Browse Catalog

by: Cavan Hallman

This exceptionally creative contemporary interpretation of the classic Sleeping Beauty story is filled with theatre games, songs and opportunities for audience participation. Originally developed for touring to elementary schools with a cast of three playing multiple characters, "The Positively True and Factual Events of the Real Live Girl Who Would Come to be Known as Sleeping Beauty" or …Sleeping Beauty takes place in "Fairy Tale Time" where people watch Netflix and also talk in old-timey speak. Directions for games, songs and interactive play are included in the script and roles may be divided easily among more actors to accommodate larger cast needs. …Sleeping Beauty, with its underlying message about respect and friendship, is a fun and easily staged way to introduce young audiences to theatre. 

by: Tommy Jones

Yikes! Another 10-minute play competition! Where to start? 10 Minute Play takes a surreal approach to the process of creating a short play within the boundaries set by the contest; in this case, two chairs, one table and one prop. This fast-paced comedy packed with lots of action requires minimum production values. Its unique improvisational-style physicality makes it perfect for theatre student showcases or included on a bill with other short works-particularly an evening of 10-minute plays.

by: Rebecca Ryland

A BIRD IS NOT A PET (A Tragic Act of Separation or A Comic Act of Desperation)

by Rebecca Ryland

3W / 1M

Approximate Playing Time: 15 minutes

A Bird is Not a Pet, (A Tragic Act of Separation or A Comic Act of Desperation) takes an absurdly funny look at a confrontation between a woman who wants to separate her trash so that men will have something to die for and the totalitarian bureaucracy of her Condo Association. We’ve all been there is one way or another. A Bird is Not a Pet was first work-shopped under the direction of the legendary Zoe Caldwell and premiered off-Broadway at the Creative Place Theatre in New York. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $15 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Dan Weatherer

Winner of the 2017 Soundwork UK Playwriting Competition, this powerful and compelling drama delves deeply into the past of a seriously ill father. Cedric has confided in one son, Francis, about his infidelity nineteen years earlier that resulted in the birth of a boy, Anthony. Francis, tired of carrying his father’s shame, seeks to air his secret once and for all to his brother, Saul. How will the revelation affect Saul? And what of Anthony? Would he want to know his absent father after all these years? Is Cedric willing to meet him if he does? A Brother Born explores the affects of lies, denial and loss on a family that now must face serious issues that will forever impact their lives and personal relationships. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $50 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: J.C. Svec

by: A.D. Hasselbring

Hasselbring stays true to Dickens in his adaptation of the best known Christmas story of all time. Many adaptations simplify the story, but Hasselbring includes all the special moments and characters that truly reveal the struggles of 1880’s London from “Want” and “Ignorance” clinging to the Second Sprit to the chimney sweeps on the street and Old Joe in his den of thieves. Along with the hardships and dreariness come the brilliance and joys that “A Christmas Carol” brings to the holiday spirit when Mankind is everyone’s business and the singing of carols and sharing of food and spirit lift our souls with the hope that charity thrives throughout the year. As in all the best adaptations, your audiences will both loathe and love Ebenezer and delight in his reclamation. No matter how many times we share the moment when the Cratchits receive their Christmas turkey and Tim proclaims “God bless us, every one”, audiences will forever embrace and cherish this timeless tale of a heartless scrooge who is given a second chance to become the kind of human we all strive to be. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Christopher Miller

Whatever happened to that sweet little puppy, Sadie? She grew into a six-month-old Chocolate Lab that chews on expensive shoes. This humorous but thoughtful and heart-warming tale takes audiences on a journey with Sadie from the fickle world of humans to the county landfill and the uncertainty of life on the street. When Sadie refuses to accept that she has been abandoned by the family she loves, she enlists the help of an unlikely comrade—the most feared dog of all; the legendary Pit-bull named Snappy. Snappy reluctantly agrees to lead Sadie back to the Fickle family knowing all along that she was dumped like trash. On the journey home, Snappy takes Sadie under her paw, sharing her wisdom and friendship. Sadie’s homecoming is crushed when she discovers she has been replaced by a cute Maltese puppy and worse yet, her Family calls the Dog Catcher which ends poorly for the proud and defiant Snappy. Sadie must now use the lessons she learned to help her find someone to love and to be loved by. And that someone may be the most unlikely character of all. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Sean David Bennett

A Full-length Drama in Two Acts

2W / 5M

Approximate Playing time:  2 hours

Divisive inner and outer turmoil and scandals in the Catholic Church tear to the heart of the Shields family in this intensely driven drama by Sean David Bennett.  During what should have been a festive birthday celebration, the family fabric frays under the strain of mother Molly’s fear of breast cancer, daughter-in-law Sarah and Thomas Shields’ never-ending battle over what it means to be a true Irishman and eldest son, Bud’s struggle for recognition in a family bearing two priests.  But when Fr. Stephen is falsely accused of molesting a boy, the ultimate danger of collapse threatens to destroy the house and everyone in it and sets a course for vindication at the greatest price a man can pay for truth when lost in despair.  This is family drama at its best, examining commitment, love, faith, truth and honor amidst a highly controversial period in the Catholic Church. This is a play your audience will remember and men of the cloth must never forget.  $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Bella Poynton

Though anything but real, A House Full of Dust is wrought with realism and raw emotional depth. Set early in the 20th century in rural Kansas, the Cleve’s house is filled with ghosts, both real and metaphoric. Abusive Ramsey forces his wife, Gretta, to take medication that is making her gravely ill to stop her from talking to “herself”. Gretta who is denied access to anything outside the household anxiously awaits the visit of her beloved son, RJ who is studying to be a priest. RJ knows the truth; at least part of the truth. He has been sensitive to the apparition Christine since childhood but is unaware of David, his biological father, whom his mother poisoned to death after she was raped. Ramsey’s hateful treatment of RJ is as much due to his choice to become a priest as his inability to accept the circumstances of the rape. 19-year-old daughter, Rachel, with her foul mouth and manners, has guised herself as a boy in an attempt to gain her mother’s attention. She is pursued by Jack Mullen, a young apprentice in her father’s blacksmith shop, who is determined to marry her despite her mean and offensive ways. As the dust in the house engulfs the family, David reveals himself to his brother RJ with dramatic consequences that will alter the future of every member of the household. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Robert L. Kinast

Politics plays a key role in the dynamics of the Grant household. Twin sisters Alberta and Roberta are as close as twins can be except when it comes to their convictions. Their father, retired General Stan Grant, is unmistakably proud of Alberta, who serves in the U.S. Army. His outspoken opposition to Roberta, a political liberal and social activist, worsens after he is approached to run for public office as a conservative. As the play progresses, the mother, Priscilla, who has suppressed many of her own feelings over the years as a military wife, challenges her husband’s strict code of conduct and shows sympathy towards Roberta’s ideals. The tension comes to a head when Alberta announces her orders to enter a potential war zone— the same place that Roberta has volunteered to go as part of a Human Shield. The family conflict over beliefs and politics is a microcosm of American society in general. “A Human Shield” brings that conflict home with tragic outcomes in this personal soul-searching drama. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Rebecca Ryland

A Full-Length Comedy in One Act Set in London

3W / 4M

Approximate Playing Time: 75 minutes

First performed at Ensemble Studio Theatre’s theatre lab in New York, this slapstick comedy of errors has all the makings of a great farce. Set in a dilapidated hostel on the outskirts of SoHo in London, two Americans find themselves stuck without means in a guest room used for storage. Throw in an uncontrollable nose bleed, two workmen and their ladder, cheating spouses, a lunatic Canadian and the equally nutty hostel manager and your audience will find itself rolling in the aisles. Is this a hotel or an insane asylum? It’s fast, it’s funny and it’s frightfully entertaining, right down to the circular saw massacre in the end. $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $50 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Steve Koppman

by: David J. Swanson

Newspaperman Nathan Parker has just been promoted to his dream job; Editor-in-Chief of the Willow Falls Beacon Telegraph. It is the paper for which he’s worked his entire career and a job for which he’s waited his entire life. Just before his predecessor retires, he hires Ben Flynn, a young blogger with a general lack of reverence for the newspaper industry. Nathan holds Ben in contempt as someone unschooled in journalism, though reluctantly takes him on to write for the paper’s website. Ben joins a staff of critical leaders at the Beacon Telegraph all intent on keeping the American tradition of a hometown paper alive and well. However, soon after assuming the reigns, Nathan learns that the newspaper is in financial trouble. He is also stunned to read in the obits that the husband of a woman with whom he had an affair many years earlier, has passed away. Not long after ending his affair with this woman, Laura, she married and Nathan’s wife passed away from cancer. But Nathan never let go of his love for Laura. Nathan has spent the last twenty years waiting for Laura to become free so that they could resume the grand love he so strongly envisions. At the paper, Nathan realizes that the young blogger has much to offer and takes Ben under his wing to teach him the values of quality journalism. As the newspaper’s financial picture becomes cloudier, Nathan is faced with saving his beloved newspaper from extinction and winning Laura’s heart. Ben helps Nathan through a painful lesson about waiting for impossible dreams and hanging on to false promises. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: John J. Kelly

Your audiences will love each passing moment as this story of three women, all proprietors of a rural pub outside Dublin, brilliantly unfolds with depth, honesty and humor.  In 1918, Fiona, a young wife and soon to be mother, purchases “The Higgs Pub” from Kate while she awaits the return of her soldier husband. Thirteen-year-old Michael and Brianna, just sixteen, stay on in their roles as helpers at the Pub, later to marry and continue on together throughout.  But heartache follows Fiona; first the death of her husband at war, then her son, James, during the next war.  In 1945 James’s infant daughter, Angelique, is delivered to the Pub fairly unannounced after her mother dies in Belgium. By 1966 the Vietnam War threatens to consume more of Ireland’s young sons and the war, the endless war, has taken its toll on Fiona.   The circumstances of her death come into question with no one quite able to accept that she may indeed have decided to end her own life. Angelique makes plans to return to Belgium to reconnect with her mother’s family—with the fate of the Pub in the balance. But Fiona knows those her life has touched more than anyone realizes and leaves a bequest to Michael to purchase the Pub that has been his home for all those many years. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Dan Weatherer

Who wrote the great works of William Shakespeare? There is some debate as to whether one man, one woman, or a collection of writers can lay claim to the entirety of his works, considered the finest of our times. Tired of the controversy, playwright Arthur Miller assembles, in heaven, those claiming to have penned the works of Shakespeare so that they may state their case, and the matter will be settled once and for all. Heaven braces itself for an almighty showdown.

by: Ian Charles Lepine

Though Lord Altringham died as a result of having been stabbed in the heart, his kith and kin cannot but agree that, in this particular case, his death must be ascribed to natural causes. After all, it was only natural to wish to kill the old aristocrat who kept dangling the promise of an inheritance before the noses of his money-hungry family…But bureaucracy demands that the name of the murderer be written on the death certificate and Inspector Gaspard G. Ganimard is contractually obliged by the necessities of the plot to unmask the culprit. Could it have been Georgiana, the lord’s young and beautiful wife, who just happens to have a track record of five hunting ‘accidents’ resulting in five dead husbands and no foxes of which to speak? Or perhaps it was his son, Gerard, whose notorious gambling problem required more money for gambling, as that would fix it all. Or what about Gerard’s fiancée, Melissa? After all, Lord Altringham objected to her marriage to his son almost as much as did Gerard. Could it have been the lord’s nephew, the Hon. Reverend Mason, whose only wish is to reconnect with the Mothership? Or perhaps it was the butler? Has to be the butler, right?

by: Dan Borengasser

A Full-length Comedy in Multiple Scenes

2M + A Flexible Cast of an Additional 1-7M & 1-7W (depending on doubling)

Approximate Playing Time:  90 minutes

What if Adolf Hitler had married Emily Post?  Find out in this playful comedy that gives your audience a bird’s eye view of the couples on file at the Bureau of Alternate Realities where relationships throughout the universe are the subject of interest and examination.  The Bureau Director leads us through a serious of vignettes with such well-known personalities as Adam and Eve, Barbie and Ken, and Romeo and Juliet, occasionally taking a poke at a member of the audience who he addresses as visitors to the Bureau.  But don’t expect the characters to act the way you think!  In the world of Alternate Realities even a match between Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller can get turned on its head.  And how can analytical Sigmund Freud ever expect to please the likes of romance novelist Barbara Cartland?  A fun way to kick-off your season or truly amuse your summer audiences, with enough great roles to showcase the talents of your entire theater company!  $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. 

by: Lynn-Steven Johanson

Set in a small Midwestern town, Aging Grace pits two sisters with a strained past on often opposite sides of the age-old question, when is it time to send an aging parent to a nursing home? Lanie, a professional photographer who lives out of state with her partner, Jane, is in town to discuss “Grace” with her sister, Suzanne who believes it is time for Mom to move out of her home. Lanie and Suzanne are as different as night and day and their perceptions on the subject are colored by their views and experiences. The sisters have unresolved issues of their own, both personally and between them which adds to the conflict. In their attempt to agree on a solution, they must confront their issues and see where they can find common ground for the sake of “Grace”. A real-life story that really strikes home with audiences. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $30 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: John Twomey

A Full-length Comedy

4W / 2M

Approximate Playing time:  1 Hr., 45 Min. 

It’s September once again at Lincoln High School and Nora O’Reilley is determined not to be defeated by disillusionment.  That’s no easy task in the English Department’s teachers’ lounge, occupied by a motley staff of burnouts, survivors and connivers.  Then in walks Victoria Turner: Nora’s former star student and valedictorian. Victoria has been hired as the new English teacher to replace Susan Wagner who, to the utter dismay, disbelief and resentment of the other teachers in the department, has been elevated to Assistant Principal.  Nora and Victoria battle the inanity of the school system as well as the cynicism, despair and personal agendas of their colleagues.  They become increasingly despondent; Victoria because she feels in over her head as a new teacher and Nora because she realizes that she’s losing her zeal and efficacy.  Victoria turns to Nora for support, who gladly gives it in a subconscious attempt to help herself.  But can Nora help Victoria?  Can Victoria help Nora?  And can Nora help herself?  The winner of two prestigious awards, the Neil Simon Festival 2013 New Play Contest and the Theatre Conspiracy 2013 New Play contest, All My Raisins in the Son ripples with laughter as John Twomey plucks the strings of public school paranoia.  It will have you rolling your eyes and laughing in your seat as you think back on your own tenures in and out of the classroom.  Is this really what goes on behind the closed doors of the teachers’ lounge?  If so, we are all in trouble!  $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  

by: J.C. Svec

A Short One-Man Comedy

1/M

Approximate Playing Time:  6 minutes

Manny suffers from “Buffet Anxiety Disorder”.  Paralyzed by the fear of filling his stomach with the wrong foods at an “All You Can Eat” buffet, Manny finds himself unable to approach the buffet at all. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. 

by: J.C. Svec

Product Code A0840.1

ALL-AMERICAN GIRLS

by J.C. Svec

4W

Approximate Playing Time: 20 Minutes

This historical piece gives your audience a personal glimpse into the makings of the first women’s baseball league during WWII. The story is told through the perspectives of four uniquely drawn character including two players, their chaperone and an advisor. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Everett Robert

What happens when Alice forgets how to dream? That’s what the characters in this refreshing adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s timeless tale want to know. For one thing, Wonderland isn’t quite as wonderful anymore; the sparkle fades and the characters lose their luster. But rumor has it that thoroughly modern Alice, who prefers the name, Allie, is coming back. There’s hope yet for Wonderland if only the Cat can convince her that the imagination is not only real but necessary. This is the opportunity for your actors and your audiences to see Alice in a new light and follow her through the rabbit hole where she rediscovers the magic of Wonderland along with all your favorite characters from the White Rabbit and the Caterpillar to Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum, the Mad Hatter and the March Hair. And Wonderland wouldn’t be complete without the Queen of Hearts with her Flamingo croquet mallets who still threatens to “cut off her head!” But Allie has a weapon of her own; a Triple Chocolate Espresso Mocha Latté with whipped cream. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Karen Blomain & Michael Downend

A Full-length Drama in Two Acts

2M / 3W / 1F Child

Approximate Playing Time:  2 hours

When Frank Flynn returns home from fighting in the war to his little coal mining town in Pennsylvania, he doesn’t get the welcome he expected.  His mother, Nanna, doesn’t appreciate his bringing back a Polish war bride, especially with him engaged to her best friend’s daughter.  His new wife, Stella, finds trying to fit into the little house, already crowded with Nanna, Frank’s brother, Phil, his wife and their young daughter, Jody, is as difficult as fitting into a small, prejudiced, Irish Catholic community.  But Stella, who lost everything to World War II, has more will and courage than anyone could have imagined.  When the mines shut down from lack of work, Stella leads the way to women working in the mills, and with a baby on the way, must come to terms with her nearly unbearable losses and the revelation that she took someone else’s sweetheart.  Stella's haunted and painful past not only brings her new family together but also imbues those around her with her optimism and verve. The story is pre-feminist feminist, working class, blue collar, and small town– anytown USA. This amazingly heartfelt story of this strong-willed Irish Catholic family as they struggle to accept the challenges of their post war life is one every theater will cherish.  And with its ties to the holiday season, it will remind audiences everywhere that angels come in all shapes and sizes, at Christmas and throughout the year. $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Toni K. Thayer

Lakeville Heights Senior High, 1984

5F / 5M plus 4 either Female or Male

Approximate Playing Time: 90 Minutes

 “Hi.  Welcome to Lakeville Heights Senior High.  This place sucks.” So expresses the sentiments of disaffected Goth Shannon as she introduces this malevolently comic exposé of conformity.  Angst:84 explores the cliques, customs and comeuppances of teenagers thrown together by the randomness of fate and locker assignments in the Reagan-era mid-1980’s. What happens when new cheerleader Winnie pursues a socially-forbidden romance with third-string football player, Julian beneath the constant gaze of the dictatorial Principle Duce? Or when self-assured openly gay Traverse, an exchange student from Canada, challenges the sexual repression of self-righteous, by-the-rules, Fred?  Your actors and audiences will relish the misalliances in this mock-Orwellian look at high school where the social elite erase the untouchables, hipsters betray heads and young conservatives reveal hidden friendships and concealed relationships. The Cleveland Plain Dealer called the debut “Fresh and imaginative” while NYTheatre.com said Angst:84 “succeeds as both entertainment and political allegory.” Thayer's anti-nostalgic mix of dark comedy spiked with poignancy will bring back those oppressive teenage memories as relevant today as in 1984. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $50 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Craig Kenworthy

Product Code A0860.4

Anti-Venom

by Craig Kenworthy

2W / 1M

Approximate Playing Time: 15 minutes

In Central America, a married couple struggle with the past when the wife is bitten by what may very well be a deadly snake. How desperate is her husband to save her life, considering his recent affair and his attraction to their pretty tour guide? $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $15 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Tom DeMuro

2M / 1F + Optional Extras
Approximate Playing time: 10 Minutes

Spring is in the air and it’s time for America’s favorite pastime! Richie and Joey are in disbelief when, for the first time ever, they claim McGinty Field for their opening day of Little League practice. Everything seems to be falling into place for the Smithville Tornadoes until determined Amanda, with her mitt on the wrong hand, shows up wanting to play. Getting rid of Amanda proves complicated, considering her mother is Richie’s dad’s boss. And she just can’t throw or catch a ball. Or can she? Just maybe Amanda is playing a different kind of game to get the best field in town for her own team.

by: Jim Inman

The sometimes cruel ambiguities of love and sex seethe at the heart of this dark urban comedy set in NYC in the mid-1970s. Timothy, an entertainment attorney, and his best friend, Muriel, a powerful literary agent, find themselves embroiled in the lives of Tom, an attractive young actor-turned-playwright, and Barbara, a beautiful, mysterious bi-sexual who eats amorality for breakfast. If only one of them had stayed home…But alas, that is not the case resulting in seismic sexual energies that soon crack the professional and personal veneers of the two couples, uniting them in a confrontation of exposed secrets, shattered egos, and eventual redemption…for three of them. Grand Prize Winner of the National Repertory Theatre International Playwrights Competition, critics called Appearances to the Contrary a latter day 'Whose Afraid of Virginia Wolfe.' $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Kay Thomason-Vardy

by: John Patrick Bray

In a post-9/11, post-Katrina United States, full of the politics of fear and doctrines of intolerance and hate, what are we willing to sacrifice for our own sense of security? What liberties are we willing to give up so we can go to bed at night? John Patrick Bray addresses these alarming issues in As We Speak. Noreen, a PhD student and blogger finds her own liberties stripped from her and many others after the election of a fascist president. As a divided society takes sides in support or fear of increasingly restrictive rights and the abuse of power by those enforcing the new rules, friends are pitted against friends. In this new era, where it becomes difficult to distinguish who has become the true enemy, Bray challenges his audience to think before we act so that we truly comprehend the ultimate dangers inherent in a world that places order and control over human rights and freedom. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Robert R. Lehan

Product Code A0800.1

ASHES

by Robert R. Lehan

1M / 1W

Approximate Playing Time: 20 minutes

What we leave behind is often the last for others to give up. Such is the dilemma for Tom in ASHES, the first play in this pairing of two one acts that pit the needs of one character against those of another. In ASHES, the bereaved Tom has lost his beloved wife and all that remains are her ashes. For him, those ashes belong in a family plot where he and those who loved her can gather to honor and remember her. But his wife, Barbara, had other ideas and her ghost confronts Tom on an isolated beach where he struggles to follow her wishes to have her ashes scattered in the sea. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Robert L. Kinast

Janet has just received her first letter from Aunt Felicity informing her that her recent move to the west coast to pursue an acting career is both confusing and hurtful for her dear mother. For years, Aunt Felicity has gone unchallenged for the letters sent to various members of the family including Janet’s uncle turned clergy for their choices in life. Each letter ends with the same line, “I’m sure you know what I mean.” When Janet’s sister, Katie, mentions that Aunt Felicity is an award-winning quilter who has donated more original, one-of-a-kind quilts to charitable fund raisers than anyone in the state, Janet gets an idea. She composes her own letter to Aunt Felicity comparing the differences in family to the different pieces of cloth that create a beautiful pattern and ends it with Aunt Felicity’s famous last words. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Ross Peter Nelson

A painting of a dead finch caught in a barbed wire fence throws an artist on trial under the protocols established by the Act to Safeguard the Motherland in which she is no longer considered a citizen but an enemy of the state. Set in an unknown time, this nightmare of a dream will send chills down every artist’s spine knowing that interpretations of work, whether true or false, can have devastating consequences in a world without tolerance for original thought. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Robert Lehan

Two One-Act Dramas

2M / 2W (1M / 1W, each play)

Approximate Playing Time:  1 hour total

What we leave behind is often the last for others to give up.  Such is the dilemma for Tom in ASHES, the first play in this pairing of two one acts that pit the needs of one character against those of another.  In ASHES, the bereaved Tom has lost his beloved wife and all that remains are her ashes.  For him, those ashes belong in a family plot where he and those who loved her can gather to honor and remember her.  But his wife, Barbara, had other ideas and her ghost confronts Tom on an isolated beach where he struggles to follow her wishes to have her ashes scattered in the sea.   STONESKIPPERS is a quirky yet alarming story of a man longing to become the Stoneskipping Champion of the World and the anguish of a starving homeless woman living on the beach where he practices.  The conflict between real need and trivial pursuit reaches a climatic ending with only one getting his/her wish.  Robert R. Lehan, who brings a lifetime of experience in theatre to his work, notes that STONESKIPPERS is an anatomy of revolution fostered by the conflict between the “haves” and the “have-nots” and warns “there will be shots fired.”  Both plays are certain to trigger an emotional response from the audience.    $15 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $30 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jill Elaine Hughes

Jill Elaine Hughes lands her comic flare full square on this collection of witty, humorous and satiric short plays poking fun at the female condition. In “The Perfect Relationship” two women address their weaknesses in choosing the right man with their new-age therapist only to discover that she is as big a sucker as they are. In “Circle Line” two couples push waiting for the subway train to the limit when one of the women lies down on the tracks in an attempt to goad her husband into saving her. God gains the upper hand in a game of poker with other female deities in “Does Anyone Know What’s Really Going On Upstairs?” while the Goddess of Lifetime TV uses her powers to restore a woman’s sexy dreams in “This is Your Lifetime” despite the relentless interruptions of feminine hygiene commercials. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $50 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Richard Davis, Jr.

Lynn Ryder is dead.  That we know for sure even though we see her spirit throughout the play.  Whether she was murdered is a mystery.  Lynn’s children suspect her current husband, Frederico, of foul play.  After all, he wormed his way into the Ryder estate and no one, not even his adopted daughter, Maria, have much use for him. But when Frederico finds himself dead on the drawing room floor, the accusations begin to fly.  After all, Frederico seems to have some questionable involvement with both step-daughter Bette and adopted daughter Maria. Lynn’s only son, Rob, who appears to have an attraction to Maria despite his fumbling attempts to show it, is suspected of having an interest in Dorsett, the Ryder family’s estate lawyer.  And of course, youngest daughter, Jackie, a nurse, recently came back from drug rehab.  With over 100 million dollars at stake, any one of them could be a murderer. Sorting out the facts and examining the clues, Sgt. John Bannister unravels the intricacies of the case until a single tea cup outs the murderer. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Dan Weatherer

In this contemporary horror comedy, Milton Moore has just stabbed his wife six times. Gayle Moore claims it was seven. But she’s dead. And now with Gayle bent out of shape, literally, drenched in blood and beginning to smell, the two hash out the circumstances that led to Milton taking such drastic measures. He thought murder would provide him once and for all the last word. Oh, was he ever mistaken! $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $15 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Kevin M. Mitchell

Obnoxiously perfect Molly has had a trick played on her and now, like the rest of the class at Franklin Middle School, the teacher doesn’t think she completed her Famous Americans report. Cast into detention with the other misfits on the day of the Homecoming Pep Rally, they are “supervised” by Iris the crazy janitor, who tells the wayward kids of a strange visit from one of the founding fathers on that very day 25 years earlier. Molly, not believing, accidently conjures up Ben Franklin, who spouts more than a few words of wisdom. As Ben is Molly’s homework assignment, the other kids immediately see she’s at an advantage—the guy she has to write a report on is right there! Ignoring Ben’s warning, they call their homework subjects into the present too: Abe Lincoln, Calamity Jane, Eleanor Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Paul Revere, and others are whisked into contemporary times—as tweens! Quickly the history kids enjoy the trappings of modern life, and getting them off the iPads and the video games proves difficult to the point that they announce they don’t want to go back to their own times. Now Molly and her school friends have less than two hours to study up and convince them that they must because if they don’t, all American history will be adversely affected! While Ben Franklin Ate My Homework is created as an ensemble comedy for kids, the history is for the most part accurate, encouraging young actors to read and learn more about the historical characters as they develop their roles. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: John Twomey

Two second-rate thespians, Biff and Blanche, compete for a cab on a street in New York.  While waiting on a bench, they spar over an audition and confront one another with their illusions about themselves, their careers and their attraction to one another—complicated by the fact that they had a brief encounter in the past but Blanche never returned Biff’s phone calls afterwards. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. 

by: Beth Dotson Brown

Product Code A0810.1

BLOOD ON THE HIGHWAY

by Beth Dotson Brown

1W / 1M

Approximate Playing Time: 10 minutes total

A mother struggling with unbearable loss, Blood on the Highway is set on a lonely stretch of highway where she scrubs the blood stain off the road where her daughter was killed by a drunk driver. Blood on the Highway first appeared in shortstory form broadcast over the BBC on Public Radio International. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Rebecca Ryland

A 10-minute comedy

1 gay man / 1 straight man /
1 assigned male at birth but dressed as a woman

Approximate Playing Time: 12 minutes

With political undertones throughout the play, a comical collision of genders touts the wins and weaknesses in the LGBTQ+ movement. When Red pulls a paint gun on Blue and Orange threatening to turn them back into what they were when they came out of their mama’s belly, Blue is scared. It took too many years for him to feel confident enough to show his true colors and he has no intention of going back to red for anyone. Orange finds the paint gun hysterically funny while Red insists it has the power to convert. But Orange sees Red’s threats are all being caught on camera, so why worry? $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Gary Britson

BOOGER JONES

 by Gary Britson

A Dark Comedy in Two Acts

2W/ 8M Approximate

Playing Time: 110 minutes

Never has a young man been so despised. After Stan’s son, Hank, the school’s star athlete, has been shot by eighteen year old Eldon Jones, better known as “Booger Jones”, he is left wheelchair bound gurgling “get him” to everyone who comes into his dad’s kitchen. And there’s nary a soul that enters that doesn’t claim to want to kill Booger Jones in revenge. When Hank’s best friend, Stew, springs Eldon from the local jail for Stan to kill, it is clear why the filthy, homely Eldon– who appears every bit as, stupid and unfit for society as everyone spews– is the recipient of life-long torture and ridicule. But Stan never had any stomach for killing Eldon. Problem is; no one else feels that way and what becomes of Booger Jones is a story yet to unfold. $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jon Jory

“Are you gay,” askes Kenna (girl played by a boy)? “Well, really, I haven’t decided,” answers Joey (boy played by a girl). “I read in the paper they are now listing fifty-six gender options and the menu is so glorious that I just can’t order a meal.” Despite a retinue of haters, Kenna and Joey forge a bond that transcends gender fluidity and sexual identity. With a sincere developing friendship, they support one another through black eyes, a suicide attempt and Kenna’s desire to play Juliet in their high school’s production of Romeo and Juliet, a role Joey once played in middle school.

by: John Byrne

by John Byrne

As Inspired by the Traditional Bre’r Rabbit Tales

Flexible Cast: 10-30 M & F

Playable by any combination of age and gender

Bre’r Rabbit, with links to both African and Cherokee cultures, worked his way into American culture as the central figure in stories about the southern United States as told by Uncle Remus and made popular in the animated motion picture “Song of the South.” The trickster, Bre’r Rabbit, is every bit as clever and fun in this collection of three short plays inspired by the original tales. As part of traditional folklore, the three tales in Bre’r Rabbit’s Trilogy, including “The Harvest Thief”, “Home Sweet Boom” and “Fox’s Trap”, are perfect for the primary classroom, particularly in exploring drama core content. And with a flexible cast size and make-up of 10-30 boys and girls along with simple creative staging that allows opportunities for kids to participate in the process, it is the ideal choice for schools, drama camps and children’s theatre. Mr. Byrne has drawn easy to play characters so that even the most novice performer will have a successful stage experience. John Byrne’s Bre’r Rabbit’s Trilogy is a true crowd pleaser for all ages, reminding even the seniors in the audience of those delightful stories read at bedtime. The Trilogy is offered royalty-free requiring only a $20 fee to download the script and make as many copies as needed for your production. $20 Single-Use Copyright

by: Lynn-Steven Johanson

Two down-home boys prove that friendship is thicker than motor oil when one has to bow out on a monster truck show and is too embarrassed to say why. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Craig Kenworthy

But That’s Not What We Ordered

by Craig Kenworthy

1W / 1M / 1 Either

Approximate Playing Time: 10 minutes

Whether a burden or a blessing, life often feels like a never ending series of tests. In But That’s Not What We Ordered, two parents must determine if a “normal” baby is worth raising in a futuristic society where a child’s attributes are carefully pre-selected. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application

by: Greg Freier

A Short Play by Greg Freier
1W / 1M
Approximate Playing Time: 10 minutes

Welcome once again to Greg Freier’s incredibly zany world.  Harold and Emma get a call that one of their sons has been killed.  How?  No matter.  It’s more of an issue how to paint Thompkins, child number three, out of their recently painted family portrait.  After all Thompkins is holding the dog.  Upon further examination, Harold and Emma decide they really aren’t fond of any of their seven children and it will just be easier to paint all of them out of the portrait.  And the dog?  Well, they can paint a table under him so he’s not just hovering in the air—especially after they receive a second call that another son is killed.  And then, of course, there is the incessant howling of the wolverines out back and several missing illegal groundskeepers. And when the phone rings again… $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  

by: G. Bruce Smith

Butterfly Wings

by G. Bruce Smith

A Contemporary Work for Bare Stage

2W/ 3M + A Chorus of 3-10 M & F

Approximate Playing Time: 1 Hr. 35 Minutes

Esoteric realism and fantasy create a powerful framework for this beautiful, highly theatrical play that explores the struggles of three friends graduating from college and fighting for the freedom to become who they want to be. Rajiv, from India, is a star athlete on the college basketball team, yet his mother, Sarita, knows what she fears most, that her son is gay, and pressures him to return to India to fulfill an arranged marriage. Zander, infatuated with his admiration for Rajiv, seeks the meaning of his love for his friend while defying his father’s dream that he obtain his PhD and change the world. Zander’s decision to enlist for war is met with disdain by Maggie who struggles to keep their friendship intact despite her hatred of all things military. Throughout the play, a Chorus reflects with poetic imagery on the characters’ relationships, on the friends’ search for answers to questions in their lives, and on Edward Lorenz’s suggestion that the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil could set off a tornado in Texas. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Greg Freier

Kind-hearted hypochondriac, Harry, once suffered an accident that put his brain a little off kilter but no one ever believes his various ailments and claims that he is dying.  When daughter Sara and her husband, Roger, drop by for a visit with new baby, little Roger, his wife, Ellen, takes pains to make sure Harry is never alone with the baby.  Seems Harry has developed an obsession with little Harry’s soft spot. Grandma lives with Harry and Ellen.  She brings along her own sense of delusion by way of a myriad of invisible friends, currently Elmore, neither seen nor heard but very much an important character in the household despite his razor sharp claws.  When Harry claims once again to be dying, Grandma’s insistence that Death is hanging around the living room may prove Harry right once and for all. There is something strangely common in this uncommon family that will keep your audiences scratching their heads and immensely amused. $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Rebecca Ryland

When the human population explodes, who survives cage free? As the population grew, a number of solutions were employed to address the growing housing crisis. By 2050 Earth reached its maximum sustainable population of 10 billion people. By that time, human warehouses − buildings with artificial light full of cages like those once used in factory farming − were implemented to address the housing crises, manage food and water distributions and control methane gas. As the Cage Free population tried more and more radical solutions to address the problem, something happened. One morning, mysteriously, the locks on the doors to the cages released, leaving the inhabitants to determine what to do next as their food supplies vanished and water spouts slowed to a drip. Only four remained in their cage. Is the apocalypse inside the cage… or outside in the unknown? $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: John Twomey

A Short Comedy

Approximate Playing Time: 20 minutes

Maid of honor Cynthia has taken a sacred vow to save her sister’s wedding cake top for her first anniversary.  Judy, her other sister, storms out immediately following the ceremony, feeling justifiably insulted by comments made by the Bride concerning the size of her so-called chunky thighs and her chances at finding a husband of her own. Consequently she missed out on the reception including food and cake. Back at the hotel Cynthia does her best to protect her culinary ward but Judy is angry and Judy is hungry.  And Judy wants cake. Now! $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  

by: Ross Peter Nelson

What would you pay for Lenin’s dead body? Putin wants Vladimir out of Red Square providing a great opportunity for Sergei Rabinovitch, a functionary in the Russian Federation, to spread his burgeoning capitalistic wings. When questioned by his deputy, Dmitry, how he came to possess Lenin’s body in the first place, Sergei explains that Lenin was a Communist. “Under communism, everything belongs to the people,” says Sergei. “I'm one of the people, so Lenin belongs to me. So I can sell him.” After failing to interest a sale with any big names in the entertainment field, Sergei is approached by Samantha Hathaway, a marketing VP for Pepsi. When she arrives at his office dressed to kill, Dmitry undercuts his boss for a chance to impress Samantha and exercise a bit of capitalistic will of his own. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $15 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Lynn Snyder

We’ve come to expect backroom exploits and personal indiscretions of candidates that are often kept secret until after elections. But what about the staffers working on behalf of those candidates? How do those secrets and the pressures of the campaign affect their relationships with family and friends and just how much integrity can they afford to lose on the campaign to success? “Campaign Strategy” is a small cast play in which personal conflicts and jealousy among political professionals in a three-way congressional race impact the outcome of the race and the lives of each character. Lines are drawn when the neglected Wyman, engaged to speech writer Alyssa, finds himself in bed with the opposing party. Just how far will Alyssa go to punish the envious Brenda who picks off Wyman as much for her jealousy of the more talented Alyssa as her interest in the success of her candidate? “Campaign Strategy” challenges your audiences to question once again whether the ends justify the means. $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Fred J. Abbate

Edmund Campion, an academic superstar, became the object of a widespread manhunt as one of the first Jesuit priests sent to England on a secret mission to minister to Catholics. As an enemy of the Queen, he stayed constantly on the move, often changing his identity, hiding with dozens of families sympathetic to or practicing Catholicism. Among his houses of refuge, were several in the Lancashire area, including Rufford Hall, the home of Sir Thomas Hesketh. Several Shakespeare scholars have suggested the fascinating possibility that young William could have met Campion while earning a living as a performer and sometime-schoolmaster in the Lancashire region. Although the evidence is quite slim for the reality of this encounter, Campion’s Will brings the two geniuses together in 1581 just months before Campion was captured and brutally executed. Campion, at first suspicious that Will might be a spy for the Crown, gradually begins to understand that he is sparring with a gifted, razor-sharp thinker. Will quickly recognizes the life-and-death struggle that Campion has been confronting. An energetic debate ensues about sin, sanctity, martyrdom and the role of God in human lives as an escalating friendship builds between the two extraordinary characters. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $50 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Heath Houseman

On the planet Mars, a soldier fighting a war against the Long Haulers, an invading alien species, describes how Captain L-rac Nagas, daring spacefarer, stood on a cliff overlooking the battlefield to show the enemy what he was made of: Human. Scientist. Survivor. Warrior. Man. Moments later, Dr. Lawrence B. Tooney removes his motorcycle helmet and speaks into a recorder. He recounts his latest therapy session with Dr. Katharine Wriggley, a noted scientist working for the Pike’s Peak National Laboratory. Dr. Wriggley is dealing with the fallout caused by an unscrupulous colleague who exposed her private journals. Because the journals outline her future-life and adventures on Mars, the laboratory is convinced she may be mentally unstable and therefore a national security risk. Her home and personal computer files invaded, she feels emotionally violated and intellectually raped. She is forced to relinquish all scientific duties and submit to a series of psychological evaluations under the auspices of Dr. Tooney. But as Dr. Wriggley’s future-life experiences increase and his study of her journals intensifies, Toooney starts to have doubts. When he joins Wriggley’s future-self and Captain L-rac on a number of adventures on Mars, his concept of reality unravels, convincing him the experiences are real, and not only that, fun, like an Edgar Rice Burroughs science fiction adventure novel. Persuaded by the evidence, Dr. Tooney informs Dr. Wriggley he intends to publish their findings in scientific journals, at which point Dr. Wriggley confesses she started writing the journals when she was a child, after watching a documentary called Cosmos hosted by the famous scientist Carl Sagan; L-rac Nagas in reverse. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Sean David Bennett

A Full-length Drama in Two Acts

3W / 6M

Approximate Playing time:  2 hours

An exceptional new play by the gifted Sean David Bennett. Set in the present in the fictitious Safe Harbour half-way house on eastern Long Island, this significant work brings to the forefront the lives of broken men and women still searching for a sense of worth in a world stacked against them. Even at Safe Harbour, a place intended to provide hope, comfort and rehabilitation, the powers-that-be find ways to bilk the system and punish those who speak out or question their abuse of power. Based on true incidents, the lives of these incredibly rich and vulnerable residents will grab your audiences and bring them full force into a world known only by those who walk the streets or fall victim to the never ending battle of alcohol abuse and addiction. Thirty-year-old Travis Moretti intervenes in an attempt to salvage the little hope left for exploited 17-year-old Holly, who has been chosen as the “poster girl” for a new facility for young mothers and their babies. Travis is brutally murdered by a drug crazed Holly and the residents at the half-way house are left to mourn yet another tragic loss. And when the spin begins, the resident patriarch of the house, Ben Gold, confronts Chalmers, founder and CEO of Safe Harbour. Seems someone has been investigating the misappropriation of funds at the facility and Ben seizes the opportunity to wield some power of his own. Despite the serious subject matter, Bennett brings much humor and insight to the play and audiences will fall in love with the humanity the residents bring to the story. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  

by: R.J. Ryland

An unexpected encounter with a teen digging a hole in the sand piques Lennie’s curiosity after days of not meeting another kid on the beach. And what about all that excitement the night before- the cops hauling off a serial killer right down the street causing a media frenzy. Surely he’s heard! The funny and vivacious teen soon discovers there’s more to the story than a castle in the sand and is faced with saving the young stranger from his desperate solution to a dire circumstance. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $15 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Evan Guilford-Blake

A Full-length Drama in Two Acts

2 M / 2W

Approximate Playing Time:  100 minutes

Developed at Chicago Dramatists, Ceremonies of Prayer revolves around the conflict between William, a volatile artist, and Christina his equally volatile ex-prostitute lover now pregnant with his child.  William, caught between the emotional extremes of a sophisticated aesthetic view of the world and his childish detachment from the realities of life, provokes passion and hostility in Cristina, whose sordid past shadows her desire and ability to accept William’s love.  Matters are further complicated by William's financial and emotional dependence on his art-dealer brother, Ned, who struggles to remain vigilant of William’s vulnerability and supportive of his genius while coping with the resentment of his wife, Joanne, for the intrusions William inflicts on their lives.  Suggested by incidents in the life of Vincent van Gogh, this winner of the prestigious Utah Playfest Competition drives home the raging turmoil within and without the great artist whose passion for love and art lingered on the brink of insanity. Note:  Contains adult language and situations.  $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jean-Pierre Bongila

After the lead actor in his upcoming production of “The Mystery of Professor Bonaffe” dies in a preventable diving incident, Doctor Horace Thierry, head of the theatre department at the College of Global Perfection does something few directors hope to pull off:  he transforms a horrible melodrama into a horrendous malady.  Thierry, a terrible actor, jettisons the understudy and assumes the lead role when he discovers that Professor Steinherz, making a visit to the college to determine its continued funding, wants to see a performance of the play.  Buffoon Thierry who has been pressing the college for tenure for years believes the success of his play is his opportunity for tenure and concocts a foolhardy solution to his inability to learn his part:  he engages three union stage hands to don tree costumes and stand on stage with tablets to feed him lines.  And let the debacle begin!  This cleverly written play will have your audiences rolling with laughter as everything that could go wrong does.  The play within the play is the story of a man who labored six years on his dissertation disparaging Psychology as a science.  The character, played by Thierry, sets out to kill Bonaffe who stands in his way of tenure unbeknownst that Steinherz’ field of study is Psychology and the idea that it is not a science is beyond absurdity. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. 

by: Rebecca Ryland

A Full-length Comedy in Two Acts

3M / 5W

Approximate Playing Time: 2 hours

Tony Award winner Zoe Caldwell when reading Charlotte described the play as exceptionally funny and delightful.  Charlotte, an aging businesswoman showing the signs of senility, and her lovable but lecherous husband, Louis, prove quite a challenge for their well-meaning assistant, Josephine, who spends most of her day at Charlotte’s dysfunctional employment agency tending to their personal needs and heading up damage control.  That is, until Charlotte’s diamonds turn up missing with a curious array of colorful potential suspects including call girl Krystal Klear, Marvelous Marvin the Magician, and honest to goodness client Claire Rose, an African American woman who Charlotte targets as the primary suspect.  But are the diamonds really stolen or just misplaced and forgotten?  That’s for Detective Peeples and the audience to figure out.  It’s sad to laugh too hard at the misfortunes of aging or at Charlotte’s unrelenting discrimination, but alas, the audience will, while examining its own underlying fears and prejudices. $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jane and Jim Jeffries

About 750,000 teens become pregnant in the U.S. each year accounting for 11% of the births. Nearly 1/3 of those pregnancies end in abortion. With such staggering statistics, it is no wonder that many of our young people face the overwhelming decision as to what to do when faced with an unplanned pregnancy and the consequences of that choice thereafter. Jane and Jim Jeffries’ Choice does not attempt to solve the problem of teen pregnancy but it does explore one typical teenage girl’s struggle with her choice and poses the question “whose choice is it anyway?” Teens will identify with the characters who attend classes, play sports and hang out with friends during and after school. Choice is a great vehicle for dramatizing one of life’s serious issues and prompting healthy discourse on the subject without criticizing or moralizing. It’s a play for any theatre but speaks well to teens and their audiences. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $30 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: R.J. Ryland

It’s almost Christmas and Elf-tidings has spread the news about the village that Santa is searching for an elf to replace old Elf-Hammerhead who is retiring. All the young elves in the village are invited to a party to present their best gift for the children of the world—And the winner will not only join Santa’s workshop but ride with him on his sleigh on Christmas Eve! Cinder-Elfa’s wicked Stepma-Elfa has forbidden her to attend the party and her mean step-sisters, Drizz-Elfa and Bland-Elfa plan to take her prize Ballerina Doll and Toy Soldier to present to Santa as their own work. Cinder-Elfa’s small friends, the mice and birds, work together to repair an old stuffed bear so that she will have something to take to the party only to have it destroyed by Drizz-Elfa and Bland-Elfa. But when the toys under the tree come to life with the help of Cinder-Elfa’s Elfin Godmother, she is transformed into a magical elf who arrives at the party with nothing in hand, but with the best gift of all. If only she hadn’t run away before Santa could announce the winner.

by: Jill Elaine Hughes

CIRCLE LINE

by Jill Elaine Hughes

2W / 2M

Approximate Playing Time: 10 minutes

Jill Elaine Hughes lands her comic flare full-square on this humorous short set in Amsterdam. There two couples push waiting for the subway train to the limit when one of the women lies down on the tracks in an attempt to goad her husband into saving her. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Christina Hamlett & Jamie Dare

Plain-looking Catherine Morland is an avid reader whose imagination conjures up all manner of supernatural goings-on. But she is also a romantic who longs to be courted by a handsome stranger, Henry Tilney, whom she meets while staying with her dim-witted aunt and uncle. Henry’s darkly reclusive family owns a brooding mansion teetering on bankruptcy. Patriarch General Tilney (a vampire) mistakenly believes Catherine to be wealthy and sees her presence as an opportunity to give his estate the resources it needs. Catherine, of course, is oblivious to these machinations and accepts his invitation to visit the old manor house. There, she meets the General’s dead (murdered) wife and nearly falls victim to her own untimely demise. In the interim, Catherine’s brother, James, falls madly in love with her exceptionally vain and drop-dead gorgeous best friend, Isabella (a witch) who falls for Captain Frederick Tilney (also a vampire); Isabella’s werewolf brother, John, pursues Catherine but not as much as he pursues small animals; and Eleanor Tilney, whose life resembles that of Cinderella, falls head over heels for James. Here in 1815 England, a host of zombies and other immortals learn that manners matter and monsters respect decorum. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Ross Peter Nelson

It’s Julia’s birthday and her friend, Suzette surprises her with reservations for a private table at Club Gastronomique, a restaurant that takes the concept of “food porn” seriously. It provides intimate service from a personal chef, but the customers are only allowed to watch. While Suzette reveals herself to be a regular, Julia loses control when chef Devon presents a quadruple-chocolate profiterole, with consequences for both her and her friend. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Gary Britson

It’s the 1950’s and Ike has just been elected president; more fodder for the meanest and toughest son-of-a-bitch in Holstein, Iowa; the self-proclaimed “great” Grant Standard. Grant has a reputation for beating up anyone who crosses him and carries a little black book to record the names of people he deems a communist. He sends his list every Sunday to Brother Joe McCarthy who never writes back. Grant is among the regulars at Ed’s Tavern, a harsh, deliberately uncomfortable place where serious, marginally employable, amiably confused men gather to sop up the suds around-the-clock. Few women have ever been there. It is never happy hour because no one is ever happy there. On the other hand, the patrons are usually relaxed around each other as they have known one another for decades. In this intensely character-driven dark comedy, Ed has just died and his strong and fierce widow, Dolly, is bent on shaking up the status quo even if it kills her—or someone else. “Commie Boots” is not intended for children. The “N” word and other derogatory terms appear in this play, although for no other purpose than to reflect the nature of certain characters and the times although it may not be coincidental that the times have not changed all that much. $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Steve Koppman

by: Dan Weatherer

Crippen brings to life the events that led to the hanging of Hawley Crippen and his place in history as one of England’s most notorious murderers. With his marriage hanging by a thread and the theatrical career of his wife Cora in tatters, Dr. Crippen seeks counsel in the young and beautiful Ethel. A proud Protestant, he vows never to act upon his feelings, but after returning home and finding his wife in the arms of another, Hawley and Ethel spend the night together. Cora learns of Hawley’s affair and confronts Ethel, knocking her to the floor causing her to lose the unborn child that Ethel had previously kept from Hawley. With his hopes of fatherhood dashed, and Cora’s threat of making his affairs public - thus ruining his reputation as a respected homeopathic physician - Hawley decides to take matters into his own hands. Whilst Dr. Hawley Crippen was tried and found guilty for the murder of Cora Crippen, DNA tests carried out a century later reveal that the body found under the flagstones of his cellar was not that of Cora Crippen. Nor was it female. Who then fell victim to Dr. Crippen’s murder plot and what happened to Cora?

by: Dan Borengasser

Two women having a very bad day find themselves on opposite ends of a Crisis Hotline. Though a serious situation, this comedy turns the table on the hotline volunteer whose hostility towards the caller leads to an admission of her own crisis and an agreement to buck the system. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: A.D. Hasselbring

From Edgar Allan Poe's first couplet in 1824 at the age of 15 to his final words upon his deathbed in 1849, Dark Heart of Poe tells the tale of an artist struggling against himself to find a unique voice and survive in the Victorian Age. Using Poe's own letters and works, Dark Heart of Poe introduces audiences to the man who defined early American literature by establishing his own genre and capturing the imaginations of suspense readers everywhere. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $50 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Bonnie Cohen

Nine teenage girls, incarcerated in a state women’s prison, are locked in a room for 18 hours a day with nothing to do but play cards, listen to the radio or watch TV. When Naomi, a counselor, ventures in to try to make a difference, Da Cell, a powerful and charismatic sixteen year old girl, blocks her at every turn while Caroline White, a rigid prison bureaucrat, leaves no room for flexibility or compromise. After Da Cell commits an offense that lands her in solitary, the kids open up to Naomi, revealing their past and their pain. She discovers that, like all teenagers, they are vulnerable and unique. When Da Cell returns, she and Naomi grapple with and confront the issues of race and power, issues critical to Da Cell’s survival. As the other girls excitedly prepare for a talent show, an activity that gives their lives some meaning, Caroline fires Naomi, leaving the girls with no advocate. In the end, the girls’ rekindled hope collides with the harsh realities that have held them captive since the day they were born. Day Room Window is based on the true life experience of playwright Bonnie Cohen.

by: Harold Kimmel

Ordinary characters provide a glimpse into a turning point in history as Harold Kimmel takes us inside a South African prison over a 30+ year period beginning with the incarceration of Nelson Mandela. Warders Maartens and Roux, members of the staff on Robben Island where Nelson is held, along with visitors and other staff at the prison, offer a gut level overview of the times. Though neither warder is overly pedantic, Maartens and Roux’s often opposing perspectives on the relationship between Black and White South Africans and the abuse of power keeps the audience on edge as the fragile balance between right and wrong is constantly challenged. While Mandela never appears directly, the audience observes his impact on life inside and outside the prison walls as the play inevitably tackles issues of persecution, freedom and reconciliation. Kimmel, whose own life intersected with this crucial point in history brings first-hand experience to the drama. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Greg Freier

When Death comes a-knockin’ Sylvia tells him in no uncertain terms she isn’t buying. Despite his attempt to explain to Howard and Sylvia it just doesn’t work that way, the unhappily married couple refuses to cooperate—until Sylvia gets the nod that Death is after Howard. Then maybe things aren’t too bad: leaves the door open, anyway, to continue to partake in an occasional tryst with Mr. Noodleman next door. But it seems that Death got it wrong, and a quick call from the man in charge shifts the attention away from Howard and squarely in her direction. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $15 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: J.C. Svec

A Short Comedy for Three Actors

2F / 1M

Approximate Playing Time:  15 Minutes

Derek has serious commitment issues, manifested in his inability to make a decision about virtually everything, including what dinner choice to make for a friend’s wedding.  How long before Derek’s girlfriend, Susie, says enough is enough? $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  

by: David Toth

When host Lord Winston Halifax is murdered in his own home, guests and servants alike are put under Inspector Mandrake’s magnifying glass. An unorthodox detective, he uncovers the murderer, but not before revealing a mystery of his own. Dial A for Agatha hangs its fedora in the same mansion as "Clue", "Sleuth" and "Deathtrap". A parody of age-old murder mystery tropes, starting with the groundbreaking works of Dame Agatha Christie, Dial A for Agatha transplants stock characters from a bygone era to the modern world. The pleasure of the play lies in taking stereotypes and watching them break free from the bonds of convention. As Mandrake closes in on the perpetrator, guests and servants alike, all whom were once under suspicion, come to the defense of the murderer. But not Mandrake, whose reputation as a successful detective lies in the balance.

by: Guy Fredrick Glass

"I am a homosexual.  I am a psychiatrist."—John E. Fryer, M.D. Today this statement wouldn’t raise an eyebrow.  But in 1972, when Fryer stepped up to the podium at the American Psychiatric Association, it was so dangerous to his career that he wore a mask and used a microphone to distort his voice.  The following year, the APA deleted homosexuality from its list of mental disorders.  In this fictionalized account of the events leading up to that historic speech, we visit the vanished world of 1970’s Philadelphia: the early years of gay activism, opera, and the police brutality of Frank Rizzo.    Matthew, a young psychiatrist, is accepted for training in an elite program on the condition that he undergoes gay conversion therapy.  Years pass; Matthew falls in love with Jake, a young gay activist. But when a patient, Dudek – a self-hating gay man – makes an accusation that threatens his career, Matthew is thrown back into the closet and forced to choose between his psychoanalyst and his lover. Called “powerful” and “spellbinding” by the critics, Doctor Anonymous examines the masks we wear while hiding the truth from ourselves, how we can shed them and come to grips with our identity. Inspired by a watershed moment in LGBT history, and written by a gay psychiatrist/playwright, this is a moving story, told with humor and sensitivity. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  

by: Jill Elaine Hughes

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON UPSTAIRS?

by Jill Elaine Hughes

5W or 3W/2M

Approximate Playing Time: 10 minutes

Jill Elaine Hughes capitalizes on her satiric wit in this short in which God gains the upper hand in a game of poker with other female deities. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Robert L. Kinast

Based on the real-life story of Dr. Judith (Mary Joyce) Schloegel who, in 1977, was hired by First Trinity Lutheran Church in Washington, D.C. to head up a pilot project entitled “Liberation of Ex-Offenders Through Employment Opportunities” or LEEO for short. The modest, but initially daunting task of the program was to find jobs for two ex-felons per week. With little more than a telephone and her determination, Dr. J, as she came to be known by the ex-offenders she worked for and with, transformed that conservative goal into a successful program that gained national attention and eventually led to a new project under the sponsorship of the Chief Justice of the United States, Warren E. Burger. With one exception, [Lois who plays the antagonist], all persons and events portrayed in Dr. J’s People are drawn from the original program. Robert Kinast cleverly leads us through the events resulting in an insightful and dramatically compelling play that will introduce many audiences to a new way of thinking about relationships among people with profoundly different points of view and experiences. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jeffrey T. Heyer

In his one true composition of genius, Bram Stoker created a tale which stirs up what the Greeks meant their dramas to elicit: pity and horror. A hundred years and more later, the character of Count Dracula and some of the themes he personifies continue to fascinate western civilization reflected in a current resurgence of interest in vampire and occult storylines. Heyer’s Dracula Dark King masterfully envelops the audience in Dracula’s enigmatic world. The struggle between the allure of immortality and life’s pleasures and sorrows plays out in the late 1800’s between the harsh walls of Count Dracula’s castle in Transylvania and Dr. John Seward’s office and Sanatorium near London. Dracula Dark King casts a new light into Stoker’s shadows, but, unlike any other script, does so while returning to the grotesque beauties of the novel. It brings out Stoker’s buried psychological themes without damaging the way in which he kept them hovering tantalizingly just below the surface of his plot. A disturbingly beautiful play, Dracula Dark King is by far among the best adaptations available and worthy of consideration for any stage. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Kevin Daly

In the fictional town of Elsewhere, wealth and poverty live across the way from one another. Elsewhere is plagued by disease but despite the circumstances, people from both sides attempt to profit from it. Scientist Charles Balthorn and his assistant Tenderloin Pendermellon have travelled to Elsewhere in hopes of finding the town riddled with disease—so they might discover the cure and become famous. Imagine their disappointment when they quickly learn the disease to be one that has already been cured back in their home town, by Balthorn’s arch rival no less. Determined to make something of their trip, Balthorn and Pendermellon attempt to trick the wealthy people of Elsewhere by renaming the disease and claiming it has no cure. The problem: the wealthy people of Elsewhere don’t care because the disease has only been found amongst the poor. Undeterred, Balthorn persuades Pendermellon to infect the daughter of the wealthiest citizen of Elsewhere with the disease—only to discover they were mistaken and the disease in fact has no cure. Throughout the play, the story is told by the playwright, Tavern Smith, who also creates the scenery, develops the characters, and even adjusts the plot threads right in front of the audience. He does so, of course, to suit his own best interests which quickly becomes a common theme shared by most of the characters in Elsewhere.

by: Mike Willis

Bobbi McGee thinks she’s Janis Joplin, that Jerry Lee Lewis manages her apartment building and that Alvin Pulaski across the hall is Elvis Presley. Some call her “eccentric” and others maybe even a little off her rocker, but everyone agrees that Bobbi McGee is a nice lady. Bobbi just made a killin’ at the 99 cent store where she bought gifts for all of her other famous friends in the building including the Stone brothers Mick and Keith, ol’ blue eyes on the second floor and Brian Wilson in 21. When Alvin Pulaski becomes the fifth tenant in a year to move out of apartment 19 right across the hall from Bobbi, Cassie, the cleaning lady, warns Jerry that he has to have a “heart-to-heart” with Bobbi or management’s going to can him. The problem is that she is just… so nice. But there could be another solution—and it might come in the form of a man dubbed “Buddy Holly” who shows up in his wheelchair to take Janis on a date. $10 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Harold Kimmel

Two female detectives get called in to investigate a crime scene in a reception room in New York. Three bodies lie on the floor, but a chalk line signifies the place where a fourth had been lying and has now disappeared. According to a survivor, Laertes, during a party complete with fencing for entertainment, one of the stiffs wanted to rub out his stepson, Hamlet with a high octane cocktail. But his old lady, who just happened to be Hamlet’s momma, downs the drink instead. And Laertes, another stiff, dips his sword in gruesome gravy and let’s this Hamlet feel his hardware. Hamlet returns the compliment by swappin cutlery. And earlier there were two hitmen who themselves got terminated and there's even talk of a ghost! $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Gregory Robert Samuels

6W/ 7M (Less with Doubling

+ 4-5 Additional Ladies

Approximate Playing Time: 90 Minutes

Wherever you stand on service to your country, this play will challenge you to examine the ambitions of war and sacrifice.  Set in early 1915 through late 1916 when Great Britain is fully engaged in The Great War, Mary Wilson, an ammunitions factory worker bent on raising her place in society, enthusiastically volunteers in the White Feather Brigade, a propaganda campaign in England during WWI to encourage men to enlist in the army. White feathers –a symbol of cowardice and failure to fulfill their male duties– were distributed by women of the Order of the White Feather to any man they saw who seemed capable of joining the army that was out of uniform. To try and earn an office with the Brigade and a proper place at tea among the society ladies, Mary sacrifices her own son, Jackie, not quite 15, bullying him into joining the Pals battalion comprised of men who had enlisted together in local recruiting drives with the promise they would serve among their friends.  When nearly all the local battalion is killed in a massacre, Mary is left to struggle alone, shunned by the ladies and mad with her loss.  $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Craig Kenworthy

Envoy

by Craig Kenworthy

2W / 1M (Plus 2 extras)

Approximate Playing Time: 15 minutes

Two candidates via for a position with the Foreign Service with at least one unaware of the truth. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $15 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Greg Freier

It’s 1975 and Raymond Mound’s play has just opened on Broadway to less than stellar reviews.  As one reviewer put it, “For someone to have the testicular fortitude to concoct a “Last Cocktail Party” before the Last Supper takes creative license to a place that even God himself couldn’t have imagined.” The play’s director, Tony, delivers each review with continued optimism as Raymond’s verve and vigor disastrously deteriorates.  His pleas to be left alone in his personal hell are exacerbated by Terrance; Raymond’s T.V. buddy from L.A. Though a mediocre actor at best, Terrance’s celebrity status is lauded by Betsy and Lilith who stumble into the room searching for the ladies room—or so they say.  Your audiences will love attending this opening night party, cringing with each new review and laughing out loud at Raymond’s dramatic desperation. It’s great to remain hopeful that something will turn the nightmare around but perhaps the best solution of all is to just “Fade to Black.” $10 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: J.C. Svec

FALL GUYS

by J.C. Svec

2W / 2M

Approximate Playing Time: 15 total minutes

A farcical and often humorous take on the tense negotiations between John F. Kennedy and Fidel Castro during the Cuban missile crisis including an absurd bid by Castro to purchase the Washington Senators baseball team. JFK and Castro’s female interpreters steal the show. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $15 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Cindy Dettelbach

8M / 1F

Based on a True Story

Playing Time:  Approximately 90 Minutes

For the love of a Leica, a Jewish family is exiled from their home in Brest, Poland amidst the chaos of World War II.  Moishe Rose, a professional photographer continues to eke out a meager living for his wife, Esther, and their 12-year-old son, Chaim despite the strict oversight of the occupying Russian forces. Leonid Spasskii, Colonel of the State Security, becomes obsessed with Moishe’s Leica camera.  When Moishe refuses to sell the camera, Spasskii has him arrested and sent to the gulag. Despite relinquishing the camera, Esther and Chaim are exiled to Kirovka, Kazakhstan. There they barely survive in their small shelter over two frigid winters until Moishe miraculously appears at the door.  Over time, Moishe gains a better position and Chaim proves himself a burgeoning young chemist, creating ink from surplus supplies which the family uses to barter for goods and services. When news arrives that all the remaining families in Brest have been killed, the family discovers that the Colonel’s love of the Leica unwittingly proved their salvation. This uplifting coming of age story, loosely based on a family memoir, truly transcends time. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. 

by: Paul J. DiLella

“A flower's all I have to mark me by. Forget-me not.” If walls could talk, the walls of the Sisters of St. Magdalene Convent would have plenty to say. That's the adamant claim at least of Angelina Francher who professes to have evidence of heinous crimes that could taint the halls of St. Steven's Church forever. Angelina, whose memory aches with a long-kept secret, has only three days to halt the razing of the building. Without an injunction against the demolition, proof of these crimes will be lost unless the dead themselves cry out, "Forget-me-not!" Her last hope is to convince a cynical reporter that her allegations are true. Angelina is willing to risk everything including her sanity to bring justice to those who would be forgotten. Forget-Me-Not is an intense play for mature audiences willing to examine a serious social issue. With humor, irony, and suspense, Forget-Me-Not is certain to spark debate among your audiences well after the curtain closes. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Marjorie Bicknell

A Full-length Drama Freely Adapted from the Novel by Mary Shelley

3W / 4M

Playing Time: Approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes

As reviewed in the Chicago Tribune, this award-winning adaptation of the celebrated novel by Mary Shelley “wisely concentrates on the philosophical and psychological questions that made the original novel so fascinating.” Set in 1815 at Victor Frankenstein’s home in Switzerland, and at the North Pole, Frankenstein focuses on the relationship between Victor, the creator of a new life, and the Creature for whom he is responsible; a lost being without identity and companionship. If Boris Karloff is all you know about “Frankenstein” this play will provide many surprises. Instead of depending solely on grotesque appearance and mime to shock, this Creature is a well-spoken freak and his intelligence only adds to the awesome dread of the story. Bicknell’s adaptation is carefully crafted and, although it makes full use of terror, it emphasizes what evil comes from tampering with the laws of God. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Kevin Drzakowski

Take a walk down Main Street in picture-perfect Friendlyville. You’ll think you discovered Mayberry until Florist Jake Robertson flies screaming out of Bernie Matheson’s Barber Shop with his ear cut off! From morally corrupt Mayor Quinton P. Dinkerson to Old Man Ellison who philosophizes from behind his morning newspaper that all but predicts the current affairs, you’ll fall victim to the zany characters of Friendlyville who live in a funhouse world where you have to be who you are no matter who you want to be. When Giggles the Clown returns to town only to be once again humiliated for his total lack of ability to make or want to make anyone laugh, the Mayor threatens him with death if he fails to fulfill his destiny as the town clown. And when Giggles turns up with a pair of shears sticking out of his crimson hair, it is Jake who stands accused and immediately declared guilty and sentenced to hanging for stealing Giggles’ body from the solid oak coffin that has been waiting patiently under the park bench for Old Man Ellison to die. Yes, it is that askew in Friendlyville where its outlandishly kooky residents will keep your audiences hysterical while subtly developing a change of heart. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: John Twomey

When two brothers take over the family pizza parlor, flames higher than a grease fire erupt. Garlic left town and hasn’t been around much in years after he parted ways with his dad over alternative ideas about life and how to run a business. But Pop leaves the business to both of his sons. Gasoline, who stood by his father throughout it all has no intention of letting Garlic waltz back in and change everything from the name of the parlor “Sal’s Pizzeria” to “Sal’s Trattoria” to adding pesto to the menu and white cloth napkins to the table. Fueled by resentment, Gasoline wipes his filthy hands on a napkin and physically intimidates Garlic into running out. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jon Jory

This collection of five playlets enters the contemporary world of young men and women transitioning between childhood and adulthood. The first playlet finds three anxious friends on a camping trip before heading off to college. The second, a serious confrontation between a young woman and the elitist fraternity student who raped her. Next is a cleverly insightful and exacerbating take on the paradox between a new 117-million-dollar student union with Jai Lai courts, hot, cold and salt water pools and a sunset room with a different sunset every hour to impersonal overcrowded classrooms, ridiculously low teacher compensation and skyrocketing tuition. In playlet #4, two college losers spend most of their day watching TV and drinking beer, waiting for Godot to arrive. An ex-foreign-languages-student-turned-plumber arrives unexpectedly offering to exchange temporary boyfriend status for help hauling her king-size mattress upstairs. Finally, we revisit two of the original three young women on a reunion camping trip after they have graduated from college. The third friend has died but appears to them with an offer to share the meaning of life. If only they had brought a pad and pen. If used for competition, one or more playlets in Gen Z Does College may be cut to meet time restrictions.

by: Ron Schaefer

by: George A. Freek

A Full-length Serio-Comedy in Four Scenes

1W / 3 or 4 M

Approximate Playing Time: 75 minutes

Leaning on the Theatre of the Absurd, this strange yet insightful serio-comedy takes a fish bowl view into the life of long-married Alice and Frederick.   In their shabby living room, Alice bears the brunt of Frederick’s less than sane rantings as he totters on the brink of his father’s fate; sitting and staring off into endless space occasionally muttering something about ‘goats dancing’.  The couple’s cyclical routine is disrupted by a visit from Frederick’s estranged brother, Kurt, once Alice’s lover.  During the visit war erupts over who fathered daughter Judith, believed to have been killed in a plane crash after Frederick expelled her from the house.  Kurt’s recent transformation to Christianity and his feeble attempts to reconcile the family are as off-kilter as Frederick and Alice’s reason for remaining together;  “After so many years of making each other miserable, neither of us could stand to see the other one happy.”  George A. Freek’s well-drawn characters in Goat Dance are sure to challenge your best actors while entertaining your audiences with fresh, quirky humor.  $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $50 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Gordon Bennett

An Epic Tragi-Comedy on the Life of Moliere

4W/ 7M (6M w/doubling)

Approximate Playing Time: 2 hours

This award winning play about the 17th century comic genius, Moliere, will be the highlight of your season in a work that every skilled director will die to direct and every fine actor will fight to play. An epic drama in two acts, this literary masterpiece moves beyond Moliere’s works to his world; his troupe, friends, lovers, enemies and obstacles, and his burning ambition to achieve immortality through satire. Comedy pervades the play, but also pathos: Moliere is banned by the Church, burned by his love and spurned by his patron, King Louis XIV. Issues of integrity, loyalty, betrayal, and forgiveness are explored, ultimately leading to a compelling climax and denouement. The play’s rich language and sense of humor are well-matched to the wit and drama of its great protagonist’s creative life and cleverly takes the audience on a journey into the world of 17th century French theatre and its greatest playwright, Moliere. $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Rusty Harding

So what’s a tough talkin’ crook to do when the sobbing detective interrogating him says no one takes her seriously as a cop? He can try laughing, but then, that only makes her cry more. So what exactly will work to dry away her tears and give her the confidence she needs? Or is she really just a lot better cop than she makes herself out to be? $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: J.C. Svec

What’s more American than baseball? This common theme threads its way through a full evening of four short plays, each taking place during a special moment in history. First, the historical All-American Girls gives your audience a personal glimpse into the makings of the first women’s baseball league during WWII from the perspective of two players, their chaperone and an advisor. “Fall Guy” takes a farcical look at the tense negotiations between John F. Kennedy and Fidel Castro during the Cuban missile crisis including an absurd bid by Castro to purchase the Washington Senators baseball team. The comedic Post-Game Interview brings us the off-and-on camera takes of a self-centered, chauvinistic sports reporter and his bright, ambitious female producer who manages to work herself onto the air when a no-hitter turns into a World Series upset. Finally, “The Concrete Wall” touches our hearts as a young woman tries to move on four years after her baseball-loving brother is killed during the Vietnam War. This universal tale dramatically shares the memories between brother and sister and explores the unbearable loneliness one feels at the loss of a loved one despite what war or period of time in history. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: R.J. Ryland

A Heartwarming Holiday Tale for Young Audiences

1M / 5F and 11 either + Optional Extras

(Adult and Child Actors or All Youth)

Approximate Playing Time:  1 Hour

One of the best holiday plays for kids ever!  But don’t be surprised if this play touches your heart, no matter what your age.   Grandma Bear is getting old.  Despite the companionship of her faithful cat, Lucille, she grows more lonely and confused everyday.  Her neighbor, Wolf, does his best to look out for her. And she delights in her visits with all her little forest friends from Rabbit and Beaver to the playful Wood Orphans who live in tree-houses nearby. But when Grandma Bear decides to throw her first Christmas Party in years, perhaps her first party ever, no one will come.  Laugh and cry with Grandma Bear as she rediscovers the true meaning of friendship and the joy of the holiday spirit. $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $30 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  ACTIVITY GUIDES AVAILABLE.

by: J.C. Svec

A One-Act Comedy by J.C. Svec

Based on a story by Dakota Lyn Svec

1F/1M

Approximate Playing Time:  20 minutes

Jean and Joe are jelly people; grape jelly that is. When their favorite food starts disappearing from their local stores, they set out on a quest to discover why and restore grape jelly to its rightful place on the grocery shelves. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $15 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  

by: Timothy D. Starnes

A Short Play by Timothy D. Starnes

5W / 1M

Approximate Playing Time:  12 Minutes

Death has a problem.  Her name is Pamella Pilsborough. This southern cook is costing Death tons of paperwork and he’s grown tired of dealing with this thorn in his side.  Southern food is bad for you, or so some say, with all the sugar and grease—but in this case it’s not just the food that’s deadly.  A clueless Pamella has become a murderer. With otherworldly intervention, Death entertains the audience; resurrecting past victims to wreak vengeance on Pamella and save him the time to do her in himself. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  

by: Patti Veconi

Just as the cast for this year’s play at River Valley High School is announced, a calamity occurs: the lighting rig in the school’s theatre collapses, injuring the director and throwing the school’s show and entire theatre program into jeopardy. It takes a capable and ambitious cast of high school actors to decide to put the show on themselves?if only they could manage their offstage drama with as much skill! With a strong message of empowerment for girls, this play includes coming of age challenges in the spirit of teamwork with both sincerity and levity, while paying homage to Shakespeare’s great play. This 2019 first place winner of the Beverly Hills Theatre Guild national competition for youth theatre is a top notch age-appropriate play for teens.

by: Robert E. McCarthy

It’s the night before Hansel & Gretel start 5th grade and they are both dreading it. Mom insists Hansel stop playing video games, that Gretel quit texting and that they both get some sleep. That may have been the end of the story if a wolf hadn’t shown up and tapped at their window. Wolf, working with a wicked witch that loves to bake with her favorite secret ingredient - children - has been sent to capture Hansel & Gretel. Wolf convinces Hansel & Gretel that 5th grade is the worst grade ever! That kids stand in dirty cages all day, fix lunch for their teachers?and there’s NO RECESS! So Hansel & Gretel make their great escape only to be tricked by the Wolf, saved by Three Pigs, captured by Gingerbread Men, and resaved several times over by a group of motley characters that kind of resemble the ones you read about in classic tales, but then again, kind of don’t. Played on a bare stage using props to create such fantastical places as a dark chasm, up in the clouds, a magical castle and the ocean blue, Hansel & Gretel’s GREAT ESCAPE is perfect theatre for youth, summer camp and touring to elementary schools. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $50 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: J.C. Svec

Five women; each personifying one of America’s best celebrated holidays. They’re young, attractive, marketing geniuses and they comprise the Council for the Achievement of Successful Holidays (C.A.S.H.). They meet once a year in November to exchange strategies, share ideas, celebrate good fortunes and support each other in executing the age old holiday traditions of materialism, commercialism, capitalism and greed. For decades, these five women have co-existed in Madison Avenue bliss, working in harmony to manipulate and deceive the public…until now. Tommi (Thanksgiving) seems to have fallen on hard times. Sandwiched between two proliferate holidays, her seat on the Council comes into question. But all is not what it seems as Holly (Christmas) is about to discover. Svec applies his wit to corporate America and its everlasting pursuit of the almighty $. A great choice during any of the holiday seasons and playable throughout the year. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Kevin McGovern

How crazy can life get when friends spend Thanksgiving together on what could be their last day on Earth?  If there was ever a time to “put it all on the table,” this is it!  Despite an asteroid a quarter the size of the moon speeding toward Earth, Joann Monroe goes about preparing the perfect holiday dinner, expecting no one to cancel.  Her husband, Neil, glued to the television by the developing news, isn't so sure.  But when all the guests arrive on schedule—the event explodes into a flurry of emotions, attacks, and retaliations.  The soon-to-be-announced almost-engagement of Steve and Shelley turns into a nightmare with the unanticipated arrival of Steve's not-so-marriage-supportive mother, Freida, a phone call by Steve to his ex-girlfriend, and a blow-up between already married Gary and Deidre, ruining dinner for everyone and somehow leading to Steve waking up naked next to Deidre on the couch the next morning—with his pants in the kitchen freezer.  And although it turns out that Joann detests turkey and all its culinary relatives, a mad scramble to save food for the possible end of the world creates an appropriate apocalyptic backdrop for an impromptu wedding, performed by a young man from “The Eternal Light Society,” who just happens to come knocking at the door to rescue a few more souls.  Your audience will thoroughly identify with these characters, and laugh out loud, when a looming global cataclysm brings out people's worst—and also their best. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  

by: Collin Andrulonis

by: Rebecca Ryland

Who really controls the HAVOCC (Household Autonomous Virtual Operating Command Center) system in Jim and Sarah’s house? James, an A.I. home management system, is bent on wreaking havoc in the household, at odds with Jim, who programmed James in his own image, simultaneously rendering his own position as house husband obsolete. Sally, a superior S.I. reasoning system who manages professional Sarah’s business schedule warns James he’ll end up on the scrap heap if he doesn’t stop complaining. When Jim and Sarah return home after dinner with neighbors to a locked door that won’t open, lights that fail to instantly turn on, and a cold tea kettle, Jim has had enough. And why was Sarah so interested in their dinner host’s bot? $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $15 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Joseph Sorrentino

When the steel’s gone, so goes the jobs, the money and the workin’ man’s way of life. But Lee Waldinski has a plan; headin’ south. Lee could have left a long time ago…that’s what he’s been saying for years, blaming everyone and everything for the life he never had. When his best friend, Fred, loses his window sales job, it’s time to get the revenge he’s always wanted on the one ultimately responsible for all their troubles—the steel. The steel kept him from leavin’; the steel was responsible for his wife leavin’ him. The plan is to blow up the Grace Steel watertower at midnight on Lee’s birthday. During the Thursday night drinkin’ and card playin’ birthday party, Lee keeps his father, Pop, busy while Fred sneaks out to set the bomb. But when the alarm goes off, nothing happens. This dark comedy of life comes full circle after Pop’s heart gives out and Lee’s son, Tad, returns to town after graduating from college. Sometimes life seems so bad all you can do is laugh. (Adult language.) $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Robert Thomas Noll & Pamela V. Noll

Nearly a hundred and twenty-five years ago, Henrik Ibsen wrote Hedda Gabler, depicting the quintessential liberated woman ? for that era. Hedda's type is all too familiar to us even now: a spoiled rich girl who has spent her whole life devoted to herself and her desires, and decimating the men around her. Robert and Pamela Noll’s adaptation, set today in the affluent neighborhood of Shaker Heights, Ohio, begins not long after Hedda’s father, the only man she ever respected, sustained financial ruin and committed suicide. Subsequently Hedda has married philosophy professor George Tesman despite her antipathy for his social status and lack of charisma. Hedda and George have just returned from their honeymoon and she is overwhelmed with boredom, taking out her dissatisfaction on George’s doting Aunt Julia who is concerned that George is spending too much money setting up a home beyond his means to please his beautiful new wife. An old friend, Judge Brack arrives intent on spurring a “friends with benefits” relationship with Hedda behind George’s back?but Hedda has no real interest in Brack. The intrigue is in a passionate ex-lover, the once reckless and drunken Eilert Lovberg, who proves to be George’s talented rival for a tenured position at the university. So many games to play; so many men to manipulate. When Thea Elvsted, a married women, contacts George to help her check on her own lover, Eilert with whom she collaborated on an exciting new manuscript, Hedda initiates a deadly game to thwart Thea’s efforts to keep Eilert sober and on track to publish his book. Hedda exhibits no sense of empathy or shame in manipulating and destroying others. Despite adhering faithfully to Ibsen's classic tale, one cannot help but feel stunned when the resolution is reached in this gripping feminist story.

by: Pamela V. Noll & Robert Thomas Noll

Nearly a hundred and twenty-five years ago, Henrik Ibsen wrote Hedda Gabler, depicting the quintessential liberated woman ? for that era. Hedda's type is all too familiar to us even now: a spoiled rich girl who has spent her whole life devoted to herself and her desires, and decimating the men around her. Robert and Pamela Noll’s adaptation, set today in the affluent neighborhood of Shaker Heights, Ohio, begins not long after Hedda’s father, the only man she ever respected, sustained financial ruin and committed suicide. Subsequently Hedda has married philosophy professor George Tesman despite her antipathy for his social status and lack of charisma. Hedda and George have just returned from their honeymoon and she is overwhelmed with boredom, taking out her dissatisfaction on George’s doting Aunt Julia who is concerned that George is spending too much money setting up a home beyond his means to please his beautiful new wife. An old friend, Judge Brack arrives intent on spurring a “friends with benefits” relationship with Hedda behind George’s back?but Hedda has no real interest in Brack. The intrigue is in a passionate ex-lover, the once reckless and drunken Eilert Lovberg, who proves to be George’s talented rival for a tenured position at the university. So many games to play; so many men to manipulate. When Thea Elvsted, a married women, contacts George to help her check on her own lover, Eilert with whom she collaborated on an exciting new manuscript, Hedda initiates a deadly game to thwart Thea’s efforts to keep Eilert sober and on track to publish his book. Hedda exhibits no sense of empathy or shame in manipulating and destroying others. Despite adhering faithfully to Ibsen's classic tale, one cannot help but feel stunned when the resolution is reached in this gripping feminist story.

by: Dan Weatherer

A caller contacts Twatter Customer Support in search of the truth. This comedy-drama, with a political slant, explores social media and its links to fake news, faker smiles, celebrity scandal, political turmoil, war and corruption. There is a lot of digging to be done, and this caller has had enough of the B.S.

by: Hasselbring, Blaney, Murrie & Deutschman

A Rock Musical for Progressive Audiences

7M/3W + Extras and Chorus

Approximate Playing Time:  2 hours

From the paint ball battle to the rise of a subversive organization, this musical makes a statement about society and where we may be headed.  Get that college degree and join the ranks of men and women fighting their way to the top.  But what happens when you don’t fit in?  What happens when you lose your way?  And what happens when society steals your very sense of self – your identity?  Here.I.Am takes you on a revolutionary track to fighting back when you’re left in financial ruin by circumstances beyond your means.  Perhaps the time is now, perhaps the story is yet to come, but regardless, this musical will make you pause and think.  $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee; $40 Music Package plus $80 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jon Jory

Nine monologues with several commonalities: high school angst, isolation angst, and relationship angst. The Usual Suspects represent common characters found in the halls of most high schools around the country, but now they find themselves at home. There is NOBODY the nobody, CARR the football player, DUSTI the mean girl, LYNETTE, the student leader, HORATIO the theatre nerd, TAB the brain, SOFIA the cheerleader, FLAME the outlier, and SUE ANNE the beauty. Play them all or choose what works best for your group. To use an individual monologue for auditions or class purposes, email playsnow@heartlandplays.com. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $30 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Rebecca Ryland

by: Jon Jory

Hot Blood joins a list of new original works by world-renowned playwright, Jon Jory, exploring the teen experience. This riff on love and attraction consists of 16 mini plays and two short monologues where every actor has the chance to play a leading role. Perfect for showcase performances and competition. $10 Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Hilary Scarlett White

by: Lisa Like-Stokely

Somewhere between Camelot and modern day, between IPADs and poisoned Apples, between ballet and uptown funk, this fractured fairy tale brings the classic characters of Hans Christian Anderson to life. Thumbelina, the not so tiny dancer, who is transformed into a beautiful ballerina; Jenny, the diamond studded and care free Nightingale (Mae West character); Heny, the ugly duckling turned obnoxious comedian (a cross between Heny Youngman and Groucho Marx); Sunny and Share, the dynamic singing duck duo topping the charts at Swan Lake; the directionally challenged Princess Gardenia who unexpectedly finds romance; Bruno, the valiant tin soldier who dances hip-hop; and the appalling proclivities of the robe shedding Emperor, are all re-imagined into this delightful play for the whole family. Audiences will be pleasantly surprised to recognize entertainers from the past and present. Laugh along and find out how a diverse group of fairy tale characters and a trio of ogres work together to save the Snow Queen from her diabolical fiancé. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Claire Caviglia

The college process is stressful: from getting in, to moving in, to academics. However, NOTHING is more important than finding the perfect roommate! Join Student 1 and Student 2 as they enlist the services of a roommate matchmaking company, and tackle hilarious and sometimes honestly truthful scenarios of what it is like living in a 12x19 foot space most often with a total stranger. From the Political Problem Roommate to the Messy Mate, they encounter a variety of characters who spell trouble…but is it the roommates they should be worried about? $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $50 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Christina Hamlett & Jamie Dare

It’s the late 19th century and the marriage-minded Mrs. Bennet is determined to find a pair of eligible (translated: wealthy) husbands for her eldest daughters, Jane and Elizabeth. Without doubt, Charles Bingley and Fitzwilliam Darcy fit the fussy matron’s definition of a suitable son-in-law. Both gentlemen, it seems, are also on the active radar screen of the local matchmaker, Harriet Peppercorn, who prides herself on a high success rate in London society. While Charles’ man-hungry sister, Caroline, is eager to take advantage of Elizabeth’s total disinterest in the dashing Darcy, Jane’s friend Emma Carew is romantically fixated on her sightings of a handsome young doctor named Henry Jekyll. Missed connections, misunderstandings and comedic mishaps ensue against the backdrop of a tranquil city suddenly disrupted by the presence of an unkempt mad man bent on mayhem. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Gordon C. Bennett

Besieged by a barrage of clients, Attorney Elizabeth Walker must determine whose suit is worth pursing and whose needs sent to the cleaners. There is Mrs. Goodlady who intends to sue Coach Hoffa for cutting her daughter, Tracy, from the basketball team due to her diminutive height; Coach Hoffa suing his father for failing in his parental obligations; John Wellesby, his father, suing dancer Hope Swope for exposing his bald head in front of his T.V. viewing audience; Hope against stock boy Barney Wescott for improperly stacking food cans resulting, she claims, in a broken ankle; and Barney against Goodlady, claiming a case of “displaced aggression” for reducing his chuckle to a snicker at her voice-over studio all because he is smitten with Tracy. To everyone’s dismay, throughout the steady rain of clients, Walker’s nephew takes notes for a school project. But are any of these suits befitting a proper client? $10 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Floyd Stephen Alexander

Two lone American soldiers in an Arabian Gulf war zone prepare for battle in a desperate fight to stay alive and make it back home. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Peter Nunan & Paul Tumilty

A Full-Length Comedy in Two Acts

2W / 5M

Playing Time:  Approximately 110 minutes

Oh, the Brits.  What great comedy they spawn!  Taking place in a bank in a small provincial town, this exceptionally funny, well-crafted comedy will keep your audiences laughing from beginning till end.  Assistant bank manager, Frank Johnson, lives in the flat above the bank where no “unauthorized” personnel are permitted. But when his weekend bank course is cancelled without his boss, Mr. Humphries, catching wind, he conspires with his girlfriend Mandy to spend a romantic getaway upstairs.  As makes perfect sense, stuffy Mr. Humphries, who lives with his mother, has his own personal getaway planned for the flat with spinsterish bank clerk, Sheila.  After all, who will be any the wiser with Frank away at his training.  Throw in two or three bank robbers and let the party begin.  Between multiple doors, falling down basement stairs and plenty of faced paced comings and goings, it takes time for everyone to catch up with one another affording ample time and space for a whole lot of hilarious shenanigans along the way.  Fun to read.  More fun to play.  Funniest of all to see!  $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application

by: Greg Freier

Using voiceovers, master of comedy Greg Freier takes us into the minds of Arthur and his office assistant, Joan as each tries desperately to disguise their respective compulsions and revulsions for one another. Warning: PC deficit. A crash course in avoiding sexual harassment in the workplace would do Arthur a world of good. But, alas, what he thinks reveals more about his character than what he says. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Ross Peter Nelson

by: Mulima kw’omusundi wa kuboka

A Full-length Modern Drama in Classical Style

Approximate Playing Time: 100 minutes

7M / 3W plus a Chorus of Men, a Chorus of Women and Dancers

Set in an organized society in a developing country, Inkhokhotsazana tells the story of ruler Mfalme who has banished his wife, Inkho believing she betrayed him by ‘sleeping’ with her step-son Leo. As it turns out, Mfalme’s chief advisor, Pom, has orchestrated the ruse as revenge against Mfalme for snatching Inkho from him. As Mfalme’s cousin and most trusted advisor, Pom’s accusations are accepted without question and thus create a case of ‘the enemy within’.  Mfalme’s anger and jealousy against Inkho spreads oppression and cruelty to all the women of the land and by royal decree, men are permitted to abuse their women.  In a bid to bring Mfalme to his senses and punish Pom, the women of the land revolt by forming the Women’s Liberation Front and focusing the eyes of the world upon them, including the journalist, Gloria, from the neighboring country of Noteba.  Reminiscent of Greek classics and Shakespearean tragedies, Kenyan playwright Edwin Mulima Omusundi brings home the struggles that still exist in modern times when old ways collide with new. $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $65 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jonathan Graham

Perhaps Rich, the corporate scum bag in Irrational Exuberance, isn’t half as bad as – or as smart as – Madoff, but that doesn’t stop him from ruining the lives of the people who worked for him and invested in the dubious “Air Futures” division of his now defunct company. In his attempt to escape the looming media frenzy, Rich enlists the help of his assistant, Nolan, to keep his wife, Patricia, in the dark. But Patricia knows something is amuck and heads for their cabin in the sticks where Rich typically hides out. At a gas station convenience store along the way she encounters Debbie, for whom she baby-sat as a teen and figures out that Debbie had worked for her husband. Patricia heads to the airport to meet Nolan just moments before Rich shows up at the gas station. Debbie recognizes Rich at once and he soon discovers that she is in possession of the missing Dossier which proves he duped his investors and she plans to testify against him before the grand jury. It’s small town Main Street fighting back. But, does Debbie have the guts to see it through when Rich sends Nolan to “take care of it”? $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Harold Kimmel

If you know the Old Testament, you’ll love Kimmel’s short comedy turning biblical stories on end. Isaac has just been to the mountain where he got to see the Lord first-hand peering over his father’s shoulder just as Abraham was about to slaughter him. Now with a Tablet in hand showing that the Lord has given Abraham the Land of Canaan, Abraham and Isaac solicit the services of Senoch, the Bedouin’s barrister, to draw up the deed. Senoch is more interested in debating the literary merit of the Great Flood than focusing on the deed in hand until he has a vision of the making of a great Nation and is all in at 110 years of age to become Abraham’s adopted son. Of course, there’s that pesky little initiation ritual he must undergo first. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Greg Freier

Whether it is your father, your brother, your uncle or your husband, everybody knows “Richard.” You know the type; if it can go wrong it will…to him. And when it does, he threatens to sue everyone involved. The good thing is—he never does. But that doesn’t stop his ways from affecting everyone else in the family! Richard and Marsha have sold the family home in Ohio and moved to the big city to be closer to daughter, Elaine, an aspiring young actress, and their son, Kevin, who is the manager in the restaurant at an upscale hotel. As can only be expected, their new apartment is not ready and Richard & Marsha end up staying at the hotel where Kevin works. From no toilet in the room, to multiple bouts of botulism to being mistaken for a pervert when Richard is caught in the lobby wearing nothing but his trench coat, shoes and socks – his luggage was lost by the airlines – your audiences will laugh their own socks off at the man we all know and hate to love. Things take a turn for the worse when Elaine’s boyfriend, Babe, inadvertently chooses her parents hotel room to rob and Kevin gets fired for his father’s incessant complaining. The only way out is for Kevin and Elaine to return home to Ohio before Richard destroys the entire city! $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Lynn-Steven Johanson

Pearl questions a familiar-looking man sitting on the opposite end of a park bench only to find out it is Bill, her high school sweetheart. Bill says he is moving back to his hometown and hopes to rekindle their relationship only to learn that Pearl gave birth to his daughter 40 years earlier and gave her up for adoption. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $30 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Gary Britson

JUPITER

by Gary Britson

A Rock Solid Comedy in Two Acts

3W/ 5M

Approximate Playing Time: 2 hours

In 2009 meteors struck the planet Jupiter. Any one of these huge rocks could have wiped out our planet. So why is it that Joe gets kicked out of high school for looking at the sky and telling a few classmates that a big rock is headed for Earth? It’s a mystery to his neighbor, Sarah, who really just wants to know what happened to Joe’s parents. He claims they went to Switzerland but she’s not so sure. Joe’s friend Maury hangs at the house, a victim of a set of rules that says you can expel a student for painting “Happy Birthday, Jane” on the entrance to the new parking garage. And in a house that in the past had few visitors, people come in and out like flies through a hole in a screen; among them attorney Melissa, Sarah’s daughter who just got fired from her fiancé’s law firm; Jeremy her brother, who flunked out of college and is writing a musical about the Warren Commission; and Alice, the life-loving unfortunate creature of circumstances who Maury snatches from the bus stop in hopes of experiencing just a few of his favorite things before the big honkin’ rock hits. Gary Britson’s exposé of life on our planet as seen through the lives of his quirky characters and circumstances is a hit you won’t want to miss. $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Gerald Arthur Moore

A Full-length Play for Teens in 4 Scenes

3 M / 5 F plus 10-15 extras

Approximate Playing Time: 90 minutes without Intermission

There it is again, on the AP, on CNN, on FOX News at 10.  Another school shooting somewhere in the U.S., in Canada, or across the universe.  Canadian Gerald Arthur Moore’s sensitive and provocative work brings the headlines home as a group of surviving students struggle to make sense of their lives and the impact of a single juncture in time that will forever color their destinies.  By starting the play months after the shooting and working back in time, the audience gathers insights into the students and their relationships to one another, always cognitive that what happened is waiting just around the corner and that moment of terror is a train wreck that no one can stop.  When the horror hits, who do we obsess about?  The shooter or the victims?  How does one go about honoring the dead without glorifying the perpetrator?  The answer is that this play will have your audience talking long after the lights go down and the crying fades away.  $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Greg Younger

PTSD and ADHA add up to comedy in this seriously funny play about a seriously dramatic situation. Just Cause centers on a military couple who have been separated by different campaigns of the Iraq conflict. Paul suffers from PTSD, which has left a blank space where his wife Suzy used to be. After a year of silence without word from her beloved and getting no response from the brass at the base, Suzy goes AWOL to look for her husband. She finds him at EarthFoods, an organic co-op in Oregon surrounded by quirky characters from Toodie, a vet and regular at the store who suffers from ADHA to a white-gowned yogi and a couple of teen-age gum-snapping mall rats. Suzy soon assesses the situation and with the help of Toodie and the teenagers, takes over the store creating a hostage situation to jog Paul’s memory. But will it work or just get Suzy arrested? A serious comedy with colorful characters and minor gunfire, Just Cause explores sacrifice, the military mind, fate, and just what some people will do for love! $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $65 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Susan Surman

After his wife left him that morning, Psychotherapist Dr. Sidney Kaplan is in personal crisis mode. His first session of the day starts with Rose Berman threatening to kill him with a glass vase. Not an unusual entrance for Rose who is in therapy as an excuse to get out of the house away from her mother. "I'm depressed," she says. He says, "You seem very up today. You tried to kill me. If you were depressed, you'd try to kill yourself.” Then off they go to explore her latest dreams. His methods are considered unorthodox but in his opinion, it is readily doled out drug prescriptions that are the extreme. But despite his success with his clients, can the doctor heal himself?

by: Robert Leland Taylor

This hauntingly beautiful story captures the antagonistic and lonely life within the confining walls of a sparse Kentucky farmhouse where rose-covered wallpaper conceals the Clavor family secrets. When Eileen’s Uncle Gayner is accused of strangling a woman to death, she struggles with his guilt or innocence despite her sincere affection for the troubled and fragile man. Her mother, Myra, loves her brother and would do anything to protect him, even hide the medallion that Gayner entrusted to her care; a valuable antique that he claims he bought from the murdered woman. Eileen’s drunken father, Leonard, hates Gayner. He shoots the family dog for not barking at people he says are stealing his corn and egging his house because of the shame Gayner brought on the family. The dynamics take an increasingly negative toll on Myra’s mental state and she wanders off in a thunderstorm only to be found camped at the Greyhound bus station down the road. Leonard’s hatred is so great that even though another woman is murdered by strangulation while Gayner sits in his jail cell, he turns the medallion over to the police. The tragic consequences of this revengeful act take the final toll on Myra who stops communicating altogether. Eileen faces contending forever with her mother’s mental deterioration and her father’s harsh inability to express kindness or love or choosing once and for all to save herself by finally leaving home. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Tom Coash

KHAMASEEN

by Tom Coash

An American Woman’s Voyage of Discovery in Egypt

6W/ 3M

+ Additional Dancers if Desired

Approximate Playing Time: 1 Hr. 50 Minutes

During the khamaseen, Egypt's annual sandstorm when the air is thick with dust and aggravation, Donna moves to Cairo with her husband, Pete, who sees it as an opportunity for career advancement. We quickly learn that life was not peaceful for the couple in America and now in culture shock and feeling isolated in a country she has been warned to fear, Donna tries to cope with an abusive marriage complicated by her new found pregnancy. In a last ditch attempt to dispel her fears and understand the Egyptian culture, Donna befriends her maid, Helwa, and discovers a wonderful, gentle and loving people who ultimately and metaphorically purge her of the curse of her abusive marriage, empowering her to continue on in Egypt as an independent and proud woman. Although dealing with serious subject matter, Khamaseen is shot through with humor, music, belly-dancing and hope for the future. Tom Coash’s four year experience living and teaching in Cairo provides real-life insight for his characters who quickly dispel common stereotypes about the Egyptian people and their culture. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Austin Hawkins

Dramatized from the papers of Frederick Joseph Manning of Octon Cottage, Torquay, England, 1879 – 1950, this engaging and thoughtful story follows the hopes and shattered aspirations of a servant during the changing tides of classicism. Robert Noble Acutt, a retired gentleman and widower, has just died leaving his household of servants in shock trying to come to terms with an uncertain future. Acutt’s solicitor arrives and reveals that long-standing servants, Mrs. Draper, and head gardener, Thomas Manning, have been left valuable legacies. Their greatest fears are realized when they learn that the house will indeed be sold and all the servants will be looking for work. The suave and persuasive Leonard Saint John Courtney, in business as an ‘Annuity Consultant’, turns up and beguiles Thomas Manning with the prospect of turning his legacy into a greater fortune. Manning moves his family to a temporary rented house and purchases a plot of land on which to build a Bungalow. His wife, Fanny, and daughter, Olive, are unaware of the extent of St. John Courtney’s influence, busy planning Olive’s wedding as anxieties about the possibility of war with Germany surface. Facing a potential financial crisis, Manning pleads with Courtney through his letters for a pay out from the investment but no money is forthcoming. With the bungalow to pay for and his wife demanding a date for Olive’s wedding, he is desperate to rescue at least some of his investment. Is Saint John Courtney’s business genuine but subject to unavoidable delays, or is he a ruthless conman? How will Manning tell his family and what are the implications for their future?

by: Rebecca Ryland

by: Craig Kenworthy

Whether a burden or a blessing, life often feels like a never ending series of tests. In Craig Kenworthy’s intriguing collection of short plays, each character is faced with a life-altering decision. In" But That’s Not What We Ordered", two parents must determine if a “normal” baby is worth raising in a futuristic society where a child’s attributes are carefully pre-selected. “So Much for Seatbelts” forces two young people to choose who lives or dies in a trapped car when there is only enough air for one to survive. Throughout the seven-play collection, Kenworthy challenges the audience to check “A” or “B” then skillfully leaves them debating if there was a single right answer. After all, when faced with “Life’s Little Exams”, no one is privy in advance to the outcome. You’ll often laugh and sometimes cry and always find yourself searching right along with the characters for the right answer. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. Royalty information provided is for the entire collection. For Performance Rights to individual plays within the collection, E-mail the publisher at playsnow@heartlandplays.com

by: Kevin Daly

Inspired by the nineteenth century comedy “Puss in Boots” which incorporates planted audience members to comment on the live action on stage, Lily Hare premiered at Quinnipiac University in Hamden CT and later transferred to Abingdon Theatre Company in NYC. Lily Hare uses planted audience members to represent various socio-economic strata within our present day. These roles are gender and race neutral and present excellent opportunities to incorporate as many actors as wanted in the production. The story on stage centers on a nineteenth century actor who makes money by robbing her audiences as she performs poorly memorized Shakespearean monologues. For three years, her student and thief, Ned Tambourine, waits for his chance to rise from his early life as an orphan to the stage. An opening for Lily to manipulate her way into the heart of a young, wealthy theater owner, Simon Filbert, backfires when he gives up his home and wealth for her in exchange for total control of the theatre. In the meantime, Ned lifts tickets from Simon to the Astor Place Theatre. There he sees the work of a great Shakespearean actor. He begs Lily to go with him to Philadelphia and returns again to the Astor. Lily, finally recognizing her folly, rushes to him to beg his forgiveness only to find him in the throes of the famed Astor Place Riots. The play introduces audiences to this pivotal moment in American Theater History while framing the conversation about our current socio-economic conflicts.

by: John Patrick Bray

First performed at The Louisiana State Archives in Baton Rouge in 2009 and at the Louisiana Old State Capitol Building with Secretary of State Jay Dardenne in the role of Lincoln, this historically based piece explores what “may” have transpired had President Lincoln met with Colonel Robert E. Lee to ask him to lead the Union Army. Historians say that President Lincoln had wanted Lee to be his general, but was turned down shortly before Virginia entered the Civil War. Lee and Lincoln had only communicated via third-party correspondence but that doesn’t stop us from speculating on what may have been said. This short play is perfect for cultural events, oral interpretation and for history classes and buffs. In any case, it is sure to facilitate an interesting discussion as to what did happen and what might have happened had Lee not resigned from service to his president. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Craig Kenworthy

Line

by Craig Kenworthy

2W / 1M

Approximate Playing Time: 10 minutes

Filling in for a friend, an inexperienced crisis line operator handles a serious situation with the possibility of fatal consequences. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Larry Damico

5F / 6M /1 Either

Approximate Playing Time:  90 Min.

A rebellious Red gone bad?!  A truly inventive, fun and entertaining twist on the traditional fairy tale.  Feeling “smothered” by her Granny, Little Red rebels by taking up with – you guessed it! – the big bad Wolf himself!  But when she isn’t looking, Wolf ties up a suspicious Jack Horner who only hopes to protect Red and leaves a note for Granny saying that Red has run off to Echo Lake.  When Granny finds the note, she’s off with her frying pan to rescue Red accompanied by a slightly crazed axe-wielding Norwegian named Nor.  Cohorts, Oui Oui and Mimi, help the manipulative Wolf in his plans to make a meal out of Granny.  But when Red gets wind of the truth, she boldly sets out to save her Grandmother with the help of a very sleepy Sleeping Beauty backed up by the three Bears she meets along the way.  $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $50 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Ellen West

A gentle, bitter sweet comedy; romantic and touching to the heart. Carolyn has become quite distracted after losing her husband. Along with searching for lost keys, watches and life, she now searches for her future. At odds with her inner-self, the young and vivacious Carrie, she struggles with her options, none of which fit quite right. The decision has been made to go into a retirement home. But is she ready for the garbage heap? Carrie thinks not and fights to drive off to Mexico with Roy, the young security guard at her Condo. But is she really trying to recapture a lost dream of going to Mexico with her true love, Jimmy, married to the ever noxious Marsha who professes to be her friend? When Roy suggests bringing his girlfriend on the trip, Carrie comes to the realization that she truly is as old as Carolyn has tried to tell her. Now one, Carrie and Carolyn must choose the retirement home or overcome the panic of stepping out onto the balcony overlooking the city street below and the wild, blue yonder overhead. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Adrienne Dawes

Set in a cramped living room of a New York apartment, this dramatic short explores the contempt Dottie, a woman in her 60’s, has for her husband Harold’s best friend who has just died. As she celebrates his death, Dottie confronts Harold’s life-long refusal to accept the circumstances behind Dottie’s hatred of the man who raped her and the humiliation she has endured as Harold remained committed to this friend. Despite her resentment, Dottie forgave her husband long ago but still longs for his understanding and acceptance with a glimmer of hope that this time it will come. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application

by: Jack Neary

When Mikey McDougald’s lunch money is stolen from his locker, no one, especially not Judge Cynthia Chemise, would think of accusing good-looking Harlan Parmenter of ever doing such a thing. Although, of course he did. But the mock classroom trial adds humor and insight into the workings of the teenage mind and the struggles between the popular and the not-so-popular and the downright abused and bullied kids at school. Exasperated Suzanne, representing Mikey, does her best to maintain defense etiquette against a pushy defense attorney, Brandon, who harasses and intimidates his witnesses. The Bailiff has her hands full trying to keep Cynthia focused on procedure as her main interest remains flirting with the accused. But when Cynthia hands down an absurd sentence and dismisses the jury, Mikey finally gets his day in court. This fast paced comedy works equally well with High School or Middle School teens with important lessons in tolerance beneath the fun. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Robert Lehan

Adult Themes and Content

13W/ 8M
+ A Chorus of Women & A Chorus of Men

Approximate Playing Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes without Intermission

If you’ve forgotten how good it is, now is the time to mount one of the greatest plays ever written; the story of Lysistrata, who conspires to lead the women of Thebes and Sparta to sexually shun their men and seize the Parthenon all in the name of peace.  The battle between the sexes has never been more hilarious when sex becomes the weapon of war.  And considering the women are as reluctant to give up sex as the men, Lysistrata has her hands full keeping the battle lines drawn. Witty, wise and just bawdy enough to entertain even the staunchest audience, Robert Lehan’s adaptation remains true to the original literary masterpiece.   The test of a great work of art is in its ability to transcend time.  With its underlying message of the tragedy of war, from the loss of sons and husbands to the burden on the treasury, Lysistrata is as current today as it was some 2500 years ago. Lysistrata provides a great opportunity to showcase the strength and versatility of your company with a preponderance of powerful and fun roles for women as well as challenging and comedic roles for men.  $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. 

by: Dennis Bohr

MACBETH: The Play That Dare Not Speak Its Name is based on research about the historical figure of Macbeth. While it is true that Macbeth killed Duncan, he killed him in battle, not in the cold-blooded fashion that Shakespeare depicts. The play is a satiric, feminist, anti-war rendering of Shakespeare’s play: the women, who get much of the blame in the original, are given personalities and back stories while the play draws parallels with current global conflicts. Based on research in England, Ireland, Scotland and the U.S., this version draws on scholarship by historians Peter Berresford Ellis, Nick Aitchison and John Marsden, who suggest that Macbeth was a much better king than Shakespeare’s King Duncan (offering Macbeth’s reign of 17 years in contrast to Duncan’s reign of less than a year as one example). They also point out that Macbeth was not labeled an “evil usurper” until 300 years after his death. In this version, Donalbain, Duncan’s son, acts as a narrator who offers some historical perspective. To emphasize resonance with current events, characters blend contemporary and Shakespearean language. The play contains murders and swordfights, comedy and tragedy, and mixes Shakespearean language with modern slang. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: J.C. Svec

A Short Play for Four Actors

3F / 1M

Approximate Playing Time:  10 minutes

Bonnie, a young job applicant, can’t tell which nut is running Mama Marie’s Italian Foods. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  

by: Charles Carr

Did you know that Charles Dickens and Mark Twain were contemporaries? Mark Twain's A CHRISTMAS CAROL recounts the classic holiday tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, only this time it's set far from Victoria, England in the American South during the Reconstruction period following the Civil War. Immersing A Christmas Carol in southern culture provides a fresh relatable context made all the more enjoyable by the musings of America’s own literary treasure, Mark Twain. The play conveys powerful messages about love of family, faith, and redemption that will resonate with any audience member of any age. Mark Twain's A CHRISTMAS CAROL is written by multiple award-winning, nationally published author, Charles Carr (Caratti). Many of Caratti's stories, articles, and essays have been published in newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals, and textbooks, most recently in "America Now" published by Bedford/St. Martin's/Macmillan Learning. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jill Elaine Hughes

Market Up, Mark it Down!

by Jill Elaine Hughes

A Dot Com-edy 3M / 5W

+ 3 non-speaking men or women

Approximate Playing Time: 110 minutes

The French novelist Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) said “Behind every great fortune there is a crime.” Fast forward to 1995. The Internet highway opens the path to virtual wealth and the male dominated Spland & Company, LLC capital investment group is out to get its share—and they’re not about to let a little thing like integrity get in their way. But an absurd Ponzi scheme is no match for the ghost of Louie Lampadder, a gangster stockbroker murdered in the 1920’s who haunts the Spland & Company offices. When the Company’s bright young financial editor, Jenna Jansen, gets suspicious of their wrongdoings, she joins forces with research associate Annette and longtime office secretary Lucy to get even with the inept men who make their lives miserable on a daily basis. When their plot to poke a hole in the growing dot com bubble before it blows up in their faces falls short, Louie steps in with a fail-safe solution and sets the whole Spland & Company mainframe on fire. $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Lew Riley

MARRIED NOT BURIED

by Lew Riley

A Not Too Naughty Comedy

5W / 3M

Approximate Playing Time: 2 hours

This risible romp centers on sex and sensibilities, marital mix-ups, high spirits and moral values. Lew Riley’s madcap script follows a contemporary Everyman, George Wells, through his 20th year of marriage and midlife crisis. His attempts to convince his wife, Claire to join swingers Gretchen and Darrin Devereaux in some extra-marital exploits is complicated by the arrival of the Wells’ son, college freshman Todd and his new girlfriend, Joyce – who happens to be at least ten years older than him – along with Todd’s high school sweetheart, Jenny, and the Bible wielding lush, Florence, from next door. But when George finally gets the opportunity to fulfill his lusty fantasies is he really ready to jump head over heels into the sofa bed? And who are all those people hiding in the closet? What was “it” that Claire and Darrin did? And what exactly are Lustcuffs? If you’ve never played a game of strip trivia, you’ll definitely want to play “Married Not Buried” on your stage! It’s naughty without going too far just like the Wells when their fidelity is put to the test. $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Lauren Johnson

MASQUE

by Lauren Johnson

A Drama Mixing Mime, Movement & Realism

3W/ 4M + Optional Extras (M/F)

Approximate Playing Time: 100 minutes

Paul Girard, a highly revered professor of mime and movement loves his wife, Colette, but he is willing to die for his prodigy Elizabeth. His passion for Elizabeth drives his fantasies of dueling and swashbuckling those who stand in the way of his happiness, including her husband David. Devoted Colette, who Paul is ready to leave for Elizabeth, dotes on her garden, oblivious to the fungus destroying her marriage; Paul’s friend and colleague, Samuel Jaffe, is unable to head off the impending doom. Johnson’s use of mime and movement throughout the play brings theatricality and a multi-dimensional quality to this familiar story. As she explains, “Mime itself is a heightened form of theatre, anything but realistic. This heightened form is meant to collide with the realistic situation of the play.” The result is a beautiful tragedy that will deeply move and captivate your audiences. $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Bob May

by: Nathan J. DiPerri

A Comedic Romance in One Act

by Nathan J. DiPerri

7F / 5M / 1 Either + Extras

Approximate Playing Time:  50 Minutes

In this charming and witty 1960s comedy, an unemployed writer, William, arrives at a newspaper office for a job interview only to find himself surrounded by an odd collection of hostile characters.  Each character is bent on attacking Mr. Anderson, the Editor of the paper, with personal or professional grievances and the only thing between the throngs and Anderson is Miss Wallace, who sits behind the reception desk. Miss Wallace and William decidedly choose the wrong time to fall in love as the lobby is stormed by the corrupt Mayor and his cronies, a mob of protestors, and all three of Anderson’s wives – or specifically – his current, ex, and soon-to-be wives. But, no matter how outrageously loud and crazy the outer office becomes, the Editor’s inner office remains strangely still and silent.  $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  

by: R.J. Ryland

A Non-Royalty Collection of 50 Great Monologues for Audition, Competition, Training and Performance

Monologues from under 30 seconds to 2 minutes

Wow the crowd with these 50 great monologues playable by boys or girls. From 30 second pieces to over two minutes, each monologue captures a moment in a child's life, a reflection from a child's perspective, a fresh look at a timeless experience or an honest expression of relationships with family, friends, teachers and pets. Some monologues make you chuckle, some bring a tear and all hit square on the mark. With so many to choose, you'll find the perfect piece for your audition or competition. And with such a wide range of playing time and content, you'll find the right monologue for the right kid for all your training needs. Playwright R.J. Ryland, founder of Arts for Kids, ETC, a theatre arts training program for youth, brings 20 years experience working with children to this outstanding collection which lists 25 pieces for elementary age kids and 25 for pre-teen/early teen but with many suitable for either.  $15 Single-Use Copyright Fee.

by: Chloe Bolan

An Interactive Fairy Tale with Folk Songs

2 M / 2 F + 1 Musician

Playing time: Approximately 1 Hour

Perfect for kids to play; even more fun for adults to play for kids. Whichever the case, this humorous tale of a French pig who has an amazing talent for sniffing out truffles will tickle the hearts of your young audiences. With his unique bowtie markings on his neck, Monsieur Kiki fears he’ll stand out among the other pigs and find his way all too soon to the dinner table. Monique, the farmer’s daughter, discovers his unique truffle-hunting talent which makes money at the market, and gives him his own sleeping spot at the foot of her bed. When Monique meets a handsome young man outside the marketplace and is invited to a dance, Kiki ventures off alone to find one last truffle to sell at market so that Monique can buy a new pair of shoes. All the while Kiki is stalked by a trickster who craves roast pig. Kiki must learn the hard lesson that pigs are never, ever to eat a truffle, no matter how temptingly scrumptious. Kids will love the fun songs throughout the play sung to well-known folk tunes like “A-Hunting We Will Go” and “Muffin Man.” This delightful play with its clever moral is easily staged, requiring few props or costumes but providing lots of fun interaction. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Chloe Bolan

Ready to perform Chloe Bolan’s Monsieur Kiki? Then you will want to purchase this collection of six activity sheets to supplement your production. The sheets provide opportunities for your young audiences to get to know the characters, color their favorites and avoid the dead ends as they connect the paths from André to Monique and from Kiki to the truffle. Be sure to fill in “0” performances when completing the purchase application and check “non-royalty” which will allow you to download all six sheets for one low price and make as many copies as needed for your production. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee only.

by: Beth Dotson Brown

Motherhood Unbidden

by Beth Dotson Brown

3W / 1M

Approximate Playing Time: 10 minutes

Motherhood Unbidden brings two woman together, both facing the uncertainty of motherhood. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Beth Dotson Brown

A Collection of Three Short Dramas

3M / 6W (2-4 actors each play)

Approximate Playing Time:  45 minutes total

Perfect for performance or scenework, this collection offers an intimate portrayal of motherhood from three poignant places; A mother struggling with the loss of her daughter, A step-mom struggling for her position in her new family, and a woman struggling to accept a motherless life.  Blood on the Highway is set on a lonely stretch of highway where a mother scrubs the blood stain off the road where her daughter was killed by a drunk driver.  Motherhood Unbidden brings two woman together, both facing the uncertainty of motherhood.  The Stranger on the Porch is a testament to the fact that you can sell someone anything if you dress it up to look like something they want. Blood on the Highway first appeared in shortstory form broadcast over the BBC on Public Radio International.  The three plays are the work of author, Beth Dotson.   $15 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $30 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. 

by: Floyd Stephen Alexander

A Mexican father and his daughter are at odds as they prepare to move to America in pursuit of the American dream. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Gordon C. Bennett

1925; Detroit, Michigan. Sweet, a Negro migrant from Florida seeking a better life in the North, became a medical doctor, married Gladys Atkinson from a middle-class black family, and ultimately bought a “dream house” in a white neighborhood in a city rife with members of the KKK. Over two days and nights a mob gathered, screamed racist insults and threw stones, attempting to evict them. In the ensuing pandemonium Ossian’s brother Henry fired shots from an upstairs window, killing one white man and wounding another. All were arrested and charged with murder. The bold defense of the Sweets by the renowned defense attorney Clarence Darrow over two trials marks one of the most courageous and pivotal moments in the long struggle of African Americans to secure their civil rights. By definition, “My Name is Ossian Sweet” is a work of fiction, yet an epic docu-drama based on well-researched historical events and providing insights into Ossian’s childhood, family traditions and the life experiences that shaped his world. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Robert L. Kinast

Vietnam War refugees, Kim and Tran, have been operating a nail salon in the U.S. for twenty-five years. Having worked long hours contending with demeaning customers while making great personal sacrifices, they now face a double setback; the rent for their salon space is increasing dramatically and may force them out of business while their American-born daughter intends to join the Marines rather than go to college for which her parents have worked and saved for all her life. Kim and Tran’s daily strife, punctuated by flashbacks of their escape from Vietnam, are juxtaposed throughout the play to a stand-up comedian’s caricature of Vietnamese nail technicians, leaving the audience to decide whether to laugh or protest as Kim and Tran struggle to hold on to their nail business as well as their daughter’s affection. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Allison Fradkin

During World War II, it was a woman's patriotic prerogative to embrace a man's job. The War enabled women to experience a change of pace and, for members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, a change of base. Josephine and Penny, members of the South Bend Blue Sox team, are in the backyard of their hosts’ home, rehearsing a colossally campy—and alarmingly astute—skit lampooning the League’s fervent focus on femininity. But when Josephine and Penny develop a war bond of their own, it's hardly the kind the government—let alone the League—had in mind. Will the gals take a crack at a romance that, like a baseball, won't be seamless? Or will they take the base path of least resistance and prioritize the game over the dame? $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Rebecca Ryland

A Collection of Three Contemporary Short Comedies

4M / 9W (3-6 actors each play)

Approximate Playing Time:   55 minutes total

Nominated for the Samuel French New Play Festival, The Interview premiered at the Creative Place Theatre off-Broadway in New York along with the third work in this collection, A Bird is Not a Pet.  The Interview is a seemingly simple 10 minute piece that hits home with its humorously dark message about the door to success.  In The Man in the Can, a young man sitting in a trash can in Central Park attracts a Bag Lady who mistakes him for her friend, Fred.   A Bird is Not a Pet, (A Tragic Act of Separation or A Comic Act of Desperation) takes an absurdly funny look at a confrontation between a woman who wants to separate her trash so that men will have something to die for and the totalitarian bureaucracy of her Condo Association.  This deceptively funny collection creates an interesting evening at the theatre with its keen perceptions on the state of society.  $15 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $30 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. 

by: Rebecca Ryland

Carrie and her husband, John, have just appeared as contestants on the first part of a reality TV show titled “Off with Y’er Head!” where each contestant presents grievances about the other before the Queen’s Court. The Court determines a winner.  The winner receives $10 million and the loser’s head is lopped off by the Queen of Hearts herself?that is, unless the loser can convince the winner to forgo the prize money and commute the sentence.  Carrie has just won her case and John has ten minutes to convince her to save his head. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $15 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Christopher Miller

Based on the Folktale by the Brothers Grimm

11 Characters (Less if doubled)

Playing time:  Approximately 1 Hour

Old Sultan the farm dog has grown so old that his teeth have fallen out and he can no longer frighten away Wolf who threatens the sheep and other defenseless animals on the farm.  The animals chide and berate him and distrust his ability to defend them and Farmer Dan plans to shoot him despite his many years of faithful service.  In an effort to regain respect, Old Sultan conspires with Wolf who professes that he will attack the Farmer’s baby only to let himself be chased away by Old Sultan to make a hero of him. But when Old Sultan finds out he has been duped by Wolf and his cohort Boar who only use the ploy to get a sheep as a reward, Old Sultan must outsmart the conniving duo with the help of the most unlikely comrade of all, the Three-legged Cat. Christopher Miller cleverly adds a number of delightful and interesting characters to his story and a level of humor that is sure to entertain young audiences. ”$20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  

by: Lynn Snyder

We all remember where we were when John Lennon died. Well, at least those of us alive at the time. Deadheads can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing when Jerry Garcia took his last breath. If your heart was in the 60’s then a part of you is a Deadhead whether you admit it or not. For Dorianne and her partner Andy, along with their housemates Kate and Saul, “life” and “Deadhead” are synonymous at any age. They have adopted a way of life reflective of the lyrics in their favorite music and their own air-band, The Deadheads, is a living tribute to The Grateful Dead. But when Andy, the only real musician in the band, suffers a debilitating stroke, can a visit from Jerry himself shock the life back into him? Not if he’s dead. So, what can Dorianne, Kate, and Saul do to help their very best friend? Let’s just say that Dorianne has no intention of leaving him to rot in a nursing home. $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Ruth Tyndall Baker

Is Margaret crazy or does she really see her deceased husband, Phillip when her daughter Pauline and Pauline’s soon-to-be fiancé, David, catch her talking into thin air? And what about Phillip’s best friend, Roy? He seems to enjoy hanging around if only to torture Phillip about losing a prize bluegill fishing contest years before. Pauline, a strong-willed businesswoman, won’t be home for Christmas. It’s the first time since both Phillip and son, Jerry, have been gone. Margaret struggles with a secret that has torn her apart since Jerry’s tragic accident on Bethel Road. On top of that, Sandra and Pauline seem to have taken over all the decision-making in the house, from moving Phillip’s rocking chair to another room and replacing it with an electric lift chair to remodeling the bathroom, tearing out her beloved tub and installing a walk-in shower. Add Sandra insisting she use a walker and practically shoving tea down her throat when all she really wants is coffee…black!... and Margaret is ready to blow her top. But with love and understanding, and Phillip’s compassion and forgiveness, Margaret is able to find peace and comfort in time to share her personal re-telling of the classic Christmas story reminiscent of her childhood days.

by: Charlotte Nixon

There are two sides to every story and it’s about time the Evil Queen got to tell her own version of the tale! One Bad Apple: The Queen, Snow White, and the Evil Red Delicious is a new twist on the classic fairy tale. In this hilarious, witty and over the top comedy we find out the real reason why the Evil Queen has such a hate on for Snow and her little woodland friends. This play which works great for kids, teens and an adult/kids cast has it all: mistaken identify, slap-stick pranks, heroic deeds, and of course a sprinkle of inner rage. One Bad Apple will have you wondering: Is beauty worth all that? $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jason Haskins

Navigating the tricky waters of dating is not without its risks. Adam, enjoying an ordinary night out with his friends at a bar sees Jackie, a woman he had met several years earlier at a party. Adam had always regretted not getting her number and drums up the courage to approach her on the pretense of winning a bet with his buddies. Jackie does not recognize Adam and her jaded feelings about love seem to fuel her intent to repel his efforts to the point of abject humiliation. And yet he persists and his efforts to make a lasting second impression takes foot and the two begin to connect as if they’ve been intimate for years—until Jackie’s friend, Shanna, shows up and places a costume bridal veil on her head. Shanna drags a reluctant Jackie back to her bachelorette party while Adam is left holding Jackie’s number scribbled on a paper napkin. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Mark Rigney

Six pairs of high school students take to the putt-putt golf course on a warm, midsummer night. But with Shakespeare’s Puck and Ariel presiding as the ambient local statuary, nothing goes as planned. Each pair of students becomes mixed up, reuniting only at the eighteenth hole. Clara turns par into a game of love with her boyfriend, Nick, who is unaware that Clara is terminally ill. Along the way we meet Stavros, the pseudo Russian foreign exchange student with five secrets, none of which includes that he can tell fortunes just by holding your hand. Throw in some questionable photos involving Candace, who falls in love with any boy she meets, and her best friend Bethany, who discovers that Stavros is stalking her because he has seen their furture together as husband and wife.  Add in Ben, afraid of his identity, who photographs Clara so that he can remember to get off the couch and do something important with his life, plus a set of potent magical powders courtesy of Puck and Ariel, and the result is hilarious chaos over 18 holes.

by: Jim Inman

Elements of this story of love, hate, betrayal, guilt, revenge and retribution suggest a Jacobean Tragedy, but the play is, in fact, a contemporary dark comedy—very dark . . .

On the day of his 50^th High School Class Reunion [An event he has no earthly intention of attending] successful ghost writer Jonathan Blake receives from across the country a Reunion Directory.  He has long since changed his name, his address, his life style, and himself to the extent that no one from those long-ago days of young love, abundant sex, excessive infatuation and occasional fulfillment could possibly know how to find him. Yet someone has and soon he is surrounded by women all of whom evoke memories of his callow past; women who intend to destroy him for his youthful indiscretions, and will stop at nothing to satisfy their obsessive resolve. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. 

by: Paul J. DiLella

It’s final dress before the opening of MINDCON and the actor playing Irene Covey is missing. Oddly enough, Detective Rene Dubois shows up at the theatre to investigate; a coincidence or a plan? One of Irene's red dancing shoes is found; a clue or a signature? That Detective Dubois asks the right questions incriminates everyone in the cast; shrewd intuition or inside information? A death. Another detective appears; a sham or a shamus? Screams and a strangulation follow. The other red shoe is discovered. Interrogations start over; lives in limbo or déjà vu? Such questions are part of the puzzle in this play within-a-play. As in Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author, the characters in MINDCON believe they are real and act accordingly to save themselves when the playwright who created them would rather kill them off than see his play fail to open. “One Red Shoe” explores the paradoxes of reality and illusion, of free will and fate, of linear and circular time, of art in life and life in art with mind-boggling humor. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Edward J. Walsh

When Hiram (Sunny), a young African-American teen steps across the line and onto a “white” inner-city neighborhood basketball court, no one would have expected he could overcome the odds to form a strong bond with high school basketball star Eddie Shinski (Shins). Their friendship doesn’t sit well with Shins’ best friend, Tony, who feels threatened and left out as the two teens challenge one another to become better players before both Shins and Sunny head off to college with full rides.  Tony has talent, too, but gets increasingly sucked into a shady life through his brother, Sal, who is working his way up in the Union hall.  Nobody liked the black players shooting hoops with the white boys, especially not Sal.  He "friggin'" hated it. When Tony gets attacked and almost loses use of his arm, Sal sets him packing with a gun to protect himself with terrible consequences that forever impact the respective lifetimes of all three teens. Years later, Hiram, whose mental capacity has deteriorated, witnesses an execution on the same, now deserted basketball court where he played Shins. An award is posted for any witnesses and Hiram is about to meet up with an adult Tony and Sal’s hit-man, Yanks. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. 

by: Rusty Harding

It’s 2:30 in the morning and two-year-old Bobby is missing from his crib! His young mother, Marcie is beside herself. Bingo, the family dog, is sleeping in the crib, but where is Bobby? Did Bingo eat the baby? Not likely, reasons Bobby’s father, Don. After all Bingo is a Chihuahua. And Marcie’s frantic cries that he drowned in the pool might make sense if they had one. Marcie is sure karma is at play. She wished Bobby away just a few days before while painting over stains on the wall where he had smeared poop from his diaper. Anyone who has ever been a parent will chuckle with compassion as Marcie and Don discover the pain ? and panic ? of parenthood. And those who haven’t been there yet will find themselves thinking twice before rushing in. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Dan Weatherer

This finalist in the 2017 Blackshaw Showcase Writing Competition explores the finer points of parenting in the modern age. While waiting outside a kindergarten classroom for their first parent/teacher conference, interactions among a single mom on public assistance, a warehouse worker dad and an upscale couple reveal interesting differences between kids and kids, parents and their children and social and economic classes. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Lynn-Steven Johanson

Have you ever wondered who else sits on your favorite park bench and what stories they have to tell? Past Present Tense gives you the opportunity to find out as four plays unfold at the same place in a small Midwestern city. First “Aging Grace” pits two sisters with a strained past on often opposite sides of the age-old question, when is it time to send an aging parent to a nursing home? In the comedy “Buford and Leroy”, two down-home boys prove that friendship is thicker than motor oil when one has to bow out on a monster truck show and is too embarrassed to say why. In “Joanna on My Mind,” Pearl questions a familiar-looking man sitting on the opposite end of the bench only to find out it is Bill, her high school sweetheart. Bill says he is moving back to his hometown and hopes to rekindle their relationship only to learn that Pearl gave birth to his daughter 40 years earlier and gave her up for adoption. The last to visit the park bench are retired businessman Al and a trouble teen, Stacey in the bittersweet comedy, “Shooting Pool with a Rope.” Both have taken refuge on the bench; one before facing the daughter he abandoned years ago and the other from the pain of losing his dying mother. The two discover a bond that might save them both if trust can be earned when not deserved. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Sherrie Pesta

It’s two days before Thanksgiving. The high school faculty and staff should be on break for the holiday, but Principal Narcy has called everyone in for a mandatory development day. No one is pleased. In attempts to bribe their way to freedom, characters pass in and out with food offerings. Narcy accepts each offering, only to dish up surprise plans to terminate their employment in return. Is it any wonder, then, that Principal Narcy ends up dead?? Poisoned, of course! Constance, the receptionist/secretary, Noel, the librarian, Ernest, the coach, Joy a kindergarten teacher and Mark, Dean of Academics are all suspects. Who among them may have added an extra ingredient to his or her recipe? The police think they have the killer, but are they right? A family-friendly comedy, Pencils, Paper & Poison comes complete with recipes ready to serve up an evening of fun and entertainment for your audiences. And at 45 minutes running time, Pesta’s play works great for theatre competitions as well. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $50 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Sage Golding

Golding’s exceptional adaptation closely follows the adventures written by Carlo Collodi while bringing a fresh and contemporary sense of comedy to his work. Full of laughs, adventure and heart, the story takes the audience along on Pinocchio’s journey to become a “real boy” and in that journey, learns a lot about what that actually means. Although fantastical, Pinocchio’s adventures are curiously relatable reminding audiences how easily a child can be misled while reinforcing the importance of family, the value of honesty and the saving grace of forgiveness. With a variety of roles and flexible casting, Pinocchio provides opportunity to adapt the play to fit your cast and program. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $50 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. Activity Guides for this play available under Drama Products.

by: John Morogiello

What do Missy, Carol and Deb and Blaine, Trent, and Rowan have in common? Besides a farcical day of adult play while chaos ensues in the playroom? Parenthood? Dysfunction? Sex? Tequila, Band-Aids and kitchen knives? A cry for humanity? Well, yes, but – actually − the female roles are played by the same woman and the male roles are played by the same man, all in quick change. (Unless of course the director with permission from the playwright decides otherwise.) In any case, it’s one of the freshest, most engaging contemporary plays of the year and is destined to become the 30’s-something classic of the decade. But don’t take our word for it. Says Jennifer Georgia of DC METRO THEATRE ARTS, “Play Date is a new step in theatrical evolution — a serio-comic farce. It is funny, certainly, but also rich, deep and even poignant.” “Play Date skewers pretensions, misapprehensions, and the insularity of people, but it never skewers the humans trying to find their footing and purpose,” says Mary Ann Johnson, MD THEATRE GUIDE. If you are looking for a play that will truly bring younger adult audiences through the door, this is it! It may raise an eyebrow or two from the older crowd but they’ll love it just the same. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Talya Daie and Lili Daie

Cindy (Cinderella) doesn’t care much for balls and Al (The Prince) has no interest in marriage. He’d much rather continue traveling the world experiencing new places and meeting exotic people—and so would Cindy if she ever had the chance. But, as the tale typically goes, her stepsisters and stepmother have no intention of Cindy ever aspiring to be anything other than their kitchen-maid. Al’s sympathetic father drowns his own dissatisfaction with the ills of marriage in alcohol while The Queen, appalled at the thought of some bride off the street winning the heart of her son, creates a list of suitable princesses-to-be. But word gets out that anyone can attend the ball where Al is to choose a wife. Cindy’s non-fairy Godmother, intent on furthering her own political ambition, shows up to send Cindy to the ball to squelch any chance that Al chooses a wife from among the eligible countesses. At the ball, a bored Cinderella hides from her Stepsisters in a room where, as luck would have it, Al brings his wanna-be-brides to say and do outrageous things to scare them off from marriage. From behind a curtain, Cindy hears all the hilarious goings-on and once discovered by the Prince, shares delight in his escapades. They dance, Al is smitten, she runs away, and, of course, the search for the girl who lost the tiny white shoe begins—although the Prince has second thoughts about really wanting to find her and Cindy has no intention of being found. Which leaves us to wonder, whether those two will ever get their happy ending… $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Rusty Harding, Matthew Gunther & James Prince

Annie Lipski, “dog groomer to the Hollywood stars”, has returned to her hometown. There she discovers her parents’ cherished business, “The Surf, Turf, and Liverwurst” —a combination sushi bar, feed store, and kosher deli— totally trashed. Behind the dastardly deed is “Slick” Wallace as part of a ruthless plot to take over the store for his employer; Scarbucks. To make matters worse, Annie’s parents have been killed in an accidental --or was it?-- collapse of a fertilizer bin. Annie’s only allies are her uncle Leo, a relentlessly talkative teenager named Andy, and a somewhat reclusive and totally clueless “hero” named Hank Aaron—or is it Billy Joel? Hank, a homeless former Postal carrier, hides the scars of a traumatic encounter with a horde of miniature canines who he refers to as “Them!” Can Annie escape the clutches of the evil Slick? Can Hank overcome his fear of “Them” long enough to save the day? Will Annie’s parents’ beloved business become just another frivolous font of flavored Frappuccinos? And – most importantly – does anyone even care...??? $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: J.C. Svec

POST-GAME INTERVIEW

by J.C. Svec 1W / 2M

Approximate Playing Time: 10 minutes

The comedic Post-Game Interview brings us the off-and-on camera takes of a self-centered, chauvinistic sports reporter and his bright, ambitious female producer who manages to work herself onto the air when a no-hitter turns into a World Series upset. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Eric Domuret

Adapted for Stage by
Eric Domuret
13F / 5M (Less with doubling)

Approximate Playing time: 2 Hours

Adapted from the romantic novel by Jane Austen first published in 1813, Pride and Prejudice tells the story of intelligent and strong-willed Elizabeth Bennet, her four sisters, her loving and flippant father, and her overbearing mother. Elizabeth’s mother, along with every other woman in her society, believes that every rich bachelor they meet is the rightful property of one of their daughters. When the wealthy and handsome Mr. Bingley moves into town the game is afoot. Mr. Bingley brings with him his even more wealthy and handsome friend, Mr. Darcy. In their initial meeting, Elizabeth is disgusted with Darcy’s arrogance while Darcy is complacent with her at best. Darcy and Elizabeth share a belief in the impeccable judgment of their first impressions. As it happens, oldest sister Jane and Bingley seem to have fallen in love, only to have Darcy dissuade Bingley of any possible union due to the Bennets’ lower social standing and punctuated by the ill-mannered behavior of youngest sisters, Kitty and Lydia. But Darcy cannot deny his attraction to Elizabeth and offers marriage, claiming his inability to overcome his feelings despite her social inferiority. Elizabeth rebuffs him for his abominable pride and a belief that he caused another man, Wickham, to be deprived of his fortune. Amidst the masterful maneuvering in privileged society, when 16 year old Lydia runs off with Wickham, Elizabeth and Darcy begin to discover deficiencies in themselves. This dramatic adaptation stays true to the novel’s memorable characters and themes and brings out the comedy inherit in the writing through the depiction of manners, education, marriage, and money in the British Regency period. Fans of the story will find themselves mouthing along to their favorite quotes while newcomers will be pleased with its energy and clarity and its surprising relevance to 21st Century issues.

by: Philip Vassallo

Two people in a relationship engage in a rapid-fire, circuitous conversation of unanswered questions leading to a questionable conclusion. In this two-character, ten-minute play, Angel and Ali get nowhere fast as each asks questions in response to the other’s questions. This dialogue hilariously highlights the remarkable flexibility—and ambiguity—of our language. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Greg Freier

Here comes Steve down the freeway. A typical uptight guy wearing khaki’s and a cardigan. Steve adjusts the radio to find some classical music as Brad, wearing a baseball cap, swerves and misses, honking his horn at Steve who is driving fifteen miles below the speed limit. Did Steve just flip him off? And so a battle begins: a battle of the imagination, that is. Each gets it in his mind that the other is out to get him to the absurd conclusion that Steve is going to eat Brad and Brad is planning to spear Steve. When they both take the same exit, they jump out of their cars ready to defend themselves only to discover they are both headed to the same therapist clinic and both of their mothers are therapists. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Randy Hugh Wall

Nine years ago, Jack T. Ripper “accidentally” wrote a best seller for his dissertation in creative writing. He hasn’t written a word since. Ripper has essentially gone into hiding, drinking heavily and teaching at a small community college. Over his objections, he’s been coerced by his department chair into tutoring four developmental English students during the course of a summer semester. His four remedial students turn out to be far more than Ripper expected: an angry blind student, a former exotic dancer, a home-schooled student determined to lose her virginity to Ripper, and a slacker whose dream is to become a railroad engineer. Ripper wants nothing more than to survive the next six weeks and to tutor as little as possible. Although Ripper’s purported goal is to “remediate” the students up to college-level writing, it is Ripper who ultimately finds redemption. Based on composites of Wall’s students during his tenure as a creative writing professor, Wall brings their true life dramas to the stage with exceptional humor in a work requiring minimal set and staging. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Ross Peter Nelson

Beth, who is both a gaming nerd and a political activist, sets out with her slacker boyfriend Josh to visit Hades. They hope to enlist the author of Lysistrata, the Greek poet Aristophanes, in their anti-war effort. Braving swamps, giant frogs, and the three-header hell-hound Kerberos, they find the dead poet but discover that only the living can end war. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $15 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Tom DeMuro

Though located side-by-side, the citizens of Rightyville and Leftyland have allowed some very basic differences to divide them. Beliefs as simple as their choice of dominant hand, colors they choose to wear, music they like to listen to and the food they prefer to eat, etc. have built an invisible wall between them. With the help of an unlikely courageous individual, the people of Rightyville and Leftyland begin to view their lives through a much clearer lens. Rightyville vs. Leftyland: The Hopeful Handshake inspires children of all ages – and their parents – to reflect on the urgency of their everyday choices and the value of those who step forward in hopes of creating a positive change. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $50 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Kev Salter

A farcical comedy with great characters and lots of fast-paced comings and goings. Mario and Barry live and work in a sleepy little village where nothing happens and trade is poor.  Back in the day when tourism was booming and Mama cooked like a Goddess, the little Restaurant was the envy of the community. But since Mama's passing and the decline of the village, Mario and Barry have had to employ a whole range of resourceful techniques to force the unwilling public to stop by and spend their money to keep the place alive. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $30 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Amanda Horn

A Plot Party Play for Fun or Fundraising Events

Roles for up to 30 Guests

Approximate Playing Time:  60 minutes

Throw a Plot Party Play and be the talk of the town!  At a Plot Party, each guest dresses as a character and becomes part of the plot.  As guests RSVP, they are assigned a character and provided secret information about that character, such as hidden identities, personal agendas and love interests.  The Riverboat Jeopardy is in dire straits.  This may be the last voyage unless $50,000 is raised to pay the debt and save it from bankruptcy.  And it seems half the guests onboard have $50,000; from The Loud-Mouth at the Poker Table to The Old Prospector to the notorious Low Down and Dirty Gang disguised as…well…read the Sequence of Events to get the whole story.   When you purchase Riverboat Jeopardy you’ll get the right to download and copy everything you need for an evening of entertainment starring your favorite friends or patrons in roles they’ll have a blast playing!  The download includes invitation, the Host’s Sequence of Events, Individual Character Plot Party Guides for each of your guests, a seating chart, a secret survey and the REAL ending to the story! It’s simple, it’s fun and there’s no place else that’s got it!  $75 Single-Use Copyright Fee.  No Royalties Required.

by: Gary Britson

Elder, an up-and-coming attorney, murdered a man of legend—or so the story goes. Now he lives under the supervision of his parole officer, Folter, who spills out the unfortunate tale to Pendarvis, one of Elder’s new “clients.” Elder can no longer practice law but rather has taken in a small group of homeless, unemployed ? or unemployable ? men in an attempt to help them find a modicum of success in a less-than-amiable world. And under the roof of his house, outcast souls collide head-on. “Pen” wants a job where he won’t get beaten up. Norm has given up after countless interviews which end in “Good Luck” — which he claims is the new “F-You” — and now plans to rob a bank. Krikor, who has never experienced intimacy with a woman, is writing a 1000-page romance novel set in the “mists of time”. And then there is Eliza, Elder’s soon-to-be ex-wife, who threatens their fragile existence by putting the house up for sale. When Eliza arrives in all her fury to claim dominion over the house, Elder asks Pen to hook him up with someone who might “remedy the injustice.” But Eliza is one step ahead and seduces the forlorn Krikor into a crime of passion ripped from the pages of his unpublished manuscript.

by: Dan Morra

A One Act Comedy in 4 Scenes

by Dan Morra

2W / 4M / 1 Male V.O.

Approximate Playing Time:  45 Minutes

When it comes to mid-life, there is nothing humorous about encountering a slump in the bedroom or on the ball field.  But when a husband and wife show up at the wrong counselor to address the “strike outs”, the hilarity begins.  Encouraged by his friend, Herb, to seek professional help for his bat swing, Bill quickly heads out for a last minute appointment with a trainer brushing off his wife, Martha, who wanted to talk about their “personal” issues.  Herb’s wife, Helen, drops in and mistakenly tells Martha that the appointment is with a doctor to address those issues and convinces her to join Bill for the appointment”—after all, how does sex counseling work if only half of the team shows up?  There is a doctor, in a temporary unmarked office across the hall from the trainer’s office and guess who ends up in the wrong one?  If you answered both, you’ll laugh out loud when you watch what happens behind those closed doors! $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  

by: E. Michael Lunsford

4W / 5M + Trick-or-Treaters & Extras

(Less with doubling) 

Earnest but Halloween-paranoid Derek grew up in a funeral home with kooky parents Jeremy and Formalda Hyde who, to his dismay, love working with dead bodies. His girlfriend, Prudence, whom he is intent on marrying, sees his idiosyncrasies as less than endearing qualities in a potential mate. Prudence drags a reluctant Derek to the House of Masks & Magic in search of a Halloween costume where they encounter the sinister owner and part-time killer, Nussbaum. While eager assistant, Albert, is in the back room trying to find a way to dispose of his boss’s latest victim, Nussbaum discovers who took over his old family home where he “accidentally” blew up his parents 20 years earlier. The house was sold to Jeremy and Formalda who turned it into the town’s creepiest funeral home and now delight in telling everybody about two resident ghosts who haunt the rooms. Nussbaum decides the funeral home is the perfect place to dispose of the body and wreak revenge on the Hydes whom he blames for the loss of his childhood home. The fun begins when he sends Albert to apply for the inside job of “make-up artist” at the funeral home which leads to a body in a display coffin, a desperate Derek about to witness his own execution and ghostly figures appearing in search of their son.

Selected as a semi-finalist in the annual Playwrights First contest in New York in March, 2015 · Selected as a finalist and winner by the Shawnee Original Playwright Series in May, 2015 · Selected as a winner by the WILDsound Festival in July, 2015

$20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: E. Michael Lunsford

A Halloween musical perfect for general audiences! Earnest but Halloween-paranoidDerek grew up in a funeral home with kooky parents Jeremy and Formalda Hyde who, to his dismay, love working with dead bodies. His girlfriend, Prudence, whom he is intent on marrying, sees his idiosyncrasies as less than endearing qualities in a potential mate. Prudence drags a reluctant Derek to the House of Masks & Magic in search of a Halloween costume where they encounter the sinister owner and part-time killer, Nussbaum. While eager assistant, Albert, is in the back room trying to find a way to dispose of his boss’s latest victim, Nussbaum discovers who took over his old family home where he “accidentally” blew up his parents 20 years earlier. The house was sold to Jeremy and Formalda who turned it into the town’s creepiest funeral home and now delight in telling everybody about two resident ghosts who haunt every room. Nussbaum decides the funeral home is the perfect place to dispose of the body and wreak revenge on the Hydes whom he blames for the loss of his childhood home. The fun begins when he sends Albert to apply for the inside job of “make-up artist” at the funeral home, which leads to a body in a display coffin, a desperate Derek about to witness his own execution and ghostly figures appearing in search of their son. Piano/Vocal score included with the script. Four songs from Scary, Scary Night—the Musical!were performed in October, 2012 by the New Musical Theatre of San Francisco. Four new songs from the musical were performed by Opera and Beyond in Denver in August, 2014. The Musical was subsequently selected as a finalist at the New York Venus/Adonis Festival/Competition in August, 2014 and as a semi-finalist in Caryl Crane Youth Theatre’s 2015 Ronald M. Ruble New Play Festival in March, 2015. $30 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $80 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. Accompaniment CD available. To Order CD: Email playsnow@heartlandplays.com

by: Becky Cummings

Lou Anne, a woman of a certain age who works in the café of a big box store, hides out in her car during her break in an attempt to smoke and listen to music in peace. Her solitude is interrupted by Doug on his Segway patrolling the parking lot. A young diligent man, Doug takes his job as a security guard at the store very, very seriously. And there is no smoking allowed by employees on the premises—not even in the parking lot. Smoking, cursing, a 90 year old mother with dementia, her cat, and a missing taser all add to the fun and to the discovery that there is more to Lou Anne and Doug than either ever knew. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: A.D. Hasselbring

A Cleansing Romantic Office-Place Comedy

3W / 4M

Playing Time:  Approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes

In the big-time world of small-time soap manufacturing and sales, two employees seek self-cleansing and find a bubbling love that is matched only by their boss’s fervor for the product they market. When a corporate hatchet man descends upon them, the entire office is put on edge and no one’s job is safe.  Boss Mac mistakes copy repairman, Jack for the big wig and locks him in the copy room just as the real hatchet man arrives.  Needless to say, Mac is the first to go while the rest of the office competes for his job which comes complete with a substantial raise in pay and a company car.  But when Mac crawls in through a broken window to retrieve the company lead book, it’s every man (or woman) for himself until co-workers Laurie and Roberts re-discover that there is more to life than soap.  $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. 

by: Constance Humphrey Egan

Separated at Birth

By Constance Humphrey Egan

A Short Comedy

3W

Approximate Playing Time: 20 minutes

The ever-upbeat CoCo has summoned her emotionally distant sisters to her color coordinated home for a sister photo; a reluctant family tradition honoring the birthday of their not-so-favored elderly mother. The hardened but intellectual Ricki and corporate successful Bea are less than enthused by the occasion or amused by CoCo’s insistence that they dance together, and worse yet, that they dress in god-awful identical bridesmaids dresses for their photo. But with enough wine, the three discover they have more than their share of common experiences as they maneuver through middle age and ultimately, an overwhelming love of Spanx. If you haven’t been there yet, you will be, give or take twenty years! $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Melissa Scher & Michelle Lema

Introducing Eight Works by William Shakespeare Made Easy!
Up to 80 Characters that can be played by an Entire Class or 6 M / 4 F
Playing time: Approximately 55 minutes*
*Scenes may be cut as needed to fit the desired time frame

A great way to introduce the Bard to your young students. Scher and Lema have crafted a clever collection of scenes presented in everyday language that tell the stories of eight of Shakespeare’s best known plays. Two narrators weave the stories together, each play with its own cast, or with players playing multiple roles. The narrators engage the audience throughout the play— and from among the audience, actors sometimes spring to life as characters in the stories. With the flexible format, several classes could combine to present “Shakespeare for Kids!” for a school assembly, or a smaller group of older actors might band together to perform for school audiences. Whichever way, and no matter whether you perform two, five or all eight of the scenes, you’ll find you really CAN introduce Shakespeare to primary and intermediate audiences in a fun and entertaining way that better prepares them for High School. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $30 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Julie Cullings

A Hilarious Comedy in Two Acts

5 W

Approximate Playing Time:  2 hours

One of the funniest plays out there!  Five women in a diner, all with ties to the infamous “Martin Industries.”  First, Ann, the owner of the diner and former Vice President who got canned for throwing a meat and cheese tray at her cheating husband, Drew, during a company costume ball.  Then there’s Natalie, the new Senior Vice President now engaged to Ann’s ex-husband; Susie, the ditsy waitress who wants nothing more than to use her good looks to marry a Martin Industries exec and live off his company credit card; the outspoken Doris, Natalie’s mother and reluctant personal assistant who replaced Helen who was fired for her obsession with unicorns; and of course, Helen herself, who consults her magical friends for everything from love to business.   Natalie shows up at the diner for a luncheon meeting with Helen to try to trick her into quitting her new job as a florist to become her personal floral designer for the wedding.  Problem is, Natalie is terrified of unicorns and has a few secrets besides.  Between over-sized glasses, unicorns, outlandish make-overs and loutish behavior, these five women will have your audiences roaring with laughter.   $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Charles Caratti

Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Angels brings an exciting new case to the world's greatest detective, told with faint echoes of classic holiday tales you already know and love. Holmes is in the worst slump of his career, having not only given up his consulting detective business but even questioning the purpose for his own existence − made all the more painful at Christmas time. Not even his longtime friend and partner, Dr. Watson, seems to be able to shake him out of his funk. A dark, life-or-death enigma soon unfolds perpetrated by none other than Holmes' age-old nemesis Professor James Moriarty himself, and leading Holmes to embark on one of the most perplexing adventures of his career − with a head-scratching who-dunnit sure to satisfy even the most dedicated Holmes fan. Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Angels is filled with humor and drama and conveys powerful messages about responsibility to family and community, redemption, and the meaning of Christmas that will resonate with every audience member.

by: Jon Jory

What’s become of Scrooge and Bob Cratchit and what can Holmes deduce from a hat left behind after a street brawl? Though anxious to avoid missing his solo in Silent Night, Holmes agrees to turn his attention for the moment to Watson. Scrooge brought the hat and a goose to Baker Street seeking Holmes assistance in finding the owner. Scrooge, it seems, jumped into defend a stranger from assailants, but seeing an officer approaching, the man dropped the hat and goose and ran off. This doesn’t seem to Holmes of any real consequence and he just wants to continue his rounds with the Carolers, but Scrooge rushes in at that moment to add more meat to the tale. It seems, while cooking the goose he discovered a blue diamond inside, which, it turns out, has been infamously stolen from the Countess of Mocar while she stayed at the Hotel Cosmopolitan. Intrigued, Holmes and Watson set out to uncover the thief who stole the diamond in time for Holmes to sing his solo, if only for the benefit of a little girl left behind by a group of carolers who didn’t like her singing.

by: Lynn-Steven Johanson

In this bittersweet comedy, two strangers, retired businessman Al and a troubled teen, Stacey find themselves sitting next to one another on a park bench outside a hospital in a small Midwestern city. Both have taken refuge on the bench; one before facing the daughter he abandoned years ago and the other from the pain of losing his dying mother. The two discover a bond that might save them both if trust can be earned when not deserved. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Ruth Pearl

Remember the gas shortage in the mid-1970’s? Arnold Schneiderman does, in fact, he and his wife, Sylvia, live it. Fifty-year-old Arnold owns a Cadillac showroom in New York City. He used to commute daily to his home in the suburbs, but due to the gas shortage, he stays in the city all week long struggling with his failing car business. Sylvia, experiencing a difficult menopause, is stuck at home without gas for her car. All week long she looks forward to Arnold’s home visits and becomes very distressed when he does not give her the attention she craves. When he arrives for Thanksgiving, Sylvia berates him for his lack of passion and insists that they see a sex therapist. They soon discover they are seeing a quack forcing them to solve their own problems. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jon Jory

by: J.C. Svec

Bite into this comic collection of eight short scenes making up a delectable evening of entertainment. Each scene is set in a simple environment where human quirks and foibles take their tolls on daily life and where food plays at best a supporting role. Throughout the evening, we revisit Derek who has serious commitment issues, manifested in his inability to make a decision about virtually everything, including what dinner choice to make for a friend’s wedding. And then there is Manny who suffers from “Buffet Anxiety Disorder” and poor Bonnie who can’t tell which nut is running Mama Marie’s Italian Foods. Your audiences will join loveable Jean and Joe on their quest to restore grape jelly to its proper place on the shelves of your neighborhood grocery and travel back in time to witness the jaded stories behind the Last Supper and the first Thanksgiving; all in good fun if not always in the very best of taste. Each scene plays out a short story in life pushed to the brink of absurdity where a morsel of truth will give your audiences ample food for thought. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Tommy Jamerson

One of the most beloved fairy tales of all-time gets a sassy and snappy reboot when a princess with a “heart as pure as freshly fallen snow” crosses paths with the dastardly, and spotlight-stealing Evil Queen. The Good Queen is dead - and she’s not all that happy about that part of the tale - and the King has fallen under the spell of a truly mean sorceress who sends her huntsman to kill Snow when the mirror says Snow is the fairest of all. In the meantime, the Prince meets Snow in the woods and she isn’t all that thrilled about his macho come on. Fortunately he eventually “gets it” and there are hints of a happy ending until Snow gets lost in the dark, escapes the Huntsman and stumbles onto the cottage of the Seven Dwarfs. Now it is up to Snow and her gang of vertically-challenged besties to help set things right but we all know what happens when The Evil Queen shows up disguised as an old woman peddling a poison apple. Or do we? Featuring endless possibilities for doubling (and even tripling), Snow White & The Queen of Mean, is a rib-tickling goodtime that not only pays homage to the Brothers Grimm folktale, but teaches a lesson or two of forgiveness, friendship, and feminism. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $50 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Ronan Holiday

A job interview with an eccentric applicant goes wrong when they inadvertently say “love you” when heading out the door. The unexpected gaff leads them both to question their beliefs about personal relationships and what it means to really connect with others. Or it could just be that aliens have infiltrated the Earth’s water system. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Craig Kenworthy

So Much for Seatbelts

by Craig Kenworthy

1W / 2M

Approximate Playing Time: 10 minutes

So Much for Seatbelts forces two young people to choose who lives or dies in a trapped car when there is only enough air for one to survive. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Steve Palmer

A contrarian's take on the dramatic and tragic King Lear. Just suppose that one morning, before the 5th Act when everything comes crashing down, Lear greets the day in a sunny, cheerful disposition while his Fool wakes cranky and sarcastic.  Seems Lear has opted to escape to the Heath with his Fool only to greet the day in the discomfort of heavy garments, still damp from last night's rain. When Lear suggests they strip away their wet accoutrements and scamper briefly about in the nude, his Fool (or at best, now, his traveling companion) reminds him their pursuers will be hot on their trail and if caught, it will be a coin toss which they will hang first – or behead, or skewer, or draw and quarter. But alas, could it be King Lear with a happy ending? $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Chantal Marie

Isolated from humans for three months because of illness, Sara invites her best friend, Charles, to drop by for a visit. She and Charles share a goofy love for the movie sound effect that comes from scratching a needle on a record. When Charles arrives with a friend, Enrique, who Sara has never met, the anxiety is too great to bear. She calls “Sound Effect” but Charles refuses to leave. That is, until he finds out Sara has no beer and intends to kick him out. Sara returns to staring at her best and only friend in quarantine−her apartment ceiling. Is she doomed to live life alone forever? Maybe not. Seems Charles isn’t the only one that can create that Sound Effect! $10 Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jill Elaine Hughes

Pearl and Daisy are sisters living together in a small apartment. They have hated one another since childhood but have never quite been able to sever their ties with one another - even after 40 years. Pearl has been wheelchair-bound since she was a teenager and an argument over a can of sour plums leads to the truth behind the “accident” that left her paralyzed.

by: Craig Kenworthy

Statistically Speaking

by Craig Kenworthy

2W / 1 Male Teen

Approximate Playing Time: 10 minutes

Years after a baby is left with mental disabilities as the result of a decision made during childbirth, the attending doctor attempts to clear her conscious and make amends with both the mother and her now teen-age son. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Nancy Machlis Rechtman

Nancy Rechtman has done it again with this delightful adaptation of the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale, “Rumpelstiltskin”. As in the original story, a braggart father’s wild claim that his beautiful daughter can turn straw into gold finds its way back to the king who orders the young woman to the palace. The king displays a slightly modern tone as he retires to his hot tub while Princess tackles the task of turning mounds of straw into gold. That’s not “the” princess; that’s “Princess” — aptly named by her mother which will cause chuckles when Princess becomes Queen and her baby girl is named “Queenie”. Rumpelstiltskin has been shortened to “Stiltz” reflective of his ever decreasing stature and when he mysteriously appears and offers to magically transform the straw into gold, Princess agrees ultimately to give him her first born. The image of Stiltz dancing on stilts when his name is discovered is sure to garner smiles from your young audiences. Stiltz is perfect for performing by older youth or adults for children or by an all youth cast and is an excellent fit for both community and educational theatre. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Robert R. Lehan

 STONESKIPPERS

by Robert R. Lehan

1M / 1W

Approximate Playing Time: 20 Minutes

STONESKIPPERS is a quirky yet alarming story of a man longing to become the Stoneskipping Champion of the World and the anguish of a starving homeless woman living on the beach where he practices. The conflict between real need and trivial pursuit reaches a climatic ending with only one getting his/her wish. Robert R. Lehan, who brings a lifetime of experience in theatre to his work, notes that STONESKIPPERS is an anatomy of revolution fostered by the conflict between the “haves” and the “have-nots” and warns “there will be shots fired $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Eric Thomas

Jackie approaches Earl at the bus stop. Seems Jackie’s wallet was stolen but Earl doesn’t buy the story. So rather than giving money or saying he can’t help, he engages Jackie in conversation. The conversation turns into a debate from their unique social perspectives challenging the motivations of each person.

by: Greg Freier

Emily Hedges comes home to her studio apartment to discover a stranger sitting on her couch. Quite calm an assured, the stranger introduces himself as Seth Weckstein, a detective who lives in a building across the way. Seems Seth has had an eye on Emily for some time—mostly through binoculars. Emily’s not sure if she should scream, call the cops or shoot him in the eye with pepper spray. She’s convinced he’s crazy when he produces a search warrant which states the cause as “Wanting to meet the beautiful woman across the street from me that’s on the same floor.” But despite her warnings to get out, Seth seems more than content to stay put until his claim that it will take an “act of God” to get him to leave prompts Emily to take action. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Beth Dotson Brown

STRANGER ON THE PORCH

by Beth Dotson Brown

2W / 1M

Approximate Playing Time: 10 minutes

The Stranger on the Porch is a testament to the fact that you can sell someone anything if you dress it up to look like something they want. Childless Abby embraces Emma when she shows up on her front porch claiming to be her husband, Keith’s daughter. But is she? $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Nikki Harmon

1W / 1M

Approximate Playing Time:  10 minutes

Over the years, JuJu, a bank officer, lost something and she wants it back.  She drags her reluctant husband to a Hippy reunion – a Revitalization Happening – to try and find it.  Frank does not seem to have the same recollection of those Haight Ashbury days in San Francisco but finds his own way to prove to her he loves her and is still the same man—just in a different body. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  

by: Gordon C. Bennett and Dana A. Priest

In this new version of Moliere's classic in rhymed verse like the original, the essential theme and characters are retained: Tartuffe the hypocrite; Elmire the object of Tartuffe's affections; Orgon the dupe; Cleante, Moliere's raisonneur; Dorine the feisty maid; and Mariane and Valere, the quarreling lovers who get married, finally, despite Orgon's objections. In line with the times and context, Bennett and Priest have added fresh values: Young Damis is a percussionist seeking a career with a jazz band; his sister Mariane, rather shy and demure in the original, now becomes a flapper in the Age of Jazz; and Orgon is a vintner troubled by Prohibition which provides Tartuffe an added motive for betraying his host: he not only wants Orgon's home and wife, but his vineyards. It's touch and go again, but the demise of Tartuffe unfolds in a most surprising fashion. All ends well, as in Moliere's original, but the climax and denouement seem far more plausible – and hilarious – in this version. Although the suggestion for a drum set onstage and Damis as a some-time percussionist adds “pizzazz” to the show, it is not required for a successful production. $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Rebecca Ryland

A Non-Royalty Collection of Short Comedies and Dramas for Scene Study and Workshop

Performance Rights Reserved by Playwrights

Various Cast Sizes from 2 to 5

Plays range from 10-20 minutes each

Ten plays by ten of Heartland Plays, Inc.’s finest playwrights.  This brand new collection of highly diverse works will challenge actors at every level.  The collection includes: The Throne, a comedy by Verna Safran; Fall Out, a drama by Sean David Bennett; Crisis Hotline, a comedy by Dan Borengasser; Bottles, a drama by Donald Dewey; High Thin Cirrus, a drama by Michael Downend; Hot and Cold, A comedy by Rebecca Ryland; A Lovely Moon, A comedy by Evan Guilford-Blake; Some Just Have It, A comedy by George A. Freek; Play Nice, a comedy by Julie Cullings; and Elvis Lives!, a comedy by Paul Tumilty.  TEN Short Plays by TEN Top Playwrights is made available by Heartland Plays, Inc. for use by individuals and groups for workshop and scene study or other training purposes only. Authors and Publisher encourage requests to perform the plays. Each Author has retained the right to grant such performance rights, without whose permission in writing no performance may be given.  Amateur and Stock performance rights may be requested by contacting playsnow@heartlandplays.com. $10 Single-Use Copyright Fee.

by: Donald Dewey

A young mother, Cindy, on the back porch of her home somewhere in the Midwest, unwinding from an apparently stressful day. She is lost in thought when her husband, Glen, quietly joins her after finally getting their 2-year-old son to sleep. Cindy asks Glen if he remembers a movie where a Father throws his child out a 4th story window. He is aghast at the thought and finds it difficult to let go, even after Cindy says it was a joke. He tries to connect with her and help her find the value in their everyday life. He exits quietly so as not to wake the sleeping baby, but in Cindy’s mind a monster lingers close by. Resigned, she exits inside to join her husband waiting for her in their bedroom. The end of another normal day. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Everett Robert

So, you think you know what Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn were up to back when they were supposed to be painting Aunt Polly’s fence? Well, think again. Becky Thatcher clues us in on the real story. Everett Robert skillfully mixes the events as told by Mark Twain with scenes depicting what Becky Thatcher claims really happened— all in great fun and with charming humor. The playing of the traditional scenes provides a great opportunity to relive your favorite moments from “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” as retold by Mark Twain while experiencing something fresh from the imagination of one of our best new children’s authors, Everett Robert. And you’ll never guess how Becky Thatcher came to know so much! $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Fred Perry

THE ASCENSION OF TWYLA POTTS

A Comedy by Fred Perry

7W / 5M + Offstage Voices

Approximate Playing Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

What do you do when your mother’s up a tree? Twyla Potts knows—you call the fire department. After all, she was in the same predicament exactly one year before when her mother, Ariel, took to the branches on her wedding anniversary to her late husband, Howard. But when the fire captain arrives without a ladder and claims to be an invited guest, Twyla is beside herself. Actually, she is normally beside herself; overly demanding, acutely stressed, and chronically unhappy. Her brother, Toby, doesn’t seem the least bit concerned. Her son, Tommy has no problem sending bottles of beer up to Grandma. And worst of all is Ellie, Ariel’s older sister who lives with one foot in la-la land by Twyla’s standards. Everyone around her seems to be preparing for some special event and the people and birds keep coming despite Twyla’s commands otherwise. There is a revelation ahead that will transcend the laughter with a gentle reminder that one seldom knows the story of the old lady down the street, even when that old lady is your own mother. Whether you believe in the mysteries of the after-life or just enjoy the possibility of mystical wonders, you will love this funny and overwhelmingly touching story. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Susan Surman

Set in the Fortune of War Pub in the rough Rocks area of Sydney in the late 1890’s, the play opens the night before Young Jiffo’s fight for the Australian Featherweight Championship. Under the training and mentoring of the former bare-knuckle champ, Tom Riley, he’s made the journey to the professional ring from the docks but struggles with inner demons; letting go of his Push gang activities, reckless boozing, and womanizing. Prostitute Flo Berry is in love with Jiffo and wants his rise to be her rise out of her no-hope existence surprising everyone with her own transformation. Nelson, Jiffo’s foster brother and bitter rival for top position in the gang, openly turns on Jiffo. More than a boxing story, it is about hope, change, and the power of love. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. 

by: Pat Pattan

Susan's Friday night has been a bust. Being stuck at home making calls for Shirmers credit cards is bad enough, but she hasn’t made a single sale. Determined to get at least one commitment, she dials D.S. Silva, expecting a woman to pick up. Instead she gets Dan, who puts her on hold before she can blurt out the first line of her pitch. A loud bang gets her attention. Dan returns to explain the crash, and why rice is flowing over his stove like lava. Susan's witty remarks help defuse the crisis. He keeps her on the line with engaging tidbits about himself. She chimes in with some of her own, still weakly attempting to inject her sales pitch whenever she can until she finally gets a commitment, but not the one she expected. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Craig Kenworthy

The Blue Book Value of Small Things

by Craig Kenworthy

2M / 1F

Approximate Playing Time: 100 minutes

A used car salesman whose son was killed in active duty attempts to enlist in the army. When he is rejected by the recruiter due to his age he desperately attempts to dissuade a head-strong teen-age girl from signing-up. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jim Curran

Remember the days of the old family farm and the sweet smell of Granddad’s pipe?  This gently humorous play takes us back in time to the mid-1940’s.  When twelve-year-old Tommy asks his Granddad to tell the story of the burning of the old house, they are interrupted by an unexpected visit from Cousin Hannah—and what a character she turns out to be!  Out on an afternoon ride to the country with her husband Albert, Hannah makes it perfectly clear she isn’t stopping by to suggest Uncle Ed give her daughter, Mildred, a graduation present. And she definitely isn’t hinting that Mildred stay with Uncle Ed and keep Tommy company so she can attend a nearby college.  And is she really accusing Tommy’s mother, Emily of stealing her dead mother’s rosary beads? Cousin Hannahs are as much a part of family life today as in the old days and your audiences will love watching her as she vainly attempts to manipulate the rest of the family. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: J.C. Svec

THE CONCRETE WALL

by J.C. Svec

1W / 1M

Approximate Playing Time: 15 minutes

This poignant drama touches our hearts as a young woman tries to move on four years after her baseball-loving brother is killed during the Vietnam War. This universal tale dramatically shares the memories between brother and sister and explores the unbearable loneliness one feels at the loss of a loved one despite what war or period of time in history. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $15 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Greg Freier

New Yorkers Anthony and Anna Maria Martello kneel at a pew in the church where a funeral service is set to begin. The deceased, a magician by the name of Semprini the Great wreaked his share of havoc on Anthony in the past, irritating his pants off with a constant barrage of tricks. And the tricks show no sign of ceasing. Little white bunnies continue to pop up on Anthony’s lap and stream after stream of hankies flow from his pocket. Penguins in bow ties waddle down the aisle to Anna Maria’s delight but push Anthony further over the edge. When two magicians appear to saw the coffin in half, Anthony vows to kill Semprini even if he is dead—until Semprini levitates from his coffin for his final curtain call. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jill Elaine Hughes

When is it time to panic? When everything looks almost the same, but isn’t? Once the devil is in the details, it is probably too late as Larry and Sheila discover in this absurd comedy in which a veteran hit man and his girlfriend find themselves on the wrong end of the stick. Included in the 2004/5 edition of Best American Short Plays, “The Devil is in the Details” reminds us that when we choose to ignore the Decalogue Commandment “Thou Shalt Not Kill” there tends to be serious consequences. What is hell to one man (or woman) may not be as another sees it, but when all is said and done, once you’re there, there is no way out. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Nancy Machlis Rechtman

The Emperor’s New Threads

by Nancy Machlis Rechtman

 An Original Adaptation of the Classic Tale

10F / 7M / + Extras

Approximate Playing Time: 1 hour

Rechtman’s adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic tale will have your young audiences in stitches. With an expandable cast of fun roles, The Emperor’s New Threads works great for both community theatre and school productions and can easily be played by adults and children or an all-youth company. When the Emperor unwittingly hires thieves Gonev and Gonevet to weave him a fantastic new costume from gold thread, even the Emperor’s own children fail to see the mysterious work that, according to the sly scoundrels, only those suited for their position can see. And certainly the looms appear bare to court jester Hyster and chief advisor Sir Egged— although they will say and do anything not to let on. But the Empress fails to be fooled. And with the royal staff sworn to secrecy that there are no new threads, the Emperor is left strutting before his people clothed only in long underwear to learn firsthand an important lesson in humility. The street scene complete with a parade provides an excellent opportunity to add non-speaking roles to your production from jugglers and dancers to mimes and acrobats. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jill Elaine Hughes

Julia, a poor, depressed young woman without health insurance seeks free help under the care of Dr. Nukulye, an Anglo-Kenyan psychiatry resident seeking certification in the U.S.  This isn’t Julia’s first round in therapy, but to this point nothing seems to have worked.  Her past dysfunctional sexual relationships haunt her through the guise of an “Everyman Lover” who lives mostly in Julia’s mind.  Unfortunately, Dr. Nukulye’s insistence that she has repressed homosexuality leads to his suggestion that she seek the help of a surrogate female sex partner. What Julia doesn’t know is that Dr. Nukulye has a hidden agenda driven by his own deviant sexual fetishes that have gotten him into trouble in the professional world.  When learning the truth, a totally despondent Julia turns to the only solution she knows to end her tortured existence. $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Joseph P. Krawczyk

by: J.C. Svec

Travel back in time to the first Thanksgiving—not necessarily the one you think you know, but one that is a bit more jaded.  Seems Miles is none too keen on attending some dinner party in the middle of nowhere just to end up with a hatchet in the back of his skull.  $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $15 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  

by: Jon Jory

SUX, a definitely alternative human tears strips of paper from a newspaper as DIME, a scary girl in an old man’s suit is reading “The Great Gatsby” while SUSIE contemplates getting married and baking casseroles for dinner. Is this normal? “America is a complete unmitigated mess,” says Dime. “This being the case, it is normal to feel angry and alienated. The only thing to do when you are angry and alienated is go to college and read the Great Gatsby. Ergo, we are normal.” Dime agrees a husband is an interesting idea, but what do you do with a husband? “You would be able to study him in the wild as Jane Goodall studied chimpanzees,” says Sux. A knock on the door leads to a debate on democracy with Susie finally opening the door to discover a very large Cupid with his client Bob in tow in search of a young maiden. And it appears he has found one. $10 Copyright Fee plus $15 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Joseph Sorrentino

A head-slapping comedy centered on those traditional Italian-American values of love, family, greed and deceit. “Pop” has died and it looks like just about everyone in the family has a less-than-honorable interest in the reading of the will. There’s working class Tony, married to homemaker Mary, sister to bank security guard Pauley and washed-up lounge lizard Nicky who everyone thinks is livin’ a glamorous life with money to burn. Pauley’s gambling problem gets him in trouble with the local bookie and his plan to keep from getting butchered leads to a laundry bag full of missing loot.  Sorrentino takes his personal experience with Italian-American family-life, extracts some of the most endearing stereotypical yet wildly human aspects and layers them with exceptional character and humor. And the critics agree: The Gavones of Philadelphia is a hit:

"...a soon-to-be-classic American comedy"  --Matthew Yde, Albuquerque Journal

"...laugh-out-loud funny...may remind you of "The Sopranos".  I got hints of Goodfellas and Quentin Tarentino--minus the blood."  --Dean Yannias, Talking Broadway

"...fast-paced dialog and blocking so full of kintetic energy you'll need a score card."  --Rich Boucher, Elbow Room

$20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jane and Jim Jeffries

When the soon-to-be-reckoned-with nutritionist, Candy, shows up in Dodge City, the townsfolk, particularly the men, find themselves at a total loss for their favorite food; sugar. It’s bad enough that they didn’t even know they had an “old” tritionist, but they can’t figure out what to make of the “new” tritionist; this darn nice woman who has takin’ over Dodge with her picketing outside The Confectioner’s Shoppe and feeding their tarts to the pigs. Their only hope is to call in Doc Holliday to save the town and their “sweet tooths”. There’s a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor throughout and it may not come as too much of a surprise that even Doc can’t help but find himself a little bit sweet on Candy. But when all is said and done, there can only be one sheriff in town and so the fight is on! $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $50 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Robert L. Kinast

Gary has the perfect wife—except for one thing. She has a habit of not closing doors and drawers after she opens them. At first he takes the subtle approach, then he takes a more forceful approach by dramatically closing the doors she leaves open and finally he appeals to her concern that he might hurt himself if she doesn’t close a cabinet door. When he puts child-proof locks on everything, she interprets it as an over eager desire on his part to prepare for the children they don’t yet have. Cheryl has her own issues and tells him they must talk. She says he never puts the lids on jars or caps on pens or tops on pots or clips on chips after he’s used them. And, she says, he has become very compulsive about closing doors and drawers in the house. As they list each other’s quirks and the annoyance they cause, they realize that neither one is likely to change. They are at an impasse until Cheryl hits upon the half-way solution. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Ross Peter Nelson

Captain Sean McKimmon wakes each morning with haunting memories of his work as an interrogator at Guantanamo Bay. One day, he is startled by an apparition of Shabir, the son of a tortured prisoner, standing before him with a cup of opium tea. Shabir forces the captain to choose between acknowledging what he has long tried to suppress, or the soothing release of the drug. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $15 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Dan Weatherer

Two highwaymen working by lantern dig to uncover the coffin of an associate. Albert, a scruffy older man without conscious, appears impatient and agitated as Jim, a naïve young man new to the world of crime, does most of the work. Jim questions Albert as to why he killed an innocent woman during the commitment of their crime. But as Jim is about to discover, Albert leaves no witnesses behind. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Mike Willis

You know the type; pretty, popular, impeccably in-style, most-likely to be Homecoming queen – and downright mean. Cheerleader Sarah is very aware of her status among her peers and can’t possibly accept an invite to the Homecoming dance to anyone less than the captain of the football team. When her tag-along friend, Molly, asks blind Emaleigh to join them at their lunch table, Sarah stays true to form. She doesn’t even attempt to cover her disdain, putting an otherwise kind Molly in an awkward position. Molly knows that her own popularity status remains tied to her friendship with Sarah. When second-tier Wyatt shows up excited to see if Sarah has accepted his invitation to the dance, Sarah lies and says she forgot that she’d already accepted the team captain’s invitation and heads off to find him, insisting that Molly follow behind. Reluctant Molly exits leaving Wyatt alone at the table with Emaleigh where he learns the true meaning of the word “beautiful” from a teen who can’t see.

by: Dan Weatherer

Three strangers awake to find themselves locked in a cell together and are informed that only one of them will be allowed to leave. One is an aid worker who has given much time and money to safeguard the welfare of others. One is a swindler and a thief with an unrelenting ruthless streak. One is a killer. But how they portray themselves may not be who they are at heart. Through the voice of the Facility Director, they are drip-fed snippets of one another’s past. Tensions mount as the three try to facilitate a means of escape where everybody gets out alive. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Rebecca Ryland

THE INTERVIEW

by Rebecca Ryland

2W/ 1M

Approximate Playing Time: 10 minutes

Nominated for the Samuel French New Play Festival, The Interview premiered at the Creative Place Theatre off-Broadway in New York .This seemingly simple piece hits home with its humorously dark message about the door to success. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Greg Freier

The Invisible Patriarch

A Short Satire by Greg Freier

1W / 2M

Approximate Playing Time: 10 minutes

Abe and Mary live with Norman, Mary’s elderly, distinguished and quite wealthy father. Abe is the type of man that wants to be successful in life without putting forth any effort and Mary has lived life expecting everything to be handed to her on a silver platter. They ignore Norman and ridicule his style and intellect to the point that he is invisible in their presence.  But Norman isn’t one to get the wool pulled over his eyes and the tables turn abruptly when Abe gets a call from the nursing home where he and Mary plan to deposit Norman and take over his home and money. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. 

by: Mike Willis

Twelve-year-old Maria helps her father, Joe, sell Christmas trees on Christmas Eve as Carolers sing and last minute shoppers rush about. Maria falls in love with a beautiful small tree and convinces her father to set it aside for her even though they already have a tree at home. After all, Maria’s mother who passed away always decorated two trees, one for inside and one for the porch. It isn’t easy to sell trees on Christmas Eve since most people already have one. But Maria has a knack for selling with a contagious enthusiasm that works on just about everyone…except Mr. Dalton, a lonely and disgruntled old man she likens to “Scrooge.” Little Charlie stops by in his oversized boots to admire the trees and tells Maria that his brother, Jack, promised to buy him a tree but he’s “in the army”. Jack is really Charlie’s Big Brother and that tree Maria saved for herself?well, it might be the last Christmas tree that can fulfill a promise made by Mr. Dalton’s grandson who just happens to be away serving in the National Guard. $10 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $50 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Kev Salter

Considering the price of a wedding and honeymoon, Jeff Tate thought it reasonable to cheap out on airfare for his bride, Rachel and him to fly to Rome. With that said, he never bargained for the absolute dysfunctionality of the Latvian airport where he and Rachel wait for repairs on everything from the latrine to the plane. While they wait, they meet an array of strange characters including an elderly lady traveling with all her money and jewelry, a businessman carrying stocks, and four men who all look alike except for their work clothes. Jeff grows more and more concerned about stepping onboard at all?but no matter, the pilot and the attendant took off without their passengers absconding with all their luggage. Seems, though, the janitor ? or was it the mechanic, the manager, or the policeman ? was on to their game and switched out the luggage for a toaster full of explosives just before takeoff. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $30 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Ross Peter Nelson

When laws are drafted for money, social consequences may be happily overlooked, right? After all, don’t all special interest groups deserve equal consideration under the law? Point proved when Nathan–uh–Smith reaches out to Jessica Sharpe at Freedom Unlimited – A Foundation for a Better America − to lobby for his association of fellow assassins, aka, hit men (and women): they don’t discriminate. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Nancy Gall-Clayton

Independent Veronica just wants to be left alone so she can have adventures, travel, explore, try new things-but no, her parents keep trying to find her a mate. Considering she is a Namibia lovebird, who is supposed to mate for life, avoiding marriage doesn’t sit well with her family who has arranged a meeting with Niko. Niko hasn’t found “the one” yet, and perhaps doesn’t care to. But their parents hope the two will become a couple during the mating season. Out of politeness, Niko arrives bearing gifts, and one in particular just might to the trick.

by: Jon Jory

Three high school friends on a camping outing anxiously await the start of college. Sophia considered high school manageable. Now she’s expected to know what she plans to do for the rest of her life before showing up on campus. Chloe is hesitantly optimistic that women are going to take over the earth, right? Haze is more realistic. They’ll live a life, less than they’d hoped but more than expected. There is a distinct possibility they’re not ready for college, but when a mother bear and her cub are heard rustling in the bushes near their campsite, Chloe is ready to take charge despite her friends’ instinct to run away.

by: Rebecca Ryland

THE MAN IN THE CAN

by Rebecca Ryland

4W/ 2M

Approximate Playing Time: 10 minutes

A young man sitting in a trash can in Central Park attracts a Bag Lady who mistakes him for her friend, Fred. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Greg Freier

A lot of fun and very funny: The Meeting is set around a conference table where four inept businessmen discuss the inner workings of a less than reputable company. It’s the kind of place where employees disappear, hits are put out on dishonest crooks within the company, and the bosses bilk the business for all it’s worth. When Porter timidly suggests hiring a professional to solve a problem beyond their scope ? of which most decisions are ? he finds himself the latest victim [dead] from all the absurdity and the recipient of a $200,000 dinner tab on his expense account as a joke. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Greg Freier

When Tim and Elise show up for a birthday party at the Maxwell’s distinguished summer cottage in New England, they are surprised when no one answers the door.  But even more surprised when they cautiously enter only to discover Wyatt, the birthday boy, locked in the closet.  Seems once again Wyatt’s overtly spoiled and absurdly jealous wife, Linda, has set out to ruin the evening. Things seem to take a turn for the worse when their neighbor, the Chief of Police, starts shooting off rounds from his shotgun and Linda’s insanely wealthy father won’t take her calls to stop him – He is, after all, her bastard brother and Daddy bought him that nice big home right next door. But oddly enough when the bullets start shattering windows and blowing up Linda’s prize vase collection, it just might prove to be an opportunity to put an end to the misery and bring happiness to the Eastmans once and for all.  At least to one of them.  WARNING: Multiple gunshots and explosions. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  

by: G. Bruce Smith

Sean Mitchell is thrown into a frenzy when he is booked to appear on a primetime special with Diane Sawyer titled “To Be Young, Gifted and Gay.” A visit from his parents to his home in L.A. gives Sean an opportunity to spill the beans before the program airs. With the help of his friend, Pearl, Sean’s attempt to gently lead his Minnesota-Norwegian born parents to a desired conclusion through a game of charades fails miserably. He tries one last time to force out the words “I am gay” when he takes them to the airport, but a misunderstanding with a nun finds him arrested and thrown in jail for disturbing the peace. Through flashbacks to his childhood, a drunken down-and-out cell mate, Billy, helps Sean face his fears and discover the source of his shame. Your audiences will fall head-over-heels in love with Margaret and Ben Mitchell and oh, yah, their over-the-top but sincere Christmas homecoming for their gay son and his friend – his straight friend – from the blown-up condom decorations to their ear torturing rendition of Madonna’s “Holiday”. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Nikki Harmon

In 1880’s Paris, Mathilde's husband, Henri works as a civil servant with a modest salary, while Mathilde dreams of wealth. When they are unexpectedly invited to a grand ball she asks her friend, Madame Forestier, to borrow a diamond necklace so she won’t look like a poor civil servant’s wife, but ends up losing it. Instead of admitting the loss, Mathilde and Henri borrow money for an exact copy to give back. After years of hard work and dire poverty, the loans are finally repaid. Ten years later, her beauty faded and old beyond her years, Mathilde sees her friend and tells her she’d lost the necklace and how they’d labored so hard to pay for a copy. She goes on to tell her how pleased she was that her friend never knew she’d returned a different necklace. Mathilde’s vanity and folly comes full circle when Madame Forestier tells her, “Oh, my poor Mathilde! Mine was fake. It was worth no more than five hundred francs!” $10 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $30 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jill Elaine Hughes

THE PERFECT RELATIONSHIP

by Jill Elaine Hughes

3W

Approximate Playing Time: 15 minutes

Two women address their weaknesses in choosing the right man with their new-age therapist only to discover that she is as big a sucker as they are. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Neal Donohue

A Red-Blooded Comedy with Bite

3W/ 10M

Approximate Playing Time: 90 minutes

A great comedy for Halloween or whenever you feel like adding a little bite to your season: a Count Dracula bite that is!  It seems Bela, aka “Count Dracula” has made his way from Transylvania to Hollywood where he has finagled his way into the position of “Phlebotomist” at the Sunshine Blood Bank.  The blood bank caters primarily to down-and-out donors selling their blood for wine money; the perfect cover for the blood-sucking vampire.  Bela brings along his assistant, Boris, who lives in the closet to the dismay of Nurse Nightingale who is hired by an exasperated Nurse Fender to assist Bela in drawing blood.  But Bela is intent on taking all the blood and leaves a steady stream of bodies in the alley outside the back door drawing the attention of the local police. When arrogant Doctor Parsan takes over as director, Bela hypnotizes him into believing he is a chicken to the dismay of Nightingale who has fallen for the handsome doctor who is equally enamored with the pretty nurse. Soon everyone succumbs to the lunacy as will your audiences as they laugh along with Bela who is both puzzled and annoyed by the antics of all the “peasants” in America. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. 

by: Paul DiLella

A One-Act Comedy for Teens and Young Adults

1M /2F

Approximate Playing Time:  30 minutes

Warning! These toys can talk! Yes, Annie Redwig, Jacques du Fleur, and Gerta Alpine have a lot to say about what it means to be human. Each of the toys – a Raggedy Ann doll, a Jack-in-the-Box, and a Swiss ballet dancer figurine – wants to be under some boy or girl’s Christmas tree. While they wait, they think about Pinocchio and how lucky he is to be a real boy. To satisfy their curiosity and to increase their awareness, the dolls enact experiments about “the human condition” with comic and unintended results. In the end, the toys understand the price one pays to be human. Provocative, The Pinocchio Problem will spark discussion about our human condition creating a work playable to both teen and adult audiences. Although set during the holidays, the universal question of what it means to be human makes this play a great choice any time of year and is easily staged, requiring only a few set pieces.  $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $30 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Greg Freier

What is worse than a 4-year-old playing with a dead squirrel? Not much, according to Andy, who seems to have little or no use for his “idiot” grandkids. And what about all that noise at the park, clearly intended for no other purpose than to piss him off? Helen, his wife, does her best to manage their outing to the park despite little Raymond dumping spoonfuls of dirt into his sister, Jessica’s mouth and wrapping the swing chain around her neck. Helen expresses some concern for that stranger lurking behind the bushes of which Andy could care less. Maybe he’ll grab Raymond and make off with him. And when Jessica impales Raymond with a sharp stick, Andy seems quite content to get a fresh cup of coffee to settle his nerves before calling 911. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jon Jory

by: Dan Haughey

Jonathan (Jon) Smith, the President of a business college and Melanie (Mel) McHenry, an English teacher at the corporate institution, find themselves locked in a starkly bleak hallway during a fierce winter snowstorm. After six hours in the cold, with nothing to eat and growing more fearful for her life, Mel begs to try the locked room marked “private” at the end of the hall, but Jon refuses to acknowledge whether he has the key. Their attention turns personal and an imminent sexual encounter is interrupted by the arrival, oddly enough, of one of Mel’s students: a fragile single mother suffering from seizures. Why the door to the hallway suddenly unlocked and closed again behind her is a clear mystery. But Mel’s own fears shift to saving her student, attacking and strangling Jon to gain possession of the key. She drags the lifeless young woman into the private room, only to discover nothing. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $30 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Fred D. White

A Comedy in Two Scenes by Fred D. White

2W / 4M

Approximate Playing Time:  1 Hour

Photo by artist Danny Brochu (dYb)

Mel and Julia’s marital crisis is one for the shrinks—or so they think. It isn’t that Mel has fallen out of love with Julia or vice versa; it’s just that his libido needs a little resuscitating—nothing that a few sex toys and dancing lessons can’t solve, right? Julia conveys her feelings through painting—except that Mel isn’t sure how to react to her erotic abstract expressionist triptychs nor the idea that his prodigious and prodigal daughter intends to join the Air Force. Reluctantly Mel heads to a psychiatrist only to discover that the doc has a Groucho Marx complex and the ghost of Freud himself as a cohort.  Together they do what they can to shed light on Mel and Julia’s not-so-uncommon conjugal pathologies with a not-so-common therapeutic solution to rev up their lives—including their own! $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  

by: Gerald Cole

A lonely misogynist asks a dating service for help finding his perfect match. After listening to his requests they send him his perfect woman; a mime. Without saying a word she gets him to finally listen instead of speak. A visual fest of comedy with a poignant message about the power of women. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Scott Gibson

by: Mike Willis

Every morning in cafes and fast food restaurants all across the country groups of regular customers gather for bottomless cups of coffee, complimentary newspapers, and spirited conversation. The Roadkill Café, although somewhat rundown and off the beaten track, is no different. Like clockwork, promptly at 6 AM, Gib a staunch Republican, Byron an equally committed Democrat and Willy a Methodist minister gather at The Roadkill. That’s right, a Republican, a Democrat and a Preacher walk into a restaurant… sound like a bad joke? Well add in Miss Julie, a testy elderly lady who likes to stir up trouble, and you have yourself the perfect recipe for an entertaining evening of theatre with folks you just might know.

by: Jim Inman

‘The Room’ is a Metaphor for the Mind, though we never see into the Room, the Door protecting it from the rest of the world. Michael, now retired, has had a degree of success as a Stage Manager of Broadway plays, but in his intimate relationships he has been a consummate failure. Snooky, his first and only true love, died of an abortion that she had resisted, but upon which Michael had insisted. Following her death, Michael’s first and meaningless marriage ended in divorce. Unable to live alone with his past, Michael has created a fantasy world for himself in which he has recreated Snooky as the woman he wished she had been, freeing him of all responsibility he might have had for the failure in their relationship. So he lives comfortably with her, keeping her in ‘The Bedroom’ until he needs her, calling her forth to sing, dance and play with him, to express her love for him and to be the woman she actually never was. Thus, Michael is a ‘happy’ man, though in serious danger of losing himself in the fantasies that are taking him to the brink of madness as Snooky slowly begins to materialize. Snooky can first be heard and then seen by others, finally interacting with the two most important women in Michael’s life, his best friend, Maddie, a recovering addict, and his alcoholic daughter, Peg. Maddie attempts to help Michael release Snooky from his seriously disturbed imagination. But Snooky has developed a mind of her own and refuses to go embroiling them in a fierce battle as Michael fights for his sanity and Snooky for her ‘life’. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Nicholas Thurkettle

A man finds himself unable to explain why he kicked a hole in a painting valued at $30 Million. In a surprising, often funny war of words, first with the museum's director, then with the exhibit's curator, sacred assumptions about the price of art, the definition of artistic impulse, and the goal of any artist end up called into question.

by: Mike Willis

Ben, an aging screenwriter, is at a loss since the death of his wife. Unable to write and despondent over all of the unrest he sees in the world, Ben escapes to a remote region of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where he takes up residence in an old Airstream trailer. Augustus, a young local, finds Ben passed out in the yard of the trailer and stops to check on him. The two strike up a strange friendship and through his relationship with Gus, Ben discovers that all is not lost, that there are still good people in the world. A beautifully written, witty, engaging and touching work, this winner of the Village Playhouse of Wauwatosa One-Act Play Writing Festival premiered in 2015 at Inspiration Studios in West Allis, Wisconsin. $10 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Charmaine Spencer

A Comedy Drawn from Characters Created by Arthur Conan Doyle
4-5W / 4-6M Depending on Doubling
Approximate Playing Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

When a top-secret treaty is stolen from his desk at London's Foreign Office, an old friend of Doctor Watson desperately reaches out to him to implore Sherlock Holmes to take the case. Unfortunately, Holmes is merely a fiction upon which the timid and inept physician has built his literary career. Still, faced with his friend’s frantic entreaties, Watson vows to produce the detective and hires an actor to take on the role. Bored with his current stint as Nana in a production of Peter Pan, the egotistical Walter Sallowfield assumes the role with delight, and despite his ever-present violin and over-the-top performance, the subterfuge works. Still, the crime must actually be solved. Fortunately, Watson himself has a talent for deduction, but can he stage manage his Sherlock and bring the case to a successful conclusion? With sincere apologies to Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes and author of The Adventure of the Naval Treaty, Spencer’s play is classical comedy with engaging characters and an exceptional storyline.

by: A.D. Hasselbring

After Dillon Magee is involved in a tragic car accident that kills his father, he refuses to speak or interact with the outside world. He is not autistic, has no learning disabilities and has never been violent. His mother, Kim, watches helplessly from the sidelines, constantly trying to reach the son she has lost. Kim engages the help of a new teacher, David, in a desperate attempt to unlock Dillon’s imprisoned mind. David is greeted with a handshake, one of Dillon’s peculiar habits which include a ritualistic changing of clothing throughout the day. Otherwise there is no direct interaction: no eye contact or communication, save Dillion consistently removing objects of any kind that David places on any surface in the bedroom. But when David accidentally tumbles over a chair, he not only opens a door to Dillon’s escape but releases a floodgate of laughter, promise and friendship that inspires anyone who has ever suffered trauma. This winner in The Chameleon Theatre Circle’s 17th Annual New Play Contest will reach deep into the psyche of your audiences with its gentle humor and insight into the complexity of the human mind and spirit. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Mary W. Schaller

It is spring of 1970, the twilight of the old, classic Hollywood. The Sunset Club is a retirement residence for single women over the age of 55 who had been employed in some aspect or another in the motion picture industry. The current residents include: Coral, a musician from the studios’ orchestras; Florence, a former executive secretary at MGM; Estelle, an aging child star of the OUR GANG series; several actresses who are still working in small parts, and one Oscar-winning Star who is both a benefactor as well as a resident of the Club. Lillian, a 45-year-old widow manages the Club. All the women want something: Lucille, a retired Wardrobe lady from MGM studio, wants to go live with her daughter and grandsons in Pennsylvania.; Emily, a 79-year-old movie fan, yearns to be in a real movie; Oscar-winner Miranda wants to divorce her estranged husband and get him permanently out of her life-and all the Club’s residents want to get a little souvenir from the famous MGM Auction that will remind them of the Golden Days of movie-making. Everyone gets their wish, but not in the ways they had imagined. Playwright Mary W. Schaller (Harlequin romance novelist Tori Phillips) got a job at MGM fresh out of college. She lived at the famous Hollywood Studio Club, a boarding house for single young women actively engaged in the motion picture industry. The Sunset Club is based on personal experiences at the Club and at MGM. Nearly everything in the play actually happened at the Hollywood Studio Club over 55 years ago! $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Ross Peter Nelson

It’s the Middle Ages, sort of, and when Famine, the Third Horseman of the Apocalypse, arrives at an inn, he is mistaken for a musician. A comedy of errors ensues as the dim-witted innkeeper and his daughter attempt to provide appropriate service for Famine, who becomes ever more annoyed and eventually threatens to bring about the end times. When realization finally dawns on the innkeeper’s daughter, she calls down her own personal revenge. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Verna Safran

A Short Comedy by Verna Safran

1W / 1M + “A Voice”

Approximate Playing Time:  10 minutes

What could possibly happen between a man and his wife when a throne descends from on high and lands right smack dab between them in their own backyard?   You won’t believe how far each of them will go as a struggle for power ensues. Let’s just say that a garden shovel and just a little bit of poison can make for a very bad day. If this were a test, we would all agree, they both failed. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  

by: R.J. Ryland

Two Fairy Tale Plays for Young Audiences

4M / 5F (less if roles doubled)

(Adult & Child Actors or All Youth)

Approximate Playing Time:  30 minutes total

In the tradition of classical fairy tales, two bold stories filled with poetic language and inspiring imagery.  With children alone or with both adult and child actors, these two short plays will tickle your wit and challenge your imagination.  The Troll in the Belfry is the tale of a wicked troll who has taken over a town destroying its spirit, only to be outwitted by two children and an old widow woman. In The Old Beggar Woman, all the mothers and fathers in the village have disappeared in the night and only a strange old beggar woman knows why. Inspired by Van Gogh’s famous painting, “A Starry Night”, the plays are not only perfect for children’s theatre but great for school productions and arts-in-education performance tours.  $10 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. 

by: Jon Jory

17-year-old Carrie has messed-up royally. So badly that she and her family have to leave in the dead of night to wherever they are assigned. What did she do that was so unforgiving? She flew into the yard when a neighbor sat smoking a cigarette on her porch next door. Did she see Carrie fly? Impossible to tell, but when you are a family of “Specials” – Super Heroes if you may – you can’t afford to take chances. Now Carrie’s almost 16-year-old sister, Cher is in for the shock of her lifetime.  At 16 you learn you are Special, but in this case, her parents have no choice but to try to make it make sense now. As Cher recovers from the shock, Carrie rushes out to meet her boyfriend, Owen, and best friend, Jolene. She can’t tell them why her family is leaving, but it’s clear she will never see them again. Three Specials about Carrie’s age appear from different parts of the world to help ease the heartache and encourage her to embrace her powers. When the “Supervisor” visits the family, Carrie and Cher are given 15 seconds to decide if they want to live a life of a Special or give up their powers forever. $10 Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Joseph P. Krawczyk

by: Laura Lewis-Barr

During a hectic Sunday morning, members of the Church of Generous Giving try to decipher who broke Martha’s prized vase while the Reverend Adam Apple struggles to impress a local televangelist, The Reverend Sammy Hammy, on his “Odysseys in Faith” tour. Whereas Kleist’s original play ridiculed a corrupt judge, The Vase lampoons a dishonest clergyman who, despite his highly questionable behavior, appears delightfully wicked in his struggle to keep the young Eve from spilling the beans about what really happened in her bedroom the night before. Lewis-Barr remains faithful to Kleist’s farcical elements from crisp wordplay to sexual innuendo and physical comedy with bountiful humor to make the staunchest audience chuckle and the robust laugh out loud. $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Sage Golding

by: Brent Holland

by: Donald Dewey

A Full-length Drama of Mystery and Intrigue

4M / 2W

Approximate Playing Time:  2 hours

A successful painter, Louis Chalk is dead.  He fell from The Window in his artist studio.  It was ruled an accident.  But was it?  Tortured by his death, or perhaps even more by his life, Louis’s much younger wife, Stella, who had been alienated from her husband for some time, grapples with the truth. Stella has come under police suspicion as a murderer; radical emotional vacillations have made her a suspect even in her own eyes. And what agenda does the lawyer, Waters, really have when he shows up offering detailed information about a multitude of old paintings left in a large closet in Chaulk's studio?  And what was the relationship between Louis and Kate, the owner of the art gallery where Chalk had his most conspicuous success? The self-important-ness of the upscale art world colors this dark, almost noir story of love, betrayal, guilt and fear. And ever present is The Window that opens the way out. Not just as a “whodunit” but a “whatwasdun” as well. Note: Play contains adult language and situations.  $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Heath Houseman

The stage is empty; actors set in the audience; auditions for A Streetcar Named Desire about to begin. The Director arrives, bullhorn in hand, warning all that he feels like he hasn’t slept in 48 hours and he has not had his Starbucks. Cranky and arrogantly argumentive, the Director shows little tolerance for a scrawny young man who insists on reading for Stanley Kowalski. To shut him up, he gives him the directive to audition for the role as Hitler. Five tall, hairy apish men in their late 20's, all reasonable candidates for Stanley, join him in a bizarre German rendition of "Anything Goes". Oddly impressed, the Director offers him a role in the play, but not as Stanley. Unable to wage an argument, the young man accepts the role of “The Young Man." A young woman arrives carrying Starbucks, apologizing for being late, that she can’t "do nothin' without no coffee." When the Director asks for which role she is auditioning she replies, "Stanley Kowalski." $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Floyd Stephen Alexander

In the 1940’s, a man leaves his work chopping fish heads and cleaning up the waste to work the fields on land that eventually becomes his own. His wife, tired and worn, works hand in hand by his side, questioning whether it was right to have left their home by the sea in exchange for a harsh world where the scales that weigh their harvest often tilt against them. But she comes to see his pride in working his own land and shares in his vision for building a life with their own two hands. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jim Curran

Two Irish Immigrants walking on the toll road from Boston to Springfield, Massachusetts happen upon the bludgeoned body of a young farmer, Marcus Lyon. They hurriedly leave the area but are noticed by 13-year-old Laertes Fuller who spoke to them briefly. When the body was discovered, Laertes reported the fleeing men and they were tracked down in Cos Cob, Connecticut, arrested and taken to Northampton to face a murder trial. During this time in history, Puritanical Massachusetts was filled with fear and hatred of the Irish and Catholics and the trial drew thousands to the courthouse. They were found guilty, hanged, and dissected; their bones strewn unburied in the woods. Years later, Laertes uncle confessed to the murder on his deathbed but efforts to get the men pardoned posthumously failed—until the first production of They’re Irish! They’re Catholic! They’re Guilty! This award-winning dramatization of the official trial transcript set the stage for a pardon by then Governor Michael Dukakis on March 14, 1984 at the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The play continues to be a popular event in many schools and theatres across the country particularly on St. Patrick’s Day. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jill Elaine Hughes

THIS IS YOUR LIFETIME

5W

Approximate Playing Time: 15 minutes

The Goddess of Lifetime TV uses her powers to restore a woman’s sexy dreams despite the relentless interruptions of feminine hygiene commercials. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $15 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Nancy Machlis Rechtman

When the Emperor unwittingly hires thieves Gonev and Gonevet to weave him a fantastic new costume from gold thread, even the Emperor’s own children fail to see the mysterious work that, according to the sly scoundrels, only those suited for their position can see. And certainly the looms appear bare to court jester Hyster and chief advisor Sir Egged— although they will say and do anything not to let on as they sing the comical “I See It”, one of the eight delightful musical numbers.  But the Empress fails to be fooled. And with the royal staff sworn to secrecy that there are no new threads, the Emperor is left strutting before his people clothed only in long underwear to learn firsthand an important lesson in humility.  The opening number in the market place and the street scene as the Emperor parades through the street provide an excellent opportunity to add non-speaking roles to your production from merchants and dancers to jugglers, mimes and acrobats. Threads—The Musical! will have your young audiences in stitches.  With an expandable cast of fun roles, The Emperor’s New Threads works great for both community theatre and school productions and can easily be played by adults and children or an all-youth company. The vocal score with piano chords and musical notations is included with the script. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. A piano recording of each song with and without vocals is available for an additional charge. E-mail playsnow@heartlandplays.com for information.

by: D. B. Williams

The world is driving Eddie Greel crazy— and now this; Eddie has to baby-sit his 11-year- old nephew Tim and with the biggest business deal of his life looming. On top of that, strange characters are intruding in his life at the oddest places and times. “TIM: A Christmas Story”” follows the transformation of this present-day Ebenezer Scrooge as he discovers the true meaning of a successful life. Eddie is no curmudgeon or miserly loner; he’s a guy trying to get ahead in an increasingly competitive world, feeling the pressure of the global economy in a very real sense. He sees new boogey-men around every corner and at every bus stop; people with strange sounding names and faces. “TIM” is a crazy quilt of spirits, visions and odd-ball characters loosely knit together by a strange elixir called Poncho Spring Water and, of course, LeBron James. D. B. Williams, in this contemporary twist on Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”, examines the foibles of modern culture while paying homage to a great literary holiday tradition. Often funny, sometimes poignant, his play reminds us that misplaced values are not always what make us of value to others. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Brown Cardwell

Managing official documents proves to be more frustrating than by-the-book Norma ever imagined when she leaves New Jersey to assume her new job in the Eastfork County Court House in Eastfork County, West Virginia.  From Mrs. Parker who’s searching for the son she gave up for adoption (who just could be the 18-year-old heavy-metal biker, Thunderball, who just happens to be looking for his birth mother) to two sisters needing birth certificates and a young mismatched couple applying for a marriage license, complications and aggravations abound as the deeply Southern patrons soon interfere in each other’s lives. The fish tank in the corner serves as the only common source for calming frazzled and frustrated nerves except for Norma who threatens to have the fish out of her office by morning.  But when an old man and his wife get escorted into the office by a pushy realtor intent on pressuring them into selling their family farm, Norma throws herself right into the mix discovering a new felt humanity and developing a touch of southern decorum along the way. Time Files is a character driven play taking place in the 1970’s and is filled with humor, insight and personality well suited for general audiences. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  

by: Jon Jory

Marisa confronts Rafe whom she accuses of raping her at a Fraternity house party. He denies knowing her and feigns sympathy for the assault. He accuses her of putting herself in a dangerous position. Rafe continues to claim his innocence and arrogantly attempts to buy her off. When that fails, switching tactics, he invites her to meet over coffee so that she will know whose innocent life she stands to ruin. Marisa describes details that the assailant may not be able to refute in court, including a scar on his shoulder. Rafe threatens to sue her and her family when he’s acquitted but an emboldened Marisa makes plans to go to the police station after he walks out.

by: Heath Houseman

The time has arrived for Professor Wellington, rocket scientist, to blast off in a tropical-laden homemade rocket ship to a black hole in space that just might jettison him to heaven—the heaven that his wife believed existed and where he hopes they can reunite in a state of true bliss and wonderment. When Stephanie shows up at Wellington’s cabin high in the Colorado Rockies in search of her husband, Dr. Neville Butler, the intellectual fun begins. Stephanie, a lawyer, and a woman not to be trifled with, arrives with divorce papers in hand. Despite coining his grandson an asshole and Stephanie a bitch ? which by words and actions seems apropos ? Wellington’s sincere love for the couple sets in motion a daring plan to save their imploding marriage. From substituting Tic Tacs for heart medicine to scoring sexual encounters, flipping M & M’s into one another’s mouths and watching Bonko, the Hobo Clown on TV, they maneuver their way from the heartache that comes from losing sight of what matters most into the magical world of the vast unknown. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Sean David Bennett

When Arthur, the quick-witted author and widower of three years, reunites unexpectedly with his old flame, Doreen – or was that her identical twin sister, Denise? – the sparks quickly reignite despite some forty-plus years in passing. Over the next few months, Doreen flies back and forth from her home in California to Arthur’s Long Island condo until a morning shower proposal forces Doreen to decide if she really wants to go down that road again. After all, Arthur, who refuses to fly, has never even met the rest of her family. When Arthur’s assistant, Lorin, implies that he and Arthur are lovers, Doreen high-tails it back to California with an overdosed Arthur in pursuit who mistakes the phone-sex Denise for Doreen and Denise’s young amour Eric for Doreen’s lover. There’s more to resolve than who’s who including, on the serious side, the truth behind Arthur’s gay son’s death and perhaps not so serious—who gets to keep Eric—Denise or Lorin? Some things get better with age. Nothing gets easier…not even love…but sometimes it gets a whole lot funnier! $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Greg Freier

Aspiring writer Augie Morello is the odd man out in a functionally dysfunctional family where each day is like Ground Hog Day. His grandfather Pops has a bizarre habit of wandering into the bathroom when others are showering. Dimwitted brother Angelo lives to kill him and sister Angie fleeces him out of his paycheck to teach him to type so he can submit his first story to a publisher. Mother, Lisa and father, Leo, whose shouting matches over everything from fish money to meatloaf sandwiches set the tone for the household dynamics that lives from paycheck to paycheck. When his father, brother and sister lose their jobs, Augie immediately lands a second menial job at the deli around the corner with no more respect than he had before. But when his first story sells at three times the mortgage, he suddenly becomes the favored son with an ultimatum to assume the role of breadwinner or finally achieve the dream of living alone. Set in 1954 in a dingy row house in New York, the Morellos will remind us that there is an Augie inside each of us, trapped in our own life in a family we hate to love. $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: L. Don Swartz

Based on the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson

7 W / 13 M (Less with Doubling)

Approximate Playing Time:  95 minutes

L. Don Swartz sticks to the heart of the novel, capturing on stage all the drama and excitement of this beloved classic by Robert Louis Stevenson.  When an old drunken pirate, Billy Bones takes up residence at the Admiral Bow Inn, a rowdy seaside tavern frequented by pirates, sea hags and thieves, Jim Hawkins the inn keeper’s young son, gains the key to a chest that holds the map to buried treasure. Dr. Livesey, a family friend, helps Jim gain the support of Madame Trelawney, a wealthy widow who agrees to finance the voyage to recover the treasure. Hawkins, Dr. Livesey, Madame Trelawney, her servant Mr. Redruth and Captain Smollett set sail on their ship, the Hispaniola unaware that Long John Silver himself has joined the crew as a ship’s mate.  He and a gnarly band of pirates also posing as legitimate crew conspire to take over the ship, kill its rightful passengers and steal the treasure.  $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Peggy Aultman

It’s 1964 at the height of Beatlemania, and two sixteen year-olds, Linda and her best friend Kathy, are determined to find a way to win tickets to their city’s sold-out Beatles’ concert. Spurred on by the daily promptings of the local Disc Jockey, Rockin’ Ray, the girls dedicate their entire summer to entering various zany contests held by local businesses. From saving R.C. bottle caps to trying to win the Fastest Caller Contest, it is the girls’ sole purpose in life to get to the Beatles. As the day of the concert grows nearer, Linda comes up with a daring scheme which tests their loyalty but ultimately teaches them what friendship really means. This play has everything – Great female roles, enchanting nostalgia, and the best music ever! $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Dan Weatherer

Another great comedy by Britain’s award winning horror author, Dan Weatherer. The zombie apocalypse has arrived and Megan has dropped by Zoe’s apartment wielding a bloodied cricket bat. They swap stories, as if they are common happenstance, of their latest battles against the forces of the undead between mugs of tea and griping about the neighbors. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $20 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Dan Morra

Based on the premise of computer pioneer Alan Turing, the focus of an experiment is a unique one: determining which of the “people” present is an artificial intelligence, an AI. Is it the somewhat haughty and aggravating Trent or the likeable but fragile Maria? Dr. Rossum leaves young Mr. Carman alone with Trent and Maria to determine for himself who is AI and who is not. At first overwhelmed by the implications of the experiment, he is later appalled by the idea that AI might replace him, control him, or something worse. But is that the truth behind the experiment?

by: Ross Peter Nelson

Wouldn’t you love to wear a mascot costume at Fanta-Sea-Land Amusement Park and get mauled by eight-year-olds, vomited on by three-year-olds, and subjected to surreptitious punches from fourteen-year-olds too cool to be there in the first place? Didn’t think so. Well, neither does Sharky, A.K.A. Kim, whose Master’s degree has gotten her nowhere but earning minimum wage sweating profusely inside a foam-rubber shark’s costume—which by the way is ruining her sex life. But Squidlington doesn’t seem to care. In fact, he seems to love his life and all it represents. But when Squidlington lets loose during lunch break on his belief in the Great Old Ones who slumber in the sunken undersea city of R’lyeh, Sharky is about to become unglued. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Ross Peter Nelson

A young couple squabbling over just who was supposed to get the tickets to Jazz Fest are rescued by a pair of unlikely superheroes straight out of Waiting for Godot. Vee and Ess offer to do for the couple what they’ve always done: wait. Once they’re no longer stuck in line, however, the couple finds that they are now obliged to wait for Vee and Ess rather than for the tickets. $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Steve Koppman

by: Jeffrey T. Heyer

The mysterious Stuart Morgan crosses a continent in search of a reclusive, and reportedly dead, scientist who gives his name only as Victor. Gradually we discover that the strange and desperate Morgan is a werewolf seeking Victor’s help in obtaining release from his nightmarish condition. We also discover that Victor’s own condition is equally desperate. Already a scientific outcast, Victor has now become a vampire caught between the worlds of the living and the dead. Victor agrees to aid Morgan only if the fiercely principled lycanthrope will bring a certain young woman, Ilse, to his stone lair. Once Victor convinces Morgan to do this, together with Ilse, the three, each damaged in a different way, and each with their own highly-charged agendas, seek to create some sort of balance together which will enable all three to seek their own lost humanity. But society closes in relentlessly; first in the form of two ruthless bounty hunters, then in the form of two far more dangerous police officers – one a vengeful lone wolf, and the other an official representative of the all-powerful state. Their clash leads to an explosive climax.

by: Susan Surman

A Full-length Comedy

5W / 7M

Approximate Playing Time:  1 Hour, 40 Minutes

Aging film star, Valeska Bernhart, makes a last stab at a movie role at an open casting before retiring to West Palm Acres. There she meets Glick Glickman, a fast talking, multi-faceted theatre impresario who also retired to West Palm Acres after his last failed attempt to revive the dead Broadway theatre.  Jon, an attendant at West Palm Acres and an aspiring actor, is caught up in the “nothingness” of waiting around to see if someone thinks he is good enough to play a role.  When the opportunity for a commercial comes his way, he struggles with what he sees as the stupidity of the message and discovers he would rather launch a festival of the arts for seniors; showcasing their arts, their writing, their music and their dramatic talent.  Glick seizes the opportunity to seduce Valeska out of retirement and together they discover the joy of bringing life to the other residents and awake a passion between them, proving that neither talent nor love has an expiration date. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.  

by: Rusty Harding

John Weston is dying—finally. After going down in the Guinness book of records with "the longest death in history", America's wealthiest patriarch is actually ready to kick the bucket. Now the question arises: who gets his massive fortune? The entire Weston clan has gathered for the big event, including John's youngest son, Kyle. A B-grade movie actor/director with an interminable list of flops, Kyle is heavily in debt to the wrong type of investors, and more than his cinematic career is at stake if he doesn't pay them off. Along with the rest of his greedy siblings, Kyle is confident that John's death will ensure a long ? and healthy ? future. But it seems that the old man has other plans for his wealth, which don't necessarily include his heirs, and suddenly Kyle's future doesn't look so healthy. Can Kyle and his family change John's mind, or is it much too late for a “Weston union”..? $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Susan Surman

Brenda and Josh just met while jogging in the park. Sounds of heavy breathing open the play, but not from running. As the lights rise we see jogging gear strewn about the room and two people half naked on her bed. Brenda is six weeks out of a broken engagement and Josh was dumped five months ago by his live-in girlfriend. Brenda is all about the sex, but Josh is less willing to continue. "Do what you want, just don't tell me," he says. They collapse into an exchange of thoughts and feelings into what it's like being single. Josh, more resigned to his present status, offers no hope of any future with him to ease Brenda’s pain. As the sex offers little recompense, Brenda seeks solace in being held.

by: Mike Willis

Intended to be performed on a bare stage, 10 environmental hazards begin their journey to the sea. It’s exciting for all, and some even pick up friends along the way. Salt and Oil are just hanging out waiting for the rain to wash them into the storm drains. If they miss the first one, no worries, there’s another inlet right around the corner. Along comes the trash family; Plastic, Paper and Can. They’re a little shook up from being tossed from a car window but ready to head to the beach. Oil’s cousin Gas and his buddy Acid show up. They expect to catch a ride to the Gulf. Fertilizer and Pesticide figure they’ll tag along to the shoreline. No one’s all too thrilled with Sewage and his powerful smell. His owner’s septic tank overflowed. Wasn’t his fault. But he vows to leave a bit of himself here and there as he travels towards open water. Off on their adventure, the first to arrive look for their friends hoping they’ve all arrived safely. A perfect play to remind us that humans cause pollution. Perform it on Earth Day or any day that provides an opportunity to watch, listen and learn in an entertaining way.

by: Verna Safran

A Comedy in Two Acts

3M / 3W

Approximate Playing Time: 110 minutes

Remember the days when your grown daughter hid her live-in boyfriend in the closet when you showed up unannounced?  Well, neither does Ethel whose daughter, Sandra never rebelled against anything.  And now that Ethel’s in her sixties who would think she would have to hide the fact that she’s living out of wedlock with her lover, Henry, in her condominium in Miami?  But times have changed and a huge storm blows in when conservative Sandra and her husband Joe show up for a rather unexpected visit.  Although taking great pains to hide their living arrangement, the cat’s out of the bag in no time flat and Sandra’s bent on her mother marrying Henry whether she wants to or not.  Throw in a 60 year old still active next-door activist and a 50 year old beach bum for friends and Sandra’s ready to tear her hair out!  “Where Did We Go Wrong?” will have everyone wondering who’s on first when Ethel and Henry run away from home so that Sandra and Joe can work out their marriage woes and hopefully discover the true values in life.   A delightful twist on the generation gap!  $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Christina Hamlett

by: Jon Jory

A glass slipper spiked heel through Prince Charming’s heart? Fairyland Police Detectives, The Huntsman from Red Riding Hood and the Wicked Witch of the West, find themselves working with Sherlock Holmes to solve this “who done it” mystery. They set about interrogating a list of characters that are nothing like the ones you may have read about but that would be a world of fun to play. After all, this is a farce. From Cinderella and her Fairy Godmother to her wicked stepmother and stepsisters, the most obvious suspects have been eliminated. With only three characters left in the script, it occurs to the police that one amongst them is the killer. $10 Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Jonathan Turner Smith

If you are looking for a great play for teens with the flexibility of adapting the cast size and material content to fit your specific needs, than this is among the best! Whose High School is it Anyway? explores themes from jealousy and insecurity to bullying and sex through a collection of humorous, satirical and serious scenes and monologues which may be cut and adapted to fit your school and your cast. Jonathan Turner Smith uses his extensive experience working with youth to craft relatable characters and situations that will challenge student actors and provide insights into the trials and tribulations of teens in a typical modern high school.

by: R.J. Ryland

A Short, Non-Royalty Play for Creative Kids

6 Girls/ 3 Boys/ 1 Either + Extras as needed

Playing time:  Approximately 20 minutes

Perfect for Classroom, Drama Camp, Interim-sessions, you name it!  This easy to perform play hits most Drama Core Content Standards for elementary age students from creative dramatics to creating simple scenery for a classroom dramatization.  Built loosely around the classic fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood, actors bring the story to life through movement, pantomime, dialogue and their own brief monologues in response to the question, “Why Does the Sun Move Across the Sky?”   Their creative answers are cleverly integrated into the script making each performance a unique experience for cast and audience.  Once you download the play, it’s yours to copy and use for the purpose stated in your Purchase Application—but no sharing, please!  $20 Single-Use Copyright Fee.

by: Maria Brandt

At its premiere in Rochester, New York, one audience member commented, “Watching Will They Know Who We Are? is like riding a train through New York State.”  This collection of 27 short plays set across the state chronicles a growing fascination with the cultural and geographical diversity of New York, exploring different histories, ideologies, and/or conflicts specific to different regions. Some employ straightforward, gritty realism; some employ choruses that function as ghosts or icons and speak in poetry, if at all; some are spare or abstract in their staging; some split the stage; some play with versions of the monologue; some aim for lyricism; some have no spoken words at all. All confront the complexity and humanity of the dramatic form—as well as of New York State, its landscape, and its residents. Perform all or a selected number of the plays for a full evening of insight and entertainment.  The 27 plays are also available individually upon request. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

Email playsnow@heartlandplays.com for rights to individual shorts within the collection.

by: Lawrence Cahoone

When real life is pushed to the edge of absurd, the result is strangely humorous.  In Cahoone’s Wise Guys, what is more disturbing than the correlation between the professional power struggle in a university philosophy department and the mafia? As Michael explains to graduate student, Kay, “When you pick a dissertation topic and an advisor you join a professional family, like an apprentice joining a guild…The old protect the young, the young honor the old…The most important thing is that the old have to get the young jobs and then tenure. When it works, the whole family rises together—more prominent publications, better jobs, money, and fame.” But how far will your philosophical family go to maintain power or at best balance within the departmental structure?  When Michael gets awarded tenure after playing a role in sabotaging a competing family and later becomes Chair of the Department, he wreaks revenge on those who destroyed his mentor’s career only to face the dilemma of marrying or murdering the woman he loves as she positions herself within an opposing philosophical family.  But is she really the danger he’s been led to believe, willing to present an argument he cannot refute? $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre.  Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. 

by: Kimberly Barger

by Kimberly Barger
1F / 3M
Approximate Playing time: 30 Min.

An engagement ring retrieval mission gone wrong. It's been two weeks since Nate's fiancée, Claire, told him that things were over between them without any kind of explanation. Now she won't even talk to him. Nate is devastated and confused. But he's also angry and hurt, and Claire still has something that Nate wants. The ring. Nate's best friend, Mario, convinces Nate to sneak into Claire's apartment with him to find the ring and take it back. While Nate and Mario are looking for the ring, Claire returns home. And she's not alone. She's on a date with George, who loves chocolate and fist bumps and is totally inept at dating. Trapped inside Claire's apartment until they can escape, Nate and Mario are forced to hide in the bathroom, hearing every detail of the date. Over the course of the evening, Nate learns why Claire broke off the engagement, while discovering some things about his best friend. He also finds the ring, but is the ring really what he wants?

by: Chelsea Frandsen

Cassian is the son of infamous outlaw Robin of Locksley − better known as Robin Hood − but that isn't good enough. He's tired of living in the shadow of a hero and wants to make his own legacy by protecting his family and everyone else in Sherwood and Nottingham from the current Sheriff, Josselin DeClaire. The only way he can do that is with the help of the spy Friar Tuck, his cousin Jean-Luc and Jean-Luc's wife Tirzah. When Lockesly's old enemy Sir Guy of Gisbourne returns to Nottingham, bringing with him his daughter, Ravenna, (who is secretly engaged to Cassian), things begin to get complicated. Why has Gisbourne returned? What does the presence of Malbete, the sheriff's pet mercenary, mean and why is Jean-Luc so afraid of him? What other secrets are hiding in Nottingham and Sherwood? The reputation of Cassian's father might not be enough to protect him. Wolves of Sherwood will challenge your actors with exceptionally well-developed characters fighting for survival in an intense and complex dramatic situation that will keep audiences riveted to their seats.

by: Ross Peter Nelson

Perfect for older teens and university theatre student showcases! Set in a barracks, it is not intended to appear obvious that the characters in Workers of the World are bees, at least not in the beginning. Bianca wakes up, sees no one and panics. Barbie rushes in and tells her it has all happened as “it was foretold”: The Queen has abandoned the hive and half the world is gone, vanished. Duran, arrives bearing a gift of Royal Jelly for Barbie, which to Duran’s distress, she shares with Bianca and kitchen worker Bijou. Bijou points out they need a new queen. Bianca argues it’s an opportunity to form a different kind of government, a workers’ collective. She tries to woo the others to her point of view but Duran has another idea. He tells Barbie she is not only “his” queen but the queen that the drones exist to serve and if she’ll make the mating flight with him, they will worship her-not realizing he will die after. They fly off together. Meanwhile, Bijou seems to join forces with Bianca. When Barbie returns alone, triumphant, she sets out to kill Bianca. But who succeeds to become queen? $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $15 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Greg Freier

Is there really a Santa Claus? Sam sure thinks so. But when his wife, Virginia catches him staring at the presents under the tree late Christmas Eve proclaiming Santa is in the kitchen fixing a salad, she’s not buying it. And Santa sure seems to have a little too much interest in the attractive Virginia. This oddly trim and fit British-speaking Santa does his best to convince Virginia he really is Santa before she calls the cops. And when she opens a present he placed under the tree containing a necklace which belonged to her mother, her eyes open wide in amazement. So why does she still knee him in the groin? $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: John F. Green

Landlord Higgins raises the rent in pensioner Barney Walden’s apartment building again! The reasonable response: Barney stops paying rent! When Katherine (Kate), a retired school teacher who lives upstairs, stops in with her petition to force Higgins to repair the building, Barney ends up smitten and she seems willing enough to accept a dinner late—If he can only keep himself and his colorful pals Max and Boris from scaring her off. On the threat of being evicted, Barney coaxes his new love into an even more frightening position: playing the key role in an elaborate real estate scheme designed to bring Higgins to his knees. After all, Higgins has never met Kate, so all she has to do is pretend to be a potential buyer of the property with a caveat that all the repairs are completed before the deal is done. She’ll use an exotic fake name and after the building is repaired, “Madeleine Beatrice-Billingbrook would simply disappear…Except Higgins signs the agreement and in a panic, Kate can’t remember the fake name and signs her real name! If only her estranged daughter Susan can quell the chaos before Kate gets hauled off to jail. $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Rusty Harding

Meet Tom and Helen; an ordinary married couple on their way to a pleasant evening of bowling. Slight problem – they’re just a little bit lost, and Tom is too stubborn to ask for directions. Helen convinces him to use their new GPS system, but – much to their surprise – they soon discover that modern technology isn’t all it’s cracked up to be…$10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.

by: Rusty Harding

“Your money or your life!” Sounds appropriate for a thief to hurl at the man he is about to rob. But this particular man isn’t bent on getting robbed without a philosophical debate. “Which do you want to hear about; my money or my life?” he responds. And you can be sure he has no intention of giving up his wallet without removing his photos….And he wants justification for how the money will be spent. Robbing a man like that could drive any thief insane. So which will it be? $10 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $10 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application.