Ben has lived in the Pacific Northwest and Midwest but now resides on the East Coast, where he is a Yale School of Drama MFA candidate in Playwriting. He is a current member of the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group at Primary Stages (New York City), and under commission from South Coast Repertory Theatre (Costa Mesa, CA).
Like Ben, his work has been seen coast to coast (and a few points in the middle): The Old Globe (CA), Boston Court Pasadena (CA), Teatro Milagro (OR), Seattle Repertory Theatre (WA), ACT Theatre (WA), Theatre Battery (WA), Denver Center for the Performing Arts (CO), Texas Tech University (TX), The Playwrights’ Center (MN), Pillsbury House Theatre (MN), Two River Theater (NJ), The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center (CT), The Playwrights Realm (NY), The Lark (NY), and Roundabout Theatre Company (NY), among others.
His plays—including Alma, In His Hands, and the very bottom of a body of water—explore familiar, intimate relationships grounded in an emotional realism but allow the environment, time, and objects to invite elements of the surreal, absurd, expressionistic, and supernatural into the fabric of their worlds. These works also center movement and sensory experiences of the human body to ask existential questions with wit and an imagistic dramaturgy.
Ben is the recipient of Portland Stage's 2020 Clauder Competition Gold Prize, Arizona Theatre Company's 2019 National Latinx Playwriting Award, American Blues Theater’s 2019 Blue Ink Playwriting Award, the Kennedy Center's KCACTF 2019 Latinx Playwriting Award, the 2017 Robert Chesley/Victor Bumbalo Playwriting Award, a Playwrights’ Center 2016-17 Many Voices Fellowship, and 2017-18 McKnight Playwriting Fellowship.
Cat serves collaboration, community, and lqqks wherever the art takes her and whatever stage it’s in. She swaps wigs (and roles) with aplomb, showing up as a director, facilitator, dramaturg, and performer. In all, Cat’s craft entails bringing discernment to decision-making and Joy to the process. Black / Latinx feminisms as well as collectivist organizing methods fundamentally inform her arts practice and pathways through the world. She's a "people person" with a politic and a love for the Ridiculous. A core member of theater and media company Fake Friends, Cat was last seen digitally domming in Circle Jerk, which garnered a nom for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. She works in English and Spanish, talks with her hands y anda con ganas. A freelance artist, Cat considers herself a nomad but always names New Orleans and Nicaragua home.
How does a play go from an idea in someone's head to words on a page to embodied by actors? Watch this whole process unfold in two weeks as playwright Benjamin Benne explores a brand new play, about an intergenerational Guatemalan family cooking a Christmas meal together, from visioning to writing to workshop with a culminating reading of the first draft that will be open to the public. With a collaborative team that includes both professional and student theater artists, you're invited to be a part of this new work creation process!
The first week of his residency will be dedicated to writing the first pages of this work with the dramaturgical support of his collaborator Cat Rodriguez. The second week is a workshop focused on forming and developing those (and new) pages with the support of the creative team. Cat will transition to Director at this stage.
His residency culminates with a stage reading of the work in progress: Fantasma.
September 1, 2021 | 6:00pm | Rubenstein Arts Center Gallery (second floor)
Students interested in participating in the stage reading on September 10 are invited to meet Benjamin Benne and his collaborator Cat Rodriguez in a welcoming space. Ben will discuss the process and answer questions; students will do short readings from one of his scripts.
September 10, 2021 | 5:00pm | Rubenstein Arts Center Gallery (second floor)
This stage reading is open to the public and will follow Duke University public health guidelines. Seating is on a first come, first served basis. A reception follows in the Ruby courtyard.
Theater Studies