Dance Nation

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Dance Nation

Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy  /  9w, 2m

Clare Barron

Finalist, 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama!

Somewhere in America, an army of pre-teen competitive dancers plots to take over the world. 

Image: 2018 Playwrights Horizons Production (Joan Marcus)

Dance Nation

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    9w, 2m
  • Duration
    Duration
    105 Minutes
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
Accolades
  • Finalist! 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
    Winner! 2015 Relentless Award
    Winner! 2017 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize

Details

Summary
Somewhere in America, an army of pre-teen competitive dancers plots to take over the world. And if their new routine is good enough, they’ll claw their way to the top at Nationals in Tampa Bay. A play about ambition, growing up, and how to find our souls in the heat of it all.
History

2018, Playwrights Horizons, New York

2018, Almeida Theatre, London

Keywords
Performing Groups
DANCE TEACHER PAT – The head of the dance studio.
AMINA – The star dancer.
ZUZU – Always second best.
CONNIE – A talented dancer who thinks she should play the role of Gandhi.
LUKE – The only male dancer on the competition team.
MAEVE – The oldest and least talented dancer on the team.
SOFIA – Knows what’s up.
ASHLEE – Future president of a post-apocalyptic USA.
CRUMPLED SAILOR AKA VANESSA – Could’ve been a phenomenon.
THE MOMS – Means well. Grown-up Wendy. Also plays Vanessa.
  • Duration 105 Minutes

Media

“I have seen the future, and it is Dance Nation.” – The Washington Post

“A blazingly original play... marvel at how close what you see cuts to the bone.” – The New York Times

“If you were ever a 13-year-old girl, Clare Barron’s daring, raw Dance Nation will probably hit you hard [...] It’s a brave, visceral, excitingly off-kilter barbaric yawp of a play. And it gets at something excruciatingly tender: the burden of modesty on young American women.” – New York Magazine

ON BREAKING CHARACTER

From the Desk of Licensing: Collegiate Edition Vol. 2
by Becca Schlossberg
September 6, 2019

Scene Study and Classroom Reading: Plays for Colleges and Universities
by Becca Schlossberg
August 23, 2019

Our Picks For The 2019/20 Season
Lawrence Haynes
January 7, 2019

Videos

  • Dance Nation Trailer youtube thumbnail

    Dance Nation Trailer

  • Clare Barron talks Dance Nation youtube thumbnail

    Clare Barron talks Dance Nation

Photos

  • Dance Nation

    Image: 2018 Playwrights Horizons Production (Joan Marcus)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

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Authors

Clare Barron

Clare Barron

Clare Barron is a playwright and performer from Wenatchee, Washington. Her play Dance Nation recently received its world premiere at Playwrights Horizons in May 2018 and subsequently its UK premiere at the Almeida Theatre in London. It was a 2019 finalist for the Pulitzer Pri ...

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