Anya Richkind
I write about the things that keep us up at night with a gentleness that invites us to celebrate existential dread rather than ignore it.
I write to embrace the happysad, the unmakingsense, and the inscrutability of the everyday.
I write to hold people close, knowing it'll never be close enough.
The holding is the important thing, anyway.
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
Grant, The Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation, 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
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.
Winner, Himan Brown Award for Creative Writing, Brooklyn College, 2020 - 2021
Reading, Mary Rodgers Room at the Dramatists Guild, 2019
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
Untitled Dad Play
Karina wrote a ten-minute play. Her 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.
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
Other —
24 Hour Monologue:
A Compendium of Useless Information
I had the honor and privilege of writing a monologue for Marcia Gay Harden, through the 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues!
Check out the piece here.
Check out the New York Times mention here!
Blog:
It starts with mourning doves
an ongoing blog, a weekly exploration,
a practice in practice. where will we go?
Read it here.
Pilot:
"Gen Z"
Welcome to zombie suburbia! The year is 3046: humans are long gone, but high school still sucks. Teenage loner zombie Matilda is bored as hell until she discovers the very last human — and falls in love with her. While reconciling her sexuality, Matilda faces a much bigger problem — making sure her fellow zombies never find out that humans aren't extinct after all.
Featured Monologue:
24 Hour Plays
In Mr. Davy's 2nd Period Advanced Theater Now on Zoom, a high school teacher attempts to bring the contact sport of theater to the virtual arena.
Featured in the published collection Viral Monologues from 24 Hour Plays — buy the published collection here!
Publication:
Article
Woman Discovers the Key to Getting Out of Literally Any Situation: Imply You’re Menstruating.
Read it here!
Short Plays —
Hot Clown Cool Down
Haganini, an out-of-work clown, lives alone in Asheville, North Carolina, where everything's usually the same — until he starts hearing music throughout his apartment. A virtual piece devised with Ethan Holtzman and Geo Jones.
Production, Brooklyn College Virtual Black Box Festival, 2020
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