The Independent, "The Real Life Queen's Gambit"
Huffington Post "I was a female chess prodigy. My story is eerily similar to Beth Harmon's"
(HER)oics: Women's Lived Experiences During The Coronavirus
WIRED: https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-learn-chess-online-sharpen-game/
CHECKMATING
A memoir of my life with chess, drugs, and rock n'roll, supported by a grant from IndieTheaterFund (2020).
Mr. Landing Takes a Fall
Production: The Flea (2014) Directed by Sherri Eden Barber
Development: The Lark (Sherri Eden Barber), The Players NYC (Peter Zinn), IRT (Miriam Weiner)
A TimeOut NY Good Odds Pick for 3 weeks
1st place Bottletree recipient, supported by a grant from the League of Independent Theater
Shortlisted: PlayPenn ‘13, The Ronald Duncan Award ‘14, The 24/7 Festival ’14.
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MR LANDING TAKES A FALL (The Flea Theater 2014)
A TimeOut NY Good Pick for 3 weeks, 1st place Bottletree recipient. Shortlisted: PlayPenn ‘13, The Ronald Duncan Award ‘14, The 24/7 Festival ’14.
Mr. Landing Takes a Fall is smart, witty, and richly symbolic...a strong new voice in the [Absurdist] genre may be emerging.
Pete Hempstead, Theatermania
The atmosphere of a fever dream ... poking at the thin veneer between the domestic and the animalistic – Adam LeFevre is especially good as the alternately avuncular ... aggressive Mr Landing.
The New Yorker
A hilarious and touching absurdist exploration of who we live with and how we live with them, acted with gusto by a great ensemble.
Theater is Easy
...Mr. Landing Takes a Fall” is a sharp play. Not only deeply sharp, but sharply deep at times. Its remarkable writing, strong ensemble cast, and skilled direction make for a winning production!
The Columbia Spectator
It is a tricky business to pull off an absurdist comedy like Sari Caine's often outlandish yet surprisingly touching and excellently acted absurdist comedy.. Raising questions—the way Albee does in the minds of his audience—regarding the breaking of a long-established shared understanding between people whose lives are inexorably intertwined. In the end, the play succeeds in striking the necessary balance between the buffoonery and the underlying emotional core that is a hallmark of absurdist theater, and the talented cast, under Sherri Eden Barber's direction, does a splendid job bringing it to all to life.
Howard Miller, Talkin’ Broadway Off Broadway
With the aid of whisky, the characters’ secrets, repressed feelings, and clothing are casted off.... I was surprised and impressed by the amount of physical acting and how the set design was integrated into the performance ... Mr. Landing Takes a fall, is for those that are open to questioning themselves.
Broadway Voice
Sari’s Caine’s absurd, melancholy and unexpectedly violent drawing room comedy...full-throttles its four players through an evening filled with revelations...
The Villager
Bottom Line: A hilarious and touching absurdist exploration of who we live with and how we live with them, acted with gusto by a great ensemble... When you enter the Flea Theatre for Slightly Altered States’ production of Mr. Landing Takes a Fall, you enter through the threshold of the set, essentially indoctrinating yourself into the wacky world of this play... Cleverly designed by Clifton Chadick (it's)... a fractured “Leave It to Beaver” episode with its bright colors, sharp angles, and appliances from the 1950s. Before the play even begins, you know that this isn’t going to be close to an ordinary exploration of the quietly desperate lives of suburbanites.
Dave Osmundsen, Theatre is Easy
Despite their battiness, the characters are vibrant, complex and always fun to watch. The show will keep you guessing till it's very end.
Aviva Woolf, StageBuddy.com
The actors are completely in sync with the whimsical nature of the material and play it to great effect...The play and the characters unearth chillingly naked emotions.
NYU News
Bottle Tree Productions One Act Play Competition 1st Place Winner // Judge's Comments
A mind-bending comedy for adults. Very well written. The unique set evolves continually to creates a disorienting world for the audience. The rapidly changing characters and relationships make this play by Sari Caine a roller coaster ride of absurd fun capped off by the flying pig. The amazing thing to me is that she manages to pull off this very ambitious psychedelic adventure in playwriting. visual and verbal treats throughout!
A TimeOut NY Good Pick for 3 weeks, 1st place Bottletree recipient. Shortlisted: PlayPenn ‘13, The Ronald Duncan Award ‘14, The 24/7 Festival ’14.
Mr. Landing Takes a Fall is smart, witty, and richly symbolic...a strong new voice in the [Absurdist] genre may be emerging.
Pete Hempstead, Theatermania
The atmosphere of a fever dream ... poking at the thin veneer between the domestic and the animalistic – Adam LeFevre is especially good as the alternately avuncular ... aggressive Mr Landing.
The New Yorker
A hilarious and touching absurdist exploration of who we live with and how we live with them, acted with gusto by a great ensemble.
Theater is Easy
...Mr. Landing Takes a Fall” is a sharp play. Not only deeply sharp, but sharply deep at times. Its remarkable writing, strong ensemble cast, and skilled direction make for a winning production!
The Columbia Spectator
It is a tricky business to pull off an absurdist comedy like Sari Caine's often outlandish yet surprisingly touching and excellently acted absurdist comedy.. Raising questions—the way Albee does in the minds of his audience—regarding the breaking of a long-established shared understanding between people whose lives are inexorably intertwined. In the end, the play succeeds in striking the necessary balance between the buffoonery and the underlying emotional core that is a hallmark of absurdist theater, and the talented cast, under Sherri Eden Barber's direction, does a splendid job bringing it to all to life.
Howard Miller, Talkin’ Broadway Off Broadway
With the aid of whisky, the characters’ secrets, repressed feelings, and clothing are casted off.... I was surprised and impressed by the amount of physical acting and how the set design was integrated into the performance ... Mr. Landing Takes a fall, is for those that are open to questioning themselves.
Broadway Voice
Sari’s Caine’s absurd, melancholy and unexpectedly violent drawing room comedy...full-throttles its four players through an evening filled with revelations...
The Villager
Bottom Line: A hilarious and touching absurdist exploration of who we live with and how we live with them, acted with gusto by a great ensemble... When you enter the Flea Theatre for Slightly Altered States’ production of Mr. Landing Takes a Fall, you enter through the threshold of the set, essentially indoctrinating yourself into the wacky world of this play... Cleverly designed by Clifton Chadick (it's)... a fractured “Leave It to Beaver” episode with its bright colors, sharp angles, and appliances from the 1950s. Before the play even begins, you know that this isn’t going to be close to an ordinary exploration of the quietly desperate lives of suburbanites.
Dave Osmundsen, Theatre is Easy
Despite their battiness, the characters are vibrant, complex and always fun to watch. The show will keep you guessing till it's very end.
Aviva Woolf, StageBuddy.com
The actors are completely in sync with the whimsical nature of the material and play it to great effect...The play and the characters unearth chillingly naked emotions.
NYU News
Bottle Tree Productions One Act Play Competition 1st Place Winner // Judge's Comments
A mind-bending comedy for adults. Very well written. The unique set evolves continually to creates a disorienting world for the audience. The rapidly changing characters and relationships make this play by Sari Caine a roller coaster ride of absurd fun capped off by the flying pig. The amazing thing to me is that she manages to pull off this very ambitious psychedelic adventure in playwriting. visual and verbal treats throughout!
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Sanctuary
Performance: The Arc (July 2018) A Benefit Performance for Immigrant Families Together with Random Access Music & DMNDR (livestreamed)
Performance: SPIN/NYC (August 2018) A Benefit Performance for UnLocal with R.A.M.
Performance: SPIN/NYC (August 2018) A Benefit Performance for UnLocal with R.A.M.
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Sanctuary was written as a response to the separation of children from families of detained immigrants and adapted from letters they wrote, as well as news articles and interviews. It is accompanied by projections and live music, and was presented by casts comprised of immigrants (including a DACA recipient) and directed by Cuban-American film director, DELAVEGA. Sanctuary can be performed with a cast of 6-16 people.
Ty Rex, a play with live music and new media. Autistic-inclusive. (Video of live reading available upon request)
Workshops/Readings: The Arc (Celine Rosenthal), The Flea (Sherri Eden Barber), The Lark (Dustin Wills)
Grants: The Indie Theater Fund ('18) Queens Council of the Arts ('19), Actor’s Equity Fund ('19)
Grants: The Indie Theater Fund ('18) Queens Council of the Arts ('19), Actor’s Equity Fund ('19)
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Synopsis: When a new drama therapist shakes up her school for autistic children, non-verbal 11 year old trauma survivor Ty finds an unlikely lifeline in the strange and dark tale of Rumpelstiltskin, where another young girl is trapped and powerless. But if she doesn’t learn to navigate the real world around her, Ty will become lost in the fairytale forever. In a realm beyond reach of neuro typical adults, her words can only be heard by her neuro diverse peers; but can her classmates band together to save Ty before it is to late?” (5W/2M)
Ty Rex in Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month: DMNDR and resident theater company Slightly Altered States presented a landmark Autism-inclusive and helmed reading of Ty Rex with new media and live music from the DMNDR house band. Ty Rex was followed by a dialogue with our community, autistic individuals, educators, and our neurodiverse team. It is time to change the way Autism is portrayed in media and entertainment and this must be done by partnering with our talented autistic associates on these narratives; only by promoting the very inclusion the work champions can genuine change occur. Ty Rex reflects not only Sari’s desire to create a multi-dimensional understanding of neuro diverse worlds inspired from her 7 years teaching special needs children, but also supports autistic females who are largely unheard from, especially the stories of LGBT autistic females.
Ty Rex in Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month: DMNDR and resident theater company Slightly Altered States presented a landmark Autism-inclusive and helmed reading of Ty Rex with new media and live music from the DMNDR house band. Ty Rex was followed by a dialogue with our community, autistic individuals, educators, and our neurodiverse team. It is time to change the way Autism is portrayed in media and entertainment and this must be done by partnering with our talented autistic associates on these narratives; only by promoting the very inclusion the work champions can genuine change occur. Ty Rex reflects not only Sari’s desire to create a multi-dimensional understanding of neuro diverse worlds inspired from her 7 years teaching special needs children, but also supports autistic females who are largely unheard from, especially the stories of LGBT autistic females.
Dog Dreams. Live music. Autistic-inclusive.
Workshops/Readings: The Arc (Sherri Eden Barber), IRT (Sherri Eden Barber)
Synopsis: When a young woman goes missing, her absence impacts her whole family in ways she could not have conceived. When she shows up 11 months later, on the eve of her autistic former fiance's engagement party, everyone around her is forced to consider their own lives and loves as well. Dog Dreams takes place in two trailers divided by a train track and incorporates live music. This is part of Sari's neuro inclusive work, where she aims to include characters who are on the autism spectrum (as per the world we live in...) without it being the subject of the play. In this case, the love triangle is neuro inclusive but the subject matter is simply an examination of our all too human need for communication and understanding, and whether what is left between us when we have neither is actually most important. (3W/2M)
Synopsis: When a young woman goes missing, her absence impacts her whole family in ways she could not have conceived. When she shows up 11 months later, on the eve of her autistic former fiance's engagement party, everyone around her is forced to consider their own lives and loves as well. Dog Dreams takes place in two trailers divided by a train track and incorporates live music. This is part of Sari's neuro inclusive work, where she aims to include characters who are on the autism spectrum (as per the world we live in...) without it being the subject of the play. In this case, the love triangle is neuro inclusive but the subject matter is simply an examination of our all too human need for communication and understanding, and whether what is left between us when we have neither is actually most important. (3W/2M)
The Wildest Ones. Differently-abled inclusive.
Workshops/Readings: The Arc (Sherri Eden Barber), IRT (Sherri Eden Barber)
2018 Residency: Thunder Heart Horse Ranch Haven, Colorado
2018 Residency: Thunder Heart Horse Ranch Haven, Colorado
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Synopsis: With no one to look after them besides themselves, the teens on Willow Hill Horse Farm form their own pack. The horse herd behavior provides a mirror for the dynamics of the "herd" of teens as they learn from each other. The horse ranch houses "fucked up" teens and unwanted mustangs, who are destined for adoption or being sold for glue. Both horses and teens are caught in a cycle of violence not of their making and struggling for escape and their actual lives. This dark comedy follows the journey of Cat, a 14 year old girl with "nothing wrong with her," who arrives at Willow Hill where teens wear their scars like badges of honor and trauma is shared before first names. The normalcy of Cat's "other" life creates disorder and stirs desires among the rest of the group, including a disabled teen. Are they destined to repeat the violence that has been institutionalized upon them inter-generationally? Or can they learn from each other and the wild horses here how to separate love from violence, abuse of power from responsibility? (2W/3M)
If U Luv Me a 10 minute play
Production: Symphony Space (2016), Directed by Brad Raimondo / Athena Writes
Podcast available at DMNDR
Podcast available at DMNDR
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Synopsis: Brandon loves Alison; Alison wants him to kill someone for her. High school’s a complicated place. (1W/1M)
The Chess Lesson
Production: IRT Theater (2012) Directed by Elizabeth Nelson
A TimeOut NY Good-Odds pick 3 weeks in a row
The Chess Lesson was accompanied by different bands (Roosevelt Dime, The David Kolker Band, and Diana Oh's Gone Rogue)
Workshop: Jimmy’s No. 43 (Dorit Avganim)
Residencies: Space at Ryder Farm (2013), IRT (2013), Sidney and Beatrice Albert Foundation
A TimeOut NY Good-Odds pick 3 weeks in a row
The Chess Lesson was accompanied by different bands (Roosevelt Dime, The David Kolker Band, and Diana Oh's Gone Rogue)
Workshop: Jimmy’s No. 43 (Dorit Avganim)
Residencies: Space at Ryder Farm (2013), IRT (2013), Sidney and Beatrice Albert Foundation
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Synopsis: An "Ionesco God of Carnage," The Chess Lesson features three very different parents who have come to take a chess class with their children’s teacher. Four strangers all at a crossroads in their life alone together in a children's classroom have no choice but to examine who they are, and remember who they were and who they thought they'd be. (2W/2M) Free chess lessons were offered onsite. The Chess Lesson was published on IndieTheaterNow.
SLCTD PRESS: If you're a performer who's also writing a play, here's a valuable lesson: create a good part for yourself. That's what the delightfully daffy Sari Caine has done in The Chess Lesson, her 65-minute one-act now at IRT. This offbeat performer, who resembles a younger Carol Kane, easily makes audiences guffaw with the antics of her wacky, somewhat unhinged children's teacher, who is trying desperately to impart the basics of playing chess to three less-than-appealing adults. She proves to be both a gifted physical actress, pratfalling immediately upon her entrance to the meticulously designed classroom (created by Slightly Altered States and director Elizabeth Miller), and one who can find emotional truth in everything from the venting of her pent-up sexual frustration to the realization that her dreams have long been deferred. TheaterMania The Chess Lesson is a delightful and wise comic one-act about indulging in childlike flights of fancy and why we need to do that in the face of sadness or loneliness or bitterness. I recommend it highly. Martin Denton of nytheatre.com [A] delightful trope for humankind’s inveterate attempt to understand 'how things came to be. David Roberts of Theatre Reviews Limited It's less God of Carnage and... more Step Brothers... moments when the characters behave like adults are gold. They are simple, real-life, human moments that taught me more about who these people are than any of their screwball antics. Isabella: “You swept me off my feet.” // Paul: “I was drunk.” Love it. Theater Is Easy [T]he performances that director Elizabeth Miller gets from her cast are filled with intimate emotional details... The Chess Lesson is one of those multifaceted finds that rewards those who bravely search out new plays at small theaters. Dan Callahan of L Magazine Ok, so I got up at 3 this morning to write this, to say you have to see The Chess Lesson at the IRT theater, a tiny tiny place for which you have to wait out in the hall before it opens, and please go and wait and go in, and have a glass of wine ( no intermission, so have it NOW or then after, and tell your friends) That's about it: and the dance at the end will either bring tears to your eyes or you perhaps don't get it, and that's ok too. I love it when the highlight of the season, one of them at least, is in a theatre way downtown (154 Christopher, third floor, don't be discouraged, get there), well, get there. http://blog.maryanncaws.com/2013/01/the-chess-lesson.html The Thing About Dan
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Production: IRT, Directed by Sari Caine.
Residencies: IRT, Manhattan Theater Source Neighborhood Playhouse (2012), Manhattan Repertory Theater Winter Festival
Residencies: IRT, Manhattan Theater Source Neighborhood Playhouse (2012), Manhattan Repertory Theater Winter Festival
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Synopsis: The Thing About Dan is a warped and wistful play about two men, Paul and Zip who are running as fast as they can away from reality. Paul and Zip get away to a quiet cabin in the woods for a weekend of hunting where they wait for Dan, the friend who keeps their lives running smoothly, to join them. The thing is, he’s sleeping with their wives. (2M)
SLCTED PRESS
"What do you do when you life suddenly “falls apart”? You rely on your friends to help you find meaning. But what if one of them helps you find out how little meaning your life might actually have? ... Apparently Dan has been sleeping with both of their wives for the better part of a year and apparently these wives are leaving (or may have already left) their husbands for Dan on this very day of the big pig roast. One note to each husband is offered as proof, and this prompts both men to conclude that the logical thing to do now is to wait in the empty house, both armed and ready to take out Dan once he arrives … if he arrives? .... Before the play began a live musician played the blues. He sticks around in the corners of this drama – an observer who makes the story True." Stephen Tortora-Lee –thehappiestmedium.com
SLCTED PRESS
"What do you do when you life suddenly “falls apart”? You rely on your friends to help you find meaning. But what if one of them helps you find out how little meaning your life might actually have? ... Apparently Dan has been sleeping with both of their wives for the better part of a year and apparently these wives are leaving (or may have already left) their husbands for Dan on this very day of the big pig roast. One note to each husband is offered as proof, and this prompts both men to conclude that the logical thing to do now is to wait in the empty house, both armed and ready to take out Dan once he arrives … if he arrives? .... Before the play began a live musician played the blues. He sticks around in the corners of this drama – an observer who makes the story True." Stephen Tortora-Lee –thehappiestmedium.com
The Cafe Plays: Brunch!, The Three Man Play, The Proposal
Production: Brunch! @ St. Clement's Theatre with The Strawberry Festival (Sari Caine)
Production: Brunch! @ Manhattan Repertory Festival (David Rigo)
Production: Brunch! @ O'Flaherty's Alehouse/Site Specific with Hell's Kitchen Art Festival (David Rigo)
Production: Brunch! @ Roy Arias Studio with John Chatterton's Where Eagles Dare Festival (David Rigo)
Production: The Proposal @ Dixon Place (Louis Kornfeld)
Workshop: The Cafe Plays (Jesse Jou)
Production: Brunch! @ Manhattan Repertory Festival (David Rigo)
Production: Brunch! @ O'Flaherty's Alehouse/Site Specific with Hell's Kitchen Art Festival (David Rigo)
Production: Brunch! @ Roy Arias Studio with John Chatterton's Where Eagles Dare Festival (David Rigo)
Production: The Proposal @ Dixon Place (Louis Kornfeld)
Workshop: The Cafe Plays (Jesse Jou)
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The Cafe Plays are comprised of 3 shorts that require 3 female actors for each one. They can be performed together or alone. The Cafe Plays are based off screwball comedies that have been gender switched over the course of various workshops. Gender roles in screwball comedies emphasize stereotypical male/female behavior. This behavior is taken for granted when it is joined with the “expected” gender; the purpose of these plays is to be able to actually clearly see what is “obvious” behavior that we take for granted by separating the behavior from the gender. It forces the observer to reexamine and question regular gender roles in an entertaining and known format. The setting is purposely simple and can be performed site specifically or in a theater, requiring simply 1 table and 2 or 3 chairs. A live band is encouraged but not necessary. These plays pair excellently with food and drink.
Brunch!: Emily wants Brunch; Harrietta wants to do the crossword. Will their lives ever be the same? The Three Men Play: Three men with ambiguous identities engage in a life or death power struggle over cups of coffee. The Proposal: Kitty drinks the same drink at the same table in the same chair every day except this one. When Martina arrives to propose to her girlfriend at the exact site of their first date, she finds Kitty seated there. The two women force each other to examine their habits and desires and what they believe is necessary to love and live. |
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The Pickle Jar Play, a 10 minute playProduction: Jimmy's No. 43 (2012) Directed by David Rigo
Slightly Altered States Salon Nights featuring music, improv, non-fiction, and short play series. Synopsis: Robert attempts to extricate himself from his trapped marriage only to find himself trapped in a pickle jar. What traps do we set for ourselves and which do we set for others? (5 people, gender fluid / Short play) CRYSTAL, a one woman play
Production: 5th annual East Village Theater Festival / OBIE award-winning Metropolitan Playhouse, Director Yvonne Conybeare
The Alphabet City solo performances are unlike any other theatrical experience in their marriage of true-life and performance: derived ... from interviews with local residents, the monologues celebrate the lives and philosophies of current East Village neighbors in their own words, as portrayed by actor/interviewers. This year’s performers are Sari Caine as Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Theater for the New City, Crystal Field.
FILMSThe Birthday (a short film script) Autistic-inclusive.
On the day of his 89th birthday, a man who has been caring for his two special needs adult children and wife with growing dementia makes a choice that will change everybody's lives. Zed (a short film script) Autistic-inclusive. A young teacher struggling in her own life has an encounter with one of her special needs high school students that will change one of their lives forever. The Seagull (a short film script) An acting class gone hay-wire. A reclusive famed teacher comes out of retirement to teach 1 workshop. A mysterious man enrolls and is given the part of Trigorin from the classic Trigorin and Nina scene in The Seagull. 1 dead bird, 1 loaded gun, and a tragedy from the past make this workshop one no one could have expected. Money Shot (Pilot developed with Weekend At Bernie's 2 producer Bill Paul) Based on a real story. A young film student from a wealthy family suddenly finds himself supporting his parents and younger sister. He becomes a producer and writer for the burgeoning porn industry, which -it being 1980- is still illegal. Money Shot follows Bill as he is thrown into this very real and salacious world of high finance, mobsters, porn stars, sex-drugs-&rocknroll, the behind the scenes writing room of a porn production company, even the CIA. It is also an homage to the now vanished world of NYC in the '80s. Making It (episodic) Autistic-inclusive. Differently-abled inclusive. A young woman and her business partner are about to lose their new 20,000 square foot performance venue in NYC that is currently active as a concert, theatrical space, and art gallery and home to over two dozen working artists. The only thing that can save it? Her celebrity mom, from whom she's been estranged for the last ten years. Articles / Non FictionGrammys Are America. And America is Complicated. DMNDR.com
For non-fiction short stories or to read an excerpt of The Boho Girls, Sari's account of traveling cross country visiting intentional communities and New Orleans strip clubs interwoven with historical accounts of 19th century Utopian Societies, please use the contact form. |
AWARDS AND HONORS
IndieTheaterFund 2020, The Indie Theater Fund ('18) Queens Council of the Arts ('19), Actor’s Equity Fund ('19), 1st place Bottletree recipient ('14), League of Independent Theater ('14), The 2015 Anne Freedman Production Grant, New Works by Women, Hunter Student Recruitment Award ’14 & ’15, Athena Theater ’16-17 resident, Sidney and Beatrice Albert Foundation '13, Space at Ryder Farms '13. Shortlisted: PlayPenn ‘13, The Ronald Duncan Award ‘14, The 24/7 Festival ’14. Sari has also won Scholastic awards for her poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction writing and been published by Scholastic, IndietheaterNow, and DMNDR. Volunteer work includes: The Teak Foundation, Penn South for Seniors, World Chess for Refugees, St Athanasius, Gillen Brewer, The Children’s Hospital for Special Surgery, & Amerikids.
INTERVIEWS
INTERVIEWS
NY Theater Review interview (Mr Landing Takes a Fall)
L Magazine - Sari Caine "Living In The Moment"
Adam Szymkowicz: I Interview Playwrights
The Brooklyn Culture Jam radio show with Sari Caine and David Rigo
NY Theater Review interview (The Thing About Dan)
We Heart Astoria
