Adrienne Dawes: Crafting Her Narrative as a Mixed-Race Playwright and Performer

Adrienne Dawes. (Photo by Paul Flores)

The Subtext

September 14, 2026 Brian James Polak Leave a comment

Adrienne Dawes Had to Tell Her Own Story

The playwright of ‘You Are Pretty,’ ‘Am I White,’ and ‘Teen Dad’ talks about growing up as a mixed-race adoptee in Texas and finding her voice as a sketch performer.

By Brian James Polak

Each month on The Subtext,  Brian speaks with a playwright about life, writing, and whatever itches we are scratching.

This month Brian talks to Adrienne Dawes, a Brooklyn-based playwright, screenwriter, and producer originally from Austin, Texas. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Second City Chicago, Adrienne writes funny-sad plays about fluid identity, found families, and all the silly ways we try to find love and acceptance. Her plays include You Are Pretty , Am I White , and the upcoming Teen Dad , at New Jersey’s Passage Theatre. work has been produced by Salt Lake Acting Company, Sacred Fools, and Salvage Vanguard Theater. Just before the 2023 WGA writer’s strike, she staffed on a limited series with Hulu/ABC Signature.

The play filling me up this month is:  Yoli, Alfredo, y la vida  by Peter Pasco .

This episode can also be found here, and is also available on  iTunes  and  Spotify.

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Adrienne Dawes

_Originally reported by [American Theatre](https://www.americantheatre.org/2026/09/14/adrienne-dawes-had-to-tell-her-own-story/)._