Plays

~FULL-LENGTH~

EGGS ON ICE
Dark Comedy
Full-length
4W, 2M

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 is in position to become 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”.

Recognition & Development History
Semifinalist for The O’Neill National Playwrights Conference and Bay Area Playwrights Festival, and a nominee for The Cherry Lane Mentor Project.

Written and developed in the Mission to (dit)Mars Propulsion Lab. Received a developmental workshop with direction and dramaturgy by Carlos Armesto as part of their Salon Reading Series in August 2018.

Production History

Produced by Hawai’i Pacific University in November 2021.

Cast: Zoe Lehneman, Ron Heller, LJ Harris, Nadine Domingo, Ku’ulei Santiago, Liam Killeen, Maile Sufak, Courtney Fulk, Andrea Maminta, Nalia Murphy, Michael Johnston

Director: Lanaly Cabalo

Performance History
Featured in Mad Cow Theatre’s Women’s Voices Mini-Fest (virtual) in September 2020.

Cast: Rachel Finley, Philip Nolen, Joe Tamborello, Elisabeth Christie, Jennifer Coe and Tauren Hagans.
Dramaturg: Cecilia Padilla
Director: Monica Long Tamborello

Featured in kef theatrical productions’ The Bluestone Project: Season Two in March 2019.

Cast: Marisa Marquez, David Shih, Ariel Estrada, Sarah Matteucci, Rachel Yong and Mary Theresa Archbold
Director: Carlos Armesto

An excerpt was previously presented at The Bechdel Project Reading Series at Jimmy’s No. 43 in December 2016.

LILY IN LOVE
Comedic drama
Full-length
4W, 1M

Synopsis
Lily is a good Filipina American Catholic daughter who’s always known exactly what to do with her life. But when she falls in love with a woman for the first time, her life suddenly becomes very complicated. Lily in Love centers around Lily, who attempts to juggle her relationships with her Caucasian girlfriend, her two best friends, and her devout mother, as she considers starting a family of her own — all with one foot barely out of the closet.

Development and Performance History
Written and developed in the Mission to (dit)Mars Propulsion Lab, and presented in their Launch Pad Reading Series at The Secret Theatre in February 2015.

Cast: Krystal Seli, Mia Katigbak, Sarah Matteucci, Christine Lee, Johnny Lin
Director: Colette Robert

Featured in Queens Theatre’s New American Voices Reading Series, in partnership with Mission to (dit)Mars, in November 2015.

Cast: Krystal Seli, Tina Chilip, Sarah Matteucci, Siho Ellsmore, Allan Mangaser
Director: Colette Robert

STAGE/MOTHER
Drama
Full-length
2W, 2M

Synopsis
In the competitive world of New York City theater, where few opportunities for actors-of-color exist, struggling Filipina American actress Marielle has just won the coveted role of Laura in The Glass Menagerie when she learns that her mother Isabel has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. The medical treatments will coincide with Marielle’s performances, forcing her to decide whether she’ll remain a dutiful daughter and take care of Isabel, or seize the opportunity to pursue her lifelong dream.

QUEEN FOR A DAY
Drama
Full-length
4W, 1M

Synopsis
When teenager Nicole and her feisty mom arrive in Ohio to care for her beloved aunt, she learns that fighting cancer is only half the battle as long-dormant family tensions erupt, leading to tragic consequences.

Development and Performance History
Developed during Diverse City Theater Company’s First Draft Fellowship in 2005 with mentor playwright Linda Faigao-Hall.  Presented as a staged reading in New York City’s Philippine Center in February 2006.

Cast: Liz Casasola, Mia Katigbak, Luz Lor, Banaue Miclat, Nicholas Stannard
Director: Andrew Eisenman

~ONE-ACT~

LOLA LUNING’S FIRST STEPS
Drama
One-Act
3W

Synopsis
Three generations of Filipina women – Lola Luning, her daughter Virgie and her granddaughter Gabriela – grapple with the aftermath of both sexual and domestic violence as they struggle to come to terms with their abusive pasts.

Development and Production History
Produced as an AEA Approved Showcase in the Women of Color Human Rights Theatre Project at Joria Productions and Workshop Theater Company in New York City, June-July 2012. Originally commissioned by Women of Color Productions for their 2011 Playwright Development Program with dramaturgy by Maxine Kern.

Cast: Joyce Laoagan, Christine Lee and Krystal Seli
Director: Andrea Andresakis

QUARTER CENTURY BABY
Comedic drama
One-Act
1W, 1M

Synopsis
When Carissa learns of her conservative parents’ surprise visit from the Philippines on the eve of her 25^th birthday, she scrambles to hide the belongings of her newly moved-in boyfriend – who’s in for a surprise himself once he learns the secrets she’s been keeping from him.

Production History
Produced by Diverse City Theater Company as an AEA Approved Showcase in The Pearl Project: A Filipino-American Theater Festival at The Clurman Theatre at Theatre Row in New York City, July 2010.

Cast: Ali Ewoldt and Christopher Kloko
Director: Adam Fitzgerald

SOMETHING BLUE
Drama
Short One-Act
1W, 1M

Synopsis
Something Blue follows a father’s quest to reconnect with his estranged daughter on her wedding day.

Production History
Produced by Diverse City Theater Company as an AEA Approved Showcase in The Pearl Project: A Filipino-American Theater Festival at The Clurman Theatre at Theatre Row in New York City, July 2010.

Cast: Raul Aranas and Bonna Tek
Director: Andrew Goldberg

~TEN-MINUTE~

THE GRANDMOTHERS
Drama
Ten-minute
5W

Synopsis
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.

Development and Production History
Commissioned for Truth & Reconciliation of Womyn, created, curated and directed by Tonya Pinkins. The first presentation was at Deepak HomeBase, November 2018. The second presentation was produced by En Garde Arts at The Commons Cafe, February 2019. The staged workshop reading was featured in the inaugural #HealMeToo Festival at IRT Theatre, July 2019.

Produced as an AEA Approved Showcase at The Tank, October 2019.

Cast: Akiko Hiroshima, Siho Ellsmore, Lina Sarello, Lili Stiefel, Antonio Morrone
Director: Tonya Pinkins

PUPPY LOVE
Comedy
Ten-Minute
2W

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.

Production History
Produced by Bindlestiff Studio in The Love Edition: Always & 4Ever Festival in San Francisco, March 2016.

Cast: Tatiana Dayers, Sara Leubke and Aura San Miguel.
Director: Alexis Dayers

READY, AIM…FIRE!
Comedy
Ten-Minute
1W, 1M

Published on Indie Theater Now in Primary Stages ESPA Detention #3: Blind Date

Synopsis
Ready, Aim…Fire! is a comedic look at the modern-day dating world as Margaret and Charlie aim, shoot and misfire in their attempts to connect at an archery range on their first date.

Performance History
Featured in the Disney/ABC 34^th Annual Talent Showcase at El Portal Theatre Center of Performing Arts in Los Angeles, October 2014.

Cast: Cindy Luna and Jim Titus
Director: Jude Weng

Featured in the Asian American Women Playwrights Short Play Festival as a staged reading at Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), co-presented by AEA and Leviathan Lab, May 2011.

Cast: Helen Farmer and Zack Griffiths
Director: Victor Lirio

Originally presented as a bare-bones one-night production at Jimmy’s No. 43 in April 2011 after being selected for Primary Stages Einhorn School of Performing Arts’ (ESPA) Detention Series.

Cast: Sheila Joon and Adam Lebowitz-Lockard
Director: Philip Gates

SUNDAY SURPRISE
Comedy
Ten-Minute
3W

Synopsis
Lily is not only in the closet, she’s also in the shower – with her newly moved-in girlfriend – when her mother Betty pops in for a surprise visit after Sunday church service.

Production History
Produced by A-Squared Theatre Workshop in the My Asian Mom 2014 Festival at Chicago Dramatists in Chicago, May 2014.

Cast: Alexandra Gonzalez, Tea Ro, Pearl Paramadilok
Director: Jin Kim

BALIKBAYAN BIRTHDAY
Comedic drama
Ten-Minute
2W, 1M

Synopsis
For 15-year-old Jayron and 8-year-old Nadine, the upcoming visit of their mother after years working abroad is cause for playful excitement – until an all-too-familiar “balikbayan” box arrives, bearing gifts, a letter…and a dose of reality.

Development and Production History
Developed with Leviathan Lab’s Asian American Women Writers Workshop (LLAAWWW).  Featured in Migration Nation: Imported and Exploited, a site-specific theater project, produced as an AEA Approved Showcase and funded partly by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, at Space on White in New York City, October 2012.  As Co-Director of LLAAWWW, also served as producer.

Cast: Leanne Cabrera, Claro de los Reyes and Yan Xi
Director: Jo Cattell

*All plays are subject to copyright and are available upon request from the playwright.  Any attempts to reproduce, distribute or produce this work without consent of the playwright will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.