n/a

-

-

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

65 minute one act drama

One Act

-

-

-

Notes: -

Synopsis: see Mid Century Blues

-

-

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

One act human interest - 25 min

-

-

-

-

Notes: -

Synopsis: See Friends & Relations

-

-

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

Bleak comedy

-

1

3

1 (non-speaking child - f)

Notes: two acts, 90 minutes. For mature audiences. Contemporary setting (single set: two rooms of an upscale condominium)

Synopsis: What makes a monster? The play explores the beast within, and the ways we confront -- and sometimes avoid -- it. The work utilizes a single set (and requires no unusual technical effects or costumes. The piece, which uses both The Tempest and the ballet Giselle as framing devices, asks the questions: What is moral responsibility, and how does someone deal with the consequences of accepting or denying it. The four principals do battle with each other and their memories of their relationships with Karesa (child) (who, the audience discovers, has died a few days before the play begins, after a protracted illness). Kate, typically acidic, is unusually antagonistic and unusually aware: She alone perceives Karesa's presence when the girl dances across the stage; and, as the first act ends, she admits to the astonished Chris and Raquel: She killed the child -- from, she says, a greater love for her than any of them had, to spare all of them, including Karesa, more suffering -- and she states flatly: Neither Raquel nor Chris will do anything about it: Both are too much in love with the guilt-ridden Liza to further hurt her with the truth. Act II examines that moral dilemma -- whether to cause pain to someone you love by enlightening them and in doing so, seeking justice; or to ignore -- or rationalize -- the act and, by allowing Kate to escape the consequence of it, live with the pain of the truth

San Francisco Performers Theatre

1992

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

Drama - two acts

Play/Drama

2

2

-

Notes: Winner: 1996 Utah Playfest Competition

Synopsis: Ceremonies of Prayer is contemporary drama which, while not historical, is suggested by incidents from the life of Vincent van Gogh. It probes the questions of what it is to be an artist and how that choice affects the lives of both the artist himself and those close to him, and the artist's relationship to society. The story revolves around the conflict between WILLIAM (M: 37), a volatile artist caught between the emotional extremes of a sophisticated aesthetic view and a childish detachment from the realities of everyday life, and CRISTINA (F: 37), his lover, an equally volatile ex-prostitute, now pregnant, a fact she reveals to William with misgivings, fearing his ability to commit to the family life he purports to want so much. Matters are further complicated by William's financial and emotional dependence on NED (M: 32), his art-dealer brother, a situation which Ned's wife, JOANNE (F: 32) resents for the intrusions it makes upon her life with Ned; and by Ned's subliminal jealously of Cristina's relationship with his brother. The play is language- and character-driven, and, while a classic tragedy, has comic dimension as well.

New York Theatre Workshop

1997

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

5 minute movement piece

One Act

3

3

-

Notes: All cast members must move well. No set required.

Synopsis: The action takes places on a bare stage. Choreography, music and lighting should be used as extensively as circumstances allow. The work is a brief exploration of dreams and their impact on the sleeper.

Process Theatre, Atlanta

2006

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

5 minute comedy

One Act

-

2

-

Notes: Single set - office interior

Synopsis: Cross Socks and Underwear is a brief satire on the advertising industry's search for means to promote. Two ad execs rack their brains to come up with a unique campaign for their client's products, and end up with a peculiarly "brilliant" concept.

S.T.A.G.E.S. '96, Dallas

1996

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

18 minute one act drama

One Act

1

2

-

Notes: -

Synopsis: a naturalistic story of a loving but uneasy father and his bright and seriously ill daughter who come to terms with their love for each other, despite his fears about her illness and hers, of being rejected because of it.

Discovery Arena, Decatur, GA

2003

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

15 minute one act drama

One Act

2

-

-

Notes: Single set - carnival game booth

Synopsis: Dreamland is a two-character play about the quest for the meaning of life. GANDY, a 70-year-old longtime carny and his college-student assistant mull the mysteries of life and God on the last day in the life of a decaying amusement park.

Young at Heart - Dayton, OH

2005

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

Human interest - senior audience, 75 min

One Act

4

1

-

Notes: -

Synopsis: A story about age, love of family and independence. An eighty-two year old ex-baseball player lives in New York, unwilling to leave his memories and his best friend. His daughter, discovering he has a heart condition, tries to convince him to move to Los Angeles, to live with her and her family.

University of Louisiana at Monroe

2002

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

Comic romance - two acts

-

5

4

-

Notes: All characters are British. One cast member must play the violin, and a piano is required on stage

Synopsis: Set in England in 1920, The Enigma Variations is about the wonder and mystery of Life, and the elements that comprise it -- people, dreams, joy, love, sadness; and change and constancy -- suggested by and loosely modeled on Sir Edward Elgar's famed suite of the same title. Throughout, the characters explore themselves, their lives, feelings and relationships, offering their often-comic insights into love, friendship, nature, science, music, birth, sex and generational politics; and more contemplative thoughts on separation and war. The play is framed by the use of music, especially Elgar's suite itself. As in the suite, each of the characters is associated with a movement; and, in the play, with an instrument as well, although only one actor must play with any proficiency.

-

-

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

Drama - three acts

Play/Drama

3

3

-

Notes: Unit set. Winner, Artistic Director's Award, Playfest Kalamazoo; Semi-finalist, Panowski Competition.

Synopsis: Family Portrait is a traditional three-act drama about the dynamics of a conventional family that is disassembling itself, and the breakdowns in communication, and in hope, that cause it. The play revolves around BRANDON, the owner of a construction business. Brandon is a patriarch, well-meaning and ingenuous but with little vision beyond his own dream: That his sons come into and eventually take over the business he has built for them. His elder son, however, ROBBIE, left the business -- and his wife and young child -- to go to New York to become a writer. His younger son, EDDIE, is now the great hope. Brandon's uncompromising attitude has also created conflict with his wife, JEANNE; and though he treats his 15 year old daughter, CILLA, like a princess, he is as blind to her potential as he is to his sons' desires. During the play Robbie -- who is, on the surface, charming, likable and flip; but deeply troubled underneath -- returns home (for the first time since he left, two years before) to attend Eddie's high school graduation. The conflict of the play evolves when first, Eddie reveals to Robbie he intends to go to New York, to study acting; and forego a college scholarship and Brandon's desire to have him come into the business. and, second, when Robbie refuses to visit his now four-year-old son whom he hasn't seen since he left -- for reasons Robbie believes in but which make no sense to Brandon.

Bloomington (IN) Playwrights Project

1998

-

Playscrips, Inc - 585

2006

If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Family/youth audiences - 55 min

-

3

2

3 m/f

Notes: -

Synopsis: Suggested by the classic Russian folk tales, The Firebird deals with how people try to communicate with each other, and the problems they face. It is intended to be performed by a mixed cast of deaf and hearing actors, with both ASL and speech employed simultaneously (rather than interpretatively), for audiences of hearing and/or deaf. The play incorporates music, dance, song and simple magic, while always retaining a subtle consciousness of what it's like to try to communicate despite a language barrier. The story revolves around the journeys of the DUKE OF ROBINDALE, an heroic but immature young man, who is assigned tasks by the haughty KING OF ROBINDALE, the first of which is to capture the legendary FIREBIRD. The Duke is assisted by the Firebird herself; and by his extraordinary HORSE, a combination of Polonius and Mr. Ed, whose wiles and wisdom (and ego) often save the day. Ultimately, the Duke must bring the King's intended bride to him, the PRINCESS of the Land of Never (at edge of the world, where there is neither sun- nor moonlight), a feisty and wise young woman; and, later, while retrieving the Princess' wedding gown, he encounters the LOBSTER, the Ruler of the Sea. The seventh character is the STORYTELLER, who provides occasional narration, sign and voice interpretation for various characters, and who participates in the action itself.

The Barn Theatre, Greensboro, NC

2001

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

Five minute play

-

1

1

-

Notes: No set required.

Synopsis: A short rendering of an older man's first Christmas as a married man, and how it reinforced his love and belief in marriage.

Henrico Theatre Company, Richmond, VA

1990

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

Comedy. Evening of related one acts - 80 minutes

-

2

2

flexible

Notes: Simple sets: A park; a multiple-area setting which may be suggested by cubes and lights; and a ship's deck. The suggested cast consists of 5: 3m (70, 30, 25) and 2f (late 50s; 20), although a cast of as many as 10 may be used if the production desires.

Synopsis: Friends & Relations consists of three thematically related one-act plays. In Old Friends, a dramedy about people coping with being alone in old age, GRIFF, an outgoing 71 year old, encounters LUISA, a shy 65 year old, on a park bench. Both are single -- he, divorced; she, widowed -- and, after an initial discord, they -- surprisingly -- find each other's company very "pleasant," discovering various mutual interests, including that their respective last names are Abbot and Costello. Each talks about his/her life, how they have responded to being older and alone; and establish the beginnings of a friendship. The Baby, a story-theatre piece about hope and love, deals with how a young woman's pregnancy leads her mother to recall her own past and refreshes her hopes for the future. In it, MAMA re-discovers her hope when her daughter reveals she's pregnant, and she and her husband intend to name the baby after Mama's son whose death, 16 years before, she has been unable to put behind her. Strangers in the Night is a bittersweet comedy about hope and redemption, in which a disaffected young actor working as an "escort" on a cruise ship, encounters on-board a staid matron who is battling her own ghosts. He offends her deeply when he mistakes her for a fellow employee; then in an effort to save his job he attempts to play up, but discovers a genuine interest in her, as she finds in him.

Wild Onion Theatre Company, Chicago

1991

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

comedy

Ten Min

1

1

-

Notes: Flexible setting. Only one chair is required

Synopsis: A brief comedy about the trials and tribulations of being The Divine. In it, a bookish young man inadvertently calls upon God -- and She appears!

-

-

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

One page satire

-

2

1

-

Notes: Semi finalist, Lamia Ink Competition

Synopsis: A man (with a smarmy attitude) lights a cigarette on an elevator ride -- which deeply upsets one of his fellow riders.

-

-

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

25 minute one act drama

One Act

-

-

-

Notes: 2 actors - either gender but must be the same. o set required

Synopsis: The Invasion is a one act about the nature of war. It requires no set or unusual technical effects. Two soldiers -- one from the invading country, the other from the country invaded -- describe their experience and the meaning of being a part of an age-old war, the consequences to themselves, their families and their nations.

Lebanon (PA) Community Theatre

2003

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

mystery

Ten Min

1

2

1 m/f

Notes: Winner: 2003 Lebanon (PA) Community Theatre Playwriting Competition; Winner, 2005 Panoply Arts Festival Competition

Synopsis: A man and a woman seek the help of a psychic to discover the reason a spirit seems to be present in the woman's house, and, in the process, discover a surprising revelation.

Circle Theatre, Chicago

1997

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

Comedy - two acts

Comedy

2

2

-

Notes: Finalist, New Plays in America 1998, Charlotte (NC) Repertory Theatre (1998); Runnerup, Chattanooga Theatre Center New Play Competition (2002). Includes one original song. The relationships of the play are intended to encourage diversity in casting. There is a very brief, completely non-sexual, nude scene which is integral to the play's development. The play was developed at Chicago Dramatists.

Synopsis: Journeys is about life's little issues: Love, death, intimacy; and surviving them. Based on the true story of Chicago theatrician Karen Skinner and Wayne Buidens, her best friend, who died in 1993, the play "travels" over a period of about 12 years and across America. The center of the play is JERRI, a woman who journeys from an abusive marriage to personal and emotional independence, through her relationship with BEN, a gay man who serves as mentor, equal, and, ultimately, as reluctant dependent (in a caretaking relationship) in his passage toward, and beyond, death -- where the relationship continues. The other characters -- Ben's daughter and half-brother, both trying to adjust to the impending loss of their father and brother, respectively; Jerri's daughter; and a close friend of both principals -- provide a framework for the love and the conflict that exist between the two friends as they wade through the push-pull of their intense devotion to each other which is threatened and repeatedly tested by their awareness of the inevitable separation which neither wants the other to have to bear. Throughout, the characters are presented with humor, and a mix of tolerance and impatience, with each other and themselves. The play is described as a comedy, in the theatrical as well as the philosophical sense: The human comedy that is life -- and, on occasion, death -- itself.

Raven Theatre - Chicago (workshop prod.)

1998

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

-

Play/Drama

3

2

-

Notes: Paired one-acts - 103 minutes. The plays use music extensively, including one, original, song. One actor must play the trumpet (or saxophone); one actress must sing and have rudimentary familiarity with the guitar.

Synopsis: Mid-Century Blues deals with the problems and dreams of America in the middle of the twentieth century. Both are use the same five-actor cast. Tio's Blues (winner of the 2003 Georgia Theatre Conference One-Act Competition), set on a bare stage with platforms, is a stark and impressionistic story, set in 1957, that explores the loneliness of two social misfits, a savant and an emotionally disturbed young woman, and the violence that results from their trust and needs, especially for love. The companion piece, American Blues (winner, 2003 Ronald Williams Competition), which uses a flexible interior/exterior and is set in 1962, examines two triangular relationships, one between an illusive 41-year-old woman and her young, manipulative, would-be lover, the second between an aging musician (and drug addict) and his lover, a dominant and disturbed blues singer. The two couples are conjoined by a young woman (the older woman's daughter), a dreamer who serves as the point both triangles have in common. In both plays, each character is in pursuit -- actively or in his/her fantasies -- of some dream, and it is the collision of those pursuits that, metaphorically, explores the hope, and the loss of hope, that combine in the dreams of the America of mid-twentieth century and of the present day.

Circle Theatre, Forest Park, IL

1992

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

Drama, 90 min

One Act

3

1

-

Notes: -

Synopsis: Nighthawks, suggested by the well-known Edward Hopper painting of the same title, is in two parts. Both parts utilize the same four actors: Two white males (early 30s; 45-55); one black male (late 20s); one white female (about 20). The suggested set consists of the diner as painted by Hopper. The first act, entitled Nighthawks, is set in 1943, and is a cinematic mood piece deliberately stylized in the film noir sensibilities of the period. The piece looks at the different lonelinesses of wartime America in the '40s, how the war built some hopes and destroyed others; and the conflicts that grew out of the racial divisiveness rampant both in the Army and across the nation during the time. The second act, The Night Cafe, takes place on an early Saturday morning in 1983 and is naturalistic. It probes stereotypes of certain relationships and how we -- the audience -- perceive them. Both plays are ensemble works; throughout, they explore the themes of the painting -- loneliness, the need for contact and the sleepless isolation of the "nighthawks" of American society.

-

-

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

One act dramedy - 25 minutes

-

-

-

-

Notes: -

Synopsis: See Friends & Relations

Millikin Univ., Decatur, IL (PipeDreams Series)

1994

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

15 minute one act drama

One Act

-

3

-

Notes: -

Synopsis: Prelude is a short (15 minutes) drama about the possibilities of reconciliation. It details the first meeting between two women -- a birth mother (LEAH), a terminally ill poet who, after years of avoiding the issue, has finally come to make peace; and her adult daughter (LAURA), an insecure woman who has spent her entire life wondering about her real mother's identity and why she chose to give her up for adoption. The play was developed at Chicago Dramatists and has been produced three times.

-

-

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

5 minute play for children to perform

One Act

-

3

-

Notes: cast consists of two eight year old girls and a ten year old girl.

Synopsis: A girl "loses" her favorite Teddy Bear and enlists her sisters' help in finding it.

New York Theatre Workshop

2003

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

One page play/movement piece

-

1

1

1 m/f

Notes: Bare stage

Synopsis: In movement and language, the play describes how the sea and shore came to border each other.

Henrico Theatre Company, Richmond, VA

2005

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

30 minute musical comedy

One Act

3

3

-

Notes: An hommage to and spoof of the "boy meets girl" musicals of the 1930s. Piano score and demo CD available.

Synopsis: A boy -- RUSS -- meets a girl -- ROBIN -- at a New Year's Eve party. They declare themselves uncomplicated people who feel very out of place amid the pomp and circumstance of the party; instantly they fall in love, But as midnight is about to strike, their respective dates claim them and they're pulled apart and lost among the crowds - without ever having exchanged names. A few days later, in parallel scenes, each is having lunch (at separate restaurants) with their respective best friends, MIKE and DIANNE. Russ and Robin seem distant; their friends pry the secret of their unhappiness from them: Each is in love but has no idea how to find the beloved. So, they search. Of course, as the story ends, the four lovers -- including Mike and Dianne, who were once involved and "tragically" separated, but find each other during their respective searches -- declare their enduring love for each other by singing a simple love song.

Equity Library Theatre Chicago

1992

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

sad comedy - 3 acts

-

1

1

-

Notes: Single set (two rooms of an apartment interior), contemporary costumes. Semi-finalist, 2004 Writer's Network Competition; Finalist, Trustus (SC) Theatre New Play Competition (1995); Finalist, National Future Fest (1992)

Synopsis: This is a two-character play about the growth of the soul and learning to live in the face of death. It takes place over a six-month period and requires no unusual technical or physical effects. Some Unfinished Chaos (the title is taken from a poem by F. Scott Fitzgerald) is about learning to live in the face of death. It deals with the never-explicitly-defined relationship that evolves between ERIC WITTENGER, a frustrated, defensive, once-successful writer who, during the course of the play, learns he is terminally ill; and JESSAMYN TYLER, a would-be writer who steadily inserts herself into Eric's life in the hope he will mentor her writing. It explores the ways people create (and sometimes destroy) in order to survive, physically and spiritually, what its characters face in coming to terms with Eric's mortality, and their own respective fears, hopes; and desires, as artists and people, to give something to each other and to the world.

Bloomington (IN) Playwrights Project

1995

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

12 minute one act drama

One Act

3+

3+

-

Notes: Flexible set.

Synopsis: The Sound Called Music is a play about two enigmatically lonely people. A MAN and a WOMAN, both unnamed, meet in a dance club and reveal their fragile natures and their need to each other through spare conversation and the urgencies of the moment. A classical chorus, sound and light are used extensively to create mood and effect.

thrustStage, Kalamazoo, MI

1997

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

12 minute one act drama

One Act

-

-

-

Notes: Cast consists of two males or two females (both in their teens). No set required

Synopsis: Stars is a naturalistic work about understanding and trust. A bright young suburbanite hesitantly reveals affection for a recently-transplanted inner city teen who is both streetwise and emotionally mature. Surprised and, at first, put off at the revelation, the inner city teen is faced with the challenge of accepting the friend for who s/he is, or abandoning the friendship.

-

-

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

One act comedy - 27 minutes

One Act

-

-

-

Notes: -

Synopsis: See Friends & Relations

Discovery Arena, Decatur, GA

2001

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

-

Youth Audience

-

-

-

Notes: It requires little or no set, has no complex technical requirements, may be presented with minimal costuming, and will tour easily. Approximate running time is 38 minutes, without intermission. All material used is in public domain.

Synopsis: Done in story-theatre format, the play consists of adaptations of three Beatrix Potter stories: The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, (one of the Peter Rabbit tales); her famed Christmas story The Tailor of Gloucester; and Grasshopper Belle and Susan Emmet, Potter's adaptation of the Aesop fable; plus three poems from the Apply Dapply Rhymes. In addition, both very short original songs, as well as songs with which the audience will be familiar (some with original lyrics), extensive movement and music are incorporated. Audience participation is used throughout, and the children are involved in solving the "problems" of the play.

Atlanta's FirstStage

2002

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

-

Youth Audience

5

3

3c

Notes: Winner, Jackie White Memorial Playwriting Competition (2006). One man must play the keyboards and one other instrument (ideally, the recorder) proficiently, and it is recommended that two of the women have some operatic ability. Music-only excerpts from various Rossini works are used, as is his very funny "Cats" vocal duet; and there is a short folk dance sequence.

Synopsis: Telling William Tell is the retelling of the story of the mythical Swiss hero -- famed for shooting an apple off his son's head -- framed by a fictionalized story of Rossini writing his famed opera. The script interweaves the two stories, with an emphasis on the role of children in each, drawing attention to the parallels between Rossini's dilemma (the quest for artistic freedom) and Tell's (the effort for national liberty) -- and their respective resolutions; and those between the societies and political situations of 14th century Switzerland, 19th century France and contemporary America. In the play, ROSSINI -- plagued by his Paris Opera producer, GEORGES, to finish a commercial opera -- has elected instead to write his version of William Tell. In order to convince Georges of the worth of the tale, Rossini (who doubles as TELL) "tells" him the story, acting it out. TELL's son, JEAN, is an independent boy who is as fiercely nationalistic as -- and more hot-headed than -- his father. During the course of the play Tell is assisted (and sometimes guided) by Jean, and his close friend ROXANE (12), an outgoing and independent girl, as they seek to overthrow the Austrian tyranny. The work is both dramatic and comedic, incorporating adventure, action, romance and farce in its shifts between Rossini's 19th century Paris and Tell's 14th century Altdorf.

-

-

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

38 minute one-act drama

One Act

-

-

-

Notes: -

Synopsis: see Mid Century Blues

Theatre Decatur (GA)

2005

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

Holiday pastiche

-

3

2

1m/f, 1b, 1g, chorus, flexible

Notes: -

Synopsis: A holiday "anthology" with music in two acts (running time: 100 minutes), 'Tis represents tales from around the holiday world, including Chanukah, Chinese New Year, Tet and Kwanzaa -- as well as Christmas. Familiar works like Gifts of the Magi, The Tailor of Gloucester and Yes, Virginia alternate with original stories, folk tales and songs. Audience participation is invited.

Whetstone Theatre Company, Brattleboro, VT

1995

-

Playscripts Inc, NY

2007

If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

cappella musical - 70 minutes

Comedy

2

3

1 either

Notes: Sheet music available - All songs based on traditional carols

Synopsis: True Magic is in two acts. There is no "fourth wall" and the audience is encouraged to participate at various times. Virtually no set is required. Costumes are conventional. One actor must be able to perform several simple magic tricks. The script allows for as much as or as little dance/movement as a production may wish to include. The play will appeal to both children and adults. The plot elements are drawn from many sources, including A Christmas Carol (of which it appears at first to be a retelling, although it is not), The Comedy of Errors and Peter Pan. The story -- which is classic farce, full of mistaken identity, disguised familiar faces, sudden exits and wildly unexpected turns of events -- takes place on Christmas Eve and is "told" by the NARRATOR, an elf with a string of failures behind her (she was hired to help the three little pigs build a wolf-proof house, for example) whose control of things is interrupted throughout by a series of peculiar happenings. She is assisted by several other ELVES whose functions are to role-play as she needs them. The other characters include TINKERBELL, SANTA CLAUS, and the richest man in the world, MR. PELF -- who learns something that surprises him, Santa and the audience.

-

-

-

-

-

I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

Family audiences

-

-

-

-

Notes: 70 roles, playable by 2m, 2w, 2 either gender (including one child); may use as many as the production wishes. The set is flexible; representational objects -- ladders, platforms, scrims, gobos -- will be entirely appropriate.

Synopsis: Wilde, at Heart is a six (or more) actor play with music (by Linda Uzelac); the material is adapted from three Oscar Wilde fairy tales: the well-known The Selfish Giant, The Happy Prince, and the less-familiar The Star-Child. The total running time is approximately 80 minutes. All retain Wilde's moral message of the value of faith and love and is appropriate for audiences age 8 through adult.