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STEPHEN LAROCQUE (1951 - ) |
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Nationality: USA Email: Click here to contact Website: n/a |
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Literary Agent: n/a |
Stephen LaRocque born 1951. Hails from southern New England (Rhode Island, mostly). Served for 29 years in the U.S. Navy, retired as a Commander. Has written performance pieces (plays, sketches, and one-man/woman shows), about 30 in all; 16 have been performed; three have won awards. Active with theaters in the greater Washington D.C. area (Quotidian Theatre Company, Silver Spring Stage, etc.) as an actor, director, and playwright since 1994. Topics used in scripts: Negro Leagues baseball, the Holocaust, German pre-WW II economics, photography (especially darkroom work), astronomy, women in World War II, chess.
Plays by Stephen LaRocque
$40 Million If You Want It | ||
| 1st Produced: | Baltimore MD (Baltimore Playwrights Festival) | 2005 | ||||
Company: | Fells Point Corner Theater | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #63166 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy-Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 4 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Set: interior (office); Costumes: contemporary, business/campus attire; simple props | |||||
Synopsis: | The staff of an obscure academic institute receives news that an anonymous donor has bequeathed them $40 million! The astonishing gift sends REGGIE, the free-wheeling assistant director, into a frenzy of unauthorized spending, while MRS. PAVLIN, the director and the institute's corporate memory, puzzles over who the mysterious benefactor might be. She tells an astonished Reggie about the institute's long-forgotten original (and clandestine) mission: to smuggle endangered academics out of the Soviet Union. Impressed, Reggie impetuously decides to revive the idealism of yesteryear; however, after learning what harrowing realities face present-day endangered academics, he concludes that the lackluster think-tank is not up to the task. Just as Mrs. Pavlin considers rejecting the entire gift, a young woman shows up, claiming to be the deceased benefactor's daughter. She reveals that the bequest came, not from a high-powered academic, but from a barely remembered former employee - an accountant who quietly made a fortune through shrewd investments and who willed the money in gratitude for the pitifully small amount of human contact she had experienced at the institute. Mrs. Pavlin decides to accept the bequest and to reinvent the institute with a genuine purpose. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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21 Pairs of Sneakers | ||
| 1st Produced: | Silver Spring MD (Silver Spring Stage 2004 One Act Festival) | 2004 | ||||
Company: | Silver Spring Stage | |||||
| 1st Published: | Drama Source, 2004 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #88792 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | n/a | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Set: the equipment room of a college gym; Props: basketball gear, sneakers, a duffle bag; Costumes: 1930's street attire, including coats for cold weather | |||||
Synopsis: | LLOYD, the star of the Manhattan College basketball team, asks DEWEY, the team's equipment manager, to help him get MYRA, Lloyd's heart-throb, away from her duties at the college library to accompany him to the Bears-Giants championship football game. Dewey prevaricates, so Lloyd rushes off to execute the far-fetched plan himself. As MARGARET, the head librarian, arrives to ask Dewey about a puzzling note from Lloyd to Myra, a call comes in from the New York Giants equipment manager, desperately seeking basketball sneakers to help his team cope with the icy field. Striking a deal for 50-yard-line seats in exchange for the sneakers, Margaret and Dewey rush off, leaving a date-less Lloyd to listen in unbelief to the radio account of the Giants' come-from-behind victory in the famous "Sneakers Game." Dewey returns with a detailed account of the game and consoles Lloyd the fact that his sneakers were involved in a key scoring play. The two leave the gym together, Lloyd's ego somewhat in repair. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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8 pm at the Dreamland Cafe | ||
| 1st Produced: | Silver Spring MD (Silver Spring Stage 1998 One Act Festival) | 2001 | ||||
Company: | Silver Spring Stage | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #136973 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | The set is a private room in the Dreamland Café, a jazz club on the South side of Chicago; period costumes (1919), with formal dress for all except IDA; sound: 1920's jazz tunes (King Oliver), played offstage. | |||||
Synopsis: | New Year's Eve, December 31, 1919. At a jazz club on the South Side of Chicago, IDA PEMBERTON intercepts RUBE FOSTER, the baseball legend who is about to launch the Negro National League. Introducing herself as a highly-placed employee of Madame C.J. Walker, the wealthy black entrepreneur, she proposes a daring scheme to put FOSTER and his new league on the baseball map by setting up a statistics agency to prove Negro ballplayers the equals to their white counterparts. Impressed with the dramatic proposal, FOSTER steps out to think about it. However, he returns, having learned through a background check that IDA is an inventory clerk in the Walker firm, recently fired for suspected embezzlement. He confronts her, but IDA denies the embezzlement charges and pitches her plan again. FOSTER turns it down, finding the scheme too bold for the troubled times. They part ways, IDA to catch a late train, FOSTER to participate in the New Year's Eve festivities. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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All Dressed Up and No Place to Go | ||
| 1st Produced: | Silver Spring MD | 2005 | ||||
Company: | Silver Spring Stage | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #136974 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Minimal scenery; can be done in black box. Costumes: wedding gown, bridesmaid's dress. One indispensable prop: a soccer ball. | |||||
Synopsis: | Saturday morning, the sidewalk in front of a church. HOLLY, a new bride, and AMELIA, half-sister of the groom, are stranded: through a convoluted chain of events, the limousines have gone to the wedding reception without the bride! As HOLLY and AMELIA await the (hopefully) inevitable realization that a very important member of the wedding party has been overlooked, they review the events that led to the error and, for the first time, become acquainted. HOLLY learns a great deal that she hadn't known about her new husband - notably, that he and she are at opposite ends of the political spectrum. HOLLY panics at the thought of life with a man whose political views are the opposite of hers and considers chucking the entire marriage. AMELIA challenges HOLLY's self-absorbed attitude, then departs for the ladies' room. During AMELIA's absence, the DRIVER of the errant limo arrives, looking for the missing bride. HOLLY engages him in conversation about his life, and his reassuring account of family life brings her down to Earth and back to a sense of commitment to her marriage. With HOLLY's life and purpose back on track, all three head for the limo and the wedding reception. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Chess Game | ||
| 1st Produced: | Silver Spring MD (Silver Spring Stage 2006 One Act Festival) | 2006 | ||||
Company: | Silver Spring Stage | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #63165 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Drama (1 act) | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Set: a table in the park; Costumes: contemporary (casual, business); Props: a chess board and a chess clock | |||||
Synopsis: | A park in the city. Mr. White (an African-American) awaits Mr. Black (a Caucasian) for their weekly chess game, on Black's lunch hour. But today Black brings the news that he has been fired from his job, an apparent victim of age discrimination. They talk of the impressions we have of ourselves, how we fit into the society of work, competition, and the lives of others. Black makes vague hints about committing suicide. White reacts sharply, but Black persists in his self-destructive intentions. White insists that they play one last game. He initiates a series of moves that leads to an easy win for Black, who is puzzled that he won so easily. Black points out that the moves are from an historic game that Black taught White, years ago. White insists that Black has potential left that even he isn't aware of, and he urges him to pick himself up and move on with life. The two men part, each headed to his own destiny. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Daylight Saving Time | ||
| 1st Produced: | Silver Spring MD | 2010 | ||||
Company: | Silver Spring Stage | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #136976 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Romantic Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Set - interior; Costumes - contemporary casual; simple props; indispensable item: portable radio (boom box) | |||||
Synopsis: | In a campus coffee shop, on the Sunday morning in fall when the clocks go back to Standard Time and the 1 a.m. hour repeats itself, EVELYN hatches romantic possibilities for JENNA, whose social life is pretty dim. Jenna resists Evelyn's match-making ideas until CAL enters, looking for HEATHER, (who, unbeknownst to him, is Jenna's housemate); they are scheduled to meet at 1 a.m. (Daylight Saving Time). Heather confides to Evelyn that Cal is just Heather's first date: if it doesn't work out, she has a second arranged for 1 a.m. Standard Time. Cal tentatively approaches Jenna, who, convinced that Heather is treating Cal badly, blurts out the whole scheme. Cal, now interested in Jenna, proposes that they meet on the campus quad for a slow dance at 1 a.m. Standard Time, then leave to wait for her. Evelyn urges Jenna to meet Cal, but she leaves, still undecided. Suddenly, Heather arrives, wondering where everybody is. Evelyn informs her that her first date showed up and left; the second never arrived. On the campus quad, Cal waits. JENNA meets him. They dance. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Eclipse | ||
| 1st Produced: | Silver Spring MD (Silver Spring Stage 2008 One Act Festival) | 2008 | ||||
Company: | Silver Spring Stage | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #136979 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Drama (One Act) | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 4 | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Set: black box; Costumes: prison uniform, guard uniforms; Props: weapons for guards | |||||
Synopsis: | In the exercise yard of an island prison, the sole PRISONER, watched over by two GUARDS, receives an unusual visit from the WARDEN, who has come to ask about an extraordinary request recently made by the prisoner: to be allowed a telescope and other astronomical equipment in order to view the eclipse of Epsilon Aurigae, a star as bright as 1500 suns, by another huge, unidentified stellar object - possibly the largest object in the universe. The eclipse, which lasts two years, takes place only every 27 years, and the prisoner pleads that this will be his last chance in his lifetime to see the extraordinary celestial phenomenon. Both men discuss astronomical phenomena, the prisoner's notorious history as a war criminal, the issue of victors' justice, and the political circumstances that conspire to keep him as its only inmate of the island prison. Returning to the purpose of his visit, the warden indicates that he will forward the prisoner's request for the astronomical equipment, recommending approval. He leaves the prisoner with his guards. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Exit Interview | ||
| 1st Produced: | Silver Spring MD | - - - | ||||
Company: | Silver Spring Stage | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #136978 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy-Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Set: contemporary office, with table and chair; Costumes: contemporary business attire; Props: laptop computer | |||||
Synopsis: | In an anteroom of Eternity, a recently deceased MAN has an exit interview with the RECORDING ANGEL, in the form of a modern-day HR interviewer with a laptop. The Angel reviews the man's life and deeds, assembling a complete record in preparation for the next step in his progress toward Eternity: his evaluation. He recounts the salient incidents, good and bad, in his life and offers his views of earthly existence as it was and as he feels it should be. The interview over, he awaits his passage to the next stage, to the accompaniment of his favorite earthly song. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Last Good Night, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Silver Spring MD | 2006 | ||||
Company: | Silver Spring Stage | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #136975 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Single set, with lots of props; required: chemistry set, table lamp, hand mirror, hammer | |||||
Synopsis: | In the sun room of her home, recently widowed ELEANOR is sorting possessions to put up for sale at an estate auction. Helped by daughter RACHEL and the auctioneer, HANNAH, Eleanor reminisces about each item and agonizes about selling them to strangers. RACHEL discovers some long-forgotten childhood possessions of hers, sets them aside to protect them from the auction block, and sets off to look for more in the attic. Eleanor, alone, reminisces about the sun room and her deceased husband Frank, a taciturn man whose only way to communicate his love for his family was through homeowner projects to make their home beautiful and comfortable. Eleanor, finally coming to terms with Frank, says good-bye to him by re-enacting their nightly ritual of turning off the fans and lights in the sun room before going to bed. Rachel returns from her expedition to the attic, having found nothing. Mother and daughter leave to start a new phase of life. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Life of My Own, A | ||
| 1st Produced: | Bethesda MD | 2003 | ||||
Company: | Montgomery County Seniors Theatre | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #136981 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Dramatic Monologue (One Woman Show) | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Set: two seats; Costume: 1950's clothing (for traveling on a train); suitcases | |||||
Synopsis: | The late 1950's; the coach car of a late-night passenger train between Boston and Providence, Rhode Island. Eleanor Roosevelt enters the car and introduces herself to an imaginary fellow passenger, a young woman attending college. She talks to her to while away the 45-minute trip. Eleanor reminisces about her early, largely unhappy life as a young woman in East Coast society; her marriage to FDR; how she dealt with his affair with Lucy Mercer; her adventures on fact-finding travels for FDR during his administration; and how she carved our a life of her own after FDR's death. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Monday Evening 1942 | ||
| 1st Produced: | Page to Stage Festival. John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, DC, USA >>> | 2008 | ||||
Company: | Quotidian Theatre Company | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #136980 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Drama (2 acts) | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Set: interior (living room); Costumes: 1940's; Props: radio, baseball scorecard | |||||
Synopsis: | On the evening of June 6th, 1942, TERESA, a young woman, is preparing to be inducted into the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps for service in the war. Her father ED and her Aunt IVY are worried about the effect that the loss of Teresa's civilian salary will have on the family's hard-pressed finances, but Ed has an even: bigger concern: he confides to Ivy that he has recently been diagnosed with liver cancer; if he has to quit work, the family's financial situation will become disastrous. In a parting scene, Ed and Teresa engage in an earnest tug-of-war, with Ed's concerns about Teresa's safety in the war pulling against Teresa's insistence on taking advantage of her first real opportunity to live a bigger life. They agree that neither will change the other's views; Ed does not reveal the truth about his condition; and they say a heartfelt good-bye. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Perfectly Good Airplanes | ||
| 1st Produced: | Cedar Lane Stage | 1998 | ||||
Company: | Silver Spring Stage | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #65886 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy-Drama | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Set: exterior or black box; Costumes: contemporary (outdoor hiking gear); simple props, including a pair of binoculars | |||||
Synopsis: | A FATHER and DAUGHTER, together after many years apart, hike to a remote place with a view of an old bridge. The father reminisces about the old times, when he and his (now ex-) wife would visit the bridge regularly. They recount the events of their recent lives, their regrets and resentments; each gets to know the other a little better. The father reveals that he has recently been diagnosed with a fatal illness, and that this visit to the bridge will be his last. He confides to the daughter a secret hidden in the bridge - an anniversary message from the wife to her husband - and asks his daughter to preserve the memory of the message. She promises to come back to the bridge every year, on the day of their anniversary, until the message is worn away. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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September 11th Was A Tuesday | ||
| 1st Produced: | Bethesda MD | 2003 | ||||
Company: | Quotidian Theatre Company | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #136984 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Drama (2 acts) | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 4 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Set: exterior (courtyard/break area); Costumes: contemporary (business attire, casual, hospital scrubs); Props: wheelchair | |||||
Synopsis: | VIVIAN, a Pentagon employee, brings her co-worker ANTOINETTE, who was badly injured in the September 11th attacks, to her therapy session. Each recounts the events of the day from her own viewpoint. Vivian wonders why she escaped injury, while Antoinette spins conspiracy theories and announces her firm intention to retire. The hospital's development director tries to enlist Antoinette as a guest speaker for groups of potential donors, and Antoinette's therapist outdoes her with dark theories about the excesses of human nature that made the September 11th attacks inevitable. Antoinette meets VICTOR the immigrant janitor who saved her from death and was injured himself, but is resolved to go back to work and take advantage of his opportunities. Antoinette, shamed by Victor's resolute attitude, decides to put off retirement and go back to the Pentagon. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Shirt That Babe Ruth Wore, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Silver Spring MD | 1994 | ||||
Company: | Silver Spring Stage | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #136982 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Drama (2 acts) | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Lots of props: family possessions being prepared for an estate auction; required items: an antique sewing machine and a vintage baseball uniform shirt (1910's) | |||||
Synopsis: | Recently widowed ELEANOR is selling off her estate. She sorts through her possessions with her daughter RACHEL, reminiscing, as RACHEL complains about her self-absorbed husband DANNY, a baseball card dealer who aspires to sell high-priced collectibles. When he arrives, DANNY discovers a long-forgotten pile of Providence Grays baseball uniforms. He hypothesizes that one of them could have belonged to Babe Ruth, who, for a few months in 1914, was a pitcher for the Grays. He spins schemes for making himself rich by selling the Babe's threads, but RACHEL, an accomplished seamstress, cuts up the precious shirt and uses it to sew overalls for the auctioneer's grandchild. Stunned at seeing Babe Ruth's uniform chopped to oblivion, DANNY confronts RACHEL, who pours out seven years of frustration and walks out on him. As the auctioneer's patter signals the beginning of the auction, DANNY decides to make the best of the calamity: taking a number, he joins in bidding for the rest of ELEANOR's estate. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Significant Others | ||
| 1st Produced: | Silver Spring MD | 2007 | ||||
Company: | Silver Spring Stage | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #136977 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Set: exterior, party table, with drinks, etc.; Costumes: formal wedding attire (father/mother of the bride); simple props | |||||
Synopsis: | At their daughter's wedding reception, a HUSBAND and WIFE, long separated but never divorced, meet in a quiet moment, away from the festivities. They comment on the wedding couple's adventurous honeymoon plans, making comparisons with their own, many years ago. They catch up on the new developments in each other's life, including the Significant Other that each has acquired. They bring up old hurts, fight old battles, and laugh over their never-ending ability to spin each other up over nothing. They gradually rediscover what they first saw in each other, but also come to the reluctant realization that they are ultimately incompatible. As a final act of non-conformity, they go off for a last night together without telling anyone. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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While We Have the Light | ||
| 1st Produced: | Bethesda MD | 2001 | ||||
Company: | Quotidian Theatre Company | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #136983 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Drama (1 act) | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 4 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Notes: Sets: interior (kitchen and photographic darkroom); Props: darkroom equipment (enlarger, developing trays) | |||||
Synopsis: | ELIZABETH's daughter LISA returns from a teaching assignment (and a failed romance) in Europe without a clue what to do next. She strikes up a friendship with Mrs. BEDDOES, Elizabeth's boarder, a former photo lab owner whose equipment is stored in ELIZABETH's basement. MRS. BEDDOES offers to bring Lisa out of her funk by teaching her photographic processing. Lisa is surprisingly keen on the idea, and the two make photographs from long-forgotten glass plates. In flashbacks to the 1960's, Mrs. Beddoes becomes her younger self, a young G.I. wife, learning the trade from crusty Klaus, who apprenticed in the 1920's with Erich Salomon, the famous Jewish photojournalist who died in Auschwitz. Mrs. Beddoes reveals to Lisa that the glass plates are from Salomon, given to her by Klaus. With her own health failing, Mrs. Beddoes hopes that Lisa will take and preserve the precious images. Lisa resists the idea, finds a job, and moves away. Mrs. Beddoes dies. As Lisa returns to pick up the last of her things, MRS. BEDDOES's effects are being taken to auction. The oblivious auctioneer offers the glass plates to anyone who wants them. LISA, alone, scrutinizes the plates; will she take them? | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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