5 ACTORS
KUDZU by Sarah Hammond
Drama
Cast Size: 4 M, 1 W
Exterior: venues, primarily a porch and campsite
THE STORY: Uncle Zeb shoots his nephew’s eye out at a Civil War reenactment, forcing a reckoning between past and present.
AWARDS: Winner of the 2003 Trustus Festival Award, finalist for the Eugene O’Neill Conference, featured in American Theatre magazine, one of five plays chosen for development at World Interplay Festival in Townsville, Australia.
REVIEWS: "Hammond’s Kudzu is a brave, imaginative, well-researched work. But most of all, it’s well-written…. Although Kudzu tells a serious story, it is also really funny…. It has the feel of something that will last." –The Columbia State
THE AUTHOR: Sarah Hammond’s plays have been produced in South Carolina and Iowa. Green Girl won the Tulsa New Works for Women contest and was chosen for development at the Bay Area Playwrights’ Festival 28. Her short play "Cancer Walking Through These Woods" was published in "Ten Minute Plays for Two Actors: The Best of 2004." She is currently working on a commission for South Coast Repertory Theatre. She holds a BA from the University of South Carolina and an MFA from the University of Iowa.
CONTACT: Sarah Hammond at
5 ACTORS
PRAGUE-NOSIS! by Jeff Goode
Comedy
Cast Size: 3 M, 2 F
Interior/Exterior: Simple set
THE STORY: A murder-mystery serial-comedy with gratuitous sex and violence and a cliffhanger ending every 10 minutes. Bungling hotel detective Dick Piston finds himself caught between a beautiful international jewel thief, and a sexy multi-national porn star. …Which is probably not the worst place to be caught.
REVIEWS: “A hilarious spy-game spoof set in the Czech Republic, where nothing is as it appears to be, not even the setting.” The Oregonian
CONTACT: www.jeffgoode.com
5 ACTORS
THE EXILE by Mark Krause
Comedy
Cast Size: 2 M, 3 W some play multiple characters
Interior/Exterior: simple set various locales
THE STORY: Frank has a comfortable, upper middle class life a wonderful wife, an adorable daughter, and good friends. But something is not right. For months, Frank has felt listless and detached, as if he has been watching his life rather than living it. The answer lies in a journey of self-discovery and acceptance, one that will test the limits of his marriage and all that he holds dear. Frank is becoming a pigeon.
AWARDS: The play won a spot in Boston Theatre Works Unbound 04 Festival, finalist in Theatre Conspiracy’s New Play Contest and was a semi-finalist for both the BHTG’s Harris Award and Panowski Award.
CONTACT: Mark Krause
6 ACTORS
DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY by Rich Orloff
Comedy
Cast Size: 4 M, 2 W
Interior/Exterior: A nice home in a nice suburb. The nice fifties.
THE STORY: A nice family who live in a nice home in a nice suburb during the nice 1950’s have their lives turned upside down by three escaped convicts with bad table manners.
AWARDS: Winner 1999 Theatre Conspiracy New Play Contest, FL
2nd Place 1998 McLaren Comedy Playwriting Contest, TX
Produced so far at the Key West Theatre Festival, at Theatre Conspiracy in Florida, at Shadowland Theatre in the Catskills, and at the Lillian Russell Showboat Theater in Iowa.
REVIEWS: “DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY will have you laughing from beginning to end.” The Times Herald-Record
“The hysterically funny play DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY… is a real hoot.” Sanibel Island Sun
“An exaggerated comedy that gave us a good evening of belly laughs. There are so many funny lines that you miss some because of your laughing.” Key West Newspaper
“Audiences are laughing their way through the new production of DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY. Rich Orloff provides his cast with plenty of witty dialogue. The play contains no bad language or violence, but it does have plenty of laughs.” Key West Citizen
“A cross between PLEASANTVILLE and the anarchistic comedy of the Marx Brothers, playwright Rich Orloff’s DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY boasts perceptive writing. DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY is a real crowd-pleaser that should find future life in regional theater.” Backstage
CONTACT: Rich Orloff at www.richorloff.com
6 ACTORS
BECOMING ELEANOR by Marsha Lee Sheiness
Comedy/Drama
Cast Size: 3 W, 3 M
Interior/Exterior: Simple Set
Other than actors who play ELEANOR and LOUIS, Two Men and Two Women play all the other roles. (A suggested doubling schedule will be provided.)
THE STORY: BECOMING ELEANOR examines the early life of Eleanor of Aquitaine (age 15-29), dramatizing events that shaped her character. Her remarkable journey shows how she became the most influential woman of her time. Considered the most extraordinary woman in twelfth-century European history, she was a key figure in both French and English politics until her death. She defied church and tradition, redefining what a woman could be and do. One contemporary called her “a woman beyond compare.”
AWARDS: Finalist Theatre Conspiracy Annual New Play Contest
REVIEWS: The play is bringing down the house superbly written/crafted this is a don¹t miss production, the most ambitious Theatre Conspiracy has attempted to date. Islander
The clever script is filled with wit, lyrical wordplay and sharp characterizations. My only complaint is that the play ends too soon. The News-Press
Sheiness has certainly done her homework, then wrapped it in an entertaining character study of one of history¹s most intriguing women. The Orange County Register
CONTACT: Leo Bookman at The Bookman Agency
725 Fifth Avenue
NY NY 10011
(212) 308-0044
FAX (212) 308-1851
7 ACTORS
LEAP by John Yearly
Comedy/Drama
Cast Size: 4 M, 3 W (or 2 women - Wendy/Natalie can be double cast)
There is a main set of a living room where most of the play is set. Other scenes are set in a variety of places that can be shown or just indicated with light and sound.
THE STORY: Fleeing from a restless soul and a troubling past, a man searches for a fresh identity. A comedy-drama of personal rebirth in the face of national tragedy.
AWARDS: Winner of the Mickey Kaplan New American Play Prize. Finalist for Reverie Productions National Play Prize. Finalist Theatre Conspiracy Annual New Play Contest.
REVIEWS: “generates a seductive magnetism”, “a meditation on love worth noting” Cincinnati Post.
“the accumulation of emotional impact is genuinely affecting”, “Yearley’s imaginative interweaving of character and message shows the mind of an intriguing playwright” Cincinnati CityBeat.
CONTACT: Nicole Rivera (203) 218-7444
8 ACTORS
50 by Albi Gorn
Comedy/Drama
Cast Size: 5 M, 3 W
Interior/Exterior: Simple Set
The twin infants should be played by teenagers or young twenties.
THE STORY: 50 is about one year in the life of a middle-aged man, who experiences the birth of twin sons and a devastating stroke to his father. One of the sons is stillborn, and the play examines the dynamics of life and death and living death, and the need to let go and to hold on. The play does not relate a story in the conventional way, but uses moments and flashbacks to frame the relationships and chronicle the year. The six actors never leave the stage. The lighting shifts the action from one area to another seamlessly. Best done with just a few set pieces and no props.
AWARDS: Winner of the 2000 Theatre Conspiracy Annual New Play Contest.
REVIEWS: “A wildly funny, compelling and ultimately moving play which examines the dynamics of life, death and living death” “When a play elicits tears from grown men in the audience, I judge it a winner” “Both uplifting and sad, 50 is a must-see. Bring a tissue – and enjoy” The Islander
“Plays like 50 are rare” “90 minutes of tenderness, wisdom and humor” “The scenes flow effortlessly into one another, and they build to a fulfilling, powerful crescendo” The News-Press
“50 is a joyful celebration of a life of a common guy with all its tragedy, confusion and happiness. One leaves the theater with a feeling that there is always hope” The Observer
“A provocative piece of theater that has the potential to make it big” The Neapolitan
CONTACT: Albi Gorn at
8 ACTORS
THE 8 REINDEER MONOLOGUES by Jeff Goode
Comedy
Cast Size: 5 M, 3 F
Interior/Exterior: Can be performed without a set
THE STORY: Scandal erupts at the North Pole when one of Santa’s eight tiny reindeer accuses him of sexual harassment. As other members of the sleigh team demand to share their perspectives, a horrific tale of corruption and perversion emerges, which implicates everyone from the littlest elf to the tainted Saint himself.
REVIEWS: “A brilliant satire of gender and sexual politics in contemporary America, filled with penetrating humor” L.A. Weekly
CONTACT: www.jeffgoode.com for scripts $40 per performance
10 ACTORS
PETIA by Ray Hamby
Drama
Cast Size: 8M 2F (actor playing Tschaikowski plays piano)
Interior/Exterior: Simple set with piano
THE STORY: A young composer Peter Ilyich Tschaikowsky, is “discovered” by a wealthy Moscow widow. She launches his metoric career by commisioning his work. Although they never meet, their love affair lasts many years until a Court of Honor is convened to look into accusations about Tschaikowsky. Being found guilty by the Court Tschaikowsky is faced with three choices: firing squad, banishment to Siberia or suicide.
AWARDS: Winner of Theatre Conspiracy’s New Play contest, reading at Edward Albee International Theatre Festival.
REVIEWS: “There is laughter, shock and amazement. A daring show, deliciously funny at times, heart breakingly tragic at others.” Ft. Myers News-Press
“A fascinating evening of theatre” The Islander
“Disturbing, but well worth seeing” Island Reporter
CONTACT: Ray Hamby 922 W. University Parkway A3, Baltimore, MD 21210 or 410-243-3964
12+ ACTORS
HOLY GHOST by Jon Tuttle
Drama
10 M, 2 W
Various Interior and Exterior venues
THE STORY: In 1944, German prisoners-of-war work in South Carolina cotton fields, overseen by black guards who enjoy few of the liberties the prisoners do. One prisoner escapes--armed only with the lines he’s learned playing the lead in a camp production of Abe Lincoln in Illinois, and chased by a black private for whom the pursuit is a quest for belonging. Their dash across the American South explores the ironies and hypocrisies of the American mythos.
AWARDS: Winner, 2004 Sprenger/Lang Foundation’s Nathan Miller History Play Award; 2005 Trustus Playwrights Festival; finalist, 2005 Next Generation Playwriting Competition.
REVIEWS: "Holy Ghost is monumental in its sweep and scope. Rarely does one get to see a play with so much ambition and intelligence presented in such an accessible and entertaining way." --The Columbia State
THE AUTHOR: Jon Tuttle is Playwright-in-Residence and Literary Manager at the Trustus Theatre in Columbia, SC, and Professor of English at Francis Marion University. His plays—which include Drift, The Hammerstone, Terminal Café, Sonata for Armadillos and The White Problem--have received over 100 productions and staged readings in 25 states.
CONTACT: Jon Tuttle at
|
MEMBER COMPANIES |
THEATRE CONSPIRACY
Fort Myers, FL
www.theatreconspiracy.org
|
TRUSTUS THEATRE
Columbia, SC
www.trustus.org
|
ALLEYWAY THEATRE
Buffalo, NY
www.alleyway.com/alleyway/
|
THE ALCHEMISTS WORKSHOP
Henniker, NH
( No Link Yet)
|
|
