Writer
As a playwright, his international hit comedy Waiting For Waiting For Godot (called “delectable” by the NY Times) was awarded the Overall Excellence In A Play award at the 2013 New York International Fringe Festival and has since been produced in New York, London, Los Angeles, Boston, Istanbul and Budapest, with future productions planned for South Korea, the UK and Italy. Dave’s other works include The Tenants (winner for Best Play at 2020 New York Winterfest), Cafe d’Automatique (2015 Best Ten Minute Play; Smith & Kraus), The Exit Interview (2013 C10 Anthology) and Thank You For Letting Me Have Sex With You (2015 C10 Anthology).
For television & film, Dave has worked on such shows as Chelsea Lately (E!), Inside College Football (CBS Sports) and The Inactives (CBS Sports pilot) as well as the digital sketch group The Shorts Show. Recently his short film Eden finished up a successful run on the international film festival circuit.
His original television pilot Leader Supreme was a 2021 2nd round selection of the Sundance Film Festival’s Episodic Lab and the Austin Film Festival Comedy TV Screenwriting Competition. Dave’s writing currently ranks in the top 17% of all scripted projects on Coverfly.com and was recently added to The Red List.
Dave is a member of the Playwright/Director’s Unit at The Actor’s Studio in New York City.
“Two understudies backstage waiting for their chance to go on— That is Dave Hanson’s delectable Waiting for Waiting for Godot.”
Anita Gates, NY Times, 8/23/13
(Full length stage play)
In Waiting For Waiting For Godot, Ester and Val, two perpetually overlooked understudies, find themselves trapped in the existential purgatory of the backstage, endlessly waiting for their chance to perform. As they bicker over art, life, and the elusive purpose of their existence, they unknowingly mirror the very play they're meant to understudy. With razor-sharp wit and absurd humor, described as “delectable” by The New York Times, this satirical comedy dives deep into the quirks of showbiz and the human condition, all while hilariously pondering what it truly means to wait. As it turns out, the only ones who truly grasp the meaning of Beckett’s Waiting for Godot are the ones eternally waiting... for Waiting For Godot.
(Full length stage play)
Winner of the Best Play Or Musical award for the New York Winterfest 2020: In a New York apartment, the restless spirits of Albert and Lillian linger, trapped in an endless cycle of bickering and confusion. Neither can recall much about their past lives, only that they are bound to this place and to each other. Their days blur together in a haze of forgotten memories and half-remembered arguments, until the arrival of a new couple, Jackson and Anne, disrupts their routine.
"The Tenants" is a tragedy that explores themes of regret, the cyclical nature of abuse, and the haunting persistence of guilt. Through its spectral lens, the play examines the lasting impact of toxic relationships and the inescapable shadows they cast on the human soul.
Eden
The award winning short film is finally available to watch here!
EDEN: After she dies, a woman wakes up in a strange after life.
Written by Dave Hanson and directed by Corey Scott Rutledge.
(Original pilot for television)
When your terrible family is in charge of your terrible country, the ambitious daughter of a dictator dreams of being the first woman Supreme Leader of her country. Schitt’s Creek meets Succession in a workplace comedy set around the first family of a communist dictatorship.
Runner up for the 2021 Austin Film Festival & The Sundance Institute Episodic Lab.
Story and original pilot script written by Dave C. Hanson
On an awkward first date, Jim and Erin sit down in the mysterious Café d'Automatique, a Parisian restaurant where every lie they tell is transformed into outrageous, offensive gibberish. As their carefully crafted dating personas unravel, the cynical French waiter and his clownish cook force them to confront an uncomfortable truth: the only way to survive the evening—and to find love—is to be honest. What happens when a first date goes horribly right?
Published in the 2015 Best Ten Minute Plays anthology by Smith & Kraus Publishing
Quarter Finalist for the SlamDance Festival Screenplay Competition
Winner of the 2022 Script Summit Screenplay Competition
Coverfly’s The Red List, top 5% of all comedy projects