Fashion!
Style: Comedy Cast: 7 men, 6 women Length: 2 hours with intermission Setting: 1845 New York City; grand home of the Tiffany family. Can be simply represented by furniture. Synopsis: The comedy focuses on the Tiffany family, whose rise from the merchant class has allowed them to buy their way into the trendy social circles in NYC. Their vulgar display of wealth results in ridiculous suitors for the vapid daughter, as well as dangerously increasing debts. Will Count Jolimaitre, the opportunist posing as French nobility fleece the family and "spoil" their precious debutante? Will the blackmailing clerk, Snobson, besmirch the family name? Will the modest governess find happiness with the shy Colonel Howard? Mistaken identity, betrayal, and family secrets add to the treachery and hilarity. Adapted for the 21st century from the popular 19th century play by Anna Cora Mowatt. Production History: •Produced at Ohio Wesleyan University •Equity Staged Reading at New School for Drama "On Her Shoulders" Series, NYC |
Gammer Gurton’s Needle
Style: Comedy Cast: 11 speaking roles with gender flexibility. May also add minstrels and villagers. Suitable for schools. Length: 1 hour Setting: rural village square, England, mid-1500s. Synopsis: One villager accuses another of stealing her very best needle, and all the characters in the village become embroiled in the conflict. Adapted from the old English comedy by Anonymous. Production History: •Produced at Kent Middle School, OH |
Lady Susan: Jane Austen’s Distinguished Flirt
Style: Romantic Comedy/Drama Cast: 5 women, 3 men Length: 2 hours with intermission Setting: various locales in 1805 England. Can be simply represented by furniture. Synopsis: Lady Susan is a beautiful, but despicable young aristocrat who delights in manipulating friends and lovers. Dangerous Liasons meets An Ideal Husband. Based on the naughty novella by Jane Austen, this stage adaptation alternates between characters reading letters to the audience and acting out scenes described in the letters. The action moves back and forth swiftly and seamlessly, using brief light cues or period music in the transitions. Published: Scripts for Stage https://scriptsforstage.co.uk/wp/script-library/susan/ Production History: •Produced at Ohio Wesleyan University |
The Secret War of Emma Edmonds
aka Frank Thompson, Civil War Soldier, 1861-1863 Style: Historical Drama Cast: 3 women, 4 men can play all 14 roles Length: 95 minutes Setting: Various, can be simply represented by props, lighting. Synopsis: Did Emma Edmonds really serve in the army disguised as a man during the Civil War? Or is she merely a clever liar trying to defraud the War Department of pension money two decades later? Emma seeks out members of the 2nd Michigan Infantry, Generals, Congressmen, and even Clara Barton to illuminate her bizarre story. Based on true accounts from diaries, memoirs, historical documents. Production History: •Produced at Ohio Wesleyan University •Chosen for 2020 list "365 Women A Year Playwriting Project" •Awarded the Ohio Arts Council Excellence in Playwriting grant |
Kipling’s Just So Stories
Style: Children’s Musical Cast: 6 actors, either gender, play one human and various animals Length: 1 hour Setting: fantasy/flexible. Music: simple accompaniment. Synopsis: Several different tales from Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories: How the Camel Got His Hump, Why the Whale Has No Throat, How the Elephant Got His Trunk. Production History: •Produced at Delaware Theatre Association, OH •Produced at Two Bit Players, Brecksville, OH •Produced at Florida Middle School |
A Wealth of Bank Holidays
Six original short plays of American life* Style: Comedy, Drama Cast: Minimum 3 women, 2 men; more can be cast Length: 90 minutes Setting: Each play requires only a bench, table, or chairs Synopsis: A collection of six short plays that take place on six different national holidays. A chronological journey through a year's worth of American vignettes: some outrageous, some amusing, some touching. Each short piece has a different locale and different characters, but they are all grounded in the American cultural experience. The plays and their holidays: GOOD NEIGHBORS (July 4th), DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION (Labor Day), COCKPIT (Columbus Day), AT THE WALL (Veterans Day), BUS FARE (President's Day), DAY OLD BREAD (Memorial Day). *See descriptions of each on the Short Plays page. Production History: •Awarded Honorable Mention, Writer’s Digest playwriting contest |
The Seven Ages of Woman
Contemporary monologues and short plays* Style: Comedy, Drama Cast: 3 to 9 women perform nine female characters of varying ages Length: 90 minutes Setting: A lighted bare stage. Simple props or set pieces. Synopsis: A collection of short dramas and comedies chronicling stages of a woman's life today. A revisioning inspired by Shakespeare's soliloquy from As You Like It. The pieces are: PROLOGUE, KICKER & DOZY ARRIVE, THE DOG AND THE SCIENTIST, MARCY'S MAKEOVER, TONKA MOM, WHEELS UP, WHOLLY ROLLERS, KICKER & DOZY RETURN. *See descriptions of each on the Ten Minute Plays page. Published: Next Stage Press - https://nextstagepress.net/the-seven-ages-of-woman/ Production History: - Full Play Reading by The 24 Hour Plays, 2020 - "The Dog and the Scientist" published in Clockhouse, 2020, Volume Eight |
Wedding Blisters
Or, "Persuasion in Michigan" Style: Contemporary Comedy Cast: 5 women, 2 men Length: 2 hours w/ intermission Setting: An island resort on Lake Michigan; three simple sets Synopsis: A zany contemporary comedy very loosely based on Jane Austen’s novel PERSUASION. Anna Ellsworth, heir to an Indiana squash dynasty, is called suddenly to the surprise wedding of her prominent widowed father to a much younger suspicious woman who threatens to ruin the family's beloved Indiana home. And she's Canadian! The event is to occur on a remote Great Lakes island resort where, seven years ago, Anna met and lost the love of her life. Since then, she's become a bitter and withdrawn technical writer who loses her lunch at the first hint of an "I do." As the family gathers for the ceremony, they make alarming discoveries-- Wiccan rituals, carnival schemes, dubious land deals. In desperation, Anna, her two sisters, and their Aunt Rusty plot to abduct the bride and enlighten the clueless groom. But who's the handsome sailor with cousin Louella? Why is Aunt Rusty strangely protective of Anna? Will Anna unscramble the mess and discover who she can trust before it's too late?! Production History: * Finalist, national AACT NewPlayFest 2022 Published by: Next Stage Press, 2022 |
Seven Ladies Laughing
Comic scenes from plays written by women before 1900 Style: Comedy Cast: 4 women, 4 men perform 39 different characters Length: 90 minutes Setting: One set uses boxes/benches to suggest a variety of locales. Actors wear one peasant style costume, using scarves/vests/hats to create different looks. Synopsis: Seven comic scenes are connected by introductory character monologs. Deception and pretense steer most of the comic action. The scenes are from the following plays: FASHION, by Anna Cora Mowatt; THE ROVER, by Aphra Behn; AN AUTHOR'S EVENING AT HOME, by Alice Dunbar Nelson; THE BLOCKHEADS, by Mercy Otis Warren; TRIALS OF A NOBLE HOUSE, by Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz; HOLY VIRGINS, by Hrosvitha; WHO'S THE DUPE? by Hannah Cowley. Production History: •Produced at Ohio Wesleyan University |
A Late Harvest
Style: Drama Cast: 4 women, 1 man Length: 90 minutes Setting: A modest living room in a rural midwest farmhouse, over three different decades. Synopsis: The Van Meter family relives three different days over 20 years, providing enlightenment and closure to a family tragedy. Production History: •Awarded Ohio Arts Council Excellence in Playwriting grant |