Anya Richkind
I write to unravel my obsessions — to name the urge, explore the question, and locate the edges of the answer. I always come back to young women, queerness, closely knit families, letters, loneliness, approaching articulation but falling short, and moms.
Plays —
Here Lies Cappy
Years ago, Mom found an unopened bag of letters from her mother Barbara — childhood penpal correspondences, love letters, and her suicide note. On opposite sides of the country, Mom and her daughter Twig read the letters.
Semi-Finalist, O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights Conference, 2020
Semi-Finalist, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, 2020
Finalist, Cutting Ball Theater's Variety Pack, 2019
Reading, The Tank, April 2019
Finalist, Leah Ryan's Fund for Emerging Women Writers, 2019
Semi-Finalist, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, 2019
Reading, Play by Play Lab, October 2018
tender of you too
Allegra and Tara are cast in their high school play as Frances Willard and Mary Bannister, two women from the 1800's. Through historical diary entries and sleepovers alike, Allegra and Tara explore and define their relationship.
Production, The Tank, 2018
Semi-Finalist, O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights Conference, 2017
Finalist, O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights Conference, 2016
Production, Yale College, 2016
The End of Mermaids
Welcome to Mermaidland, Florida, the only place on earth where mermaids are real. Enjoy our afternoon special starring Mermaid Bee, Mermaid Vana, and our newest princess of the deep, Mermaid Marie.
Production, Corkscrew Theater Festival, 2018
Reading, The Tank, 2018
Grant, Anna Sosenko Assist Trust, 2018
The Secret of Asteraceae
"Weird" is just the beginning of the name-calling when eight middle-schoolers ditch cross-country practice one afternoon. A play for young actors and young audiences.
Production, Katherine Delmar Burke School, 2013
Production, American Conservatory Theater Young Conservatory, 2012
Production, Marin Country Day School, 2011
Ministers of Loneliness
Emma knows that deep down she's an amazing guitarist. Joyce thought she'd be married or famous by now. Earnest loves seasonal decorations. A kaleidoscopic exploration of loneliness through fantasy, farce and the extremely mundane.
Reading, Mary Rodgers Room at the Dramatists Guild, 2019
Untitled Dad Play
Karina wrote a ten-minute play. Mom and Dad, playing characters named Katrina and Dad, attempt to read it over dinner. Katie, a traveling knife-saleswoman just out of college, attempts to sell them knives.
Short Plays —
Big Happy Days
The world has been over for thousands of years. Only Gloria and Maybel are left. Until one day, among the steaming mush and the old filing cabinets from advertising agencies gone by, Maybel finds a rarity — a man.
Workshop Production, Williamstown Theater Festival, 2019
The Colchester Thunder
Syd and Maisie return to their hometown with a goal: to coach their childhood all-girls T-Ball team. All they have to do is break the news to Adam and Mary, the old coach and manager.
Production, 24 Hour Plays: Nationals at the New School for Drama, 2017