My play about Jack the Ripper is going home! Ripper reframes the story around an intrepid female reporter trying to make a name for herself in Victorian London. It’ll be performed by the incredible team at Prudencia Productions at the Courtyard Theatre in Whitechapel for October 2023, just in time for Halloween!
We had an incredible run of A Brief List of Everyone Who Died at the Finborough Theatre in May and June of 2023! The Guardian called “moving” “a warm and thoughtful night“ and said “A precarious balance of pain and humour is deftly retained throughout, with astute observations on the profound and banal ways that death disrupts our lives.” The reception was so great that Bloomsbury/Methuen decided to publish the play, which is now available in bookstores across the UK, online and (coolest of all) in the National Theater’s bookstore!
After the online reading was named a finalist for the Off West End Awards, the real live production is finally coming to London May 16-June 10 2023. It’ll be directed by Alex Howarth at the Olivier Award-nominated Finborough Theatre in Chelsea, so if you’re in London in May or June, come check it out.
The Tragical Historie of Maximilien Robespierre had an incredible 2 week workshop production with the Fled Collective at the Flea Theatre in Tribecca. Directed by Tom Costello, we were able to work with an amazing company of 13 Fled actors to craft a sketch of the overall show, and put it up for an audience. We learned a ton about the play, and audiences really seemed to love the show. Now we’re on the lookout for a full production, so if you know anyone looking for a 13-actor play about French revolutionaries, let me know!
Apologies for the terrible pun, but I’m too excited not to be a little ridiculous. Chemistry will be premiering in Finland in February! This is the first (but hopefully not the last) time it’s been translated into another language and will mark the play’s premiere in continental Europe. (I’m going for all 7 continents eventually. Hit me up if you know any theatrical penguins!)
The short film I wrote, See Through, is featured in the 2021 Austin Film Festival. I’ll be traveling down to Austin to see it and spread the word. It’s a beautiful piece with incredible direction by Eyal Resh and a truly stunning performance by Lauren Ridloff (who is blowing up right now, catch her in Marvel’s new Eternals as one of the Eternals!) The film is also screening at the New York Shorts International Film Festival and Superfest Disability Film Festival this month.
My feminist horror retelling of the Jack the Ripper story is going up in Ann Arbor, Michigan for the entire month of October (which is apparently called Spooky Season now? Kids these days…) I won’t be able to see the show, which is produced by Penny Seats, an awesome local theater company, but the photos look absolutely stunning and it’s so wonderful to see my little horror baby go out into the world.
Chemistry finished up a month-long run at the Olivier-award nominated Finborough Theatre. Michael Billington of the Guardian called it “remarkable for its tender compassion” in one of his last reviews before he retired from his fifty year career as a reviewer. Mert Dilek at the Stage called it, “A moving, insightful love story. Rice has written a love story that treats heavy, complex subjects with confidence and compassion.” The play was directed by Alex Howarth, featuring lighting and video design by Rachel Sampley, and starring Caoimhe Farren and James Mear.
I’m co-writing a new pilot with Nate Dobson about a non-binary witch detective that explores the (literal and figurative) magic of New York City’s nightlife. Working with a co-writer, especially one who knows the subject matter so intimately, has been a blast and this story is going to be unlike anything you’ve ever seen!
I just finished my first job as a script doctor for a feature film. I’m not allowed to reveal the title because of my contract, but the script is a wild ride and coming in to fix up the characters and dialogue was a beautiful opportunity to hone my craft.
Leni & Joseph, a historical two-hander about the relationship between Leni Riefenstahl and Joseph Goebbels, went up at the Rutgers University Grad Acting program. It was such a pleasure to watch two talented actors tear into this complicated play and to see how it has changed its resonance in light of the last few years. The play was directed by Jasmine Carmichael and Kevin Kittle, Associate Head of Acting at Rutgers. It starred Leslie Roth and Alex Scoloveno.