doollee banner
The Playwrights Database
contact doollee


James Armstrong

JAMES ARMSTRONG

  (1975 - )
Nationality:    USA
twitter     email:    Click here to contact     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    n/a

James Armstrong grew up in northwest Florida, where he first started writing plays. He studied English and Theater at Drew University and holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University. Mr. Armstrong taught English at Somerville Charter School in Somerville, MA, and now teaches at both Saint Peter's University in Jersey City, NJ and Baruch College in New York City. He currently lives in New York City and is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America.

Research:    Member of the Dramatists Guild of America (as at 2015)

Buy Plays with Doollee

Each page of doollee.com has links to play/book outlets, either directly to the Publisher, through Stageplays.com and Amazon to the second hand and 1st editions of AbeBooks. These links will automatically take you to the relevant area obviating the need for further search.
AbeBooks.co.uk   AbeBooks.com   Stageplays.com   amazon.com   amazon.co.uk   amazon.ca
whether you are a Playwright who wishes to make their entry definitive, an unlisted Playwright or a User with a tale to tell - we want to hear from you.
download WORD submission template

below is a list of James Armstrong's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Afterward         Alwida the Pirate, Queen Of the High Seas         Birdgirl On Walkabout         Broadside!         Dancing With Harry         Dickens Condensed         Foggy Bottom         Four Doctors Huxley, The         Last Night Of Nothing         Leap Of Faith         Meucci's Message         Moby-Dick         Muddin' In Chumuckla         Mysteries Of the Castle Of the Monk Of Falconara, The         Net Of Dreams         New Mrs Jones, The         Passing Through the Sanitarium         Reflection         Searching For St Anthony         Sight To See         To A Steed         Try Try Again         When Ladies Go A-Thieving

Afterward

Synopsis:
a failed Senate candidate ruminates on his defeat to the increasing distress of his wife and campaign manager.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Commons Theatre, Madison, Nj    1997

Organisations:
Drew University Dramatic Society

1st Published:
Arts & Letters, 2013   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
comedic Drama Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Alwida the Pirate, Queen Of the High Seas

Synopsis:
Legends tell of the adventures of alwida the Pirate, the brave buccaneer who ruled the waves of the Baltic Sea and sacked kingdoms wherever she went. What they don't tell, is how she started out as a young girl whose parents never listened to her. Never listened, that is, until a chance meeting propelled her to become Queen of the High Seas!

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Snug Harbor Music Hall, Staten Island, Ny    2007

Organisations:
Snug Harbor Cultural Center

1st Published:
Eldridge Publishing (published as The Pirate Princess), 2007   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
children's Youth audience

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Birdgirl On Walkabout

Synopsis:
a brother and sister head west on a roadtrip to visit the Grand Canyon when their car breaks down in an arizona desert. Stranded, the two must confront pain, anger, and confusion as they search for meaning in their lives. Billy, the pragmatic younger brother, ridicules his idealistic sister, Miriam, for her desire to pursue the wonders and beauty of life. as layers of the past are revealed, the tension between these opposing realities erupts. This compelling coming-of-age Drama evokes both the disturbing uncertainties of life and the necessity of forgiveness and understanding.

Notes:
Performance Time: Approximately 25 minutes

1st Produced:
Boston: Playwrights' Platform Summer Festival Of New Plays    2000

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Drama One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Broadside!

Synopsis:
an action-packed evening of adventurous (and mostly new!) storytelling, the heroines of BROaDSIDe! go to extraordinary ends to pursue the lives of their choosing, even when flying in the face of societal norms. Full of vivid characters, this swashbuckling romp spans nearly a thousand years of history through five short plays with a fearless female perspective.
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
written by James Armstrong And Katherine Harte-DeCoux

1st Produced:
Looking Glass theatre
422 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019    11 Jul 2012

Organisations:
Mortal Folly Theatre & Bushwick Shakespeare Repertory in conjunction with the Looking Glass Space Grant Program

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
short plays

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  7            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Dancing With Harry

Synopsis:
Harry's having a bad day. We're not just talking Elvis in a peanut butter shortage, I mean a really, really bad day. after missing his own daughter's graduation, he ends up with his best friend at a local tavern, trying to make sense out of his life. If he could only get that cute waitress to say one word to him, he might just go home happy. Or, he might not. a bittersweet play about last dances and second chances.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Russell H. Ratsch Experimental Theatre, Teaneck, Nj    2000

Organisations:
Farleigh Dickinson University

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Dickens Condensed

Synopsis:
all fourteen (and a half) novels by Charles Dickens performed in a single hour, you say? Impossible? Not for the Crummles Company! Join five intrepid performers portraying more than fifty characters as they perform a comic rendition of all the books by england's most famous novelist, from the Pickwick Papers to the unfinished the Mystery of edwin Drood. This Dickens of a play will have audiences rolling in the aisles while introducing them to the works of a classic and timeless author.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Snug Harbor Cultural Center (Staten Island, Ny, United States)    2006

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playscripts, Inc - New York   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
60 min Comedy

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  1            Other:  4 males, 1 female (4-6 actors possible: 3-5 males, 1-2 females)

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Foggy Bottom

Synopsis:
a philandering mid-level State Department bureaucrat, pretending to be the assistant Secretary of State, promises one green card to three illegal aliens, all beautiful young women. When the three women show up at his office on the same night to cash in on his promise, farcical hilarity ensues. . .and then a fourth woman arrives, with an entirely different plan in store for him.
Press Release

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Four Doctors Huxley, The

Synopsis:
the night before Cousin eleanor's wedding, the Huxley clan reunites at their family estate on the outskirts of Boston. as the only college dropout in a house filled with hyper-cerebral academics, William Huxley feels pressured to prove himself, whether it's with the hopelessly meloDramatic novel he's writing, or with Jenny, the buxom but socially inept girl he's dating.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Jersey City, Nj    2003

Organisations:
the attic ensemble

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Last Night Of Nothing

Synopsis:
Three high school friends hang out in a graveyard on a Sunday night--their last night of summer freedom before school starts up the next day. as they drink beer and complain about teachers, they suddenly realize that they are not alone. a mysterious stranger appears and turns everything upside-down in one night they will never forget.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Lab Theatre, Gettysburg, Pa    2002

Organisations:
Gettysburg College Dept. of Theatre Arts

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
comedic Drama Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Leap Of Faith

Synopsis:
Seeking love, a woman bursts into a room and offers unconditional commitment to a total stranger.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Odd Duck Studio, Seattle, Wa    1999

Organisations:
Playwright's Theatre of Seattle

1st Published:
Yemassee, 2009   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Meucci's Message

Synopsis:
Italian-American inventor Antonio Meucci did pioneering work with electricity in the mid-nineteenth century, and he reportedly sent sound messages over electrical wires long before Alexander Graham Bell's famous cry for help to his assistant. In spite of his many contributions to the advancement of technology, Meucci died in obscurity, embroiled in one of the most infamous patent disputes of all time. Meucci's Message brings the great inventor back to life, leading the audience on a journey from the streets of Florence, to an opera house in Havana, to the sidewalks of New York, to a tiny house on Staten Island where he made scientific history.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Casa Belvedere    21 Jun 2014

Organisations:
Sundog Theatre

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Radio Play

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  2

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Moby-Dick

Synopsis:
James Armstrong's adaptation of the classic novel by Herman Melville

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater. Wellfleet, MA    18 Jun 2015

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Muddin' In Chumuckla

Synopsis:
Six teen-age friends hop into a car on a Friday night, determined to have a blast, and perhaps rekindle their fading relationships. But with high school over and the future beckoning, nothing can remain quite the same. each learns a bit about life and love, holding onto things and letting things go, on the zany road to the town of Chumuckla.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Drew University, Madison, Nj    1995

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Eldridge Plays and Musicals, 2001   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedic Drama Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Mysteries Of the Castle Of the Monk Of Falconara, The

Synopsis:
One the eve of all Hallow's, 1793, three strangers come to the Castle of Falconara in response to a mysterious letter. they are ann Radcliffe, Horace Walpole, and Matthew G. Lewis, three of the great Gothic novelists of the late 18th century. there, they encounter all of the stock devices of Gothic fiction: locked chambers, ominous monks, even a vampire!

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The Monster, New York, Ny    2005

Organisations:
Spotlight On Productions

1st Published:
Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, The Best American Short Plays: 2005-2006 (2008)   978-1557837141

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Net Of Dreams

Synopsis:
Net of Dreams is the story of two young lovers caught in the grip of emotions they can neither understand nor control. It is a classic tale of love, betrayal--and getting rid of pesky dragons. Set in the time of knightly quests, feuding kingdoms, and magic potions, Net of Dreams explores the universality and unpredictability of love, no different today than in the middle ages. Based loosely on a twelfth-century Celtic legend, the play toys with its own myth to get to the heart of a story that is at once comic and tragic.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pa    1999

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Heroic Comedy Comedy

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

New Mrs Jones, The

Synopsis:
It's every son's worst nightmare. every time Sam Jones brings a girlfriend home to meet his mother, she ends up, well. . . dead. Now Sam's met the woman he's sure is the love of his life--pretty, smart, charming, and a doctor to boot! But before they can live happily ever after, he'll have to get her to survive an evening of dinner with his mother.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The Theatre Studio, Inc., Ny    1998

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Brooklyn Publishers2004   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Passing Through the Sanitarium

Synopsis:
John has some problems. That's why he just checked himself into a mental institution. Fortunately for him, he's not crazy like those other people: Thomas who constantly quotes scripture, Simon who says nothing and paints, and Paul who goes ballistic over the thought of a lost Scrabble game. John is just passing through. Or is he. . .

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Commons Theatre, Madison, Nj    1995

Organisations:
Drew University Dramatic Society

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Reflection

Synopsis:
8 playwrights take comic, whimsical, and sometimes poignant looks at the humor and heartbreak of the different stages in a relationship.
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
part of Smitten & Bitten : 8 Stages of a Relationship

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Lightyear Productions

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
short play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Searching For St Anthony

Synopsis:
a year after his father's death, Chris Fallow must return to his hometown for a memorial mass arranged by his ailing mother. Raised in a strict but hypocritical Catholic household, Chris must confront the sins of the past while struggling to find the faith he once had.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The Chernuchian Theatre, American Theatre Of Actors, Ny    2003

Organisations:
Sponsored by the abingdon Theatre Company

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Sight To See

Synopsis:
Friday night, two of the longtime patron's of Phil's bar, Marty and Trisha, drank, and talked, and danced, and went home. . . together. Now it's Saturday night, the gang's all here, and everyone knows exactly what happened last night. Or do they? Nothing is quite the way it first appears, and when Marty and Trisha collide a second time at Phil's bar, it will truly be a sight to see.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Russell H. Ratsch Experimental Theatre, Teaneck, Nj    2000

Organisations:
Farleigh Dickinson University

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

To A Steed

Synopsis:
Decades ago, the famous poet Margaret Katherine Shaw hanged herself in this house. Now Diane erwin, another poet, is staying there for a week. But Diane has her own demons to wrestle with. In the midst of her depression, she stumbles upon an aging horse trainer with a mysterious secret. Gradually, she unravels the past and discovers the truth about Margaret Katherine Shaw--and herself.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
South Santa Rosa Recreation Center Theater, Gulf Breeze, Fl    1994

Organisations:
Northwest Florida Young Playwrights Festival

1st Published:
Arts & Letters (2007   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Try Try Again

Synopsis:
comedy theater in five pieces
- press release

Notes:
written by James Armstrong, Mark Blickley, Dawn Cardinale, Ve Kimberlin, Jacqueline Rego

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, The Best American Short Plays: 2008-2009 (2010)   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

When Ladies Go A-Thieving

Synopsis:
Three pickpockets in Seven Dials, London, compare their spoils one dark evening in 1841. Doll, having recently read the last installment of a cheap, popular novel, persuades her two companions to act out a duel from the story. as past resentments come to the fore, however, their play takes a deadly turn.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
American Globe Theatre, New York, Ny    2004

Organisations:
Turnip Theatre Co. and American Globe Theatre

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page