David Haddad
David Haddad is a late bloomer who only began writing plays ten years ago. He was finally able to escape the confines of his soul-killing day job in the bowels of the bureaucracy, and pursue something a bit more atisfying.David studied history and literature at Michigan State University. It was there that he was first exposed to the satire of Voltaire, the social critiques of Ibsen, and the timeless lessons of Greek tragedy. David’s first play, The Elder, won a new play competition in his hometown of Lansing, Michigan. The Elder is a critique of the disastrous personal consequences of dogmatic Christian fundamentalism, based on Antigone. David’s most recent play, the iconoclastic Yahweh the Floorwalker, has been produced at Duquesne University as part of the annual Pittsburgh New Works Festival, and in San Miguel de Allende, MX, where he has lived since 2021. The play was praised in Pittsburgh, but largely shunned in theatrically conservative San Miguel.
David has written several other plays, some of which have been produced in the United States, and in San Miguel. These plays include, The Scope of William Jennings Bryan, Somebody Named Shaw, Donipus Rex, Cliff Dwellers, and Essentially Oil. The Scope of William Jennings Bryan was produced in 2023 at the Chain Theatre in New York, as well as in San Miguel. This is a re-creation of WJB’s last speech, which reminds us of the prophetic political views of WJB — the greatest orator, and the most overlooked politician of the 20th century. Donipus Rex finds hilarious parallels between Trump’s attempts to discover the origins of the Covid virus and Oedipus uncovering the cause of the plague in Thebes. Somebody Named Shaw is a full-length drama that has “Blanche” showing up at “Stanley’s” front door with a “document” stating that she is the real owner of Stanley’s house. Stanley is not pleased. He slowly uncovers the truth about Blanche’s past and the origins of the document. The play is a metaphor for colonialism in the Middle East. Cliff Dwellers is a popular short play that explores two contrasting views of the world. A cautious, stubborn, middle-aged man with acrophobia finds himself frozen to a canyon wall when a carefree young lady happens by. Essentially Oil has a young lady trying to sell her incredibly hyped life-changing products to a skeptical man. This play looks at our need to believe in something . . . anything.
David is honored to be the runner-up in the ITC Script competition. He would like nothing more than to see Yahweh the Floorwalker, or any of his other plays, produced in many other theaters, and invites interested parties to discuss.
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YAHWEH THE FLOORWALKER
Blurb
What do Frankenstein, alcoholism, polyester, narcissism, Cool Hand Luke, Viagra and a broken compass have to do with Moses talking to Yahweh on Mount Sinai? Everything, when brought together in the irreverent satire, “Yahweh the Floorwalker”. In this account of what “really” happened, Moses does not get divine guidance from an all-powerful god. What he gets is ridicule from a decidedly ungodlike security guard with a drinking problem. Nor is Yahweh impressed with Moses’ desire to conquer Canaan and the Canaanites in Yahweh’s name. Yahweh takes great exception to the notion that the Israelites are his “chosen people”. Aside from its comic elements, Yahweh the Floorwalker is a serious commentary on the truly mad belief that it’s okay to go to war as long as you think you have God’s permission.
This timely play makes us laugh, but also squirm at the thought that the absurdities it exposes are still given credence in our “modern” world, and have brought us to the brink of annihilation. There is no idea more entrenched in the western world than the belief that the Old Testament is a “sacred” book inspired by the one true God. This iconoclastic play begs to differ. Yahweh the Floorwalker is a humorous, yet desperate plea for all “true believers” to abandon the ruinous elements of their respective faiths, or face eternity “in the box”.