The way people remember me from my performance at Judson in March 2012. Pic courtesy of Robert Chin.
My name is Daniel Kinch. I also answer to Dan as well as a variety of other names (sometimes to ‘Jerry’). I studied acting in college at University of South Florida (and afterwards), but my interest is (and always was) in writing plays–I studied with the late great Jack Gelber at Brooklyn College. I’ve written lots of plays. If you want to know way too much about my work, my biography is over here.
This page is about the one-person shows I’ve written (and I will write). Basically, I write about troublemakers. I write about activists and people who’ve put themselves on the line for a cause. I’ve written for myself and others. I decided to write one-person shows because they were easy to get mounted and can be toured with little more than a bus ticket.
The Plays that are ready to rumble:
HOW TO STOP THE EMPIRE WHILE KEEPING YOUR DAY JOB. The play that I’ve been performing as part of Occupy Wall Street. A grizzled vet of protest movements tells us what works and what just gets you sent to prison*.
Its original title and other info:
Video of short play at Occupy The Empty Space event 3/18/2012
Video of the ‘Citizens United Edition‘ performed in Zuccotti in January of 2014
The Chelsea Manning edition of How to Stop the Empire (it has some content not in the Occupy the Empty Space event).
A GOOD DAY 2 PIE: One of the current shows available for tour is not performed by me. It is a play about Monsanto and a protester who hit their CEO in the face with a pie to protest GMO’s and Bio-piracy. The play is performed by Kathleen Stansell.
As ‘Vandana’, Kathleen explains why you don’t want to eat gmo soybeans.
Review of the play performed at Brooklyn for Peace (spoiler alert)
A Clown, A Hammer, A Bomb, and God
Sorta gives you an idea of what my play is about. Picture from Owen Long, who does great work.
On Good Friday 1994 (which fell on April Fool’s Day), a pacifist priest dressed in a clown costume (because he was a ‘Fool for Christ), broke into a Minuteman missile base in North Dakota and disabled a nuclear missile by hammering on its silo door so that it wouldn’t open. That part is a true story–and that’s what the play is about. I’ve had this play in rotation since 1997. Complete history of the play production here.
*note: I have yet to experience federal prison time. This is a common misconception around the story of Jerry in the Empire play.
Plays not on video/not ready for prime time
ON THE GRID: a play about the way that international ‘aid’ agencies stole everything that wasn’t nailed down in the countries of Africa and Asia. Details here.
The Story of Falling Don: My only Auto-biographical play, it was the story of how I spent 9/11 and the days after. Details here.
Occupy Yo Mama: A one-woman play about the mother of adult children who should be at Zuccotti, but aren’t. If you’re interested in playing the role or producing it, contact me in the comments section.
Thirty blocks north of the Rock Pile: A play about 9/11 conspiracy theories. A play about cynicism and government plots.
Goodnight LBJ: The true story of a Vietnam veteran who cared for addicted airmen–and was prosecuted in a landmark case by the Pentagon for organizing anti-war protests in-country. I wrote about the play here.
The latest:
The Hubbert Slope: The world has passed the peak of oil production (Hubbert’s Peak) and now we’re on the downhill run (the Hubbert Slope). And a retired Geologist who’s retired to Ireland wants to tell us what’s keeping him up at nights thinking about the ramifications. Just finished, waiting to start rehearsals when someone expresses interest in seeing it. More here.
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These plays are all written and could be performed at your venue with a minimum of fuss on your part. By ‘venue’ I mean your lecture hall, school, church basement, or theater. I perform outside if it isn’t raining. If you want me to come in and perform, you can contact me.
But enough about me
Three of the plays mentioned above were originated by others–the actors came to me, we collaborated, we found a story for them to tell. I didn’t think all these plays up on my own and I collaborated with actors and together we found a way to perform something distinctive and memorable. They turned out pretty well, as I recall. I can write on demand. My feeling is that the maximum length on a solo show is fifty minutes. You must start out by offering me pizza and good beer.
Do you have a story you need to tell?
Contact me and we’ll talk.
