Artisan Collective's artistic director, Ben Pfeiffer - is a multi-award winning stage and screenwriter known for bold, character-driven work that champions underrepresented voices. With origins in theatre and performance, Ben's writing spans intimate dramas, sharp comedies, and emotionally resonant screenplays and stage plays.
FOR SCREEN
FOR STAGE
1951. Hollywood is a boys’ club in greyscale—but at Desilu Studios, Lucille Ball is dreaming in Technicolor. Branded “too old” and “too brassy,” the 40-year-old B-movie actress bets everything on a radical idea: a sitcom starring herself and her real-life husband, Desi Arnaz—a brilliant Cuban bandleader quietly weathering the storm of American xenophobia. Set in the weeks leading up to the pilot of I Love Lucy, the play charts their fight to put love, laughter, and difference on national television. But the cost of being first is high. To win, Lucy and Desi must sacrifice parts of themselves they once held dear. By the final act, they’ve sold the show—but at what price? The stage is dressed. The audience is seated. Cameras roll. But backstage, the cracks are showing.
This work is currently in development.
A play by Ben Pfeiffer
The Keeper follows the real-life nineteenth century story of JUMBO the mighty African elephant and his remarkable relationship with his keeper and companion, Matthew Scott. The project was developed with Merrigong Theatre Company through 2019 and 2020.
Co-developed by Ben Pfeiffer and Kirsten von Bibra with Merrigong Theatre Company.
Musical arrangements by Mara Davis.
December 21, 2012.
The world outside is in chaos, but inside a barricaded share house, seven housemates cling to fragile order as the clock ticks toward the apocalypse. As the sky darkens and certainty vanishes, personal facades begin to crack. Secrets surface. Loyalties shift. With nothing left to lose, they confront the question none of them can escape: If tomorrow doesn't come, what truths will you finally face today? A gripping, volatile chamber piece about fear, freedom, and the strange clarity that arrives at the end.
'Breathe A Little And Call It Life' premiered at the Sydney Fringe Festival in 2011 and also marked The Artisan Collective's Sydney debut.
