FISH EYE
Premiered at HERE Arts Center, produced by Colt Coeur, directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt and starring Betty Gilpin, Joe Tippett, Katya Campbell, and Ato Essandoh.
Full length. 2M 2W.
Productions in New York, UK, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc.
Featured in New York Magazine’s Best Theater of the Year.
“Scrupulous character study and ravishing, hyperrealistic portrait.” —Time Out New York, Critic’s Pick
“Kavner is a keen observer of human behavior. And his dialogue is so true to life, it’s like eavesdropping on real people. Like when Avery tells Anna: “You’re really this beautiful thing…” The same could be said of this compact and cannily drawn work.“ —NY Daily News
”The playwright has a real gift for artfully underwritten, unaffectedly colloquial, and often uproarious dialogue.“ —New York Magazine, Critic’s Pick
“Kavner proves he has something to add to the modern romance canon, writing concise and insightful dialogue that effortlessly flows from scene to scene as it amuses.” —Theatermania
“Despite the title, Fish Eye never feels distorted. It’s not simply that the play is marbled with well-observed details; it’s that they make up most of the dialogue.” —Variety
CARNIVAL KIDS
Premiered at The Barrow Group Theatre, produced by Lesser America, directed by Stephen Brackett, and starring Randall Newsome, Jake Choi, Danelle Eliav, Max Jenkins and Laura Ramadei.
Full length. 3M 2W.
“Surprising and very funny.” — New York Times, Critic’s Pick
“A hilariously funny ode to slightly immoral and irresponsible losers... The acting, under the direction of Stephen Brackett, is superb.” — The New Yorker
“The blend of witty dialogue and authentic drama makes Carnival Kids a thoroughly engrossing work from beginning to end, with the type of snappy dialogue and action-rich scenes that entice those who do not normally enjoy theater.” —Theater is Easy
“A funny and affecting new play, rich with repressed and concealed emotions and secrets.” — Culture Catch
”Carnival Kids is fun, thought provoking, and playfully pokes at modern society where technology is so embedded in our culture.” —Times Square Chronicle
-Past workshops and development with Naked Angels, SPACE on Ryder Farm
CLICKSHARE
Writers at a popular news website live and die by the viral content of their pieces. But when they break a story that’s bigger than anything they’ve ever seen before, their lives will hang in the balance. A dark satire of internet and breaking news culture in the age of viruses real and imagined.
Workshop/Residency at MiddSummer Play Lab.
Reading with Studio 42, directed by Moritz Von Stuelpnagel.
Reading with IAMA Theatre Company, Los Angeles
Full production at Middlebury College, directed by Alex Draper
Workshop production at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, NYC
Workshop production at A.C.T / San Francisco
THE GUM PLAY
In the late 1800s, brutal and disgraced former Mexican president and general Santa Anna was exiled to Staten Island, New York, where he hoped to make some quick cash and return to Mexico. But when he and the American assigned to watch over him strike up a unique partnership, everything takes a turn for the far, far worse. A comedy based on the true story of the invention of gum in America.
Commissioned by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and Ensemble Studio Theatre.
Developed and workshopped at EST, reading directed by Davis McCallum.
Developed at Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, reading directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel
Developed at Elysian Theater in LA (2024)
An interview about the play with E.S.T
BARNES & NOBLE: FRISCO, TX
A solo show about a group of employees at a suburban Barnes & Noble awaiting the mystery shopper in the early 2000s
Directed by Andrew Zox
Performed at Ars Nova Theater, Off-Broadway