Overview
TRW is pleased to publish this sparkling new collection of ten short plays – comedies and dramas, absurdist and naturalistic – from a wide-ranging group of exciting playwrights. All of the titles below are included in the collection and are available for licensing worldwide.
Collected Plays
Dummy Dialogue
by David Ives
Max and Norman are ventriloquists’ dummies who’ve been on the road for years. Now they’re backstage before a show venting their frustrations to each other – like the stupid jokes they have to mouth every night. Then Norman starts to have some very large ideas. Maybe a Dummy Revolution is at hand. This is a funny, idea-packed burlesque skit for two good comedians.
CHARACTERS (2M)
MAX — a performer with a whiff of a vaudeville, who has seen it all. Maybe 50 or more.
NORMAN — younger, fresher, instantly appealing in his thoughtful idealism. Maybe 20’s or 30’s.
Setting
Backstage at the Indianapolis World Ventriloquist Convention.
Glenburn 12 WP
by Vickie Ramirez
A Native American woman and a Black man walk into a bar taking refuge from the “die-in” protests at Grand Central over police brutality. With the pub deserted and bartender strangely absent, these two strangers have their run of the place. But as the liquor starts to flow, so do some inconvenient truths.
CHARACTERS (1W, 1M)
ROBERTA LAFORME — Early 30’s, Mohawk woman, professional
TROY DAVIS — Mid 20’s, African American man, hipster
Happy Birthday William Abernathy
by Lloyd Suh
On his 100th birthday, William Abernathy has a confession to make. His Korean American great-grandson Albert is the only one available to receive it.
CHARACTERS (2M)
WILLIAM ABERNATHY — White male, 100 years old today.
ALBERT — His great grandson, Korean American (1/8 Abernathy), mid-twenties.
Setting
A residential bedroom in St. Louis, Missouri. 2004.
A Sentiment
by Elaine Romero
Lucretia Mott arrives home late one night in 1848 to find her husband John waiting by the fire. An astonishingly frank conversation ensues as the 55-year-old wife and mother boldly and lovingly explains her co-creation of the Declaration of Sentiments, and her work to create a new future of possibilities for her daughters, their daughters, and all women.
CHARACTERS (1W, 1M)
LUCRETIA MOTT — 55
JAMES MOTT — Her husband, 60
Time
1848, the night before Seneca Falls, where they signed the Declaration of Sentiments.
Place
Seneca Falls
Set
A desk
Stem
by Arlene Hutton
When their daughter was paralyzed after falling off a pony, Margaret and Frank gave birth to a second child in hopes of using her stem cells for an experimental treatment to help her older sister. STEM examines the horrendous cost to a family after a child makes the ultimate sacrifice for her sibling.
CHARACTERS (3W, 1M)
EMMA — A child, played by an adult
CECILIA — Her older sister, also played by an adult
MARGARET — Their mother
FRANK — Their father
All the actors are played by adults.
Diversity is encouraged. EMMA and CECILIA could be EMMETT and CECIL, cast with young men. MARGARET and FRANK could also be played by two women, as MARGARET and FRANCES.
Time
Next week
Place
The family room of an upper middle class family.
The System
by Lynne Halliday
At a surprise 50th birthday/financial intervention for Bob, we learn that assumptions make an ass of you and me.
CHARACTERS (2W, 2M)
BOB — 50. Marches to his own drummer.
WALTER — Bob’s older brother. Straight-laced.
JEANINE — Walter’s wife.
HEATHER — 40s. Financial planner.
Setting
Bob’s tiny studio apartment. Now.
The Talk
by France-Luce Benson
Manu, a recently widowed, immigrant woman, awakens her estranged daughter, Claire, in the middle of the night to ask a wildly inappropriate question. But what begins as a confrontation between mother and daughter transcends into an honest and open dialogue about intimacy and identity between two women—one who never had the freedom to explore her own sexuality, and the other who, after many long years of ambiguity, has finally embraced her own.
CHARACTERS (2W)
MANU — 54, Haitian; Claire’s mother. She carries herself much older than she actually is; like she’s given up on a part of herself. However, underneath her matronly demeanor, there is curiosity and vibrancy. She is extremely neurotic and needy, which often reveals itself as passive-aggressive and narcissistic.
CLAIRE — 34, Black American woman of Haitian descent. Manu’s daughter. A yoga instructor/trainer. She appears edgy, liberal, and easy-going, but is actually rigid and quite anxious. She works hard to maintain a sense of equilibrium that her mother easily disrupts.
Setting
Claire’s bedroom in Manu’s home in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Time
The middle of the night.
Tasting
by Eric Reyes Loo
Malcolm’s presentation of a new tasting menu leads to a personal—and very public—debate about cultural appropriation and stolen family recipes when his ex, Paul, shows up to call him out.
CHARACTERS (2M)
MALCOLM — Late 20s / early 30s—or at least wants you to think so. Hipster. Gourmand.
PAUL — Late 20s / early 30s—actually. Rabble-rouser. Mexican-American.
Setting
A hipster dive bar in Downtown Los Angeles.
Twelve
by Vincent Terrell Durham
Five mothers recount the loss of their Black sons over the course of several centuries.
CHARACTERS (5W)
WEST AFRICAN WOMAN — Black, mid-to-late 20s, living in the year 1701.
SLAVE WOMAN — Black, mid-to-late 20s, living in the year 1810.
SHARECROPPER WOMAN — Black, mid-to-late 20s, living in the year 1931.
CHICAGO WOMAN — Black, mid-to-late 20s, living in the year 1955.
TODAY’S WOMAN — Black, mid-to-late 20s, living in the year 2022.
Setting
No specific setting, but each woman should be dressed to represent the era in which she lives.
A Walrus in the Body of a Crocodile
by MJ Kaufman
A support group for things inside of things. A class for women writers. A raucous frat party. An absurd exploration of language and gender.
CHARACTERS (4 Actors)
Four actors of any age/race/gender play all the parts, which include frat boys, women writers, and a support group for things inside of things.
Setting
The theater
