9-1-1 WHAT’S YOUR EMERGENCY: THE VERDICT by Jovelyn Richards

Cast Size: Flexible Casting

Running Time: 90+ minutes

Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

Are 9-1-1 calls against black and brown people hate crimes? The verdict of “Guilty” or “Not Guilty” rests in the hands of the jurors. On the eve of the court’s decision the doors open into the bedrooms of the prosecutors, defendants, key witnesses, BBQ Becky and Permit Patty. What happens behind closed doors in matters of race can no longer be hidden when everybody’s dirty laundry is exposed. Poetic justice will be served in this court drama based on real life 9-1-1 calls.

10 PIN ALLEY by Gene Kato

Cast Size: Flexible
Running Time: 1 hr 10 Minutes
Royalty: $35 per performance

11 Pins, 1 Ball, LET THE WAR BEGIN! On a dark bowling alley lane, 10 terrified bowling pins stand, anxiously anticipating an attack from their unseen enemy. As the lights come up, the pins argue, scream, and dance their way through ten frames of terror. It’s only upon the appearance of a strange Red Pin (with a misguided superhero complex) do they feel the tables start to turn – empowering them to do everything they can to thwart the success of their dreaded archenemy, Black Balls.

11 by Mandy Conner

Cast Size: 1F, 5M, 5+ either

Running Time: UIL Length (Near 40 minutes)

Royalty Rate: $40 per performance

A family plagued with addiction and abuse has their world turned upside down when one member reaches a catastrophic breaking point. A grim but touching look into the origin of the all-consuming demon of shame that conspires to torture a matriarch for the sins of her husband and sons, and ultimately herself.

18 HOLES by Gene Kato

Cast Size: 7M 6W 1B
Running Time: 2 hrs
Royalty Rate: $60 per performance

WINNER OF THE 2007 ROCKY MOUNTAIN THEATRE ASSOCIATION BEST PLAY AWARD! The setting is the eighteen greens of the Brazoria Bend golf course in Southeast Texas where four sets of golfers make their way around the course. There is a father who has been given the task of telling his young son that his wife is leaving him, a golden years couple who constantly bicker over the winning power of a pink golf ball, two slackers that are in hot pursuit of the beer girl, and a collection of ladies from the Sunset Society (an organization of women who wear orange hats). The audience is guided through the evening by the course greenskeeper, Lyle – who watches each group as an interested observer. Featuring scenes that range from slapstick comedy to heartfelt drama, Gene Kato’s award-winning script is a true slice of life that everyone can relate to.

ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART by Sean Abley

Cast Size: 5W, 1M
Running Time: Approx 85 minutes
Royalty: $60 per performance

If a dancer falls in the forest…

The ripple effect caused by the disappearance of a ballet dancer, as told to us by those affected, near and far. A modern-day reimagining of THE RED SHOES, told in monologues for 1 to 20 actors.

ALICE THE BRAVE AND OTHER TALES FROM WONDERLAND by Tommy Jamerson

Cast Size: 2M 2F 7M/F
Running Time: 45 minutes (One-act) 90 minutes (Full-Length)
Royalty: $40 (One Act) $60 (Full Length) per performance

Journey down the rabbit hole with the critically acclaimed Alice the Brave & Other Tales from Wonderland. First commissioned by and performed at Cassidy Park in Bogalusa, LA, this colorful, fun-filled adaptation of Lewis Carrol’s timeless masterpiece allows audiences to experience Wonderland like never before! While her parents are away on holiday, poor Alice finds herself bored out of her wits and forced to stay with her dreary Aunt Mathilda at her even drearier summer home. But after accidentally conking herself on the head, Alice discovers that a world of wonder and whimsy awaits her right behind Aunt Mathilda’s looking-glass. Littered with talking dodo birds and malicious Red Queens, Alice’s adventures teach her not only the importance of bravery, but that being true to oneself is the greatest conquest of all! 

AMULETS FOR GARTHENON by Jake Hunsbusher

Cast Size: Flexible
Running Time: 90 minutes
Royalty: $60 per performance ($15 for works under 15-minutes)

Amulets for Garthenon: and Other Short Comedic Plays, Is a collection of silly shorts created with low production requirements in mind. There are no set changes within the individual plays and the three plays in the “Living Room Phone Call Trilogy” (Amulets for Garthenon, Oh Brother, Where Aren’t Thou?, and The Pizza Man) can even be performed with the exact same set. These plays are simple and fun for performers and simply funny for the audience!

ATTACK OF THE KILLER B’S by Sean Abley

Cast Size: 15+ Characters w/ doubling
Running Time: 1 hr 15 min
Royalty Rate: $60 per performance

While visiting their mother’s grave in the cemetery, Glen and Barbara are attacked by the dead risen from the grave to feast upon the living. Glen is killed, but that doesn’t stop him from coming back as a zombie to rescue his sister and flee Night of the Living Dead come to life. From Reefer Madness to Glen or Glenda, from Friday the 13th to Nightmare on Elm Street, from Attack of the 50 Foot Woman to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Barbara and Glen battle their way from one B-movie menace to the next. Will they survive?

                          ********AVAILABLE IN A HIGH SCHOOL VERSION********

AWESOME AMERICA! by Scott Gibson, Diana Howie, Arthur M. Jolly, and Gene Kato

Cast Size: Flexible
Running Time: 2 hrs
Royalty: $60 per performance, $25 for each play when produced independently

Four plays make up the evening of theatre known as AWESOME AMERICA! – giving audiences a glimpse of our country through stories inspired by real-life roadside attractions. In Arthur M. Jolly’s PAST SATURN, we meet a couple whose marriage is on the rocks, a couple hiding an embarrassing secret, a pair of sandals and an unhelpful Park Ranger… what could go wrong on an Alaskan hike in the face of an approaching blizzard? Next, Scott Gibson’s TWO-POINT-FIVE takes us to Four Corners for a spiritual journey of discovery for a group of tourists who happen upon a mysterious woman with a history connecting her to the site. Then, Diana Howie’s heartbreaking THE PROMISE OF THE MOON takes us to the exotic Coral Castle in Florida in which a man builds his fortress one block at a time in order to win the heart of his true love in Europe. Finally, Gene Kato’s PERSPECTIVES ON THE JOHN takes us to the Toilet Seat Museum in San Antonio, TX where two teenagers, a toilet seat, six strangers, and a clump of mud cause an examination of the true nature of art.  The plays may be performed together or licensed independently!!!

Hamlet was just your average millionaire playboy prince until the king was murdered most foully. And the throne (and queen) seized by a murderous clown and his lackeys. Oh well, revenge solves nothing. Right? Wrong! 

One supernatural origin story later and Bat-Hamlet’s costumed quest begins punching, kicking, and thwarting its way towards justice. But his end has already been written. Or has it?

Bat-Hamlet blurs the line between classic literature and pop culture, suggesting that they might have more in common than your English teacher would care to admit.

• Cast Size: Large Flexible Cast
• Running Time: 90+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

Looney TV news anchor Rick Flick reports on the mysterious coma that has overcome all the residents of the King’s Court. The coma is the work of the evil Pixie Patrick of Paxton, who perpetrated the curse because lovely Princess Briar Rose failed to invite him to the gala palace ball. Once the curse is set loose, the race is on to find the one true Prince who can awaken the Sleeping Princess–and her entire court–with a magical kiss. Of course, Patrick will have none of it–unless he himself can be the Kissing Prince and marry the lovely Briar Rose himself! Lots of laughs and lots of action but, in the end, the sweet, romantic story of Sleeping Beauty is told with charm, humor and care. 

• Cast Size: 10M 4W 3 Gender Neutral
• Running Time: 90+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

BLACK WIDOWS by Susan Middaugh

Cast Size: 4M 6W (With doubling 3M 3W)

Running Time: 90+ minutes

Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

Gwen and Vera, both small time crooks in the 70s, pretend to befriend a couple of homeless men they meet through a church soup kitchen. They give the men a place to live, take out multiple life insurance policies on them, then wait for the men to die — until one night Vera gets impatient. One hit and run, then another. Will the women get caught?

Female breasts – entrancing, bothersome, nourishing, aggravating, healthy, unhealthy, hidden, flaunted! A playwright interviews diverse women and two breasts for their personal stories. A girl is furious when her parents don’t give her implants for her 16th birthday. A New Yorker doubles down at the gym when her breasts refuse to defy advancing age. Two new mothers come to grips with nursing. A mammogram is experienced from the P.O.V. of the breasts. Reconstruction after cancer surgery is experienced by a delightfully upbeat young woman. And much more. A patchwork quilt of monologues and duologues touching on the universal through the personal.

• Cast Size: 2-16 actors (Flexible Casting)
• Running Time: 90+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

BROKEN by Gwen Parker

Cast Size: 5m 7W Plus extras
Running Time: 40 minutes
Royalty: $40 per performance

In 1957 in the southern U.S., a young boy is missing and later found dead of a hit and run. Alcohol is the cause, and a family is torn apart when it is discovered that one of them is the driver. Black-out drunk on the night of the hit and run, Olivia Jacobs must deal with the realization that she could do such a thing. Broken promises, broken family…but is Olivia really the person responsible? The family is hit once again as the truth comes out. 

CAPE COD AND OTHER PLAYS by Don Nigro

Cast Sizes:

Cape Cod (2M 1W)

How to Tell a Devil (1W)

Loneliness (2M 3W)

Goose Therapy (8 performers, flexible casting)

Venice (1W)

Running Time: Total Evening 90+ minutes

Royalty Rate: $75 for full evening, $40 (Cape Cod) $15 for other individual shows (Per Performance)

This collection of five plays by Don Nigro includes Cape Cod, a long one act/short full length in which Ben and Tracy, the characters from Nigro’s Seascape With Sharks And Dancer, return in a work set between the second and third scenes of the earlier play, during the first weeks they spend together. Tracy is surprised to be happy with Ben, but restless and uneasy about their future, and makes a life changing decision with the help of a very eccentric friend who much resembles Edward Gorey; How To Tell A Devil, a chilling and darkly funny monologue about a compelling but possibly unhinged girl two intruders encounter in a haunted barn; Loneliness, in which Henry David Thoreau, Jack Kerouac and Gertrude Stein compete for the affections of Emily Dickinson; Goose Therapy, in which Mother Goose acts as a group therapist to try and resolve some of the emotional problems of a Dish, a Spoon, a Fiddle, a Cat, a Dog, a very athletic Cow, and the Moon; and Venice, a dark monologue in which a girl investigates the mysterious disappearance of another girl in Venice. Something for everybody here, in an abundance of strangeness, and a treasure trove of monologue material.

What do Mother Teresa, one bad driver, a man telling tall tales to his granddaughter, a missing golf ball, a brand new car, a hero running out of time, the misspellings of children and Satan himself have in common? They’re all fodder for the not-quite-right mind of writer John Busser. These seven one-act plays take you from Calcutta to Mexico, with side trips to golf courses, hospital waiting rooms, suburban homes, and car dealerships. Oh, he’ll also take you to Hell and back for good measure.

• Cast Size: 6M 4W (Gender Flexible on some roles)
• Running Time: 90+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Kevin D. Ferguson

Cast Size: 9M 5W (with doubling)
Running Time: 2 hrs
Royalty: $60 per performance

Kevin D. Ferguson’s A Christmas Carol is a faithful adaptation of Dickens’ novella sure to please any fan of the original Christmas-time ghost story and amaze younger audience members new to the telling. Full of authentic Victorian Christmas carols that conjure the Yuletide mood, this family-friendly telling of the classic story nevertheless maintains the spookier edge of this cautionary tale. Come follow Ebeneezer Scrooge as the ghosts take him on a journey of redemption sure to put the “fa la la la la” in everyone’s holiday.

A modern Cinderella story: in reverse.
Princess Cynthia of Malibu has it all, yet she longs to be “normal.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be unremarkable and forgettable? When the paparazzi break the news about her husband’s foot fetish–he’d been caught forcing women throughout town to try on Cindy’s shoes–she seizes her chance and embarks on an adventure to find out who she truly is. Going incognito as Ella, Cindy seeks to prove herself capable without servants and discover what the world outside of celebrity culture really has to offer. Meeting a host of quirky characters while traversing across the Kingdom of California’s urban sprawl, Cindy discovers that what she’s been craving most has been with her all along.

• Cast Size: Flexible; 9-12 (5-7F, 4-5M)
• Running Time: 60+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

COM WASN’T BUILT IN A DAY by H. Russ Brown

• Cast Size: 8M 3W
• Running Time: 90+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: $40 per performance
• A down-home comedy VERY loosely based on actual people and events!  It is Fall of 1967 in the small town of Texas City, Texas and Dr. Herbert F. Stallworth already has plenty to contend with in getting his new community college off the ground in their temporary quarters in an old dilapidated high school, but an Open House Night for local VIPs with no A/C just before a vital bond election doesn’t make it any easier! Throw in a greedy mayoral candidate, a wily local business owner, a very vocal student senate, a well-meaning custodian and additional pressure from “the powers that be” and you’ve got a hurricane of commotion! But with his trademark wit and affability, Dr. Stallworth navigates the rocky waters in this funny and affectionate mix of fact and fiction. The rest, as they say, is history!

DEATH BY SHAKESPEARE by Philip L. Nichols, Jr.

Cast Size: 12M 9W

Running Time: 2 hrs

Royalty Rate: $60 per performance

Modern Times. The Demill Players have undergone a regime change. No longer are the classic plays being produced. They now do shows such as “The Chocolate Screamed” and avant garde hip-hop pageants. Founding member Vivian Price will not be deterred as she continues to submit an evening with Shakespeare for consideration. At the last meeting of the play committee, she is rudely treated and storms out, only to be tragically killed by a runaway cement truck. The next year the playhouse puts on her last suggestion, Death by Shakespeare – an evening of the Bard’s grisliest moments, to great acclaim and financial gain. At a weekend retreat after the production the board members all begin dying one by one in the manner of the murders in the play. Who’s doing them in? It is a tense thriller peppered with classic Shakespearean speeches from Richard III, Othello, Macbeth, Titus Andronicus, Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, and Romeo and Juliet.

DISABILITY FORWARD! is a first – a collection of 11 short plays, all of which include Deaf or Disabled characters. The plays are written in a wide variety of styles, ranging from folksy naturalism to biting satire to searing drama. The richly drawn characters span ethnic groups, sexuality and gender identification, and provide outstanding – and much-needed opportunities for Deaf or Disabled actors. 

• Cast Size: Flexible Casting
• Running Time: Variable
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance, contact for individual plays

• A DIVINE KERFUFFLE by H. Russ Brown
• Cast Size: 3M 3W 6M/W
• Running time: 90+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

The year is 1895 and Sarah Bernhardt is the greatest actress to ever grace the Victorian stage – just ask her! The “Divine Sarah” fears, however, her once bright star may be fading with all the attention suddenly being lavished on a talented, younger rival. When she stumbles across an incredible new script written by a naïve, but up-and-coming playwright, though, Sarah is convinced her path to theatrical immortality is assured… until her rival also gets her hands on a copy. Throw in a fuss-budget theatre manager, a stern Teutonic maid, a nimble-footed usher, plus a hilarious jumble of confusions and complications – and the stage is set for the ultimate showdown as the two dueling divas cross wits and blades in this frantically funny farce!

Dreamers by Roy Schreiber

Samuel Pepys wanted to bring order to his seventeenth century world. He dreamed of introducing orderly systems to the navy.  The plague, London burning down, the Dutch destroying the British fleet all kept him from achieving his dream. So did corruption and the women he couldn’t resist, including his wife. William Bligh dreamed of outdoing his mentor, Captain James Cook and becoming Britain’s greatest explorer.  Bligh played a role in the events that led up to Cook’s death on Hawaii.  Afterwards he gathered breadfruit saplings on Tahiti and faced the mutiny on the Bounty.  In a tiny boat, he then sailed 3500 miles to safety.  It didn’t matter.  His reputation was ruined. Paul Gauguin, after his disastrous encounter with Vincent Van Gogh, went to Tahiti.   Gauguin called himself a “savage”, by which he meant someone not encumbered by the restrictions of contemporary European society.  As a savage painter, he dreamed of revolutionizing the artistic world. Largely using the Tahitian women he encountered, Gauguin tried to achieve his aim. When he took his Tahitian pictures back to Paris to sell in the 1890s, no one would buy them.All these men, Pepys, Bligh and Gauguin, became famous for reasons they never dreamed.

• Cast Size: Solo Show or Flexible Casting
• Running Time: 90+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

Extra Innings: Ten Plays About Baseball by D.S. Burrows, Rand Higbee, Greg Lam, Mildred Lewis, Tom Moran, Dominica Plummer, Adam Seidel, Bryan Stubbles, Ron West, and Philip Middleton Williams

Baseball is our national pastime, so why should the fun stop when the season does? When the weather gets too rough to play outside, head to your favorite theatre to enjoy an evening of short comedies and dramas all about the game. In Extra Innings, ten playwrights celebrate what baseball means to them and their characters. From a comedy about a marriage proposal hinging on the fate of the final score; or a drama about bittersweet memories of listening to games on the radio; or even a hilarious and poignant introduction to Little League — these plays— and more —will tug at your heartstrings, and make you laugh out loud. But above all, they’ll remind you that nothing—nothing—gets in the way of the game and your favorite team! Play ball!

• Cast Size: Flexible Casting
• Running Time: Variable
• Royalty Rate: $75 for the whole evening, $15 for individual Plays

FAIRY TALES AND WOMEN, three one act plays by Gerald P. Murphy. 

 In Dr. Chicken and Mr. Hawk, a shy chicken scientist turns into a homicidal hawk (2M, 9F). 

 McRumpelstiltskin involves a novel retelling of the classic Rumpelstiltskin story, with a leprechaun coming to the aid of a damsel in distress.  (6M, 6F).  And finally, in Seven Women, a night school poetry class is the setting for both humor and insights.  (7W).

FEAR PRESSURE

Cast Size: 1M 3F

Running Time: 20 minutes

Royalty Rate: $20 per performance

A trio of high school girls sneaks into a R-rated movie, and each one’s moral character is challenged by the experience.

THE DODO CHALLENGE

Cast Size: 12 (Flexible casting)

Running Time: 30 minutes

Royalty Rate: $20 per performance

To “impress” her followers on social media, Xavia, a teenage girl, sneaks into the morgue to participate in “The Dodo Challenge,” an online dare to take a selfie next to a dead body. Unfortunately for Xavia, a dissatisfied spirit follows her home…

FOUL FEAST by Gregory Bray and John Patrick Bray

• Cast Size: 6M 4W 1M/F or Trained Dog
• Running Time: 90+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

Bertrand and Bernard Lavishly invite a group of guests ostensibly to get to know the locals, however it slowly becomes revealed that they may be more interested in creating the right circumstances for ritual sacrifice. If Neil Simon had written Midsommar for Frasier and Niles Crane, the result would be the uproarious farce Foul Feast.

FRANKENSTEIN/MONSTER by Andra Laine Hunter

Cast Size: 5M 5W 10M/F (extra children if needed)

Running Time: 90+ minutes

Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

When Victor Frankenstein’s fiancée, Elizabeth, reveals she had a near-death experience, the ambitious young scientist feels his glory calling to him. Through unbearable grief, he will seize the impossible: Victor Frankenstein will conquer death itself! Begged by Elizabeth, warned by dreams, Victor cannot stop his ambition—his ill-fated reach for glory—from taking him by the throat. Seeking love and acceptance from his creator, alone in all the world, Frankenstein’s nameless Monster shines a light on Victor’s inability to see with his heart rather than his eyes. Victor’s success—his glory—becomes his worst nightmare, forcing him to choose again and again—between lies and the truth, between love and loss. Even as his world crumbles, Victor will not take responsibility for his actions, begging the question: Which is the monster? 

GAYS by Glenn Alterman

Cast Size: Flexible

Running Time: 90+ minutes

Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

Gays is an evening of theater comprised of gay monologues and short plays. The plays require minimal furniture, just some chairs and a small table will do. The same actors can appear in multiple plays and perform multiple monologues. 

GAME NIGHT by John Patrick Bray, Amy Michelle Collins, Bryan Maynard, Carol M. Rice, Lauren Tunnell, Christine Weems, Michael Weems, and L. Robert Westeen

Running Time: 2 hrs

Cast Size: Flexible

Royalty Rate: $60 per performance, $10 for each individual play

The Classic Board Game collides with the Modern Theatre in this collection of short plays inspired by the games we’ve all grown up on. The eight playwrights were randomly paired with a genre and a game, then given 24 hours to write a play. The results were as varied and fun as the games themselves. Chess, Checkers, Trivial Pursuit, Sorry!, Battleship, Monopoly, Candy Land, and Clue! mix with the genres of Comedy, Drama, Mystery and Fantasy – creating a unique evening of theatre unlike any other.

GONNABES by Allen Gardner and Jeremy Palmer

Cast Size: 7M 5W

Running Time: 2 hrs

Royalty Rate: $60 per performance

Hollywood – the place where your dreams come true. Unless, of course, you’re one of the millions of unemployed actors who come and go from the city every year without ever accomplishing their goal. When Pete, one such unfulfilled actor, decides to pack it in, his best friends have just one night to turn his life around and convince him that his dream is still worth pursuing. That is, if Pete’s friends can get past their fictional drug problems, obsessive crushes, anxieties about turning 27, and several strong cases of professional envy , long enough to remind Pete that it’s not so bad being a wannabe after all. 

These unique collections of drama and comedy one-act plays, written by professional women screenwriters, will  enthrall audiences worldwide.  From dysfunctional family relationships, unrequited love, coming-of-age issues, historical pieces about prejudice and discrimination, to life-altering accidental run-ins and absurd communication problems, these plays are crafted by writers trained to entertain for television and film, now turning their talents to the stage.
These anthologies will make you laugh and cry. From fighting over mattresses, confiding secrets to a stranger on an airplane or confronting a cheating spouse, these plays are about the moments that can potentially change a life.  GUILDED plays are diverse, ranging from stories of Chinese immigrants, to a young Latina finding romance, to teenage fashion angst and childhood monsters who threaten in the dark. Take your pick from the women of GUILDED, each one is a gem. 

This collection contains the following plays:

Foodie by Zoila Amelia Galeano

The Apology by Sharon Soboil

Take-Off by Linda Shayne 

Hysteria by Susan Cinoman

Happy Talk by Valérie A. Brotski 
Sizzler by Ellen Ancui

The Pinky Promise Dissolution Service by Tracy Held 

The Monster in the Dark by Catherine Wignall

HAMLET: PRINCE OF PORK by Gene Kato

Cast Size: Flexible
Running Time: 1hr 45 minutes
Royalty: $60 per performance

This uproarious adaptation of the Shakespearean classic is set in the castle Shish-ka-bob in the land of Pork where all of the characters . . .are pigs. Every scene from the classic tale is represented as poor Hamlet tries desperately to avenge the death of his father (King Omelet). Turning the classic on it’s ear – this version features a collection of orthodox Jewish wolves, pigs a plenty, and a tap dancing pork chop – all culminating in a final confrontation featuring death, mayhem, and a sword fight with giant skewers.

HELLBENT by Jeff Dunne

Cast Size: 6M 4W
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Royalty: $75 per performance

Ophistopheles (the demon responsible for photocopiers jamming at the worst possible moment and other office-related suffering), Incubeth (the demoness who oversees bad dating decisions), and Ahmenahmenon (who torments dieters by making them hungry in the middle of the night) have set about to capture an angel. Unfortunately, they instead wind up summoning the incredibly observant Angelina, along with her lifelong friend Devlin and his newly-found, demon-worshipping girlfriend Lacey. Will the humans be trapped in hell forever? Will they discover what is going on before the honorary demon Robert (who brought us Robert’s Rules of Order) leads Lucifer to the summoning chamber? Are vinegar and brimstone potato chips the next big craze? And what is the role of Fezdemona, the demoness of all hat-based suffering? These questions and many others will be answered in the divinely infernal comedy, Hellbent.

HILARIOUS NIGHTMARES by Daniel Guyton

Cast Size: Flexible
Running Time: Variable
Royalty Rate: $60 per performance (Contact for individual plays)

HILARIOUS NIGHTMARES 2 by Daniel Guyton

Cast Size: Flexible
Running Time: Variable
Royalty Rate: $60 per performance (Contact for individual plays)

• THE HINDU AND THE COWBOY by Donna Woodward Ziegenhorn
• Cast Size: Large Flexible Cast
• Running Time: 60+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

A one-act play inspired by stories of area residents collected in interviews. It gives voice to people of many faith and cultural traditions and the experiences that shaped their lives. The play includes stories based on a young Muslim and his surprise encounter with New York City fire fighters after 9-11 … an African American pastor and the once enslaved grandmother he’ll never forget … A Polish Jew and her story of sacrifice and survival … The Hindu and the cowboy who come face to face over the fate of land … and more. While the stories themselves come from people in Kansas City, the experiences and themes conveyed transcend regional boundaries. References may be adapted as locally appropriate. “The Hindu and the Cowboy” has been recognized by Harvard University’s Pluralism Project and received awards from the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council, Missouri Association of Social Welfare (Kansas City) and other organizations.

It’s the Roaring 20s, and sugary sodas like root beer have been outlawed by the outrageous 18 ½ Amendment. Detective Holly Abel is short on cases, but when she reads about a suspected ring of soda smugglers operating in town, her toes begin to tingle. Then, a group of strangers whose stories sound very familiar barge into her office, begging her to find their lost mothers, and she knows her time has come to earn some clams! Is it a lot of phonus balonus, or are the Brothers Grimm headed to the big house? Will Holly & Opal figure out why the mothers are always missing in fairy tales? If we know our onions, this delightful ensemble play for young performers and family audiences is the bee’s knees! Holly Abel is root beer barrels full of fun for casts and audiences of all ages, so get on the trolley with Holly, Opal and a gaggle of fairy tale characters!

• Cast Size: 6M 18W 3NB
• Running Time: 90+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

HOMICIDAL HOLIDAY by Philip L. Nichols, Jr.

Cast Size: 7M 5W 1M/W

Running Time: 90+ minutes

Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

A mystery spoof of popular crime novels and television shows, Homicidal Holiday takes place in the swamps of Louisiana over a Halloween weekend murder party thrown by eccentric book publisher Elsa Craven and her assistant Ruth Hammond. She has invited her bestselling authors and they all must come in costume and behave as their characters. Attending this party is Devin Morguen the serial killer with a conscience, Prior Cuthbert the crime solving Franciscan Monk, Monsieur Arastede Harlequin a celebrated French detective with a heavily waxed moustache, love of fine food and most of all himself, Dr. Prudence Relics the brilliant forensic anthropologist and medical examiner and Abby Brice the celebrated vampire fiction writer.  Also attending are Sam Sportswalter the hard-hitting old school private eye, with Clark D’ Balfour  famed western author. Adding to the mix of eccentric characters, are Mother Petronia the voodoo priestess/cook of the house and the escaped “killer” gorilla haunting the grounds! It is a hilarious spoof of who done what and when.

HOUND by John Patrick Bray

Cast Size: 5M 5W

Running Time: 2 hrs

Royalty Rate: $60 per performance

Dr. Watson is a grieving widower who is living in a world beyond his control. Not only is he haunted by dreams of his recently deceased wife, but super-sleuth Sherlock Holmes has miraculously returned from the dead three years after falling from Reichenbach Falls. And now, Holmes is taking on a case that deals with a Hound from Hell which has been plaguing generations of wealthy landowners. Driven by waking night-mares of his lost wife, and hoping to meet her beyond the gates of death, Watson risks his soul in pursuit of the Hound of the Baskervilles.

THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL by Tommy Jamerson

Cast Size:5M 6F
Royalty Rate Per Performance: $75 per Performance
Royalty for the Original Music CD Rental: TBA
Running Time: 2 hrs.

You’re cordially invited to a party to die for. Adapted from the Vincent Prince classic, The House on Haunted Hill tells the twisted tale of millionaire Frederick Lauren, his fourth wife Annabelle, and five, money-hungry guests who will each received fifty thousand dollars if they stay in a supposedly haunted house until sunrise. Filled with double crosses, jilted lovers, a wicked sense of humor, and a restless spirt or two, Haunted Hill proves to be a night you’ll never forget.

“HUCKLEBERRY TOWERS” follows a retired couple, Henry and Helen Auburn, as they make the difficult decision to sell their family home – at the request of their daughter and son – and move into a retirement community.  They find their new home consists of a variety of colorful characters who maintain their independence and zest for living. Suddenly, however, an unexpected threat to the community emerges in the form of a successful real-estate developer. To counter progress, everyone rallies together in an effort to demonstrate that “old people matter!”

• Cast Size: 8M 11W
• Running Time: 90+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

• I AM MACBETH by Domenick V. Danza
• Cast Size: Large Flexible Cast
• Running Time: 60+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

Tyrone’s high school drama club is holding auditions for their first Shakespeare production. The new drama teacher has chosen “The Scottish Play”. As Tyrone and his best friend Oscar prepare for the audition, they discuss the fact that, since they are Sophomores, they don’t have a chance at any of the leading roles. Tyrone’s mother, aunt, and grandmother try to encourage Tyrone to raise his expectation by proclaiming three surprising predictions. At the audition, Tyrone is overcome with a level of ambition and desire he never fathomed he had. He betrays Oscar, who comes back to haunt Tyrone in one of his auditions scenes. He allows himself to be manipulated by Sky, the queen of the “untouchable” girls, who is ruthless in her desire to obtain the role of Lady Macbeth. Tyrone manages to gain the attention of the new drama teacher and has a good chance of being cast in the role of Macbeth. After opening up to his father about his fears of being cast in the lead role, Tyrone learns a few family secrets that explain a lot about the bizarre behavior over the past few days.  This play is written for high school student actors to perform for a high school audience. The main objective is to provide students a chance to perform full Shakespeare scenes within the context of a present-day situation, in order gain an understanding of the intention in Shakespeare’s writing. 

I DON’T THINK SO: LIFE’S STAGES by Katherine Burkman

Cast Size: Flexible
Running Time: 2 hours
Royalty: $60 per performance

I DON’T THINK SO: LIFE’S STAGES is made up of a series of 14 monologues in which individuals from 10 to 76 speak to the audience. Each character says at some point, “I don’t think so,” a rebellious lot, and the progression if played in order is from youth to old age. The play may be used in several ways. One person could perform it as a one-person show. A man and woman could take the various parts. Several actors could perform it (the original production had 6), or the single monologues could be used for audition purposes.

I NEVER PROMISED YOU A ROSE GARDEN by Walter L. Newton

Cast Size: 5M 6W

Running Time: 2hrs

Royalty: $60 per performance

Walter L Newton’s adaptation of the Joanne Greenberg novel – Debra Klein created the Kingdom of Yr as a form of defense from her frightening reality. In childhood, Debra suffered frequent abuse from her anti-Semitic peers and neighbors. At first Yr was a safe-haven, but over time the gods of Yr became tyrannical dictators who ruled Debra’s every word and action. At the age of 16, Debra was committed to a mental hospital with schizophrenia. This is the story of her remarkable cure.

IDA INVISIBLE by Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn

Cast Size: 4M 5W 5M/F with extras

Running Time: 90+ minutes

Royalty: $75 per performance

Ida lives in a fairytale. She is also aware that everyone who gets a “happily ever after” must endure great challenges and hardships to achieve it. She decides she is content just doing everyone else’s laundry as they survive curses and dragons. Then the dark fairy, Billiana arrives at Ida’s laundry hut, threatening her with a curse if she doesn’t stop hiding from her “happily ever after.”Forced into an adventure, Ida meets a mystical creature called JumJum, a troll, a selfish king, a nervous prince and a mermaid. She soon discovers that “happily ever after” doesn’t necessarily mean marrying a prince and moving to a castle. Sometimes leaving your comfort zone and risking everything for your friends is “happily ever after” enough.

In the South Bronx, three teenagers struggle to survive where not living beyond today is just another heartbreak and gunshot away.

• Cast Size: 10M 5W
• Running Time: 90+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

• INSIDE OUT by Barry M.Putt, Jr.
• Cast Size: Large, Flexible.
• Running Time: 90 minutes
• Royalty Rate: $60 per performance

High-school senior, Ben, has a life filled with homework, marching-band practice, business club, and all the things his parents believe will lead to a standard, successful path in life. In the midst of all this, he discovers a newfound talent. His parents forbid it, leaving him torn between the pressure to make a living as a cookie-cutter citizen or risk it all to pursue his own track in life. INSIDE OUT is a comedy drama about life in high school and authenticity. It has a flexible cast in number and gender and can be performed by as little as 6 actors and as many as 35. There is a standard version of the play that features two male leads and another version with an all-female cast.

THE JUGGLER WHO LOST HIS ARMS IN A RODEO FIRE AND OTHER PLAYS by John Weagly

Cast Size: 10M 8W (Although all of these pieces can have the gender of their characters switched without much difficulty.) 

Running Time: Flexible

Royalty Rate: $75 per performance. Contact for Individual pieces.

Outlandish pets, sinister skeletons and partners trying to figure out who they are inhabit this collection of funny, off-kilter plays by award-winning playwright John Weagly.  

The classic story of Mowgli the Man-Cub springs to life in this lively and spirited adaptation of “The Jungle Book.” Raised by wolves and protected by a wise panther and semi-narcoleptic bear, Mowgli’s adventures take him from a crumbling ancient city to a run in with a massive python, to a climactic showdown with the ferocious tiger, Shere Khan. Filled with action, heart, and all your favorite characters from the Rudyard Kipling classic, this retelling puts a fresh spin on the story we all know and love, while weaving a lesson about finding one’s place in this vast and wild world.

• Cast Size: 4M 4W 5-22 ANY GENDER
• Running Time: 90 minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

MAD FOR MYSTERY offers a full evening of tasty shorts sure to satisfy a mystery lover’s palette. This collection of six one-act plays, offering roles for Gen Z to age 50+ actors, serves up a smorgasbord of “who-dunnits” with a madness chaser, sure to sate your audience’s senses. 

Each unique play tackles plot twists and turns that make MAD FOR MYSTERY a memorable night of theatre, taking on all your favorite motives for murder – love, greed, buried secrets, and of course, a distinctive dose of revenge. 

Join us in witnessing the full experience of the unpredictable under belly of human nature gone awry – that magic that makes for the wonderful genre of mystery. 

• Cast Size: Flexible Casting
• Running Time: Variable
• Royalty Rate: $75 for the Full Evening, $15 for individual plays

This is the story of Romie and Bernice, the love they share and the world that keeps them apart. The heart of Eros, guarded by witches, burns deep within Mount Socrates and demands sacrifice. Those who live on the mountain are forced to mine the magic and serve Mama Massey, who holds the power of Eros.  Romie refused. Rejected by the town, he lives as a lowly outlier. Then one day, fate brings Romie to Bernice, a girl stuck between Massey’s town and a world beyond her own.  But “the mountain chooses, the mountain calls, deny the mountain and it will destroy all you love.” And it’s calling out to Romie. 

• Cast Size: 4M 4W 8 GN
• Running Time: 90+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

MANY SNOWS AGO by Midge Guerrera

In story theatre fashion, the play brings the fables of the Eastern Woodland Indians to life. Stories range from the creation of the world, the clans, European Explorers to ritual. Many Snows Ago is based on the extremely short tales of the Lenape and other Eastern Woodland People. The dramatization and embellishment of these tales was done to engage today’s young audience while still imparting the wisdom of this noble group of people. Perfect for schools and actors of all ages.

• Cast Size: Large Flexible Cast
• Running Time: Under an Hour
• Royalty Rate: $40 per performance

THE MOTHER OF GOD VISITS HELL by Daniel Guyton

Cast Size: 2M 2W Flexible ensemble w/ doubling

Running Time: 90+ Minutes

Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

Based on a poem described in “The Brothers Karamazov” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and written in rhyming Iambic pentameter. The Virgin Mary travels to hell to comfort the souls in torment. While there, she condemns her own soul to save those of all mankind – much to God’s dismay. What erupts is a war between Heaven and Hell, with all of our souls in the balance.

MURDER FOR DUMMIES by Philip L. Nichols, Jr.

Cast Size: 8M 5W

Running Time: 2 hrs

Royalty Rate: $60 per performance

It is 1930. Vaudeville is still going strong and Radio is causing a sensation. Famed radio and Vaudeville Ventriloquist and amateur sleuth “The Great Lester” Winchell along with his wisecracking dummy sidekick Corky is hired to entertain at the weekend party of multibillionaire William Vanderby to commemorate the sixth month passing of his mother. In attendance at the party are the entire Vanderby clan as well as an oddball mix of assorted houseguests. As the party begins, Hurricane Clementine makes landfall at Vanderby Point cutting the party off from the outside world. Through the course of a stormy evening, several of the guests are murdered forcing Corky and Lester to solve the “whodunit” with hilarious results.

MURDER IN A CEMETERY by Sawyer Quinn Brown

A group of unusual characters gather for the vampire Lady Sanguina’s crypt-warming party. But halfway through Sanguina’s after-dinner speech, she coughs up blood and falls down dead. In this zany comedy, a vampire, a nonbinary zombie, a werewolf who doesn’t know she’s a werewolf, and the butler, Igor, among others, must race to find the perpetrator of the murder before the sun comes up. 

• Cast Size: 4F, 2M, 1NB, 5 ANY
• Running Time: 90+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

Amanda is an upbeat professional from California preparing to start a new job in Boston. With the guidance of a well-meaning real estate agent (Shirley), she encounters hilarious surprises as she seeks the perfect roommate… virtually. The cast of potential roomies includes a pet enthusiast, a theater afficionado, a shady mobster, and a house full of rowdy gamers. Will Amanda ever find the perfect roommate? Will she learn how to pronounce the names of Massachusetts towns? Will Shirley ever master the mute button? Making comical use (and misuse!) of video conferencing features, this 12-scene virtual play can be pre-recorded or performed live for audiences of all ages.

• Cast Size: 1M 3W 2-11 ANY
• Running Time: About an Hour
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

NUTCRACKER: KRAKATUK  by Andra Laine Hunter

Nutcracker: Krakatuk is the adapted origin story of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s hero, the Nutcracker. When Madam Mouserinks suffers a terrible loss at the hands of Drosselmeier, she takes vengeance on the arrogant King and Queen by uglifying Princess Pirlipat. Can Drosselmeier and the Royal Astronomer find the hard nut Krakatuk in time to save the princess?  With a cast of larger-than-life characters, Krakatuk is a delightful exploration of Hoffmann’s zany world. Offering a fun and fantastic menagerie of roles to thrill, inspire, and stretch a flexibly-sized cast, Krakatuk is a holiday tradition in the making! 

• Cast Size: 2M 6W 4M/F (Ensemble of 12)
• Running Time: 90 minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

OLD FASHION TEDDY BEAR TALE by Gene Kato

Cast Size: 5M 5W 5M/W

Running time: 2 hrs

Royalty Rate: $60 per performance

While bed-ridden with a very high fever, young Jennifer dreams that her beloved teddy bear Wintergreen, is stolen away through a hole under her bed by a gargoyle. Soon after, she and a collection of her favorite toys must follow after, navigating through a magical land in a desperate attempt to save Wintergreen from the clutches of an unseen villain. Filled with comedy, action, and a large collection of memorable characters, OLD FASHION TEDDY BEAR TALE is a charming story that has something for the entire family.

As Alicia, a tech-savvy teenager from San Francisco, is recovering from the death of her mother Patricia, her sister Frances drowns in a freak accident. Alicia is determined to create a virtual reality app to bring Frances back to life, but her father Garrett and aunt Jody, partners in their own VR company, stand in her way. Frances returns as a winged spirit, as Alicia confronts her hidden trauma and creates a different path towards healing. 

• Cast Size: 1M 3W 1-7M/F/NB
• Running Time: 90+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

OUR SPACE by Caroline Turner Cole

Cast Size: 1M 2W
Running Time: 90 minutes (FULL-LENGTH)
40 minutes (ONE-ACT)
Royalty per performance: $60 Full-Length / $40 One-Act

“Our Space” explores the use of social media by bringing to the stage some unlikely characters — Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and others lead the audience through the digital world, exploring daily life on the internet through a theatrical lens. A surreal and yet surprisingly realistic look at how constant “connection” can work in reverse to break down relationships. A demanding and exciting ensemble piece accessible and appropriate for ages 12 and up. Cast size between 13 and 20; gender largely irrelevant in casting.

PARISH DUNKELD by Mark Loewenstern

In rural Scotland in 1793, a small parish believes it is safe from the revolutions shaking the world.  But when a well-intentioned man of reason arrives, bringing violent upheaval, the people of Parish Dunkeld must fight their way back from the brink.  A true ensemble drama where the parish itself is the protagonist, and each character’s journey is bound up with all the others. 

• Cast Size: 7M 5W
• Running Time: 90+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

PERFECT WOMEN by Emma Goldman-Sherman

Cast Size: Flexible Casting (6-15 performers)

Running Time: 75+ minutes

Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

Rosie starts a Youtube channel for her birthday to document the stuff that happens, and a lot happens! This is a romp through early adolescence with lesbian longings, Barbie comes to life and runs off with a stone butch biker chick who used to be Pygmalion’s Galatea, you know, just like your own teen years… From body image issues to acceptance — is it possible?

PIERCINGS by Madeline Daly Puccioni

PIERCINGS is a collection of sad and hilarious love stories, some of which may be autobiographical.   COOLEY’S REEL tells of a loving Irish Da, who comes back from the dead to walk his daughter Shauna down the aisle on her wedding day…if she’ll let him do that now,  given his new gender.  DARK WINDOWS tells of Steve and Raine, a couple whose marriage has been built around lost love and layers of lies; will Jules help them find the truth at the center of the pearl?.  PLAYLAND FOREVER tells of Richard and Leslie,  a couple whose invisible friends, Zoltar and Laffin’ Sal, may  help them  realize how to live the lives they truly need.   MANHATTANS IN MONTCLAIR tells of Steele and Risa, an older  couple who share a dangerous secret, which will force Steele to tell the truth—to Risa as well as his girlfriend, Zahra.  THE TALE OF SETSUMI AND HER BELOVED NOBU tells of Nobu’s grief as he longs for his lost SETSUMI.  Will he find the courage to outwit Namazu (a river monster) and Lord Shinigami (Lord of the Dead)?  Can he  perform an impossible task, and help Setsumi’s spirit travel to the Pure Land—though in doing so,  he may lose her forever?

Cast Size: 2M 3W (Expanding possible)

Running Time: 90+ minutes

Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

QUESTIONS ASKED OF DYING DREAMS by Phillip Vassallo

Cast Size: 8M 4W

Running Time: 90+ minutes

Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

Questions Asked of Dying Dreams comprises four one-acts. “What Do You Charge for a Cure?” concerns a director of a clinical program for developmentally disabled individuals who confronts her professional and personal doubts as she deals with a client and a new intake. In “How Silent Do I Sound?” a bigoted, aging moving man unexpectedly meets his new coworker and his own destiny. In “Do I Bleed in the Dark?” a homeless ex-boxer has a final chance to make something meaningful of his life in his dying moments. “Isn’t This the Way You Wanted Me?” presents an embittered, frustrated wife who rethinks her marriage and life in light of her husband’s remarkable transformation.

RAW AND OTHER SHORT PLAYS by Victoria Z. Daly

Cast Size: Flexible

Running Time: 90+ minutes (Full Version), 10-minutes (individual plays)

Royalty Rate: $75 per performance, $10 for individual plays

A collection of one-act dark comedies, dramedies and absurdities by award-winning playwright Victoria Z. Daly. Includes the titles RAW, HIGH WATER LINE, FAR NORTH, CIRCLING THE GLOBE, BOTTOM OF THE ORDER, WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT (#AFTER THE BANS,) and FINAL REST. By turns intimate, unsettling, politically pointed, and hilarious, these plays for 1-3 actors feature humans desperate to connect with each other. Grieving, clueless, wounded and wounding, the characters often find themselves ensnared in over-the-top physical situations. See why these plays, vows one producer, make the audience “squirm, gasp and laugh all in the same breath.”

THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE by Edward J. Walsh and Robert Thomas Noll

Cast Size: 12M 2W (Flexible Casting)

Running Time: 90+ minutes

Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

Young Fleming joined the Union army dreaming of becoming a hero. Instead, on facing a Confederate charge, he throws his rifle down and runs. Wandering the woods, he meets other Union soldiers. They include a deranged “tattered man,” who believes Fleming is wounded. Fleming pretends that to be true. The soldiers assume that Fleming has, like them, lost contact with his regiment in the confusion of battle. Ashamed, Fleming lets them believe that lie and begins to search for his regiment. Fleming finds his regiment, but he now has a genuine head wound, inflicted by a panicky soldier who struck him with a rifle. Nursed back to health by a fellow soldier named Wilson, Fleming gains not only strength but also courage.When he overhears officers confiding that his regiment is comprised of “mule drivers” and “mud diggers” who are to be sacrificed in a pending battle, Fleming is outraged. Leaving fear behind, he engages in the climactic battle. And though he once ran from the clash of arms, he now stands and fights fearlessly — a true hero at last.

RENFIELD: THE DRACULA PLAY by Philip L. Nichols, Jr.

Cast Size: 13M 8W

Running Time: 2 hrs

Royalty Rate: $60 per performance

Renfield: The Dracula Play is truly a fresh, funny, terrifyingly intense re-telling of the oft-told Dracula tale. For those looking for a Dracula play with real bite, wit, thrills, chills, horror, terror, blood, gore, and in true Blood and Thunder–Grand Guignol fashion– some great laughs– all packed into 2 haunting acts, this is the show for you! Sure to entertain on every level. Designed to be character driven this play is perfect for amateur and professional theatres alike.

ROSIE by Grizzly K. Sunshine

ROSIE is a two-act comedy (with a hint of science fiction), that tells the tale of three tough, and tatted, women, who navigate what 1940s society would call ‘character flaws’ in order to interrupt a group of outcast academics, set to unleash an acid rain over the city of Las Vegas. This demonstration of terror, straight from the mind of a mad, muddled Meteorologist, is forced to make an emergency landing at Rosie’s Hangar, where all the ‘book smarts’ in the world can’t conquer girl power! This full-length play has light Russian and Finnish language components.

• Cast Size: 5M 4W plus chorus
• Running Time: 90+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

S-VIRUS by Robyn Summerour

Cast Size: 5M 9W

Running Time: 90+ minutes

Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

In a world plagued by a viral infection, which causes individuals to become mindless and bloodthirsty, a small group of survivors struggle to survive. Their problems increase when a young woman named Jess arrives at their door, who is a person of interest to both the Government as well as to dangerous psychopaths. While trying to protect Jess, the group struggles with trying to balance the needs of their family, with the needs of survival, and some of their choices may have tragic consequences.

A poignant and often funny slice-of-life piece, set in a park over a period of four days, where the central characters, a retired old man and an autistic park keeper, navigate the diverse personalities of the park regulars.  When the well-intended actions of the park keeper cause the tragic death of a little boy, the park keeper becomes overwhelmed with guilt, frustration, and despair.  The old man helps the park keeper find hope through the grief so they can bring comfort to the mother who lost her son.  Sage is a heart-warming and heart-breaking story that reminds us of the value of differences and the importance of every little human connection.

• Cast Size: 6M 3W 2 ANY
• Running Time: 90+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: 90+ minutes

SCI-FI & HORROR PLAY PACK by Lindsay Partain

A brother and sister struggle to stay alive in a zombie apocalypse. A man begs the aliens that abducted his wife to take him too. Scientists are attacked by a tentacled monster in the dark depths of the Marianas Trench. This collection of short plays and monologues features tales about ghosts, the undead, wendigos, aliens, and more. Each story exploring what it means to be human through science fiction and horror.

• Cast Size: Flexible Casting
• Running Time: Variable Running Time
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance, $15 for individual plays

SHORE HOUSE by Kerr Lockhart

Cast Size: Flexible, 

Running Time: 2 hrs

Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

SHORE HOUSE, a suite of 10 short plays set in a resort cabin, the kind that high school seniors rent after the prom or graduation. A play for and about young people on the cusp of their new life, plays about moving on and growing up — who will and who will not. The plays incorporate a wide variety of character types and genres from romantic comedy, to taut drama, to farce. Each play has between 2 and 4 actors, and the entire evening can be performed with between 4 and 27 actors.

SOLVE FOR X by Andre Jones

Cast Size: 6M 1W

Running Time: 90+ minutes

Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

2015. The 50th anniversary year of the assassination of Malcolm X. Nicholas, an artist from southwest Asia, comes to visit an American painter, Roland Sheppherd, one of the few living contemporaries of the slain human rights leader. Growing up Nicholas was exposed to speeches of Malcolm X but he has his own complicated reasons for wanting to know Malcolm, the man. Roland gives Nicholas access to his photographic research of Malcolm and instructs him how to see as a painter sees. Trapped in Roland’s studio due to a horrible storm, Nicholas paints throughout the night, opening portals into life events that teach us about Malcolm, the man. All of who he was. All of what he carried on his shoulders. And, all of the love he had for a people- his people, is explored as Nicholas excavates the personal and public life of brother Malcolm. Solve for X.

SONNY BOY by Reg Clay

SONNY BOY is a part of a collection of short one act play series called THE EDGE – a Twilight Zone-type series that explores social, racial and class issues through the strange and otherworldly scenarios.  Sonny Boy is a ghost story of a black boy in the antebellum south – he is killed and is resurrected from the dead to haunt the racist southerners – a literal spiritual carrier of black pain and sorrow brought on by slavery and racism.

Cast Size: 1BB 1BM 2BW 2WW 5WM

Running Time: 30+ minutes

Royalty Rate: $40 per performance

THE TALE OF THE ONE-EYED MONSTER by Meredith Yanchak and Eddie Zipperer

Cast Size: 10-30 roles. Flexible Casting

Running Time: 40 minutes

Royalty Rate: $40 per performance

Colin sits alone in the cafeteria every day.  The eye patch he must wear over his injured eye makes him a favorite target of the school bullies.  When Amy transfers to Colin’s school and wants to sit with him, he’s suspicious of her motives.  Most of his classmates have been trying to get the secret of what happened to his eye for years, but he’s never told a soul.  When Amy asks about the eye patch, Colin makes up increasingly outrageous stories (which are acted out on the stage).  Finally, Amy becomes fed up with Colin’s stories and he is faced with the choice to open up to Amy and make a friend or to keep his defenses up and remain alone.  

TARO: THE LEGEND OF URASHIMA TARO by Amy Hollon and Zac Curtis

Cast Size: Large Flexible Cast

Running Time: About an hour

Royalty Rate: $40 per performance

Adapted from the Japanese Folktale of Urashima Taro, this hour-long children’s play follows the adventures of Urashima Taro as he travels under the ocean to the palace of the sea princess, battles a dragon, rescues the moon, and learns the value of time and family.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS by Carol M. Rice. Adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas’

Cast Size: 17M 9W

Running Time: 2 hrs

Royalty Rate: $60 per performance

Alexandre Dumas’ most well-known story comes to action-packed life in this faithful adaptation of his novel! The adventure begins when D’Artagnan arrives in Paris and makes the acquaintance of “the three inseparables” – Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. Through D’Artagnan’s new love, Constance Bonacieux, they soon become involved in a plot by Cardinal Richelieu and Milady de Winter to discredit Queen Anne in the eyes of her jealous husband, King Louis XIII. Once their plan is foiled by D’Artagnan and the musketeers, Richelieu and Milady go on to assassinate the Duke of Buckingham and murder the innocent Constance. With the help of Milady’s brother-in-law, Lord de Winter, justice is achieved in the end, and D’Artagnan is at last awarded a musketeer’s uniform, ready to join his friends on more adventures. “All for one, and one for all!”

In 16^th Century Hungary, working for the most powerful women in the country is the hope of any young peasant girl. Zsuzsanna’s time has come. Intelligent and independent, she is aware her future lies within the castle walls. Elizabeth Bathory, of quiet disinterest and strength of fortitude, has discovered a secret; a soothing salve to alleviate pain, slow the ravages of age, and quiet the voices. Zsuzsanna’s success could be Elizabeth’s salvation.  Based on historical events shrouded in the fortress of the most prolific serial killer in history, enter a world where the fight for survival is common, but an unknowable destiny tests the tenuous grasp of sanity and soul.

• Cast Size: 6M 10W 1 Gender Neutral
• Running Time: Under an Hour
• Royalty Rate: $40 per performance

THE TRIALS OF THE OSCILLATING MARBLE MAN by William Ludel

Cast Size: 7M 3W

Running Time: 90+ minutes

Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

Benjamin Zwyckoff’s brilliant invention – the oscillating sprinkler – is stolen from him by the Arthur Morgan Lawn and Garden Company. Zwyckoff challenges them in court. During the trial he gets trapped in his memories: the marble championship he won when he was a kid, the visit to Ebbets Field for Jackie Robinson’s first game, the great love of his life that he lost because she was black girl and he was a white boy, the struggles with his wife and son, and the inventions he never got to create.

TRUE COLORS by Len Cuthbert

Cast Size: 15-20 plus extras

Running Time: 30-45 minutes

Royalty Rate: $40 per performance

A youth theatre cast is preparing to stage the musical Joseph for a drama contest. Ironically, some of the cast members become jealous of the lead actor, who seems to be favored by the director. When they devise a plan to oust him, the production gets derailed and their chance to compete in the contest is jeopardized.

UNCLAIMED by Mandy Conner

Cast Size: 7/8M 7/8W plus extras
Running Time: 40 minutes
Royalty Rate: $40 per performance

UNCLAIMED is loosely based on events leading up to the Hartford Circus Fire on July 6, 1944 and the circus performers (and sideshow freaks) who were affected by the darker side of circus life. Mixed with haunting images, humor, and humanity, UNCLAIMED will remind you that hope can be found in even the darkest of places.

What makes a play “unproduceable?” These shorts present thoughtful challenges to actors, designers, and directors. Some of them…have even been produced!

• Cast Size: Flexible
• Running Time: Variable
• Royalty Rate: $75 for the whole evening, $15 for individual plays

VICTORIA FOR PRESIDENT! 1872 by Nancy Temple

Cast Size: 15+ Characters (Doubling possible)
Running Time: 40-45 minutes
Royalty: $40 per Performance

This comedic play highlights the dramatic moments of a singular life. Victoria Woodhull, a believer in spiritualism, free love, suffrage, and labor rights, was the first woman to run for President, in 1872. She was also the first woman to address Congress, to open, with her sister Tennessee, the first brokerage firm in New York, the first to publish a weekly paper. She was variously considered the devil incarnate and the people’s savior. Kate, a high school student, is doing a history project about Victoria Woodhull. Her friend Leah visits, bringing a Ouija board, and together they summon the spirit of Victoria from the past. 

VILLE DU HAVRE by Amanda Bishop Guthrie

Cast Size: 8M 7W

Running Time 40 minutes

Royalty Rate: $40 per performance

Ville du Havre is based on the true events that inspired the hymn, “It is Well”. The script intereaves the lives of Horatio Spafford, the man who wrote the lyrics, and Philip Bliss, the man who wrote the melody. After facing several tragic events (the death of his son, loss of property in the Chicago fire, and the drowning of his four daughters as they travelled to England on the Ville du Havre), Spafford is inspired to write the famous words as he passes over the spot where the shipwreck occurred. Throughout the play, the events that lead up to the writing occur, as Bliss struggles to find the melody and faces his own tragedy-his wife leaving him after struggling with infertility. However, the overall message is one of hope, as both men are able to arrive at peace in their own lives and the hymn comes to completion.

VIRAL INFECTION by Gene Kato

Cast Size: 6M 4W
Running Time: 2hrs 
Royalty: $60 per performance

VIRAL INFECTION follows the strange case of the delusionary illness of Dexter Runyan. When Mr. Runyan contracts a strange virus that causes him to slip in and out of consciousness everyone fears for his very life. However, when all of the best doctors in the world are unable to cure him – the family takes a different approach and gets the two worst doctors in the world (a complete idiot from Queens and a bizarre Indian) to give it a try. The catch is: Neither man will accept money. Instead, each “doctor” insists that Dexter’s oldest daughter, Candice, give herself to the man able to bring her father back from the brink of death.

WELCOME TO CHALMETTE by Mary Kathryn Nagle

Cast Size: 6M 5W

Running Time: 2 hrs

Royalty Rate: $60 per performance

In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina brought unprecedented devastation to the Gulf Coast. Yet in Chalmette, LA, just one mile southeast of New Orleans, residents faced more than a twenty foot wall of water.  In Chalmette, the twenty foot wall of water that surged over the levees lifted an oil rig at the Murphy Oil refinery, and consequently, more than 900,000 gallons of oil spilled into the community.  The result was the world’s largest residential oil spill in the history of mankind.  When those that survived the storm returned to Chalmette to survey the damage, they found their homes, their belongings, and their lives covered in a dark, slimy, toxic substance.  In the summer of 2006, Playwright Mary Kathryn Nagle–a law student at Tulane Law School living in New Orleans at the time–interviewed more than thirty residents of Chalmette who survived both the spill and the storm.  Welcome to Chalmette is the culmination of those interviews, and tells the real stories of a community that pulled together in unity in the face of one of the worst catastrophes in the history of our Nation. Katrina was a natural disaster, but the subsequent spill of 900,000 gallons of oil was not.  Thus, Welcome to Chalmette reveals the struggles and triumphs of the citizens of Chalmette–in the hopes that the man-made tragedy they were forced to survive will never be repeated.

Leighza Walker’s electrifying new play explores the lives of five friends using recreational drugs 20 years ago, then leaps into the present to see them as they are today. Act 1 is set in the late 80’s at an acid (LSD) party hosted by Elery Sanderlin, the default leader of a group of old high school friends. Act 2 is set 20 years later at the same house as the group gathers to mourn the passing of one of their own. This dark serio-comedy creates a vivid, gripping portrayal of adults striving to come to terms with life at a moment of crucial decision-making.

• Cast Size: 11 w/ doubling
• Running Time: 2 hrs
• Royalty Rate: $60 per performance

Three stories about Americans fighting for their visions of a better country. Armed with wire cutters and a hammer, three nuns attack a nuclear missile silo in “Blood Sisters.” “Occupy!” activists rework “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” to confront Wall Street. Long-dead Peter Stuyvesant fills a teacher with strength to continue after 9/11 in “The Fortification of Miss Grace Wren.” 

• Cast Size: Flexible Casting
• Running Time: Flexible Run Time
• Royalty Rate: $75 for Full Evening/$25 each individual play per performance

When a company that produces a sexual enhancement drug relocates to a religious factory town in northern Minnesota, and its fumes begin to enter the air, the puritanical beliefs of the townspeople begin to waver. Long held inhibitions release and untold secrets spurt forth as the town spills into debaucherous revelry. For the pious Pastor Johnson, it means the arrival of the devil. For the tempting Dr. Corazon De La Fuente, who runs the factory, it is a wonder to be studied. Stuck in the middle is Mayor Frankie, anxiously watching as his town populace begin giving into wildest urges. Fargo meets Frankenfurter in this wacky comedy that is based on true events until it’s not.

• Cast Size: 6M 5W
• Running Time: 90+ minutes
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance

Like Bette Davis said, “growing old is not for sissies,” and this collection of 20 short plays by Debra A. Cole offers vivid and powerful voices to the adventure that everyone goes through, if we’re lucky. Plays range from 5 minutes to 12 minutes each including the audience favorite The Wrinkle Ranch, where the ladies of Rancho Felicidad Assisted Living Facility are done playing Scrabble and ready to ride the ponies once more as the sun continues to set on the ranch. Whether performed as just one single play, a small collection, or an entire evening, these plays will speak to audiences of all ages about the very real and very human aging process with humor, respect, and meaningful moments, as well as offer seasoned performers outstanding opportunities to bring colorful and well-rounded characters to life. These plays may be performed together or licensed independently!

• Cast Size: FLEXIBLE CASTS AND RUNTIMES
• Royalty Rate: $75 per performance for the full evening. Contact for individual plays