Riley Barriger
They/Them
New York, NY
Currently living and working in NYC! Exploring gender, family, existential crises, and more through my work. Thank you for reading and I can't wait to connect!
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Biography

Riley Barriger (They/Them) is a playwright, director, and performer. They've graduated from West Virginia University in 2022 with their BFA in Acting and have recently moved to New York to pursue their craft. 

Their plays include Findings of a Mycologist which was accepted and produced at Greenbrier Valley Theatre as part of the inaugural New Works Festival: Voices of Appalachia. By This Hand (I Swear) which is a Shakespearean adaptation of Romeo & Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing that they directed as a part of WVU’s Lab Theatre. 

Currently they are working on other works that have yet to be produced but could be found on their New Play Exchange. Riley is also in development of an unreleased podcast.In their spare time you’d find them walking in the park and listening to a new audiobook or podcast of some kind!

Plays

Bottle of Scotch
by Riley Barriger

Bottle of Scotch is an exploration of family dynamics, grief, and secrets. A matriarch has called for her kids to come home to face their dying Dad. As his health gets worse disease becomes prevalent in more ways than one. Morgan attempts to grieve her father, Taylor makes an attempt to hold his siblings together, and Alex is just trying to grow up. What happens during death is more traumatic than you can ever give it credit for.

Cast:
MORGAN (She/Her): Mid-to-Late 20’s, the oldest child TAYLOR (He/Him): Early-to-Mid 20’s, the middle child ALEX (He/Him): Late Teens-to-Early 20’s, the youngest child CYNTHIA (She/Her): Late 40’s-to-Early 50’s, the mother When it comes to casting, you must be conscious of the identities of the characters
By This Hand (I Swear)
by Riley Barriger and Erica Cottrill
Cast:
Romeo, Juliet, Nurse, Tybalt, Beatrice, Benedick, Hero, Ursula, Claudio, Don Pedro. All can be any gender
Findings of a Mycologist
by Riley Barriger

Charlie returns home to the Appalachian woods and tries to fund a mushroom for their job. In the process of hunting for a mushroom Charlie tries to reconnect with an old friend from high school. Once they end up in the woods they find more than what they bargained for.

Cast:
Charlie (Any Pronouns): Mid-Late 20’s, possibly early 30’s. A new professor of Mycology at Aspen University. Peyton (She/Her): Mid-Late 20’s, possibly early 30’s. Peyton is a long time employee of the local 7/11. Coming up is her 5 year anniversary of working there.
Otso's Friend
by Riley Barriger

Guy finds himself out in the woods again to paint and maybe see an old friend. Once in the woods and settled he starts a conversation and discovery of self, existential thought, and whatever else you may find in the Appalachian woods.

Cast:
Guy (He/Him): Somewhere in his 20’s. He loves the woods. He wants to be an artist. Not very many defining features or facts about him. Pretty neutral, pretty subpar. Otso (Any Pronouns): A bear.