Delivery Boy

Overview

DELIVERY BOY is a unique seriocomedy that focuses heavily on the lower middle class of America, giving perspective on the families who are stuck in a never ending struggle of spending every last bit of money to stay exactly where they are stuck. The play deals with the slow, clawing nature of depression, mental illness, and generational trauma, with a heavy emphasis on the hefty burden of the college admissions economics-all seen through the eyes of a teenager on the cusp of securing a college experience. With two hours to midnight on New Years Eve, Delivery Boy is stuck delivering pizzas on his old, rusty bicycle in the center of working class suburbia. With no goals, no plans for the future, and his aspirations for college being far gone, Delivery Boy must come to terms with those he’s lost, who he wants to be, and what lies ahead of him in the new year, all while the clock ticks down to midnight. “To some, this may sound all too familiar,” shared playwright Jaden Alvaro Gines. “To others, Delivery Boy’s story may just sound like another statistic that gets added onto a growing number at the end of every passing year… We need to understand that this is a real problem. Whether you are working three jobs just to afford your rent, or have been fortunate enough not to feel those restraints against you, this story isn’t just for those who have to delivery pizzas on their bike in order to find salvation-it’s for anyone willing to stop and listen for a just moment, to see this cycle that must be broken told through the story of a character who can be seen in any home in America.” Following a stellar run this past February with Kitchen Sink Theater Company in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, DELIVERY BOY returns to its roots in Philadelphia following its New York premier for a special limited run.

About the Artist

Jaden Alvaro Gines (they/them) is a Genderqueer, Latino playwright from working class New Jersey, which is a triple minority if you count the New Jersey part. Their work focuses heavily on the issues plaguing middle class America, touching on topics such as economic strife, the American dream, Trans and Queer bodies, and the attempt at life as an everyday working person. They attempt to reflect the people from their communities that would otherwise be forgotten in the theater world, and produce work that has been put to the side in the craft in recent years. Most recently their monologue piece, Delivery Boy, had its New York premier through Kitchen Sink Theater Company in February, at Kitchen Sink's own studio space in Brooklyn . Their work has been produced by Theatermania.com, the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and they have had the pleasure of collaborating with other fine artists and collectives in and around Philadelphia.

Credits