Full Length Plays:
THE DUNES
Full-Length Drama
Cast: 3M, 3W
Synopsis: THE DUNES follows the downward spiral of fading movie star Laura Robertson and her family, step-daughter Vanessa, daughter Anne, and brother Garret. Laura, who has become better known for her turbulent relationships than her acting, returns to her family home in East Hampton, New York to lick her wounds after her marriage falls apart. The others, particularly the practical Vanessa and her fiance Jeremy, try to get Laura's life and career back on track, but Laura's debts and inability to face reality and make painful decisions means they may lose things that are far more valuable than a beach house. Inspired by Anton Chekhov's THE CHERRY ORCHARD.
Published by Dramatists Play Service
Winner - New Play Contest, Theatre Conspiracy
Finalist - National Playwrights Conference, Eugene O’Neill Center
JOURNEY TO THE POLES OF INACCESSIBILITY
Full-Length Comic Fantasy
Cast: 6-12 M or W
Synopsis: If magic was real, how far would you go to find it? Dylan is comfortable with his insular life, working at an insurance company and living with his wheelchair-bound aunt. Then he meets Chris, a young woman of boundless energy, on a quest to gather what magic may remain at the eight Poles of Inaccessibility, the world's most remote places. Dylan and Chris circle the globe on an epic journey of discovery, comedy, danger, and romance.
Premiere - the Unicorn Theatre, Kansas City, MO - December 2023
Runner Up - Todd McNerney National Playwriting Contest at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival and the College of Charleston, SC
MONTHS ON END
Full-Length Comedy
Cast: 5M, 5W
Synopsis: In a series of comic scenes, MONTHS ON END follows the intertwined lives of a circle of friends and family, whose lives are poised between happiness and heartbreak. Phoebe and Ben are engaged to be married, but have some lingering doubts. Even so, Elaine is jealous of their relationship, especially since none of hers last more than a few dates. She's ready to give up until she meets Walter, whose only flaw is he's married. Walter's brother Nick is single, but when he proposes to his girlfriend Paige on a beach her answer is to scream and drop the engagement ring in the sand. Heidi, Phoebe's sister, delivers a commencement address that starts as a tribute to the graduates' parents, but degenerates into a tirade against them. Phoebe's wedding day meltdown isn't helped by her father, who, trying to calm her fears, tells her to "Pretend you're in a plane that's crashing ... " Walter and Nick battle hilariously in July over what they find sexy about women. As the year draws to a close, a fight over the Beatles threatens to break-up Ben and Phoebe, but a death bonds them more strongly together. And December finds Walter and Nick still as different as siblings can be, but united by their failed relationships.
Published by Dramatists Play Service
Winner
Oglebay Institute/Towngate Theatre
New Play Project, Backdoor Theatre
Inter-Play Festival, Shipping Dock Theatre
Finalist - National Playwrights Conference, Eugene O’Neill Center
OUR DEAR PARENTS
Translated from CHER PARENTS by Emmanuel Patron & Armelle Patron
Full-Length Comedy
Cast: 3M, 2W
Synopsis: Perry, Jim, and Lousie are close and love their parents dearly. So, when Jeanne and Vincent text their children, asking them to drive up right away because they have important news, the three siblings rush to see them, fearing the worst. And while the worst doesn’t happen - at least not right away - Jeanne and Vincent’s announcement will shatter the tight knit family ... making the three children begin to wish for what they feared only a few few hours earlier! OUR DEAR PARENTS is a comedy that talks about family, love, money, the impermanence of feelings, the dark side that lies dormant in each of us and what parents owe their children.
AVAILABLE FROM THEATRICAL RIGHTS WORLDWIDE
SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN
Full-Length Comedy
Cast: 3M, 3W
Synopsis: SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN begins in the dark as Jasper confesses his feeling of isolation. But he becomes unnerved by the dark and calls for the light. In the first scene, Jasper is stuck between floors on an elevator with a claustrophobic man, who quickly loses it. At work a sleazy co-worker give him terrible advice on who to pick up women, and that night Jasper tries to pick up a pretty clerk, Holly, at a bookstore. He strikes out, but gets picked up in turn by another woman, who takes him home . . . to her boyfriend. A ride on the subway turns into a free-for-all as Jasper and other riders enthusiastically offer conflicting directions to a tourist. But later Jasper crosses paths with Holly at a party, and he gamely starts a new conversation with her. They go to a cozy restaurant on a date, but the couple on one side erupts in a battle of the sexes, while a couple at another table engages in passionate verbal foreplay. Later, Jasper walks Holly home, and their conversation may be ordinary, but their fantasies are anything but. A chance encounter with a homeless man forces Jasper to gain some perspective, but back at work Jasper snaps when a friend tells him Holly is dating someone else. He kicks a chair, breaks his foot and gets fired. Feeling liberated, Jasper hobbles to the bookstore to ask Holly if she's in a relationship. She isn't. And they kiss. Then leave for the hospital. In the end, Jasper comes to understand he must accept life's uncertainties, which aren't all bad, and make the best of what comes his way.
Published by Dramatists Play Service.
Winner -
FutureFest, Dayton Playhouse
Inter-Play Festival, Shipping Dock Theater
WATER/MUSIC
Full-Length Drama
Cast: 2M, 2-3W
Synopsis: In WATER/MUSIC, Tricia returns to the Berkshires to deal with her mother's death after a battle with Alzheimer’s. But at the funeral home she collides with Fitz, a prodigy and former piano student of her mother's, with secrets of his own, and her estranged aunt Peggy, who challenge her loyalty and choices. Tricia wanted to avoid her mother’s estranged sister, Peggy, but they must confront each other over finalizing the estate.
Available through New Play Exchange.
COLLABORATIONS:
BY THE NUMBERS
Short Play Collection
Cast: 3M, 3W (flexible)
Synopsis: An inventive and diverse collection of short plays inspired by mathematical theorems, co-written by Lynne Halliday, James Hindman, Arlene Hutton & Craig Pospisil. POINT OF INTERSECTION: A watchmaker and a romantic find common ground, but can Sidney and Sydney synchronize their hearts? HEDY LAMARR MAKES A MOVIE: As Hedy Lamarr films a scene, the Hollywood star figures out the frequency hopping technology that leads to Bluetooth. THE TRANSCENDENCE OF PI: Jane’s blind date is a matter of life and death for Rosie – literally. THE GRAND HOTEL: If a hotel has an infinite number of rooms and an infinite number of guests, is it booked or not? And how do you feed them all? SHRINKING THE NUMBERS: Grace is a doctoral candidate in mathematics with a problem: She’s developed a math anxiety. Can her therapist Dr. Zamboni cure her? THE FOUR COLOR PROBLEM: Is it worth invoking the Wrath of God to create a perfect world? Designers Tippy and Buzzy dare to color outside the lines. THE INCOMPLETENESS THEOREM: During a birthday picnic, an artist and her mathematician ex-boyfriend connect with nature and learn new ways to communicate. THE BIG SHELL: A Math Noir: Private detective Philip Fibonacci is hired by a femme fatale to recover a priceless stolen nautilus. But as the variables multiply, will Fibonacci’s theory add up?
Published by TRW Plays
THE GORGES MOTEL
Full-Length Comedy/Drama
Cast: 3M, 4W
Synopsis: Lives intersect in comic and dramatic fashion in a motel that has seen better days in Watkins Glen, New York. Break-ups and a wedding, a rapping reverend and a drone attach, the ridiculous and the sublime all come together in one unlikely place. THE GORGES MOTEL is comprised of the short plays MISSING by James Hindman, KISSING COUSINS by Craig Pospisil, WHAT LOLA SAW by Isaac Himmelman, REVEREND and SECOND CHANCE by Lynne Halliday, BRECKENRIDGE by Gretchen Cryer, and HERE COMES THE DRONE by Arlene Hutton.
Published by Dramatists Play Service
ONE CHRISTMAS EVE AT EVERGREEN MALL
Full-Length Comedy/Drama
Cast: 3M, 3W
Synopsis: ONE CHRISTMAS EVE AT EVERGREEN MALL follows eight intertwined stories in a Midwestern mall on the last day of shopping before the holiday. A diverse cast of characters - from a lovesick mall Santa to an overeager mall cop, from a pair of brainy misfit teenagers to a pair of battling actors in a production of A Christmas Carol, from a petulant college freshman to a newlywed couple - navigate first meetings, second chances and last-minute choices. ONE Christmas Eve wraps the joys and sorrows of the season into one festive package. The play is comprised of the short plays WHAT CHILD IS THIS and DECK THE HALLS by Lynne Halliday, GOOD WILL TO MEN and HARK HOW THE BELLS by James Hindman, HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS and WE NEED A LITTLE CHRISTMAS by Arlene Hutton, and CHRISTMAS EVE IS HERE, MAKING SPIRITS BRIGHT, BEARING GIFTS WE TRAVERSE AFAR and AWAY IN A MANGER by Craig Pospisil.
Published by Dramatists Play Service
COLLECTIONS:
CHOOSING SIDES
A collection of Short Plays and Monologues, Comedies and Dramas
Synopsis: t This collection includes:
ON THE WINGS OF A BUTTERFLY. A playwright tries to come to terms with the scope of the disaster in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. (1 man or woman)
FREE. A panicked man on the subway tires to conquer his anxiety by taking off all his clothes. Much to the dismay of a couple in the same car. (2M, 1W)
WHAT PRICE? A woman finds herself interrogated by a nameless official, who threatens her and her children unless she gives him a name. (1M, 1W)
NO CHILD LEFT. Mrs. O'Reilly instructs her first grade class on the four Rs - reading, 'riting, 'rithmatic and Republicanism. (1W)
GUERILLA GORILLA. It is sometime in the future, and theater has been declared illegal. But that won't stop Alana and Sandy from seeing an underground production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Or will it? (2M, 2W)
TRAIN OF THOUGHT. Wade is obsessed with Nina, a woman he sees on the subway, while she imagines that her boyfriend Frank thinks of nothing but her, and Wade's girlfriend Marcy can't make sense of her own thoughts. (2M, 2W)
QUANDARY IN QUANDO. The President of the United States will do anything to stop a crisis in a foreign land he's never heard of from ruining his weekend at Camp David. (2M)
GUNS DON’T KILL. Mrs. O'Reilly is back. And this time she's come to class armed. (1W)
IN A WORD. Char explains why she's avoiding people and the things they have to say. (1W)
PERCHANCE. It's hazy, but what Robbie remembers is that he and Cass are in love. Unfortunately, she's decided to move to San Diego to be with Antonio. (2M, 2W)
A QUIET, EMPTY LIFE. As Stephanie quietly tries to get dressed for a function she has to attend, a Narrator reveals the secrets of the life she didn't know she had. (1M, 1W)
MANHATTAN DRUM-TAPS. A young Irish immigrant and an African-American dockworker are caught up in the politics and rasicm of the 1863 New York Draft Riots. (2M, 2W)
Published by Dramatists Play Service
LIFE IS SHORT
Eight Short Comedies
Cast: 2M, 4W
Synopsis: This collection is a comical look at relationships from childhood to old age.
CLASS CONFLICT. Billy is a shy, sweet six year-old, nervous about his first day of school. His new classmate Megan Devenaux, however, is a pint-sized lawyer, who talks like an adult and is ready to take on the Supreme Court. Then cash in. (1M, 1W)
ON THE EDGE. Gene, a young man of seventeen,is so distraught that Amanda, the girl of his dreams, is making out with someone else at a party that he decides to jump off the ledge of a New York apartment building. Sammy, another classmate, comes to the window for a smoke and she discovers Gene on the ledge. Far from being worried or trying to talk him out of it, Sammy teases him for being melodramatic and so in love with a girl who's "not that great." (1M, 1W)
WHATEVER. A sly riff on Edgar Alan Poe's "The Raven," WHATEVER finds Jessica hallucinating that a talking pigeon has flown into her apartment. Her friend Liz tries to talk her down, but realizes that Jessica isn't suffering from a combination of wine and Benedryl, but from her inability to let go of a relationship that has ended. (2W).
DOUBLE WEDDING. Deborah is more than a little nervous on her wedding day. Her parents' constant chatter isn't helping. And neither in Deborah's reflection in the mirror, which keeps shouting out her darkest thoughts and worries. Can Deborah calm her fears before her alter ego literal steps through the looking glass and ruins everything? (1M, 3W)
INFANT MORALITY. Trish is at the front desk in a city hospital when Stephanie comes in with a trendy shopping bag, saying she has something to return. Trish is shocked when she learns Stephanie wants to return the baby in the bag and get a refund. Stephanie doesn't understand what the problem is. Things get even stranger in this black comedy. (1M, 3W)
A MOTHER'S LOVE. In a darkly comic monologue, Melissa calmly explains her reasons for taking a parent's natural desire to protect her child a little too far. (1W)
THE AMERICAN DREAM REVISITED. The American Dream is alive and well - if more than a little twisted - out in a southwestern desert as Jim and Della and their daughter Chartreuse decide to leave Grandpa there to die in order to inherit his money, making their lives so much more pleasant. (2M, 2W) Winner of the Alan Minieri Playwriting Award.
THE LAST DECEMBER. An elderly couple sit at home on a cold winter's night. The old man watches a football game, but his wife is trying to get him ready to go out into the cold on some errand. The man is angry, bitter and clearly doesn't want to go. His patient wife listens, and gently prods him into action. But there's more to the old man than meets the eye, and the play ends with surprising sweetness and love. (1M, 1W)
Published by Dramatists Play Service
Selected One-Act and Short Plays:
HER HEAD ON THE PILLOW
One-Act Dark Comedy
Cast: 1M, 1W or 2W
Synopsis: Inspired by Tennessee Williams' poem of the same name, HER HEAD ON THE PILLOW imagines a surprisingly redemptive "morning after" for an unlikely couple following a one-night stand.
Published in TRW PRESENTS: SHORT PLAYS, Vol. 3
CHRYSALIS
One-Act Drama
Cast: 1M, 1W
Synopsis: The caterpillar in Mark’s school science project is not moving. Whether the creature is alive or dead takes on outsized importance to his mother Kathy, which causes a clash with her husband, Peter.
Published by TRW PRESENTS: SHORT PLAYS, Vol. 2
THE BIG SHELL: A Math Noir
One-Act Comedy, part of BY THE NUMBERS
Cast: 3M, 3W
Synopsis: Hard boiled detective Philip Fibonacci takes on a perplexing case in the form of femme fatale Brooke Taylor, involving blackmail, murder and a priceless stolen nautilus. But the investigation takes an odd tangent and the variables multiply. Will Fibonacci’s theory about this case add up?
THE GRAND HOTEL
One-Act Comedy, part of BY THE NUMBERS
Cast: 2M, 2W, 2NS
Synopsis: Shirley doesn’t understand how Hilbert, the unflappable concierge of the Grand Hotel, keeps finding rooms for guests when the hotel is already full. But if a hotel has an infinite number of rooms and an infinite number of guests, is it booked or not? And how do you feed them all?
Published by TRW Plays
BOREDOM, FEAR AND WINE
One-Act Comedy
Cast: 2 N/S (any race or gender)
Synopsis: When you’re stuck at home during a global pandemic, everything happens online—even therapy. Harper is suffering, and can’t reconcile feelings about the terrifying disease with the monotony of lockdown. Jess tries to be a sympathetic ear, but the session goes off the rails.
Published by Dramatists Play Service
FORGET-ME-NOT
One-Act Comedy - written to be performed online
Cast: 1M, 2W
Synopsis: When you’re stuck at home during a global pandemic, everything happens online—even high school reunions. Richard and Julia are old friends who happily reconnect at their fortieth reunion—until Lizbeth, a younger woman, appears onscreen. Despite being a different class, Lizbeth won’t leave, infuriating Julia, who demands she go. But Lizbeth’s desperate plea to stay leads to an admission and uncovers an old secret about Richard and Julia.
Published by Dramatists Play Service
DISSONANCE
One-Act Drama
Cast: 1M, 1W
Synopsis: Tricia returns to the Berkshires to deal with her mother's death after a battle with Alzheimer’s. But at the funeral home she collides with Fitz, a prodigy and former piano student of her mother's, with secrets of his own, who challenges her loyalty and choices.
Published by Dramatists Play Service
HAPPENSTANCE
One-Act Comedy
Cast: 2M, 1W
Synopsis: Cassidy, a conflicted and high-strung woman, is at a coffee shop with her husband, when she spots her ex-boyfriend Abe. Should she talk to him? Or not? Tell her husband? Or not? Abe approaches her, and in a midst the small talk he drops some bombshells about their past relationship. But Cassidy won't let him get away with that. Every time Abe starts taking a path she doesn't like, Cassidy makes a twirling motion with one hand and rewinds time, until things play out the way she wants. Or does it?
Published by Dramatists Play Service
IT’S NOT YOU
One-Act Comedy
Cast: 1M, 3W
Synopsis: Friends can drift apart, but they generally don't announce they're "breaking up" with you. Especially not when you're riding downtown on the A train. Natalie's friends, on the other hand, think it's the perfect place to make a clean break.
Published by Playscripts
THERE'S NO HERE HERE
One-Act Comedy
Cast: 2M, 2W
Synopsis: Lance moves to Paris to follow his dream of becoming a writer, but his work goes badly. As does his relationship with Juliette, a beautiful Parisian. But a strangely familiar woman at their local bistro forces Lance to dig deeper into himself.
Published by Dramatists Play Service
TOURIST ATTRACTION
One-Act Comedy
Cast: 1M, 1W
Synopsis: Nancy, an over-enthusiastic tourist, waxes ecstatic about New York's subway while Jason, an unemployed actor, desperately tries to prepare for an audition. Sure that she recognizes him, Nancy pesters Jason for his autograph despite his protests that he's no one. Or is he?
Published by Playscripts
