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 an