"David-Matthew Barnes'
award-winning plays speak
with emotional fervor. His
characters refuse to be ignored,
driving at the heart of the human
condition with their intense desire
and longing."

Word Riot Press

"In the Tennessee Williams flavored
Threnody, the dialogue sings
with poetic flashes."

The Sacramento News & Review

"Frozen Stars is an ultra sincere
depiction of young people,
passionately performed..."

The Chicago Reader

"Sky Lines is an extremely strong,
moving and emotionally satisfying
play...the influence of Tennessee
Williams is very pronounced...very
fine writing, brave writing and
dramatically strong writing...Bravo...
it will be a play that audiences
will adore..."

Brighde Mullins

"Pensacola, both touching and humorous,
explores the lives of Southern women
as they discover their strengths and
destinies...think Steel Magnolias by
way of Tennessee Williams, with a detour
through the mind of Elmore Leonard..."

Charlotte Theatre Magazine

"Pensacola depicts the lives of Southerners
in the tradition of Tennessee Williams...
humorous and witty dialogue...the authentic
portrayal of human nature...the poignant
depiction of people reacting to crushed dreams..."

The California Aggie

“Temporary Heroes is a sweet, simple,
life-affirming love story with charm to
spare... Believably sensitive and filled
with sweetness and youthful optimism...
Delightfully energetic...”

The Sacramento Bee

"What I admired about Somebody's Baby
was the containment of all the tensions
in one place--like vectors coming from
different planets and somehow intersecting
at this one cafe. I know this is what great
playwrights do every day, but I admire it
each time...Wonderful."

Kim Garcia

"In Sky Lines, Barnes makes a complex
and woven picture of the evolving
lives of three women. I am pulled
along by their shifting allegiances
to each other and the times they
live in, by the ways in which they
become a family, by the full range of
emotional experience he captures in
scene...it's chilling..."

Ashley Warlick

"Pensacola is an eclectic collection of Southerners
in the tradition of Tennessee Williams written by
up-and-coming phenom David-Matthew Barnes."

The Independent News

"Languorous, lusty, and laced with gin,
David-Matthew Barnes' play, Sloe Gin Fizz,
charts the inevitable collision course of
two young gay men caught in the muggy heat
of urban America. Barnes' writing does
an excellent job of capturing the mood of
the place and he speaks with an intense and
earnest voice about the various pressures and
pitfalls of living both in an out of the
proverbial closet."

New Bard Press

“Young members of the gay community
will especially appreciate Frozen Stars
for its honest depiction of a relationship
between two young men.”

Outlines

"I am impressed with Sky Lines in so
many ways...these three women are caught
in the restrictions and the oppressions
of the past as they watch a very different
future unfold before their eyes...The dialogue
is fresh and lively and believable...some of
the funniest lines I’ve ever read..."

Cathy Smith Bowers

"No, it's not a new reality TV show. It's
the play Better Places To Go...a colorful
cast of characters that would make any
soap opera proud..."

Outword Magazine

and the winner is

GENRE Comedy
LENGTH Short, 15-20 minutes
CAST 6 females, 1 male
SET None
RATING Adult language and content
PUBLISHER Playscripts
NOTES Featured in The Best Women's Stage Monologues

It's time to go backstage at the Academy Awards, where the five nominees for Best Actress -- the aging superstar, the British diva, the impressionable teen idol, the indie film queen, and the "token" African-American nominee -- battle it out during an interview with the entertainment reporters from hell.

are you all right in there?

GENRE Sericomic
LENGTH Short, 15-20 minutes
CAST 2 females, 1 male
SET A gaudy, over-decorated bathroom
RATING Adult content
PUBLISHER Playscripts
NOTES Featured in The Best Women's Stage Monologues

A month before graduation, in the middle of a wild party, a frustrated high school student named Gina locks herself in the bathroom. She's finally fed up with all the hypocrisies and surface relationships of adolescence, from her outrageously unfaithful boyfriend to her compulsively promiscuous best friend. With biting humor, Gina revisits her past, sizes it up with newfound maturity, and leaves it behind for a brighter future.

baby in the basement

GENRE Drama
LENGTH Short, 15-20 minutes
CAST 1 female, 1 male
SET An abandoned warehouse
RATING Adult content
PUBLISHER Production Scripts
NOTES

In this gritty and urban drama, two young runaways seek comfort from each other in the basement of an abandoned building. What begins as a possible friendship, sadly evolves into a mutual suicide pact.

better places to go

GENRE Drama
LENGTH Full-length, 100 minutes
CAST 7 females, 3 males
SET A run down diner
RATING Adult content
PUBLISHER Diva D Publishing
NOTES

Winner of two 2003 Elly Awards, including Best Original Script! In a run down, road side diner in Grand Island, Nebraska, a horrendous storm is looming and ten people are about to be caught in the eye of it. In the course of one night, confessions of emotionally impacting secrets are revealed, forever changing each character’s life.

bracelets & boyfriends

GENRE Seriocomic
LENGTH Short, 15 - 20 minutes
CAST 2 females
SET None
RATING Adult content
PUBLISHER Diva D Publishing
NOTES

WINNER OF THE 2007 CARRIE MCCRAY LITERARY AWARD FOR BEST STAGE PLAY! A powerful one-act play for women. Nationally selected festival play by Kingwood College. Having recently both turned fifty, childhood friends Judy and Olivia decide to return to a quaint seaside town that they once visited on family vacations during their early teen years. Reminded of love's lost, choices made and the fading of their youth, Judy and Olivia reaffirm their friendship, the tender memories they share and the journey through life that has made them the women they are now. Bracelets and Boyfriends is a delightful and thought-provoking play about two women who must look back before they can move forward.

clean

GENRE Seriocomic
LENGTH Short, 15  minutes
CAST 2 females
SET A bus stop
RATING Adult content
PUBLISHER JAC Publishing
NOTES

In this touching one-act play, an elderly former movie star named Vivien is suffering from the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s. At a bus stop in Beverly Hills, she develops a beautiful bond with her nurturing and very strong willed housekeeper, Maria.

a darling among the maidens

GENRE Seriocomic/Religious
LENGTH Full-length, 90 minutes
CAST 6 females, 2 males
SET A dormitory room
RATING Suitable for all ages
PUBLISHER Diva D Publishing
NOTES

In this delightful stage play, four young women come-of-age at an all-girl Catholic boarding school. Rachel wants to become a nun and devote her life to God. Naomi has been expelled from numerous schools and Our Lady of Grace is her last chance. Mara is obsessed with two things: old movie stars and herself. Alisha struggles as she is the only black student at school. Having known her fair share of heartache, Sister Josephine is an unconventional nun who becomes a mentor to Rachel, Naomi, Mara and Alisha.

don't mention it

GENRE Seriocomic
LENGTH Short, 15 minutes
CAST 2 females
SET A train station
RATING Adult content
PUBLISHER Diva D Publishing
NOTES

‎WINNER OF THE 2008 WORLD AIDS DAY WRITING CONTEST! When sixty-year-old New York native Stella discovers that her grandson has been diagnosed with AIDS, she turns to her best friend Madeline for comfort and strength.

frozen stars

GENRE Drama
LENGTH Full-length, 110 minutes
CAST 8 females, 8 males
SET None
RATING Adult language and content
PUBLISHER Diva D Publishing
NOTES Adapted into a feature film; available on DVD

‎This multicultural coming-of-age stage drama explores the lives of three young people as they struggle with personal and religious beliefs, peer pressure, family relationships and the overwhelming power of love and friendship.

hour glass

GENRE Drama
LENGTH Short, 15 - 20 minutes
CAST 1 female, 1 male
SET A formal dining room
RATING Adult language and content
PUBLISHER Production Scripts
NOTES

‎Nationally selected play by The Hudson Exploited Theater Company for their acclaimed reading series Where Theater Starts. Hayden and Persephone Caulwell have been married for twenty-two years. Constantly referred to as “the perfect couple”, Hayden and Persephone have found themselves hiding the discord in their marriage from their family and friends. After a dinner party, they engage in a volatile confrontation, as years of affairs, secrets and emotions begin to surface. Realizing that their marriage has ended, husband and wife lash out at each other until the dining room – and their lives – are left in shards. With a shock twist of an ending, the final moments of Hour Glass will leave audiences riveted. Inspired equally by the short story Bliss by Katherine Mansfield and the Greek myth of Persephone.

it's a pleasure to be sad

GENRE Drama
LENGTH Short, 15 - 20 minutes
CAST 1 female, 1 male
SET A teenage girl's bedroom
RATING Adult content
PUBLISHER Diva D Publishing
NOTES

‎This heartbreaking new play explores the life of a troubled young girl named Cathy who has been emotionally crippled by a family secret and Dawson, the young man that she turns to for comfort and escape. Set in 1967, Cathy is haunted by images of the Watts Riots, an event she watched from her bedroom window two years ago. Dawson is conflicted with guilt and feels responsible for Cathy’s happiness while trying to understand the bizarre behavior of her wealthy parents as his own family struggles with poverty. Features roles for one woman and one man. It’s A Pleasure To Be Sad was developed in workshop at the 2007 Southampton Writers Conference in New York under the instruction of Marsha Norman.

johnny ramirez really wants to kiss me

GENRE Seriocomic
LENGTH Short, 15 minutes
CAST 2 males
SET A teenage boy's bedroom
RATING Adult content
PUBLISHER Diva D Publishing
NOTES

‎WINNER OF THE SLAM BOSTON AWARD FOR BEST PLAY! Nationally selected festival play for Queer Shorts! When the ultra-intelligent but very hot Johnny Ramirez is selected to be the math tutor for the-always-misunderstood but very flirtatious Alex Wilde, the two young men discover love for the very first time. Filled with a poignant tenderness, this sensitive look at young love is sure to charm audiences around the world.

just before the drop

GENRE Drama
LENGTH Short, 15 minutes
CAST 1 female, 1 male
SET The rooftop of an office building
RATING Adult content
PUBLISHER Production Scripts
NOTES

‎Moments after her husband of twenty-four years leaps to his death from a twelve story building, a woman comes face to face with a man who claims to have been her husband’s lover of five years. On the rooftop, sorrow, regret and anger culminate in a second tragedy.

number 76

GENRE Drama
LENGTH Short, 15 minutes
CAST 1 female, 1 male
SET A bus stop
RATING Adult language and content
PUBLISHER Diva D Publishing
NOTES Featured in The Best Stage Scenes

At a bus stop on a city street in Chicago, a young Latin high school couple, Mario and Ana, emotionally confront his ties to an urban street life and her impending thoughts of suicide.

pensacola

GENRE Seriocomic
LENGTH Full-length, 100 minutes
CAST 4 females, 2 males
SET A modest living room
RATING Adult content
PUBLISHER JAC Publishing
NOTES

Nominated for six Elly Awards! Already hailed as "the most popular and powerful Southern stage play in American theatre" and "a new classic for Southern women", this touching and humorous story explores the lives of four Southern women. Trudy has been a single mother since her husband went to work one day and never came home. Charlotte is married and has two daughters of her own. Recently, Charlotte suspects that her husband has been unfaithful and that their marriage is falling apart. Marie, a recent high school graduate, has had a difficult time deciding on the right career for herself and ponders over going to secretary school, competing for the title of Miss Florida or becoming the U.S. Ambassador to Cuba.

sky lines

GENRE Seriocomic
LENGTH Full-length, 110 minutes
CAST 3 females
SET The fire escape balconies of three apartments
RATING Adult language and content
PUBLISHER Diva D Publishing
NOTES

Artistically inspired by the song Jackie's Strength as recorded by Tori Amos, this heartfelt play explores the lives of three women (Venita, Maggie and Sarah) who live in a rundown apartment building in an unnamed American city. Venita is a black woman who has been ostracized from her family for marrying a white man named George. Maggie endures a loveless marriage and within ten years, she gives birth to five children. Sarah desires a life of picture-perfect glamour and excitement and has married her high school sweetheart. After a few brushes with reality, Sarah becomes dismayed with her predictable life and slips into a crippling depression. Over the course of 34 years, Venita, Maggie and Sarah confront social and political issues as they fight to assert their identity and protect their friendship.

sloe gin fizz

GENRE Seriocomic
LENGTH Full-length, 75 minutes
CAST 2 males
SET A modest living room
RATING Adult content
PUBLISHER Diva D Publishing
NOTES

On a rainy night, two male co-workers, Marco and Christopher, are drawn together out of loneliness. Marco is married to a Korean woman whom he does not love. Christopher is suffering from a broken heart after another failed relationship. In the course of one night, the two men emotionally confront the expectations of a new relationship, the conflict of conforming to an unfriendly society, the traditional roles expected of men and the powerful and consuming feelings of love.

somebody's baby

GENRE Seriocomic
LENGTH Full-length, 80 minutes
CAST 2 females, 1 male
SET A coffee shop
RATING Adult content
PUBLISHER Brooklyn Publishers
NOTES

Winner of the Sacramento Regional Theater Alliance's Elly Award for "Best Original Script," this riveting teen drama takes place on a rainy Friday night in Chicago. Escaping a near date-rape situation, 16-year-old Tabitha stumbles into a coffee shop where she meets William, a young man dying of AIDS who has been abandoned by everyone he loved. Both young lives are deeply affected by a waitress named Milvia who has a story and a dream of her own. Somebody's Baby is a powerful drama for young actors that explores a very important and timely subject.

taking off

GENRE Seriocomic
LENGTH Short, 5 minutes
CAST 2 females
SET An airport terminal
RATING Adult content
PUBLISHER Production Scripts
NOTES This play has been performed in Atlanta and New York.

If the plane just went down and there are no survivors, why is Mrs. Whitmore so happy? When Mrs. Whitmore is informed by Miranda, an airline employee, that her husband's plane has crashed and there are no reported survivors, she suddenly realizes that a new sense of liberty has been given to her with which she will be able to make many lifelong dreams come true. This one-page play examines a sensitive issue with an unconventional twist.

temporary heroes

GENRE Seriocomic
LENGTH Full-length, 90 minutes
CAST 7 females, 3 males
SET A coffee shop
RATING Adult content
PUBLISHER Brooklyn Publishers
NOTES

This love story set in a coffee shop in the Little Italy section of New York explores the blossoming relationships between a waitress named Shelby, a cook named Salvatore, and the colorful characters that enter their lives.

threnody

GENRE Drama
LENGTH Short, 30 minutes
CAST 1 female, 1 male
SET A modest living room; a farmhouse
RATING Adult language and content
PUBLISHER Diva D Publishing
NOTES

Nominated for two Elly Awards, including Best Original Script. Threnody is a dramatic one-act play for young actors. Dana and Jake are a young couple who suffer from a horrible drug addiction and a volatile love affair. Threnody is an in-depth and frightening exploration of the disintegration of two people, grasping for any signs of hope or human compassion in a world where none exists.

unrequited

GENRE Seriocomic
LENGTH Short, 15 minutes
CAST 1 female, 1 male
SET A supply room
RATING Adult content
PUBLISHER Brooklyn Publishers
NOTES

At a high school dance, the eccentric Mercury Jones is locked in a supply room with the most popular guy in school, Travis Emerson. After confessing that she has had a crush on him for years, Mercury discovers that Travis is not the perfect person that she thought he was.

we never made it to paris

GENRE Seriocomic
LENGTH Full-length, 80 minutes
CAST 2 males
SET Multiple set
RATING Adult language and content
PUBLISHER Diva D Publishing
NOTES

National Finalist for the 2008 Saints & Sinners Playwriting Competition! This award-winning new play is an innovative and creative fusion of language, music, movement, dance, photography and light. The story spans over the course of eighteen years in the lives of two men, Eros, a former model, and Bird, a former actor. Fearing that real love does not exist, Bird sabotages their young affair, only to realize years later that they are soul mates.