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DREAM HOU$E

Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy  /  3w, 2any gender (adult)

Two Latinx sisters prepare to sell their home on a reality TV show, hoping to capitalize on neighborhood gentrification. But once the cameras are rolling, the family's turbulent past and uncertain future begin to collide, and the sisters are forced to reckon with the secrets held between the house's walls.

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 2any gender (adult)
  • Duration
    Duration
    105 Minutes
  • Suggested Use
    • Scene Work
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
Accolades
  • Winner! KCACTF Harold and Mimi Steinberg Playwriting Award 2021
    Winner! Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Fellowship 2021
    Winner! Arizona Theatre Company National Latine Playwriting Award 2020
    Winner! The Leah Ryan Fund Prize 2019

Details

Summary
Two Latinx sisters are appearing on an HGTV-style reality show to sell their family home, hoping to capitalize on the gentrification in their “changing neighborhood.” As they perform for the camera the show starts to slip into the surreal: one sister grapples with turmoil in the family’s ancestral past and the other learns how much she’s willing to sacrifice for the family’s future. DREAM HOU$E, which earned both the Kendeda Award and Steinberg Playwriting Award in 2021, is a crowd-pleasing comedy that asks: What is the cultural cost of progress in America? And is cashing in always selling out?
History
DREAM HOU$E had its world premiere as a triple co-production. Throughout spring 2022, the play as performed at Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Long Wharf Theatre in Connecticut and Baltimore Center Stage, under the direction of Laurie Woolery.

PATRICIA – Woman. Late 30s, Latina or Afrolatina.
JULIA – Woman. Late 20s, Latina or Afrolatina.
TESSA – Woman. Early 30s, white.
THE CREW – 2+ actors, non-speaking.

  • Time Period Present Day
  • Setting An old house in Hilo Villa, in the process of becoming Hi-Vill. Present.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
  • Additional Features Multimedia
  • Duration 105 Minutes
  • Cautions
    • Strong Language
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

“Ingenious...reveals its layers subtly but persistently.” – MD Theatre Guide

“Many excellent plays have tackled the issue of gentrification...but there's a freshness and an intimacy to Dream Hou$e that allows it to inhabit its own space.” – Arts ATL

“Entertains as it asks you to think critically.” – Broadway World

“Purposefully uncentered, unsettled social satire, which explores the meaning of everything from genealogy to gentrification, from virtue to video.” – Hartford Courant

“As a satirical send-up of reality TV, Pipes' play is...sharp and on-target.” – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“We are rocketed through every emotion on the spectrum—one moment laughing at the absurd and silly, and the next, devastated by loss and fragility.” – MD Theatre Guide

Videos

  • An Interview with Playwright Eliana Pipes youtube thumbnail

    An Interview with Playwright Eliana Pipes

  • Dream Hou$e Trailer - Alliance Theatre youtube thumbnail

    Dream Hou$e Trailer - Alliance Theatre

  • A Sneak Peek at Dream Hou$e - Shotgun Players youtube thumbnail

    A Sneak Peek at Dream Hou$e - Shotgun Players

  • Eliana Pipes and the American un-Dream: Let's Talk About Dream Hou$e youtube thumbnail

    Eliana Pipes and the American un-Dream: Let's Talk About Dream Hou$e

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £55 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

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Authors

Eliana Pipes

Eliana Pipes is a writer, filmmaker and performer. Her plays include Dream Hou$e (world premiere co-production with the Alliance Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre and Baltimore Center Stage), Bite Me (South Coast Repertory Pacific Playwright’s Festival, NNPN National New Play Showc ...

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