edison's elephant
co-written with david koteles
5m, 3f, pianist
unit set
In 1903, on Brooklyn’s Coney Island, Thomas Edison electrocuted an elephant. Moreover, he filmed it, for all to witness. Based on historic accounts, Edison’s Elephant explores the life and death of Topsy, the circus elephant who, after much abuse, retaliated against those who harmed her, and who was ultimately executed for her actions—then made the subject of Edison’s film "Electrocuting the Elephant."
2014: Metropolitan Playhouse Gilded Stage Festival
5m, 3f, pianist
unit set
In 1903, on Brooklyn’s Coney Island, Thomas Edison electrocuted an elephant. Moreover, he filmed it, for all to witness. Based on historic accounts, Edison’s Elephant explores the life and death of Topsy, the circus elephant who, after much abuse, retaliated against those who harmed her, and who was ultimately executed for her actions—then made the subject of Edison’s film "Electrocuting the Elephant."
2014: Metropolitan Playhouse Gilded Stage Festival
afterlife
co-written with candy simmons
1f
minimal/no set
a midwife who would kill for a family. a homemaker in search of her true nature. a successful executive hanging by a thread. what do these three women have in common? nothing... and everything.
2008-2009: Nominee, Best Play (Drama), The Victoria Fringe Festival; Finalist – Best Production, Montreal Fringe Festival
2008-2013: Adventure Theater Festival, Plainview, MN; RedEye Theater, Minneapolis; Live Girls! Theater, Seattle; Uno Fest, Victoria, BC; Victoria, BC Fringe; Montreal Fringe; Toronto Fringe; Winnipeg Fringe; Minnesota Fringe; Edmonton Fringe; Vancouver Fringe
“Devastatingly well-drawn… an absolute must-see.” – Monday Magazine
“Mesmerizing.” – Times Colonist
“Phenomenal.” – Plank Magazine
“Takes your breath away.” – Montreal Gazette
1f
minimal/no set
a midwife who would kill for a family. a homemaker in search of her true nature. a successful executive hanging by a thread. what do these three women have in common? nothing... and everything.
2008-2009: Nominee, Best Play (Drama), The Victoria Fringe Festival; Finalist – Best Production, Montreal Fringe Festival
2008-2013: Adventure Theater Festival, Plainview, MN; RedEye Theater, Minneapolis; Live Girls! Theater, Seattle; Uno Fest, Victoria, BC; Victoria, BC Fringe; Montreal Fringe; Toronto Fringe; Winnipeg Fringe; Minnesota Fringe; Edmonton Fringe; Vancouver Fringe
“Devastatingly well-drawn… an absolute must-see.” – Monday Magazine
“Mesmerizing.” – Times Colonist
“Phenomenal.” – Plank Magazine
“Takes your breath away.” – Montreal Gazette
breuckelen
1m, 6f, 1 either, plus an assortment of open mic acts
one set
williamsburg. present-day hipsters collide with brooklyn residents from centuries past—including a dutch widow, russian squatter, and a notorious bootlegger. as they spin their stories, they recount the checkered history of this borough they all call home.
Commissioned by Battle Hill Press
2008: Public staged reading by The Management’s Salon Series
2006: Collective:Unconscious; Riverside Theatre, Iowa City (excerpt)
2005: Workshop production by Battle Hill Press’ Battle Hill Reading Series
"One by one, five ghosts materialize, and begin to tell their disparate tales to groups of people seated around the room. Their stories—monologues, written in strikingly different voices by Breuckelen's playwright, Chris Van Strander—are brief but riveting… An intriguing experiment in performance, storytelling, and audience engagement. The play happens almost entirely offstage, in the same space as the spectators (with different parts of it unspooling simultaneously). It's a great notion… There's something special brewing here, and I hope that Van Strander keep[s] stirring it up." – nytheatre.com
"Poignant… Its brightest moments occur when it simply revels in the exuberance of its wacky characters… Evoked spot-on laughs about our shared frames of reference and Brooklyn's encroaching gentrification. Like Brooklyn the city, Breuckelen the play is worth the trek." - offoffonline
one set
williamsburg. present-day hipsters collide with brooklyn residents from centuries past—including a dutch widow, russian squatter, and a notorious bootlegger. as they spin their stories, they recount the checkered history of this borough they all call home.
Commissioned by Battle Hill Press
2008: Public staged reading by The Management’s Salon Series
2006: Collective:Unconscious; Riverside Theatre, Iowa City (excerpt)
2005: Workshop production by Battle Hill Press’ Battle Hill Reading Series
"One by one, five ghosts materialize, and begin to tell their disparate tales to groups of people seated around the room. Their stories—monologues, written in strikingly different voices by Breuckelen's playwright, Chris Van Strander—are brief but riveting… An intriguing experiment in performance, storytelling, and audience engagement. The play happens almost entirely offstage, in the same space as the spectators (with different parts of it unspooling simultaneously). It's a great notion… There's something special brewing here, and I hope that Van Strander keep[s] stirring it up." – nytheatre.com
"Poignant… Its brightest moments occur when it simply revels in the exuberance of its wacky characters… Evoked spot-on laughs about our shared frames of reference and Brooklyn's encroaching gentrification. Like Brooklyn the city, Breuckelen the play is worth the trek." - offoffonline
terrible infant
3m, 1f
flexible set
schenectady, ny. 1842. a child shakespearean-acting prodigy must choose between taking the stage as hamlet... or finally seizing control over his own life.
2004: Inversions Theatre at The NY International Fringe Festival
2003-2004: Public staged readings by The Neighborhood Playhouse; Asylum Theatre, Las Vegas; Circle East Theater Company; The Director’s Company
“A serious play with an old fashioned feel to the writing that extends beyond the time setting… Precise, complete with laughs and pathos." – curtainup.com
flexible set
schenectady, ny. 1842. a child shakespearean-acting prodigy must choose between taking the stage as hamlet... or finally seizing control over his own life.
2004: Inversions Theatre at The NY International Fringe Festival
2003-2004: Public staged readings by The Neighborhood Playhouse; Asylum Theatre, Las Vegas; Circle East Theater Company; The Director’s Company
“A serious play with an old fashioned feel to the writing that extends beyond the time setting… Precise, complete with laughs and pathos." – curtainup.com
daniel pelican
1m, 1f, voiceoversflexible set; could be site-specific
an amateur yachtsman pulls off the greatest hoax in maritime history when he fakes his way into winning a round-the-world race. obsessed with fame and racked with guilt, he struggles to keep hold of reality as he descends into madness.
1999: CRUX Productions at The Frying Pan Lightship
"Daniel Pelican is performed on a working ship called The Frying Pan, which is docked on the Hudson River. Mind you, Daniel Pelican is a strong enough piece of writing to succeed in a more conventional space, but it really belongs here: aboard ship is the natural home for this fine new play by Chris Van Strander, with the sounds, smells, and other sensations of being on water truly adding to the experience of the play, as does the dark, damp, rusted-out boiler room where the play is actually staged… Daniel Pelican takes some surprising turns as it spins the improbably tall tale of its hero. Mr. Van Strander, as author and as actor, performing the title role, does a splendid job conveying Daniel's loneliness and the sadness. Daniel Pelican is a remarkably deft, surprisingly touching piece of work; it deserves a longer life (probably on land). And Mr. Van Strander is a talent to keep an eye on." - nytheatre.com
"Daniel Pelican is an original period play that profits immeasurably from some bold thinking in the venue department. Having eschewed the convention of some cozy nook of a theater space, Van Strander chose instead The Frying Pan, an utterly atmospheric Hudson River-based seagoing rust bucket, which served as the superlative setting aboard which to stage this maritime tale… Daniel Pelican’s success is due to its author. Van Strander excels in his self-crafted role… A very watchable and often poignant presentation." -Show Business Weekly
an amateur yachtsman pulls off the greatest hoax in maritime history when he fakes his way into winning a round-the-world race. obsessed with fame and racked with guilt, he struggles to keep hold of reality as he descends into madness.
1999: CRUX Productions at The Frying Pan Lightship
"Daniel Pelican is performed on a working ship called The Frying Pan, which is docked on the Hudson River. Mind you, Daniel Pelican is a strong enough piece of writing to succeed in a more conventional space, but it really belongs here: aboard ship is the natural home for this fine new play by Chris Van Strander, with the sounds, smells, and other sensations of being on water truly adding to the experience of the play, as does the dark, damp, rusted-out boiler room where the play is actually staged… Daniel Pelican takes some surprising turns as it spins the improbably tall tale of its hero. Mr. Van Strander, as author and as actor, performing the title role, does a splendid job conveying Daniel's loneliness and the sadness. Daniel Pelican is a remarkably deft, surprisingly touching piece of work; it deserves a longer life (probably on land). And Mr. Van Strander is a talent to keep an eye on." - nytheatre.com
"Daniel Pelican is an original period play that profits immeasurably from some bold thinking in the venue department. Having eschewed the convention of some cozy nook of a theater space, Van Strander chose instead The Frying Pan, an utterly atmospheric Hudson River-based seagoing rust bucket, which served as the superlative setting aboard which to stage this maritime tale… Daniel Pelican’s success is due to its author. Van Strander excels in his self-crafted role… A very watchable and often poignant presentation." -Show Business Weekly
