Dark Comedy

TEEN DAD

Abby, a precocious emo-goth teenager, orchestrates a surprise reunion for her mother Tanya and birth father Tom, with the help of her mom's fiance/healer John. Hoping to provoke long-lasting reconciliation between her parents before her high school graduation, Abby's plans completely derail when Tom arrives with his new girlfriend Alisha. Can this family confront their past traumas, "deal and heal?"

"Teen Dad" subverts popular regional theatre "kitchen-sink beach house dramedy" to share a heartfelt, comedic exploration of generational trauma and recovery in a mixed race Black and Latinx family.

Margaret Ivey (Tanya) and Chris Hecke (Tom) in Adrienne Dawes' "Teen Dad," at TheatreSquared in Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2019

Cast of Characters

ABBY: 15/f or femme person, Afro-Latina/x - daughter of Tanya and Tom, a mostly cheerful emo-punk goth

TANYA: 33/f, Black - Abby’s mother, a survivor in recovery

JOHN: early 40s/m or masculine person, Black - Tanya’s fiancé. A social worker and self-described “healer” who can see sound

TOM: 29/m, Latino - Abby’s biological father, a baby- faced punk rocker

ALISHA: 21/f or femme person, mixed-race - Tom’s girlfriend, dresses very clean-cut and preppy

Casting Note: TOM is mixed-race White/Latino (Mexican) and fair-skinned. The roles of ABBY, ALISHA and JOHN are open to non-binary, trans and/or gender-non conforming actors of color. Pronouns may be adjusted in the script to best fit the actors portraying those roles.

AWARDS/HONORS:

• 2020 - Max K. Lerner Playwriting Fellowship, Inkwell Theater

• 2020 - Finalist, Judith Royer Excellence in Playwriting Award

• 2019 - Finalist, O’Neill National Playwrights Conference

• 2019 - Finalist, Madison New Works Laboratory

• 2019 - Semifinalist, Gulfshore Playhouse New Works Festival

• 2017 - Finalist, Inkslinger Playwriting Competition

• 2014 - ScriptWorks Seed Support Grant

Author

Adrienne Dawes

Adrienne Dawes (she/her/hers) is an Afro-Latina playwright, producer, and teaching artist originally from Austin, TX. Her plays include Teen Dad, Hairy & Sherri, Denim Doves, Am I White, and more. She received her bachelor’s degree from Sarah Lawrence College and studied sketch and improv with The Second City in Chicago, IL. Adrienne is a 2020/2021 resident artist at Colt Coeur and was recently awarded a 2020 MAP Fund grant for her play Casta. She has been an Alice Judson Hayes Fellow (Ragdale Foundation), a Tulsa Artist Fellow (George Kaiser Family Foundation), an artist-in-residence with Crosstown Arts and PlySpace, a NALAC Fund for the Arts grantee, a selected playwright in the 2018 Fornés Playwriting Workshop and 2018 Kenyon Review Playwrights Conference (directed by Wendy MacLeod). Adrienne’s play Am I White won the David Mark Cohen New Play Award from the Austin Critics Table and an award for Outstanding Original Script by the B. Iden Payne Awards. She has been a finalist for the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference and a semifinalist for the Princess Grace Award. Her work is published by Vintage Books, Playscripts, Heartland Plays, Heuer Publishing, and Applause Theatre & Cinema Books... [Go to FULL BIO]