Rhiannon Vaughn
writing sample
Persistence of Memory
When their oldest child goes missing, a hopeful mother and pragmatic father must unite to find him but attending to their grief threatens to tear their family apart and leave their surviving daughter behind.
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Persistence of Memory, an anthology series, is an hour-long character-driven drama. Named after a Dali painting, the show captures the surreal experience of family tragedy rather than focusing on the sensationalism of its true crime element. These are not families hell-bent on vengeance or stories about a person kidnapped. Persistence of Memory instead centers families under the tremendous strain and trauma of absence.
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With Angelique Cabral as Maria and Baron Vaughn as Isaac.
podcast + drama pilot
Gifted*
Marcus and Rosa disagree on what it means to provide the very best education for their daughter, a highly gifted student. As a Black man, Marcus was often underestimated and wants to give his daughter the advantages he never had. As a Latina, Rosa never got any advantages from her Mensa card and doesn't want her daughter to sacrifice her identity to fit in with the "gifted" kids. They are forced to finally confront the issue when Marcus invites a board member of a prestigious boarding school, the wife of his boss and well-meaning White woman, to dinner.
Over the course of dinner this group of four highly-intelligent people with very different experiences in the world reveal their ignorance and priorities.
Gifted* is a dramedy that asks questions around parenting and which values are most important to instill in our children, the image of intelligence versus what it actually means, how race affects our perceptions of high IQ, and how code switching is an aspect of success that requires a lot of thought and energy in social interactions.
full-length play
The Age of the Guru is Dead
Renata is a celebrated self-help guru. After conquering her dark past and struggles with addiction, she built a life of fame, fortune, and spiritual enlightenment, complete with a New York Times bestseller and a devoted following inspired by her teachings on letting go and manifesting dreams.
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But the world is changing, and so are her followers. But the "Age of the Guru" is dead, and a new voice is rising: Laurel, a brash internet sensation who swears, embraces her chaos, and calls her daily weed habit "plant medicine." Laurel represents everything Renata has buried to maintain her polished image—and the next generation is eating it up.
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Among Laurel's fans is Chloe, the daughter Renata abandoned fifteen years ago. Inspired by Laurel's message of authenticity, Chloe steps forward to confront Renata in a reckoning that threatens to unravel everything Renata has worked for. With a very public audience watching, Renata must face the truth about her past.
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Will her followers forgive her? Will Renata forgive herself? The only way out is through.
full-length play
Rhiannon Vaughn
playwright | storyteller | writing with spirit
Rhiannon Vaughn is an award-winning storyteller and produced playwright based in Los Angeles. Her plats ask questions about our perceptions of the world and the power those perceptions hold over us from her lens as a Mexican-American and mother.
Her short play "Wine Night" was a Region 8 finalist at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and has been produced at InspiraTO Festival (Toronto) and The Scribes Stages Playwright Showcase (LA). Her play "A Lovely Day Outside" was named a Top 5 Play at the 2019 Living on the Edge Festival. Her play GIFTED* was a finalist for the 2019 Kennedy Center/NNPN MFA Workshop.
Rhiannon has written, directed, and edited short films that have screened at SF Sketchfest, the Awareness Festival, and the 909 Film Festival, where her short received the Ambassador Award. She edited the short film “So Much To Do”, included in the Horror Anthology SCARE PACKAGE, currently streaming on Shudder.
Rhiannon has also produced, stage-managed, and photographed live comedy shows all over Los Angeles. She has worked on shows including Underbelly, Unnecessary Evil, Good Heroine, and Riot LA Comedy Festival. In 2013 her variety show THEME PARTY PRESENTS: BLUTHFEST! was featured in LA Weekly.
Most recently, Rhiannon co-created the podcast, PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY, with award-winning filmmaker Courtney Hope Thérond, which was named Best Podcast at TIFF64, selected for The Gotham Week Project Market and was a 2nd Rounder for the Austin Film Festival Script Competition.
Rhiannon has a BA in Psychology from Pitzer College and an MFA in Creative Writing for Stage and Screen from Lesley University.