TRW Presents: Short Plays, Vol. 2

Fake News

by Doug Wright

Reporting the news today can be dangerous, as anchors Bob Tunley and Fran Mercer of the KLWP News Hour discover in the middle of their live broadcast, when it is interrupted by bizarre and menacing audio and visual clips, and soon the studio crew fears they’re under attack.

CHARACTERS (3W, 3M)
BOB TUNLEY — A seasoned anchorman.
FRAN MERCER — A highly professional anchorwoman.
TWO ADDITIONAL MALE ACTORS
TWO ADDITIONAL FEMALE ACTORS

The following characters can be played by two additional male and
two additional female actors:
MARSHALL McLUHAN
FEMALE REALITY STAR
NARRATOR
NEWS PUNDIT
BREATHY WOMAN
CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST
WOMAN FROM TEXAS
CONSPIRACY THEORIST
TELEVISION HOST
ARCHBISHOP
COMMITTEE MEMBER
SENATOR
SPOKESWOMAN
TEENAGER
ITALIAN SPEAKER
RUSSIAN SPEAKER
GERMAN SPEAKER

Time
The top of the hour.

Place
The newsroom of a radio station.

Clean Slate

by Rajiv Joseph

Special agents Angie Mallinson and Vince Lazar want to assure you nothing horrible has happened at the KLWP News Hour. There are rumors and whispers about a group of vigilantes in Kabuki masks. Ignore them – no matter what you think you saw.

CHARACTERS (2W, 2M)
VINCENT LAZAR — Federal Agent, 30’s
ANGIE MALLINSON — Federal Agent 40’s
BOB TUNLEY — 50’s, seasoned news anchor
(from Doug Wright’s previous play FAKE NEWS)
FRAN MERCER — 40’s, news anchor
(from Doug Wright’s previous play, “Fake News”)

Setting
An interview room.

As Slimy As Young Snails

by Arlene Hutton

After years apart, Christy shows up at the home of Sharon, her older sister, who is now married to Christy’s old friend, Kimberly. A knock at the door forces Christy to reveal she is running from an abusive marriage. The danger causes the sisters to heal their past wounds and address the situation at hand.

CHARACTERS (3W)
CHRISTY — Female, 20s; recently separated from her husband and visiting…
SHARON — Female, Christy’s older sister, who lives with…
KIMBERLY — Female, Sharon’s wife, the same age as Christy.

Note on casting: Actors may be of any ethnicity. Christy and Kimberly should be close enough in age to have been in the same high school class.

Time
Now. Late afternoon.

Place
The basement room in a modest house

Chrysalis

by Craig Pospisil

The caterpillar in Mark’s school science project is not moving. Whether the creature is alive or dead takes on outsized importance to his mother Kathy, which causes a clash with her husband, Peter.

CHARACTERS (1W, 1M)
KATHY
PETER
(A couple in thier late 30s or early 40s.)

Time
Spring

Place
A home in New England

Disney & Fujikawa, a play in one act

by Lloyd Suh

A meeting in 1942 between illustrator Gyo Fujikawa and animator Walt Disney, as they navigate power, personal responsibility and the art of cartoons in a time of war.

CHARACTERS (1W, 1M)
WALT DISNEY — Early 40s, White
GYO FUJIKAWA — Early to Mid 30s, Asian American

Time
Winter, 1942

Place
A private office in New York

La Traviata (Loosely twisted out of the opera of the same name)

by Lisa D’Amour

Three sisters interrogate family drama and inner transformation on an operatic scale while relaxing on a screened porch in South Louisiana.

CHARACTERS (3W, 1M)
LOIS (pronounced Loyce) — Mid-60’s, white woman, the oldest sister. 35 years married (or so). Mother Superior of the family. She is the diva here. Witness the operatic involvement in the lives of those she loves.
TONI — Early 60’s white woman, the middle sister. 30 years married (or so). She also leans into family drama, but while Lois is at the helm, Toni can recede into the middle. This may be changing, though.
ASHLEY — Early-mid 50’s white woman. The youngest sister. Divorced after being married for 8 or 9 years. No kids. Loves her sisters but has learned a lot about boundaries since her divorce.
NATE — Mid-late 30’s. Lois’ oldest son. Could be cast as white or mixed race, either way he was raised in white, Catholic culture. Recently separated from his wife, on his way to a messy divorce. Works in a warehouse or in the service industry, probably still a party boy.

Time
Mother’s Day, 2019, even when it seems like they are slipping back 100 years.

Place
A screened porch in South Louisiana, not far from New Orleans.
Rocking chairs looking out over a lawn, and then a river.

Locked and Loaded. Can I Help You?

by David Ives

Wayne is having a busy morning at his gun shop. Then Jesus walks in to ask about buying a gun. Jesus doesn’t know a lot about weapons, but Wayne is happy to assist. In the end Wayne finds that Jesus know a lot more than he seems to.

CHARACTERS (2M)
WAYNE
JESUS

Time
Present

Place
A gun shop.

Swastika

by Elaine Romero

When Miranda’s son is arrested in a graffiti incident at the chapel on campus at a prestigious university, she goes to the jail cell to remind him of who he is.

CHARACTERS (3W, 1M)
MARCO — 19. Latino. He wears an orange jumpsuit.
MIRANDA — His mother. She is well-dressed for the visit.

Time
Present

Place
Across the plexiglass, Cook County Jail, Chicagoland

Twilight Visit

by MJ Kaufman

Jonah meets a ghost at a queer dance party the same night a cemetery is desecrated.

CHARACTERS (3W, 1M)
PAULINE — Queer Jewish woman from the early 20th century, a ghost.
She is in her mid-20’s or early 30’s.
JONAH — Jewish trans man in his mid 20’s or early 30’s, queer west
Philly punk type. White.

Time
February, 2017

Place
West Philadelphia outside of a booming queer dance party.

Two Muses Slumming It

by Yussef El Guindi

A couple of Muses, Comedy (Thalia) and Tragedy (Melpomene), reluctantly make a house call to try and inspire a struggling actor questioning their career choices.

CHARACTERS (4 Actors)
THALIA — Muse of Comedy, any age, race, or gender (though might be male).
MELPOMENE — Muse of Tragedy, any age, race or gender (though might be female).
SAM — Hopeful actor, male (could also be female), any race, early 20s, struggling to emotionally stay afloat.
TERPSICHORE — Muse of Dance, any age, race or gender (though might be female).

Time
Present

Place
Sam’s Apartment