elderly Japanese survivor of World War II is confronted with stories of the Asian comfort women. She must come to terms with her role in denying their justice, and learn that acknowledging other women’s suffering doesn’t have to diminish her own.

We had our first presentation of Truth & Reconciliation of Womyn at Deepak HomeBase on November 13, 2018, and received a nice write-up in The Filipino Reporter.

Back row: Nandita Shenoy (playwright), Mary Theresa Archbold, Akiko Hiroshima, Ako Dachs, Yolande Bevan, Tonya Pinkins (creator/curator/playwright/director), Teana David (playwright), Kristine M. Reyes (playwright), Carmen Rivera (playwright), Caridad Svich (playwright). Front: Carmen LoBlue, Rachel Holmes, Kimye Corwin, Kim Sykes (playwright). Photo credit: Jason DeCrow

Our next performance is tonight, Monday, February 4th at 7:30pm at The Commons Cafe in Brooklyn, as part of the En Garde Arts Uncommon Voices Series.

Advanced tickets can be purchased here:
https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe.c/10365954

To learn more about the project, check out the WBAI Leonard Lopate at Large interview with Tonya Pinkins and Anne Hamburger of En Garde Arts:

Truth & Reconciliation of Womyn will also be included in the inaugural #HealMeToo Festival this spring, which will feature performances, panels, workshops, and podcasts to explore the impact of sexual violence. For more information about the festival, check out the press release on Playbill. We’ll have performances and talkbacks on three consecutive Sundays at 7pm: March 31, April 7, April 14. Each performance will be a different collection of plays and songs (The Grandmothers will be performed on April 7th).

This is an ongoing project, with a planned production in July at the 14th Street Y, so stay tuned! In the meantime, if you’re interested in supporting the fundraising efforts for the production, we will gratefully accept tax-deductible donations here: https://thefield.org/form/make-donation?sa=620277

That’s all for now! I hope to see you at one of these performances.

I’m happy to announce that I’ll be continuing my relationship with Mission to (dit)Mars in a more meaningful way as a newly minted Writer-in-Residence! I’ve now entered my fourth season as a Propulsion Lab member, and I can’t imagine my artistic life without these fine folks. It’s an incredibly talented, smart and supportive community of artists that I feel lucky to call my friends and peers. We’ve also just welcomed three new members to the Lab, Nat Cassidy, Jason Tseng and Ray Yamanouchi, so our ranks are expanding! Come check out what all these amazing artists have to offer in Queens!

http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Mission-to-ditMars-Announces-New-Writers-for-the-2016-2018-PROPULSION-LAB-20160916

In other news, I’ll have an excerpt read of my work-in-progress play, Eggs on Ice, in The Bechdel Group’s reading series on December 12th. Eggs on Ice is a satire about women’s fertility issues and explores the dark implications of the booming egg freezing industry. Hope you’ll come check it out!

http://www.thebechdelgroup.com/calendar.html

I’m happy to announce that I’ll be making my San Francisco debut with my ten-minute play, Puppy Love, as part of Bindlestiff Studio’s The Love Edition: Always & 4Ever! The festival features original pieces about “love, heartache and the weirdness in-between” written by seven playwrights from around the country. Bindlestiff is a Filipino-American theater company, and I’m excited to be connecting with fellow Fil-Am theater artists on the West Coast.

Puppy Love is actually an excerpt from my full-length play Lily in Love that I’ve been developing over the last couple years. It’s now a stand-alone ten-minute play, but it gives you a taste of what the full-length play is about. Here’s my little synopsis:

Lily loves Arlene. Arlene loves Lily. Lily loves dogs. Arlene does not. Puppy Love is what happens when Lily brings home a puppy…when what Arlene really wants is a baby.

The festival runs March 3-19 on weekends. Ticketing and information can be found here:

http://tle2016.bpt.me/

Hope you’ll come check it out! Mabuhay!

It has been awhile since I’ve updated my website, but I’ve got some exciting events coming up this fall!

First up is the Dramatists Guild Fellows Annual Presentation on Monday, October 19th at 7pm at Playwrights Horizons.

Hard to believe, but it’s already been a year since the start of the DG Fellows Program…and now we’re presenting excerpts from the work we developed! It has been an incredible and inspiring year getting to know my fellow Fellows and their beautiful, engaging, ambitious work. Everyone had such interesting and unique stories to tell, and I learned so much about different styles and genres of writing. It was certainly eye-opening hearing the work of the musical theater fellows and getting a glimpse into their writing process!  It has really been an honor to be amongst this talented and supportive group of writers, and I have a feeling we will be bonded for a very long time because of this program.

So come hear a taste of what we worked on this year! It’s free and open to the public, but reservations are required at RSVP@dgfund.org. More information in the press release:

http://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/The-Dramatists-Guild-Fund-to-Stage-New-Works-by-DG-Fellows-at-Playwrights-Horizons-20151002

Next up is another full-length reading of Lily in Love on Saturday, November 14th at 8pm at Queens Theatre as part of their 2015 New American Voices Fall Reading Series, in partnership with Mission to (dit)Mars. I’m so excited to be part of this line-up, which features two other women playwrights of color. I’m always heartened by theaters that make an effort to showcase the true diversity of our city, and Queens Theatre has been doing that brilliantly.

The reading is free, but reservations are encouraged and can be made by calling the Box Office at 718.760.0064. More information on the website:

http://queenstheatre.org/content/new-american-voices

Lastly, I want to invite you all to the first ever Mission to (dit)Mars Fundraiser, Full Speed Ahead, on Wednesday, October 21st from 6-10 pm at Sek’end Sun in Astoria. I’ve been a proud member of the MtD Propulsion Lab since 2013 and cannot say enough good things about both the writers group and the organization at large. 

I wrote Lily in Love from scratch during the 2013-14 season, and they presented the first public reading of it back in February. They are an incredibly supportive, generous and all-around amazing group of theater artists, and the Queens arts scene is better for their existence. If you’ve attended one of their events in the past, then you already know this! If they’re new to you and you live/work/create in Queens, then check them out! Either way, please consider attending our fundraiser so they can continue to support their great programming. Here’s where to purchase tickets and find out more:

https://www.artful.ly/store/events/7250

http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Mission-to-ditMars-to-Host-FULL-SPEED-AHEAD-Fundraiser-1021-20151007

That’s all for now! I hope you’ll be able to join me for one or all of these upcoming events!

I’m happy to announce that the first public reading of my new play Lily in Love will be presented on Monday, February 16th at 8pm at The Secret Theatre in Long Island City!

I originally developed Lily in Love in the Mission to (dit)Mars Propulsion Lab writers group last season, and they will now be presenting it as part of their Launch Pad Reading Series. Over the last few months, I’ve continued to develop the play with The Dramatists Guild Fellows Program, and I’m excited to finally share it with the public for the first time.

The reading will be directed by Colette Robert and features Krystal Seli, Sarah Matteucci, Christine Lee, Johnny Lin and Mia Katigbak. I feel really fortunate to be working with such a brilliant director and cast, and can’t wait to see the play come to life in their hands.

Here is a little more information on the play, including the BroadwayWorld press release:

Lily is a good Catholic Filipina daughter who’s always known exactly what to do with her life — until she falls in love with a woman. Lily’s life just got complicated.

http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Mission-to-ditMars-to-Offer-Play-Reading-of-LILY-IN-LOVE-20150128#

The reading is FREE and open to the public! I hope you can join me! RSVP here:

http://missiontoditmars.com/reservations/

I’ve had a fantastic time developing my new play, Lily in Love, with the Mission to (dit)Mars Propulsion Lab, and now we’re having excerpts presented in the All Systems Go: Mission 2 reading series on Monday, June 30th at 7pm!

I’m really so grateful for all the support, feedback and generosity of spirit this group has provided for me for the last several months. It’s such a great group of talented writers, and I feel so lucky to be counted as a member. So please come check out our work!

My excerpt will be directed by Colette Robert, and my cast includes Siho Ellsmore and Katie Consamus. The reading will take place at The Secret Theater, 4402 23rd Street, Long Island City.

It’s a free event and should be a fun night! Don’t forget to RSVP!

Here’s the BroadwayWorld press release:
http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Mission-to-ditMars-Presents-ALL-SYSTEMS-GO-MISSION-2-20140616#

And here’s more information on the playwrights and plays being presented:
http://missiontoditmars.wordpress.com/2014/06/16/all-systems-go-mission-2/

I’m thrilled to share the news that my new ten-minute piece Sunday Surprise will receive its premiere production at A-Squared Theatre Workshop’s My Asian Mom 2014 Festival! This also marks the Chicago debut of my work, and I’m excited to be introduced to yet another theater community outside of NYC.

The cast includes Samantha Garcia, Alexandra Gonzalez, Tea Ro, and Pearl Paramadilok, with direction by Jin Kim.

May 2 – June 1, 2014 
Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm
Sundays at 3:00 pm
$20

All performances will be held at:
Chicago Dramatists
1105 West Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL
(enter the theatre from Aberdeen Street at the back of the building)

More information, including the full line-up of plays, can be found at:
My Asian Mom 2014

Also, fun fact: this piece is actually an excerpt from the new play I’ve been developing with the Mission to (dit)Mars Propulsion Lab, so consider it a sneak peek! Hope to see you in Chicago!