Kristoffer Diaz

The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity

by Kristoffer Diaz

In the world of professional wrestling, Macedonio Guerra is a “jobber” -- the guy who loses to make the champions look good. When he discovers a brash, hip-hop influenced Indian kid from Brooklyn, he thinks he's found the partner to take him straight to the top. His boss has other plans: pair the two in the ring as terrorists. A politically minded comedy about American politics, unspoken racism, and finding the courage to say what needs to be said.

Terence Archie and Desmin Borges
Usman Ally and Desmin Borges
Desmin Borges
Ansa Akyea and Gerardo Rodriguez
Juan Pacheco
Cast Requirements

5 men

Set Description

Unit

Honors

Finalist, Pulitzer Prize in Drama (2010).
Winner, New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award (2011).
Winner: Village Voice Obie Awards, Best New American Play (2011).
Winner: Lucille Lortel Award, Outstanding Play (2011).
Nominee: Drama League Award, Distinguished Production of a Play (2011).
Winner: Production – Play (Large), Equity Jeff Awards (2010).
Winner: New Work – Play, Equity Jeff Awards (2010).
“Best Comedy,” Minneapolis Citypages (2010)
Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award (2009).
Winner: National Latino Playwriting Award, Arizona Theater Company (2008).

Publisher

Samuel French, Inc.

Press

“The fights are fixed, and the man-crushing body slams are faked. But the energy that radiates from The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, Kristoffer Diaz’s crazy-like-a-fox comedy about television wrestling, is the real thing...courses with the vital sap of an able-bodied satire enjoying a rollicking love-hate affair with its subject.” -- New York Times

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Press

"Sorry, kids, but the game is fixed, and the fighting is fake—and I’m not talking about the pro-wrestling shenanigans on display in The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity. Although Kristoffer Diaz’s diesel-fueled showbiz-drama-cum-race-satire is full of choreographed muscle heads pile driving each other to the mat, another contest seems to have been rigged: this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Drama...Chad Deity had been short-listed for the award, and now...we can confirm that this fresh and inventive comedy was robbed.” -- Time Out New York

“...at once a visceral take-down of the way American marketers manipulate our jingoistic tendencies, a hilariously savvy exploration of racial and class-based stereotyping, and a full-on, body-slamming theatrical wrestling match...the only play I’ve ever seen that could simultaneously appeal to fans of the World Wide Wrestling Federation and intellectual progressives...whipped the opening-night audience into a frenzy not seen at the Biograph since John Dillinger left the building.” -- Chicago Tribune

“Designed for serious fun, this terrifically kinetic show sends up the flamboyant absurdities of TV's wrestling world while making shrewd use of its scripted rituals to deliver an instructive parable about the way that codified ethnic stereotyping destroys true friendship among men...If this doesn't get the guys into the theater, there is no Deity.” - Variety

Production and Development History

Productions: Actors Theatre of Louisville, dir. KJ Sanchez (2012); Caldwell Theatre Company, dir. Clive Cholerton (2012); Geffen Playhouse, dir. Edward Torres (upcoming, 2011); Second Stage, New York premiere, dir. Edward Torres (2010); Mixed Blood, dir. Thomas W. Jones II (2010); InterAct, dir. Seth Rozin (2009); Victory Gardens/Teatro Vista, World Premiere, dir. Edward Torres (2009).

Workshops: Victory Gardens, dir. Edward Torres (2008); Ignition Festival, Victory Gardens, dir. Edward Torres (2008); Finalist, O'Neill Playwrights Conference (2008); Roundtable reading, The Lark Play Development Center, dir. Tlaloc Rivas (2007); Alumni reading, Summer Play Festival, dir. Tlaloc Rivas (2007).