Brenda Varda
she/her/hers
St. Paul, MN
Writer & composer, a creator on over 100 productions. In plays/music/solo/media her mission is: shift, break, engage, transform. New works coming in 2022...

Plays

by Brenda Varda (Book, Lyrics, & Music)

Horror! Lurking in dark corners of closets-untouched identities, bought but never worn. Fashion’s a ghoul-so why not sing about it? A romp through bad decisions & embarrassment with a man on base. Bass.

NINE DRESSES
When Wendy left hippydom to become a corporate serpent
When Debbie overcame her fear of heights and jumped
When Lola snuck into one of those big award shows
When Shirley got over Bob and became a tart
When Elaine went over to the dark side
When Zyzyza squeezed into an A-line
They all…

… wore a new dress.

Ridiculous dresses, from the 80’s on up —dresses made of desires, secret identities, or just really ridiculous solutions to impossible questions.

Cast:
Brenda Varda Nick Morabito (on bass)
by Brenda Varda (Book, Lyrics, & Music)

(Commissioned by California Institute of Technology - 2015)
Alice is bored.
She's a new grad genius in spintronics and marionetting on a tour of Tellkech, until WB, a manic Phd candidate, drags her down a wormhole to the underbelly of the campus. Logic and reality lose ground as she gets caught in the battle between the Queen of Funding and the Dark Prince of Future Science.
Dead scientists, time loops, the Cheshire Chimp and Tweedle Y & Z...
Will she ever get out, or will she decide to stay?

Cast:
ALICE, JPLWHITE RABBIT, JPLDARK PRINCE , RED QUEEN , LEWIS/MOCK TURTLENECK , WALTER KNIGHT/PROFESSOR GREY , DR. DUCHESS HUMPTY DUMP MOCK TURTLENECK MATERFILLER/PROFESSOR EGO, UG '14 CHESHIRE CHIMP, TWEEDLE Y, TWEEDLE Z, UG '18 TOUR GUIDE/PROFESSOR IDEAS/LAB ASST, JPLPROFESSOR STORY, PROFESSOR LEAD, DOPEY/ALICE 4/LARP & QUARK, MALWARE HAIR/MESSENGER/LARP & QUARK, MAD GRAD, ALICE 3/LARP & QUARK, UG '18 PROFESSOR CHILL/LARP & QUARK, ALICE 2/STUDENTS/LARP & QUARK, LAB TECH/LARP & QUARK, UG '18 STUDENT/LARP & QUARK , REFEREE
by Brenda Varda

Vampires, soldiers, spoiled brats, and clowns collide in a feast of entertainment for the senses - in a dystopian, brutal, totalian future where theatre has 'constraints'.  Delight in the wonder that unfolds as these two (imaginary) companies pull out all the stops to bring you, Fables Du Theatre, a fantastic reinvention of old French fables to tell modern tales of murder, delusion, madness, absurdity -- and love.  (French is now acceptable again since they are so much more like us).  With a touch of “de la Fontaine” and a government inspector the actors weave a magical night of sex, death, and clowns.   
(Immersive and interactive elements...)  

Cast:
CASTING NOTE: There are two 'casts' in Fables: one is comprised of regular characters in the fables played by actors in ____(insert your company name here): you may adjust cast names to fit accordingly. The second cast is the company members of "Immanence Theatre Ensemble", a fictitious yet famous site-specific theatre ensemble who are the guest artists for the show, and who also play characters in the three fables for the evening. IMMANENCE THEATRE ENSEMBLE MARVA LEWIS: F, artistic director of Immanence Theatre Artists RAMIQ SAYER: M, a member of Immanece Theatre Artists, character actor TULIE BOUQUESS: F, a member of Immanence, beautiful and exotic PHALKE ZHOU: M, managing director of Immanence, utilitarian worker & actor ZOA CANTATORE: F, new member to Immanence, an ingenue DOLL MARKOWITZ: F, older member of Immanence, a singer SAAFER: M or F, an intern, plays several small roles UNKNOWN (or your company) COMPANY; real actor names should be used DIRECTOR : 30's-50's MAN : 20-30's MAN : 30-40's WOMAN : 20-30's character WOMAN : 20's ingenue WOMAN : 20's, childlike, androgenous CAST OF CHARACTERS (Plays within the Play) THE STAGE COFFEEHOUSE THE COFFEEMAKER: a wise old coot (played by Ramiq) TARKIN: an ex-soldier in a wheelchair DERLING: an abrasive publicist (played by Marva) KOB: a bankrupt accountant BAYDEN: a nervous self-help guru DALIT: daughter of the Minister of Defense MEERY: a hardened soldier COLONEL MUTZ: head of DAM DEEP (played by Phalke) THE DOCTOR: doubled with Mutz Various guards and workers in Dam Deep XEERA'S NIGHT XEERA: a succubus (played by Tulie) ALLER: personal assistant to Xeera DETECTIVE KISCHME: hardboiled dick (played by Ramiq) KRAL: the devil GUY: a guy Various Patrons and Actors THE SPOILED CHILD JAIDEN: a child of indeterminate sexuality THE PARENT: the clown (played by Doll) THE MOON: a goddess (played by Marva) THE HOST: of Star King of the Universe Characters from the other Fables, including: BAYDEN, KOB, XEERA, KRAL, TARKIN, and THE COFFEEMAKER ADDITIONAL ROLES SHURAH: a soldier,and ex-Immanence Theatre Ensemble member GOREN: or Man in the Audience; also the Magistrate of Theatre An accordionist
by Brenda Varda

We’re all making and carrying a lot of trash— and I for one try to hide most of it! This solo journey of song, garbage dances, and 20+ characters goes through one life of accumulation and disposing. This dig into the human brain and human history includes ants, ancient culture, medieval waste, inventions, Lippincott- and more.  Join a romp through a ridiculously unsustainable lifestyle of convenience and throwing!

Original live music/songs, video, and more.

Cast:
Brenda Varda, a piano, and a garbage can

Successes

"This is My Garbage" - SOSE Solo Festival Grant – 2018

"Memory of Objects" - SOSE Company Creation Grant - 2015

HOLLYWOOD FRINGE – "Nine Dresses" (solo) Encore Award; Best Cabaret 2014

ARC GRANT (Durfee) Center for Cultural Innovation: 2013

             Artist’s Resource Completion Grant for "R e a c t o r: simple clean efficient"

UCIRA Emerging Artist’s Grant  2009

Regional Playwriting Award: American College Theatre Festival 09:

                                            “Things That Fall From the Sky”

Mellon Humanities Workshop Grant 2008-09: Convergence of Cultures: Science/Art

LA Weekly Award Nomination- Best Play for “Fables Du Theatre”- 2009

UCR Humanities Grant (for production of original work LA), 2008

Gluck Fellowship, University of California, Riverside – 2007-2009

Edge Fest Grant, New Works Festival, Los Angeles, "Impossible Movies", 2007

UCR - Chancellors Fellowship, 2006

Los Angeles Conservancy, Performance Grant, Wilshire Words, ­2005

Los Angeles History Project, Performance Grant, 2005, The Spanish Café

Dramalogue (Acting) Awards:  1991, 1997