SELECTED FILM WRITING
Cine-File:
The Boy and the Heron
May December
The Nutty Professor
Rotting in the Sun
The Spool:
Smiley Face is Both Anna Faris & Gregg Araki at Their Funniest
"[Fanciful] camerawork, put-upon performance styles, and bright and poppy aesthetics are employed to means both despairing and delirious, and Smiley Face weaponizes the mania of Araki’s filmmaking talents to delightful ends.”
Retrospectives on local Chicago Filmmakers for the Parks District’s “Chicago Onscreen” program for 2022 and 2023.
On Manuela Hung’s “Handpan Journey”
On Katie Kapuza’s “Citric”
On Vanessa S. Vallerie & John Gregorio’s “Gut Feelings”
On Henry Van Zytveld’s “Teacher in the Window”
Newcity Stage:
Strike Up the Band: A Review of Cambodian Rock Band at Victory Gardens Theater
”Lauren Yee is one of this country’s premier playwrights, her works transcending genre and form, tapping into emotional truths embedded in deep cultural specificity. To see a Lauren Yee play is to take a glimpse into the hope and promise of how the American theater can truly thrive and succeed.”
Dog Days: A Review of Yen at Raven Theatre
“The ultimate tragedy of ‘Yen’ is that everyone here is longing for some sense of family, ultimately landing on the most foolish, destructive option of all: trying to find it in each other.”
THEATRICAL WORKS
For any questions about licensing any of the below works, please click the "Contact Me" button and shoot me a message!
(UN)POPULAR
(One-act play)
CAST: Written for a cast of 21 middle-school students (fantastically flexible casting).
DESCRIPTION: A contemporary adaptation of The Prince and the Pauper set in a middle school. A self-aware anarchic comedy about not letting social groups define us. There's also a character dressed as a moose for a large duration of the play. Theatre is very important.
SAMPLE: Available upon request!
A RED LOBSTER GROWS IN BROOKLYN
(10-minute musical)
Words and Music
by Ben Kaye
CAST:
1 female
2 male
DESCRIPTION:
Rabbi Rosen comes to grips with his purpose in life as he is called upon to stop a young Jewish boy from eating lobster, the worst of all sins, of course. An irreverent musical comedy that’s short, sweet, and full of delicious cheddar biscuits. Oy.
SAMPLE:
Click here for song demos!
I’M WITH THE BAND: A MUSICAL ABOUT DESTROYING THE THINGS YOU LOVE
(Full-length musical)
(currently in development)
Book by Fred Pelzer
Songs by Ben Kaye
CAST:
4 female
2 male
DESCRIPTION:
As a teenager, McKenzie falls in love with The Endlings, an up-and-coming indie band posed to be the next big thing. They inspire her to form a band with her two best friends, Houston and Danny, with the goal of making songs that hit people the same way the Endlings did them.
Over a decade later, McKenzie's band has gone nowhere. There's serious talk of calling it quits. Desperate, McKenzie suggests they take a gig as an Endlings cover act - and suddenly they're a hit. They quickly take off on the nostalgia circuit, but what good is success when you’re only playing someone else’s songs?
A jukebox musical about the best band you've never heard of, "I'm With the Band..." takes you on a journey examining the art we love, why we love it, and whether it loves us back.
SAMPLE:
Click here for song demos!