Plays / Chronology

(2008) 32nd HUMANA FESTIVAL
GREAT FALLS Lee Blessing: Full length, 1 act. A man lost in his adult life drives across the West with his stepdaughter—a young girl at the beginning of hers. The broken ground is echoed by their broken past. He's trying to fit together a new life using pieces of the old. She's just trying to survive. 1M, 1F. More About the Play

BECKY SHAW by Gina Gionfriddo: Full length, 2 acts. A newlywed couple fixes up two romantically challenged friends: Wife’s best friend, meet husband’s sexy and strange new co-worker. When an evening calculated to bring happiness takes a dark turn, crisis and comedy ensue. This wickedly funny new play asks what we owe the people we love and the strangers who land on our doorstep. 2M, 3W.
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THIS BEAUTIFUL CITY by Steven Cosson and Jim Lewis, music and lyrics by Michael Friedman, from interviews by Emily Ackerman, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Brad Heberlee, Stephen Plunkett, Alison Weller and the authors: Full length, 2 acts. This Beautiful City is a play with music, created from interviews with actual persons, that explores the Evangelical movement and its unofficial U.S. capital. Because of the presence of several national Evangelical headquarters, the influential megachurch New Life (formerly led by Ted Haggard), and numerous and diverse churches, questions surrounding religion and civic concerns are brought to the foreground of everyday life in this city. The Civilians’ project looks at Colorado Springs as a microcosm of issues facing the country as a whole—the shifting line between church and state, changing ideas about the nature of Christianity, and how different beliefs can either coexist or conflict within a community. 6 M, 6 W, 3 musicians.
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the break/s by Marc Bamuthi Joseph: Full length, 1 act. With two turntables, video and a spoken word virtuoso, the living history of the hip-hop generation is dramatically realized through the performed personal narrative of poet Marc Bamuthi Joseph. Drawing on interviews and documentary footage, this collaboration between performer, score and projected image puts hip-hop culture into personal, historical and political perspective while exploding the boundaries of theater, dance and film. 3M.
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ALL HAIL HURRICANE GORDO by Carly Mensch: Full length, 2 acts. The routines of daily life get blown apart when two brothers take in a plucky young houseguest. While India is running away from her relatively normal family, Chaz is struggling to find normalcy in the one he already has. Is it possible to be your brother's keeper and have a life too? 3M, 1W.
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NEIGHBORHOOD 3: REQUISITION OF DOOM by Jennifer Haley: Full length play in 6 rounds. In a suburban subdivision with identical houses, parents find their teenagers addicted to an online horror video game. The game setting? A subdivision with identical houses. The goal? Smash through an army of zombies to escape the neighborhood for good. But as the line blurs between virtual and reality, both parents and players realize that fear has a life of its own. 3 M, 2 W.
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IN PARIS YOU WILL FIND MANY BAGUETTES BUT ONLY ONE TRUE LOVE by Michael Lew: Ten-minute play. Liz is looking for love and Lindy is looking to fix her broken heart—so they head, of course, to Paris. When Liz finds the man of her dreams, Lindy faces a decision: can we just let our friends be happy? Advisory: This play contains a mime. 1 M, 2W.
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ONE SHORT SLEEPE by Naomi Wallace: Ten-minute play. A young Lebanese student spins a web of connections between what he knew, what his sister saw, and the war that threatened them both. 1 M.
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DEAD RIGHT by Elaine Jarvik: Ten-minute play. A friend's flawed obituary propels Penny and her unwitting husband Bill headlong into prickly unanswered questions about their own lives. A touching comedy about who we are, how we see ourselves and how we hope to be remembered. 1 M, 1 W.
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TONGUE, TIED by M. Thomas Cooper: Ten-minute play. Plagued by malcontent sock puppets, two lost souls seek professional help. A zany and raucous exploration of accepting oddity—even if it's stuck to your hand. 1 M, 1 W.
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GAME ON by Zakiyyah Alexander, Rolin Jones, Alice Tuan, Daryl Watson, Marisa Wegrzyn and Ken Weitzman, music and lyrics by Jon Spurney: Full length, 1 act. We’re ready to play with guts and heart and rise to the challenge of examining American culture through the prism of sports. Sports touch all of our lives whether we are fans, players, tax- or tuition-payers.  In this Olympic and election year, what do sports tell us about ourselves? 11 M, 11 W, can be doubled to smaller cast.
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(2007) 31ST HUMANA FESTIVAL
THE UNSEEN by Craig Wright: Full length, 1 act. Imprisoned by a totalitarian regime and mercilessly tortured for unknown crimes, Wallace and Valdez live without hope of escape or release. When an enigmatic new prisoner arrives and begins communicating in code, both men develop new relationships to each other, their captors, and themselves. A darkly humorous examination of faith in an uncertain world. 3M. More About the Play

dark play or stories for boys by Carlos Murillo: Full length, 1 act. A teenage boy’s fictional Internet identity begins as a harmless game. But the game takes on a frightening reality when real emotion overtakes his online relationship. When Nick’s virtual world online collides with the real one, his fantasies of love, intimacy, obsession and betrayal spiral into consequences that lead him to the brink of death. 3M, 2W.
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STRIKE-SLIP by Naomi Iizuka: Full length, 2 acts. In the urban sprawl of Los Angeles, three diverse families each carry a dream, but a recent shooting creates an unexpected seismic shift that rocks each family's foundation. Faults that were once inactive or dormant suddenly appear and abruptly change the way they think about themselves, their community and their dream. 5M, 3 W.
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WHEN SOMETHING WONDERFUL ENDS by Sherry Kramer: Full length, 1 act. After the death of her mother, Sherry's family home goes up for sale. Sifting through memories of a seemingly simpler time as she packs up her baby-boom childhood, Sherry begins to connect the dots between her Barbie collection and America’s place in the rest of the world. A touching, funny, deeply personal and daringly global one-woman, one-Barbie play. 1W.
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THE AS IF BODY LOOP by Ken Weitzman: Full length, 2 acts. Aaron’s sister Sarah is succumbing to a mysteriously icy illness and to save her, his family must save…well….all humankind, starting with one guy. With great humor, tremendous compassion, and a good dose of mysticism, maybe the apocalypse can be kept at bay by a group of eccentrically dysfunctional, but loving, people. 3M, 2W.
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BATCH: AN AMERICAN BACHELOR/ETTE PARTY SPECTACLE conceived by Whit MacLaughlin and Alice Tuan, with Text by Alice Tuan, created by New Paradise Laboratories:
Full length play in 6 rounds. Your friend is getting married. Wants to say goodbye to single life forever. You throw a party. A real bash. Does the sky break open? Do you summon the divine? Change? Or just get drunk? Speak now, friends, or forever hold your peace. This collaboration between New Paradise Laboratories and playwright Alice Tuan is the second in NPL's series examining rites of passage. 3 M, 3 W.
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I am not Batman. by Marco Ramirez: Ten-minute play. A streetwise kid with a stomach full of grocery store brand mac-and-cheese lives out his Batman fantasy. Accompanied by live drums, crashes, bangs, and justice. 1 M, 1 drummer.
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MR. AND MRS. by Julie Marie Myatt: Ten-minute play. Once newlyweds learn who they are, are they sure that they "do?". 1 M, 1 W.
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CLARISSE & LARMON by Deb Margolin: Ten-minute play. A middle-aged couple receives a visit from an anonymous soldier bearing the news of their son’s death and a photograph of his leg. A searing look at the nature of language and truth, and what happens to the value of bodies in the face of war. 2 M, 1 W.
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THE OPEN ROAD ANTHOLOGY by Constance Congdon, Kia Corthron, Michael John Garcés, Rolin Jones, A. Rey Pamatmat and Kathryn Walat, with music by GrooveLily: Full length, 1 act.
The call of the open road has reverberated since the founding of our nation: the wind in our hair and promise of a new life around the corner; or in the legacy of land taken, communities divided and the increasingly guarded borders behind which Americans drive. Comic and thought-provoking, these writers examine how America's yearning for unfettered freedom resonates today and where it rings hollow. 11 M, 11 W, can be doubled to smaller cast.
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365 DAYS/365 PLAYS by Suzan-Lori Parks: Short plays.
On November 13, 2002, Pulitzer-prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks got an idea to write a play a day for a year. She began that very day, finishing one year later. The resulting play cycle, called 365 Days/365Plays, is a daily meditation on an artistic life. Some plays are very short, less than a page. Others last forever. Actors Theatre is pleased to participate in the rolling premiere of this work by presenting eight plays from the first half of the cycle.
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November 14, Father Comes Home from the Wars (Part 1), 1 M, 1 W
December 18, The Great Army in Disgrace, 2 M, 5 either gender
January 3, 2 Marys, 2 W
December 18, The Birth of Tragedy, 3 M, 2 W, extras
January 31, If I Had to Murder Me Somebody, 1 actor
Feburary 13, (Again), The Butchers Daughter (For Bonnie), 1 M, 1 W
March 21, A Play for the First Day of Spring Entitled "How Do You Like the War?", Flexible, at least 3
April 1, George Bush Visits The Cheese & Olive, 1 M, 2 W, Chorus

(2006) 30TH HUMANA FESTIVAL
ACT A LADY by Jordan Harrison: Full length, 2 acts. When the men of a small Prohibition-era town decide to put on a play dressed in “fancy-type, women-type clothes,” the whole community is affected: gender lines blur, eyebrows raise, identities explode, and life and art are forever entangled. A thoughtful, exuberant Midwestern fable about the woman in every man, the man in every woman and the power of theatre to uncover both. Accompanied by accordion. 3M, 3W. More About the Play

HOTEL CASSIOPEIA by Charles L. Mee, Produced in association with the SITI Company: Full length, 1 act. The American collage artist Joseph Cornell made wooden boxes filled with pocket watches, coiled springs, maps of the stars, a forest of thimbles, parrots, seashells, broken glass, children’s alphabet blocks, brightly colored balls, soap bubbles, whales’ teeth, a colored lithograph of the moon in the night sky, star fish. How would it be if those boxes could speak? About art, about America, about compassion and longing and loneliness and heartbreak. 4M, 3W. More About the Play

LISTENERS by Jane Martin: Ten-minute play. Say what you will, you're not alone. A woman's assigned "Listeners" let her speak directly to the "big guy". More About the Play

LOW by Rha Goddess, A co-production of Divine Dime, Ltd. and Made in da Shade: Full length, 1 act. Acclaimed artist and social activist, Rha Goddess poses the question: What is Insanity? This one-woman, multidisciplinary theatre piece explores the mythology, stigma, fear and confusion surrounding mental illness and asserts that reaching a real state of “well being” is a revolutionary act. A visceral, kinetic and truly live show, Low’s Journey is a mixture of reality, fantasy, insanity and truth. 1W. More About the Play

NATURAL SELECTION by Eric Coble: Full length, 2 acts. We’re in the not-so-distant future where the Culture Fiesta Theme Park needs to restock the natives of the Native American Pavilion, and curator Henry Carson must venture into the wastes of North America to find one. But will his new acquisition make a blip on his wife’s blog? And what’s up with all this rain? 3M, 2W. More About the Play

NEON MIRAGE by Liz Duffy Adams, Dan Dietz, Rick Hip-Flores, Julie Jensen, Lisa Kron, Tracey Scott Wilson & Chay Yew
Full length, 1 act. Las Vegas: where the rugged outdoors meets Oz, where America’s central myth of unbridled possibility collides with its compulsion for perpetual self-invention. In the middle of the desert, glitz and grit combine in a place that is as narcotic as it is undeniably real. What happens where so much possibility and so much failure meet? Six writers and a composer, along with the Actors Apprentice Company, are going to find out. More About the Play

SIX YEARS by Sharr White: Full length, 2 acts. After six silent years, Phil Granger returns home to his wife, Meredith, shattered by all he witnessed in World War II. We return to Phil and Meredith every six years, from the Post-war boom through the quagmire of Vietnam, in this poignant examination of damaged souls in an era of unparalleled change. 4M, 3W. More About the Play

THE SCENE by Theresa Rebeck: Full length, 1 act. Clea’s new to the scene. Lewis wants to make a new scene from the old scene. Charlie was part of the scene and Stella’s trying not to make a scene. This biting new black comedy takes on New York, the entertainment industry, marriage and even Ohio. Three old friends hitting middle age have their worlds upended by the new hot, young thing. 2M, 2W. More About the Play

SOVEREIGNTY by Rolin Jones: Ten-minute play. Gardening, new neighbors, old neighbors, chocolate—life in the suburbs can be so complicated. A scathing and satiric play about the people right next door. 2M, 2W. More About the Play

THREE GUYS AND A BRENDA by Adam Bock: Ten-minute play. The three guys agree that Brenda is beautiful, but will the one single guy actually ask her out? A sweet gender-bending look at the courage it takes to simply be a nice guy. 4W More About the Play

(2005) 29TH HUMANA FESTIVAL
DREAM OF JEANNIE-BY-THE-DOOR by David Valdes Greenwood: 10-Minute Play. Gary and Bonnie have a date at the altar, Wilma has a date with her favorite slot machine, and everyone is hoping to get lucky. A quirky critique of casinos, good-luck charms, and the dangers of aiming for a jackpot that will never pay out quite the way you imagine. 1m, 2w

GOODY FUCKING TWO SHOES by Jennifer Maisel: 10-minute Play. The drama club. The new girl. The lead in the school play. High school politics get dirty. 2w.

HAZARD COUNTY by Allison Moore: Full-length in 2 Acts. How much truth is necessary for a news segment or a love affair? Ruth is a young widowed mother who has lost everything and Blake is a television producer who wants to tell her story to a national audience. Interspersed with recollections of Bo, Luke and Daisy Duke - and with a taste for genuine moonshine-the slyly subversive Hazard County takes a deep look at the small-town South. 2m, 3w. More About the Play

JOHANNES, PYOTR & MARGE by Jeffrey Essmann: 10-minute Play. Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Marge-the three pillars of Romanticism-share a birthday and an ability to wax rhapsodic on music, Velveeta cheese, and the struggle to recognize the beauty right in front of you. 2m, 1w.

LONG DREAM IN SUMMER by Saïd Sayrafiezadeh: 10-minute Play. A mother tries to save her son from the brutalities of war in this evocative study of the power, even in its earliest days, of America’s favorite past-time. 3m, 1w.

MEMORY HOUSE by Kathleen Tolan: Full-length in 1 Act. One winter night, a woman bakes a pie as a girl tries to finish her college essay. Unfolding in real time, this play is about two people who are forced to grapple with the past as they face an uncertain future. A funny and moving story about the complexity of living in the world today. 2w.

MOOT THE MESSENGER by Kia Corthron: Full-length in 2 Acts. A complex and fiercely intelligent indictment of the current state of the American news media. Briar, an ambitious journalism student, lands a job as an embedded reporter in Iraq. Her encounters with soldiers, international journalists and a working-class girl she knew from home force her to grapple with the fact that while her role is to report the truth, the truth is no longer being reported in the American media. 8m, 4w.

A NERVOUS SMILE by John Belluso: Full-length in 1 Act. Three parents do the unthinkable: abandon their children with cerebral palsy in order to escape the bruising reality of caring for them. As they deal with the consequences of their actions, they face down the fear and disgust they feel for the children they also fiercely love. Belluso examines these choices with insight and compassion, while giving voice to the resilient if hidden personality of a girl with cerebral palsy. More about this production

PURE CONFIDENCE by Carlyle Brown: Full-length in 2 Acts. The powerful tale of Simon Cato-a slave with the imagination to pursue the unfathomable: freedom. Based on historical accounts of African American jockeys, the play examines these early riders-unusual assets to their masters-while conveying yet another untold story: a complex view of the essentially capitalistic impulse underlying the “peculiar institution” of slavery. 4m, 2 w. More About the Play

THE SHAKER CHAIR by Adam Bock: Full-length in 2 Acts. The Shakers built for utility, not comfort. In this play, Marion navigates the constrictions and possibilities of middle age: her friend has become an activist and is pushing her to do the same, her sister clings to the familiarity of her marriage and Marion grapples with her responsibilities to the world beyond the comfortable edges of her living room. 2m, 4w.

UNCLE SAM’S SATIRIC SPECTACULAR:
On Democracy and Other Fictions, Featuring Patriotism Acts and Blue Songs from a Red State

a collaborative project by Greg Allen, Sheila Callaghan, Bridget Carpenter, Eric Coble, Richard Dresser, Michael Friedman and Hilly Hicks: Full-length in 1 Act.
Comedians! Ventriloquists! Mesmerists! Musicians! Vaudeville took a bit of everything in American culture and reflected it back in act upon act of pure entertainment. As the culture and politics of the United States grow increasingly surreal, we thought the time was ripe for a return to the humorous forms of yesteryear. We’ve asked seven playwrights to draw on the conventions of these earlier forms to create an evening of contemporary satire, performed by Actors’ apprentice company.

(2004) 28th HUMANA FESTIVAL
AFTER ASHLEY by Gina Gionfriddo: Full-length, 2 Acts. Three years after his mother’s murder, seventeen-year-old Justin can barely function. His father, on the other hand, has written a best-selling book about the crime and scored his own cable television talk show. America may be ready for a mega-marketing blitz of Justin’s murdered mom, but he isn’t. Gina Gionfriddo’s scathing satire takes on our media’s obsession with victims and violence in a hilariously penetrating fashion. 4m, 2f. More About the Play

AT THE VANISHING POINT by Naomi Iizuka: Full-length, 1 Act. In this stunning portrait of a community, Naomi Iizuka weaves together historical fact, myth and memory to give voice to people who would otherwise exist only as faded images in an old photo album. Developed through extensive interviews and archival research, At The Vanishing Point conjures the rich history of Butchertown, a storied neighborhood minutes from downtown Louisville, once home to the stockyards and meatpacking plants that used to thrive on the banks of Beargrass Creek. How do we remember a part of our history at the moment that it’s slipping away? How do we give voice to the ghosts that haunt us as individuals and as a community? Bringing together the stories of residents past and present, this unique theatrical event was performed site-specifically in an industrial warehouse in the heart of Butchertown. 5m, 3f.

A BONE CLOSE TO MY BRAIN by Dan Dietz: 10-minute Play. A man's brother changes identities more often than underwear—reporter one day, radiologist the next. Today he's a dentist, bent on extracting a perfectly healthy tooth. What are the limits of brotherly love? When a pair of pliers is reaching for your mouth, how do you draw the line? 1m.

FOUL TERRITORY by Craig Wright: 10-minute Play. Ruth and Owen take in a baseball game to get their minds off their romantic woes. But some people just can’t manage to focus on the positive. Especially when life keeps sending foul balls their way. 1m, 1f.

KID-SIMPLE, a radio play in the flesh by Jordan Harrison: Full-length, 1 Act. In which Moll, a girl who invents things, creates The Third Ear, a miraculous machine for hearing sounds that can't be heard. But a master of disguises, The Mercenary, steals the machine (and Moll’s heart) at the bidding of two dark-dwellers. Will the crafty Moll and her reluctant guide, the boy virgin Oliver, be able to raft the river, cross the chasm and mount the mountain in time to reclaim the device? Will the Third Ear destroy noise and narrative as we know it? Tune in to this quirky fable of innocence and experience to find out. 4m, 3f. More About the Play

KUWAIT by Vincent Delaney: 10-minute Play. Violating the rules of engagement, a Gulf War journalist has been caught in the combat zone. When a soldier detains her for her trespass, is what follows an interrogation or a punishment? And in this apparent smokescreen, what is it that’s being hidden? 2m, 1f.

THE RUBY SUNRISE by Rinne Groff: Full-length, 3 parts in 2 Acts. In 1927, in a barn on the outskirts of Indianapolis, a young woman named Ruby struggles to realize her dream of inventing and perfecting the first all-electrical television system. Twenty-five years later, in a television studio in Manhattan, Ruby's literal and metaphorical heir faces similar battles of will and crises of faith as she works to get Ruby's story told as she feels it must be told. 3m, 4f.

SANS-CULOTTES IN THE PROMISED LAND by Kirsten Greenidge: Full-length, 1 Act. A lawyer about to make partner keeps bumping her head; her architect husband can't close a deal or keep his hands off the help; their young daughter is desperate for attention and the nanny has a secret. In this fantastical satire about the road to success, Kirsten Greenidge maps the false promise of education and the reality of the glass ceiling in America, especially within this upper middle-class, African-American family. 1m, 5f.

THE SPOT by Steven Dietz: 10-minute Play. A posse of political spin doctors clamor to create the perfect "spot," one designed to captivate the carefully polled public and capture their candidate's honor, integrity–and a little something that his Communications Director likes to call "honesty." 2m, 2f, 2 either.

TALLGRASS GOTHIC by Melanie Marnich: Full-length, 1 Act. Set amid the stark beauty of the Great Plains, this sensual tale of love and its consequences reveals the dark side of small town America, exposing a claustrophobic and unforgiving landscape of secret longings, silent hatred and unleashed fury that festers beneath the deceptive calm of the heartland. 4m, 2 f.

FAST AND LOOSE An Ethical Collaboration by José Cruz González, Kirsten Greenidge, Julie Marie Myatt and John Walch: Full-length, 1 Act. Should you share a secret if it might hurt the one you tell? What’s more important, the end or the means? How do you behave when another’s standards are not your own? And is there any compelling reason to think about the interests of others at all? In this dramatic anthology, created to be performed by Actors’ Apprentice Company, four playwrights work alongside each other and in conversation to attack classic dilemmas of right and wrong from every angle—through stories both personal and communal, from inside our homes to our ethically challenged world and beyond.

(2003) 27TH HUMANA FESTIVAL
THE FACULTY ROOM by Bridget Carpenter: Full-length, 2 Acts. Welcome to the faculty room at Madison-Feurey High School—where firearms are stowed after Morning Checkpoints, and the teachers can say what’s really on their minds (unless the principal’s eavesdropping over the P.A. system, that is). Idealistic Carver has just arrived, but soon finds that this inner sanctum is not so much a refuge as a battleground for his burned-out and sharp-tongued colleagues, Zoe and Adam. With their students packing heat and rhapsodizing about the Rapture, tensions run wild amongst this trio of lost teacher souls. A bitingly funny tragicomedy of Biblical proportions. 4m, 1f, 1 either.

FIT FOR FEET by Jordan Harrison: 10-minute Play. As her perfect wedding day approaches, Claire is faced with something even more pressing than china patterns—her fiancé thinks he’s famed Russian dancer Vaslav Nijinsky. If this union is to be a success, Claire has to answer one question: will she be fit for Jimmy’s increasingly flashy feet? 1m, 2f.

THE LIVELY LAD a play with songs by Quincy Long, music by Michael Silversher: Full-length, 2 Acts. Jonathan Van Huffle’s heart is all aflutter, for he’s in love with the scrumptious and scrupulous Miss McCracken. A woman of conscience, she wants the wealthy Jonathan to think less about having more—and she’s particularly opposed to what she considers an inhumane custom that’s making a comeback: the procurement of eunuchs for rich debutantes like Little Eva, Jonathan’s spoiled and insistent offspring. In this hilarious, stylish, and slyly satirical comedy (with songs), Quincy Long creates a world that’s oddly reminiscent of our own. 6m, 3f.

OMNIUM-GATHERUM by Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros and Theresa Rebeck: Full-length, 1 Act. A lively, contentious debate is the heart and soul of every dinner party—and that’s why Suzie, a domestic artist and perfect hostess, has brought together an assortment of sharp, opinionated personalities to share her surreally exquisite meal. At this magnificent feast of food and argument, the dinner guests confront a moment when history is turning over, and when a culture must face grave danger and global responsibility. An urgent, impassioned, and hilarious conversation about the implications of the September 11th attacks and beyond. 5m, 3f.

ORANGE LEMON EGG CANARY: A Trick In Four Acts by Rinne Groff: Full-length. Great is a magician with a dangerous past and a promising future. Trilby is looking for the truth behind the illusion. In this mysterious love story filled with top hats, disappearing coins, floating objects and seemingly impossible feats, everyone has a few tricks up their sleeves. Is it all smoke and mirrors? Only the lovely assistant knows for sure. 1m, 3f. More About the Play

THE ROADS THAT LEAD HERE by Lee Blessing: 10-minute Play. Brothers Jason, Marcus, and Xander reunite annually to share their contributions to "the project," a nationwide road trip to collect pictures, sounds, and objects from an America that’s very particularly their own. But this year their sponsor, "the Eminent," has other plans in store for them. 3m.

THE SECOND DEATH OF PRISCILLA by Russell Davis: Full-length, 2 Acts. The Second Death of Priscilla takes place in Priscilla’s bedroom, in a forest, and in the big blue sky outside. It is about a woman who sets out in her mind to slay what lurks like a wolf outside her window, waiting for her house to blow down. In this richly imagined universe, playwright Russell Davis tears away the veil that separates this world from the next to reveal a place where monsters are real; and they may well be the ones telling the story. 3m, 4f.

SLIDE GLIDE THE SLIPPERY SLOPE by Kia Corthron: Full-length, 2 Acts. Twins reunited after a lifetime apart find they are as different as two people can be. Erm likes her isolated life on the farm, talking to the sheep and devouring scientific journals about the possibilities and limitations of human cloning. Elo, a recent exile from the big city, is looking for a way out of an abusive relationship and a way back to the daughter she lost in an accident. When cloning becomes the answer she is searching for, both sisters must ask themselves: is it better to create what you wish for, or to love what is? 1m, 5f. More About the Play

TRASH ANTHEM by Dan Dietz: 10-minute Play. Little house. Big South. A pair of cowboy boots is all Jenny’s got left of the lover she’s killed. But before she can make peace with his memory, the boots have a few things to say. 1m, 1f.

TREPIDATION NATION
A Phobic Anthology by: Keith Josef Adkins, Stephen Belber, Hilary Bell, Glen Berger, Sheila Callaghan, Bridget Carpenter, Cusi Cram, Richard Dresser, Erik Ehn, Gina Gionfriddo, Kirsten Greenidge, Michael Hollinger, Warren Leight, Julie Marie Myatt, Victoria Stewart, and James Still: Full-length in 1 Act. "All of us are born with a set of instinctive fears," writes humorist Dave Barry, "of falling, of the dark, of lobsters, of falling on lobsters in the dark." But what if a fear becomes inexplicable, illogical, and just plain weird? Then you’re dealing with a phobia, those most extreme and fascinating of terrors. We asked 16 frighteningly creative playwrights to find inspiration in real phobias, and the resulting collection of pieces–created to be performed by Actors’ 2002-2003 Apprentice Company–might just prove that not only is fear humankind’s oldest emotion, but it’s also one of our silliest, most serious and stage-worthy.

RHYTHMICITY: A convergence of poetry, theatre and hip-hop
curated by Mildred Ruiz and Steven Sapp; featuring Regie Cabico, Gamal Abdel Chasten, reg e. gaines, Willie Perdomo, Rha Goddess, Mildred Ruiz and Steven Sapp
Rhythmicity brings to Actors Theatre the eclectic and inventive performances of seven spoken word artists. Both individually and in conversation with one another, these acclaimed innovators will invade the lobbies and public spaces of the theatre with thrilling rants and rhythms, ranging from the personal to the political and everything in-between. Poet merges with actor, storytelling melds with music, and speech comes alive through dance and movement—all subject to the truth of the word.

(2002) 26TH HUMANA FESTIVAL
a. m. SUNDAY by Jerome Hairston: Full-Length, 2 Acts. Beginning on a Sunday morning and spanning the course of five tense days, a.m. Sunday is an extraordinary portrait of a family confronting where they stand in one another’s worlds. This moving and subtly-rendered drama is the tale of an interracial couple, R.P. and Helen, who reach a painful turning point in their relationship. It is equally the story of their two sons, Jay and Denny, both of whom are arriving at a time in their lives when everything is in question. Fifteen-year-old Jay’s romance with a white girl adds another complex layer to this cross-generational examination of how difficult it is to love and be loved in the face of difference. 3m, 2f. Published by American Theatre and by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2002: The Complete Plays.

BAKE OFF by Sheri Wilner: 10-minute Play. It’s showtime at the Bake-Off and Rita’s on the warpath. Last year, a man took home the largest prize in Bake-Off history. This year, she’ll make sure every man there, even the Doughboy himself, gets his just desserts. 1m, 1f, 1 Doughboy, 1 voice. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2002: The Complete Plays.

CLASSYASS by Caleen Sinnette Jennings: 10-minute Play. It’s 3:47 a.m. at WBMR, the voice of Bellmore College, and the D.J., a smart-assed freshman named Amadeus, is about to learn a lesson he won’t soon forget. ‘Cause you don’t have to be uptight and white to love classical music. 2m, 1f. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2002: The Complete Plays.

FINER NOBLE GASES by Adam Rapp: Full-Length, 1 Act. In this freakishly funny and vividly-imagined absurdist nightmare for our time, the inert occupants of an East Village apartment—members of a band once called "Lester’s Surprise," now remembered simply as "Less"—are going numb. Pill-popping Chase and Staples, who look like they’ve been living on their sofa since the previous spring, sit mesmerized in front of the television...until its untimely demise. Desperately in need of technological stimulus, they decide to call up their weird neighbor, luring him upstairs and under Chase’s narrative spell so that Staples can steal his Magnavox via the fire escape. The strange arrivals and events that follow move from the hilarious to the disturbingly existential, as Rapp’s electronic-age creatures long to feel something, to be part of something, or to be of use. 5m, 1f. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2002: The Complete Plays.

LIMONADE TOUS LES JOURS by Charles L. Mee: Full-Length in 1 Act. It’s Paris in the springtime and love is in the air. When Andrew, an American man in his fifties, meets Jacqueline, a young French cabaret singer, romance blossoms over refreshing glasses of ‘limonade’ and steaming cups of café au lait. But relationships are always more complicated than romance—both are recovering from broken hearts, and the only thing they know for sure is that they shouldn’t be together. Yet together is exactly where they find themselves. In this achingly beautiful, whimsical play, playwright Charles L. Mee reminds us of the irrationality of attraction and celebrates the bittersweet pleasure of living in the moment, even if that moment may fade. 2m, 1f. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2002: The Complete Plays.

THE MYSTERY OF ATTRACTION by Marlane Meyer: Full-Length in 1 Act. If you’ve ever been tempted to slow down at the sight of a traffic accident... If you’ve ever wanted to eavesdrop on the fight taking place in an adjacent motel room... If you’ve ever been curious about why the lessons we fail to learn again and again appear in our lives as fate, then you might want to see The Mystery of Attraction; a darkly comic and edifying entertainment. 4m, 2f. Published by South Atlantic Quarterly and by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2002: The Complete Plays.

NIGHTSWIM by Julia Jordan: 10-minute Play. Black water, black sky, midnight—it’s a beautiful night for a swim, but for two young girls, the lake holds the promise of both velvety warmth and danger. Will Rosie convince Christina to come out and play? 2f. Published by Smith and Kraus in 30 Ten-Minute Plays for 2 Actors and Humana Festival 2002: The Complete Plays.

REMBRANDT'S GIFT by Tina Howe: Full-Length. In Rembrandt’s Gift, award-winning playwright Tina Howe introduces us to Walter Paradise and Polly Shaw. They’re in their sixties and have been married forever. She’s a world-class photographer; he’s a former actor turned hoarder. Their Soho loft is disappearing under stacks of old costumes that block the windows and doors, creating a fire hazard. The landlord is on his way to evict them when the great Dutch painter Rembrandt suddenly appears in full 17th century regalia. The three then spend the day together testing the limits of art, love and old age. 2m, 1f. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2002: The Complete Plays. More About the Play

SCORE conceived and directed by Anne Bogart, adapted by Jocelyn Clarke: Full-Length in 1 Act. Score is a play about passion—the passion that exists between a man and his music. Director Anne Bogart creates an extraordinary theatrical tour-de-force that chronicles the ideas and obsessions of one of America’s greatest figures—Leonard Bernstein. A distinguished conductor, a dedicated teacher, and a composer of rare skill and ability, Bernstein’s work is breathtaking in its range and scope—from renowned interpretations of Beethoven and Mahler to his own musical creations, West Side Story and On The Waterfront. Score, adapted by Jocelyn Clarke from Bernstein’s writings, stars long-time SITI Company member Tom Nelis in a remarkable study of ecstasy, genius and the power of great music.1m. Article published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2002: The Complete Plays.

SNAPSHOT
A Dramatic Anthology by: Tanya Barfield, Lee Blessing, Julie Jensen, Honour Kane, Sunil Kuruvilla, David Lindsay-Abaire, Michael Bigelow Dixon & Val Smith, Victor Lodato, Quincy Long, Deb Margolin, Allison Moore, Lynn Nottage, Dan O’Brien, Annie Weisman, Craig Wright, and Chay Yew: Full-Length in 1 Act. A photograph captures and documents a single moment in time and space—a snapshot of history, of a reality bounded by the photo’s frame. But what lies outside, beyond, behind the photograph? And what stories, memories, or associations does an image of place inspire? In this multi-writer project, 17 talented playwrights encounter and transform Mount Rushmore, South Dakota (1969), a compelling image of the monument by renowned photographer Lee Friedlander. Performed by the 22 members of Actors Theatre’s 2001-2002 Apprentice Acting Company, the resulting collection of dramatic perspectives approaches an ever-evolving Humana Festival experiment through a new lens. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2002: The Complete Plays.

THE TECHNOLOGY PROJECT
From live concerts to live news updates and live webcasts—all available through a dizzying array of media—the definition of "liveness" is no longer limited to the simple act of communication between a live actor and an audience. At the start of the new millennium, it seems particularly important that the theatre, a medium founded on presence, should investigate the question, "What is live performance?" In order to explore this increasingly complex territory, Actors Theatre—in partnership with the EST/Sloan Foundation Science and Technology Project and Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center—has commissioned some of the nation’s most innovative young writers to interface with technologies that range from the mundane to the mind-boggling. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2002: The Complete Plays. More About the Play

VOICE PROPERTIES (ON A FIRST DATE AFTER A FULL YEAR OF FEBRUARYS) by John Belluso: Yolanda and Barney are on a blind date, and this already awkward situation is made all the more so by a very real obstacle to their communication. Barney, who has cerebral palsy, communicates through a VOCA—a device that allows him to speak through a simulated voice. But he is not the only one struggling with language. In this delicate, short play, writer John Belluso takes us on a journey through the difficulty we all have—male or female, disabled or temporarily able-bodied—to make our needs and desires known. 1m, 1f.

F.E.T.C.H.by Alice Tuan: In this "small installment of Virtual Hypertext Theater," playwright Alice Tuan has crafted a wild theatrical event that includes a pole, a bucket and an endless series of possibilities. What will happen next? In this new interactive universe, you get to decide. 4 actors.

VIRTUAL MEDITATION #1 by Sarah Ruhl: Can machines sense how we feel? Playwright Sarah Ruhl, in collaboration with the students and faculty at Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center, has harnessed the subtle energy of touch in this stunning virtual reality romance.

(2001) 25TH HUMANA FESTIVAL
bobrauschenbergamerica by Charles L. Mee: Full-length in 1 act. In bobrauschenbergamerica, Charles L. Mee, in collaboration with Anne Bogart and The SITI Company, takes us on a wild road trip through our American landscape—in a play made as one of America’s greatest living artists, Robert Rauschenberg, might have conceived it if he had been a playwright instead of a painter: a collage of people and places and music and dancing, of love stories and picnics and business schemes and shootings and chicken jokes and golfing, and of the sheer exhilaration of living in a country where people make up their lives as they go. 6m, 4f. Published by American Theatre Magazine and Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2001: The Complete Plays.

Description Beggared; or the Allegory of WHITENESS by Mac Wellman, music by Michael Roth: Full-length in 1 act. Imagine the new millennium: Everything and everyone is very white. We all assemble to take the family portrait and somehow get it dreadfully wrong. The Ring family must do the century all over, in a vast metaphysical Rhode Island. Our crimes and acts of erasure call out. In many voices. Louisa hears a scary story and then tells one as everything becomes even whiter than before. Zm, 6f, musicians. Published by TheatreForum and by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2001: The Complete Plays.

FLAMING GUNS OF THE PURPLE SAGE by Jane Martin: 2 acts. Set in deepest Wyoming, Jane Martin’s macabre comedy pits the code of the West against the contemporary darkness. There is a rodeo hellion, a demonic biker, stolen drug money and enough spare ribs for all the carnivores circling the wagons. Jane Martin’s bodacious crossover comedy mixes horror and hilarity. Imagine Hopalong Cassidy dating Carrie, or Miss Kitty chasing Chuckie in an Addams Family version of Gunsmoke. Oh, how to be good in the new century! 4m,3f. Published by Samuel French, Inc. and Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2001: The Complete Plays.

QUAKE by Melanie Marnich: Full-length in 1 act. Lucy is on a mission. She’s searching for the love of her life. She follows the curve of the world, picking up enough speed to cross mountain ranges, rivers, lakes, and jet streams. Amid humorous encounters with a variety of guys, she dreams of a brilliant astrophysicist serial killer with a mean romantic streak—a woman on a parallel quest. Since a body in motion will keep moving unless acted upon by another force, will either of them ever be able to stop? A young woman grapples with the laws of physics and the evolving desires of her heart in this wacky comic journey that shakes across the fault lines. 3m, 3f. Published by TheatreForum and by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2001: The Complete Plays.

HEAVEN AND HELL (ON EARTH): A DIVINE COMEDY
a comic anthology by Robert Alexander, Jenny Lyn Bader, Elizabeth Dewberry, Deborah Lynn Frockt, Rebecca Gilman, Keith Glover, Hilly Hicks, Jr., Karen Hines, Michael Kassin, Jane Martin, William Mastrosimone, Guillermo Reyes, Sarah Schulman, Richard Strand, Alice Tuan & Elizabeth Wong
In this comic anthology—a collection of scenes and monologues—an array of devilishly talented playwrights put a contemporary spin on a fascinating eternal obsession. Grappling with their own diverse experiences of vice and virtue, salvation and damnation, characters from the twentysomething generation interpret their world with amusing revelations and surprising insights. Full-length in 1 act. Published (with additional monologues by Robert Alexander, Melanie Marnich, Jane Martin and Richard Strand) by Dramatists Play Service and by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2001: The Complete Plays. More About the Play

WHEN THE SEA DROWNS IN SAND by Eduardo Machado (Retitled: HAVANA IS WAITING): 2 acts. Exiled from his homeland for forty years, a Cuban-American returns home to mend his broken heart. With the help of a devoted friend and an entrepreneurial cab driver, Federico discovers that there’s no embargo on feelings in this era of family reconciliation. Funny, angry, and deeply passionate, this post-cold-war comedy points to the personal hardships caused by political stand-offs. As Cuban activists cry out for the return of a young boy named Elian, a grown-up Lost Boy ponders how one powerful nation could steal another’s children, and what happens four decades later if it does. 3m, percussionist. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2001: The Complete Plays.

WONDERFUL WORLD by Richard Dresser: 2 acts. An apparently happy family hurtles to the brink of despair in this hilariously twisted comedy about two brothers, one of whom has a serious in-law problem. Feeling slighted by Max and his girlfriend, Barry’s wife embarks on a scorched-earth policy of truth-telling, uncovering deep animosities and startling passions hidden in the mysterious fabric of an American family. Shedding a wildly comic light on the perils of honesty and the delicate balance between hostility and love, Dresser explores what a curse it can be to suddenly find yourself telling—or hearing—the truth. 2m, 3f. Published by Dramatic Publishing and by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2001: The Complete Plays.

CHAD CURTISS, LOST AGAIN by Arthur Kopit: 3 Ten-Minute Plays in Serial Form. Born with an unerringly bad sense of direction, but beloved of the gods (at least, so far), our hero, Chad Curtiss, sets out to discover Truth, and, if he’s lucky, Beauty. Never one to take the easy path, however, Chad’s wrong turns lead him again and again into perils worthy of Pauline, to whom Chad is distantly related. This commissioned cliffhanger was created by Arthur Kopit during a recent, ill-conceived trip to Bolivia. Chad’s continuing saga, written as a series of ten-minute plays, unfolds in several death-defying performances. Will the daring but reckless Chad Curtiss appear in all the episodes, or will he be lost again? 8m, 4f. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2001: The Complete Plays. More About the Play

THE PHONE PLAYS
The Phone Play has quickly become a tradition at the Humana Festival, where audience members dare to eavesdrop on several three-minute plays played over payphones in the lobby. But this year we added a new twist. We invited small, adventurous theatre companies who are dedicated to producing new work to give us an earful of the most exciting voices they have to offer. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2001: The Complete Plays.

SUBLIMINABLE by Greg Allen (The Neo-Futurists, Chicago) Have you listened to the phone plays? They’re over there. I think you should try the one called Subliminable…

HYPE-R-CONNECTIVITY by Andy Bayiates (The Neo-Futurists, Chicago) A maddeningly true-to-life journey through a "voice activated telecom portal."

CALL WAITING by Rachel Claff (The Neo-Futurists, Chicago) A lyrical tribute to one of technology’s most exquisite tortures—the unreturned phone call.

OWLS By Erin Courtney (Clubbed Thumb, New York) A young runaway struggles to survive in a wilderness of her own creation.

MESSAGE SENT by Sterling Houston (Jump-Start Performance Co., San Antonio) A man’s life is lost, and found again, on the tape inside his lover’s answering machine.

CLICK by Brighde Mullins (Thick Description, San Francisco) What has poetry done for you lately? A couple in crisis discovers the difference between metaphor and meaning.

SOMEBODY CALL 911 by Jennifer L. Nelson (African Continuum Theatre Company, Washington, D.C.) Over the sound of her baby’s screams, a teenage mother reaches out across the wires.

(2000) 24th HUMANA FESTIVAL
ANTON IN SHOW BUSINESS by Jane Martin: 2 acts. Jane Martin’s madcap comedy follows three actresses across the footlights, down the rabbit hole, and into a strangely familiar Wonderland that looks a lot like American theatre—the resemblance is uncanny! As these women pursue their dream of performing Chekhov in Texas, they’re whisked through a maelstrom of "good ideas," power politics and competing agendas—each of which offers a unique answer to the Three Sisters’ need to have life’s deeper purpose revealed. In the great tradition of backstage comedies—from The Royal Family to Noises OffAnton in Show Business conveys the joys, pains and absurdities of "putting on a play" at the turn of the century. May you live in interesting times. 7f. Published by Samuel French, Inc. and by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.

ARABIAN NIGHTS by David Ives: 10-minute play. The banal turns into the beautiful and the ordinary becomes exotic through the medium of a wacky translator. 3 actors. Published by Dramatists Play Service and Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.

BIG LOVE by Charles L. Mee: Full-length in 1 act. To commemorate the millennium, Charles L. Mee found inspiration in the oldest extant Greek drama, Suppliants by Aeschylus, in which fifty brides vow to murder fifty fiancés on their wedding night. Updated to the 21st century and set in an exquisite villa on the Italian coastline, Big Love unfolds the story of the women’s betrothal (they’re all sisters!), their attempted flight and murderous pact, and one immense wedding reception/massacre—with all the wedding music you’ve ever heard. A rhapsodic, invigorating journey through the politics of love. 4f, 5m. Published by TheatreForum and Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays. More About the Play

THE DIVINE FALLACY by Tina Howe: 10-minute play. A comic and revelatory session in a photographer’s studio suggests that beauty may be found in the mind of the beheld. 1f, 1m. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.

NO. 11 (BLUE AND WHITE) by Alexandra Cunningham: Full-length in 1 act. In the town where everyone’s sick of being asked about The Ice Storm, Alexandra is a debutante in training. Her best friend is Reid Callahan, star athlete and golden boy. A lot of people are pinning their hopes on and dreaming big dreams for Reid; Reid’s own hopes and dreams are a mystery, until he brings them to horrible life—or does he? Don’t ask Alex—she’s choosing between the devil she doesn’t know and the devil she’s known since kindergarten. Sometimes you can either be a friend or a human being, but not both. 6f, 3m. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.

STANDARD TIME by Naomi Wallace: 10-minute play. Frustrated by elusive promises of the American dream—fast cars, brand names and easy money—a young man takes his destiny into his own hands. 1m. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.

TAPE by Stephen Belber: Full-length in 1 act. What’s the statute of limitations for betrayal of friendship? When Jon attends the premiere of his flick in the Lansing Film Festival, he faces the most important weekend of his young life—but not in ways he expected. His old pal, Vince, has been stewing for a decade and their high school girlfriend, Amy, is now the assistant district attorney in Lansing. Edgy humor gives way to a fiery confrontation that examines the motives of memory—and Memorex. 1f, 2m. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays. Made into a movie directed by Richard Linklater.

TOUCH by Toni Press-Coffman: 2 acts. Science and spirit form a perfect union between Kyle, a reserved young astronomer, and Zoe, his flamboyant, vivacious soulmate. But one night, something as profoundly dark, chaotic, and infinite as the night sky turns Kyle’s enviable happiness upside-down. Tracing Kyle’s journey through terrifying unanswered questions and memories of the rarest, deepest love, this moving drama explores the miracle and fragility of human connection. 2f, 2m. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.

WAR OF THE WORLDS Conceived by Anne Bogart, Created by The SITI Company, Written by Naomi Iizuka: Full-length in 1 act. His radio broadcast War of the Worlds sent Americans into hysterical panic. He took Hollywood by storm with Citizen Kane, a larger-than-life film about a mover-and-shaker not so very different from himself. Mercurial, controversial, inspiring, infuriating—Orson Welles entranced and enraged everyone. His fall from grace mirrored the magnitude of his talent—and the massiveness of an ego steered straight to self-destruction. Director Anne Bogart, her remarkable SITI Company, and playwright Naomi Iizuka join forces to explore the myth and myth-maker, charlatanism and genius of Orson Welles. 2f, 9m. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.

BACK STORY
Dramatic Anthology by Joan Ackermann, Courtney Baron, Neena Beber, Constance Congdon, Jon Klein, Shirley Lauro, Craig Lucas, Eduardo Machado, Donald Margulies, Jane Martin, Susan Miller, John Olive, Tanya Palmer, David Rambo, Edwin Sanchez, Adele Edling Shank, Mayo Simon & Val Smith
Based on characters created by Joan Ackermann
Full-length in 1 act. When Ethan is born in the worst blizzard of the century, two-year-old sister Ainsley nearly sacrifices a toe trying to clear a path for the baby’s arrival. That initial gesture of devotion blossoms into a tale of sibling loyalty, rivalry and love that spans two decades. Inspired by Joan Ackermann’s narrative "Back Story," each of the eighteen playwrights in this collective creation puts a distinctive spin on Ainsley’s and Ethan’s amusing and poignant struggles with life, with each other, and with the phantom dad who abandoned them for the wilds of Alaska. Published by Dramatic Publishing and Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays. More About the Play

PHONE PLAYS
BESIDE EVERY GOOD MAN by Regina Taylor. In this intimate exchange, the lives of Coretta Scott King and Winnie Mandela are illuminated by the grandeur of their love and the cruelty of fate. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Play.

LOVERS OF LONG RED HAIR, by José Rivera. Haunted by the unwanted adoration of strangers, Adriana shares her nightmare with a friend at 3 a.m. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.

THE REPRIMAND by Jane Anderson. Could any conversation between female business associates begin more ominously? "We need to talk about what you did in the meeting this morning." Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.

SHOW BUSINESS by Jeffrey Hatche..r "The customer is always right." Yeah, tell it to Telecharge. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.

TRESPASSION by Mark O’Donnell. George needs to know why Lenore called him a jerk and he’s not hanging up without an an answer—no matter who’s on the other line. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.

(1999) 23RD HUMANA FESTIVAL
ALOHA, SAY THE PRETTY GIRLS by Naomi Iizuka: 2 acts. Aloha—it’s a word that means hello and goodbye. Naomi Iizuka’s aloha-filled, dark comedy takes a quirky, wildly imaginative look at how people enter and leave each other’s lives as they search for a family or a tribe. Crossing paths and sometimes colliding, a cast of waylaid strangers and friends struggles to evolve into grown-up versions of themselves. 7-11 actors. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '99, The Complete Plays.

CABIN PRESSURE Created by Anne Bogart & The SITI Company: Full-length in 1 act. With trademark flourish, fierce wit and intense bravado, Anne Bogart and her SITI troupe plunge into the long troubled waters of actor/audience relations. Drawing upon theatrical practices from Festival of Dionysia to the Festival of Humana, this exuberant production coins modern theatrical currencies from grand traditions. 5 actors. Contact The SITI Company, 172 E. 7th St., 6D, New York, NY 10009. More About the Play

WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? by Richard Dresser: Climb in the backseat of an automobile and fasten your seat belts for a harrowing cruise through one couple’s dizzying misadventures. In groups of three, audience members are invited to get in the car with an earnest young man who’s off on the ride of his life when he picks up a free-spirited hitchhiker. More About the Play

THE COCKFIGHTER by Frank Manley, Adapted by Vincent Murphy: Full-length in 1 act. Inspired by the courage and fierceness he associates with fighting cocks, a young man rebels against an adult world tainted by his father’s flawed vision of manhood. Animated by a highly theatrical rendition of an ancient bloodsport, this powerful drama moves through the turbulent landscape of adolescence and traces the steps by which a boy becomes a man, not on his father’s, but on his own terms. 2m, 1f. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '99, The Complete Plays.

GOD'S MAN IN TEXAS by David Rambo: 2 acts. Wits, egos and ideologies are set on a collision course when renowned preacher Jerry Mears "auditions" for the top job in the Baptist universe. But Dr. Phillip Gottschall, the aging pastor of the biggest, best-known and most closely-watched Baptist church ever, won’t easily give up his dynasty—or the televised 10 o’clock service—in this sharply-observed drama about institutional power struggles, fathers and sons, and religion in the age of mass marketing. 3m. Published by Dramatists Play Service and Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '99, The Complete Plays. More About the Play

THE T(EXT) SHIRT PROJECT
Why didn’t Gutenberg think of this? Print the text of an entire play on a t-shirt so that anyone can "perform" the play simply by wearing the shirt into the streets for the masses to read. Street theatre or fashion statement? Chic. de la Mode. Livin large. More About the Play

Y2K by Arthur Kopit (Retitled: BecauseHeCan): Full-length in 1 act. He calls himself ISeeU, but you can’t see him. And if it’s you he wants, nothing can stop him. This gripping drama propels an unsuspecting couple into their worst nightmare—imagine a world in which there are no secrets. 4m, 1f. Published by TheatreForum; by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '99, The Complete Plays; and by Samuel French, Inc.

LIFE UNDER 30—A BILL OF 10-MINUTE PLAYS
SLOP-CULTURE by Robb Badlam: In this tenderly sarcastic tale, a spiritual castaway must answer a loaded question about her cultural heritage. Unfortunately, her answer depends on 25 years of bad TV—as does her job. 2m, 2f. Published by Dramatics Magazine; by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '99, The Complete Plays; and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 5 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.

THE BLUE ROOM by Courtney Baron: Adrift in the South Pacific, a sailor longs for the company of his beloved, whose irrepressible passion for the sea now haunts the vivid blues of twilight, bathwater and breaking waves. 1m, 1f. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '99, The Complete Plays and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 5 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.

DANCING WITH A DEVIL by Brooke Berman: Unspeakable moments, too painful for words, transform a young woman’s life through a graceful dance that leads to the point of no return. 1m, 2f. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival ’99, The Complete Plays and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 5 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.

FORTY MINUTE FINISH by Jerome Hairston: An accident forces two young men to wrestle with universal uncertainties before they clock-out for the night. Will life’s big questions take a backseat to the comforting lure of escapist entertainment? 2m. Published by Dramatics Magazine; by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '99, The Complete Plays and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 5 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.

MPLS., ST. PAUL by Julia Jordan: In this spirited teenage romance, Billy and Mel use their favorite music to test the waters of friendship. Their tentative exchange infuses an element of uncertainty into a "mythic" summer filled with teasing, laughing, flirting and falling in love on the roof. 1m, 1f. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '99, The Complete Plays and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 5 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.

DRIVE ANGRY by Matt Pelfrey: Existential pollution and The Cosmic Whatever drive two young men to dire acts as they careen through LA traffic. This examination of diseased bedies and diseased societies is laced with provocative and dark humor. 2m. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '99, The Complete Plays and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 5 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.

LABOR DAY by Sheri Wilner: On the eve of Labor Day, a Last-Day-To-Wear-White party sets the scene for a stand against the march of time. A funny and visually arresting play about one woman’s act of refusal. 1f, 5 other m/f characters. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '99, The Complete Plays and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 5 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.

JUST BE FRANK by Caroline Williams: An overly ambitious worker declares her wish for office honesty... and gets it. Crossing the dangerous line into the minds of her co-workers, she learns what everyone, from the power-happy secretary to the sexually-harrassing boss, is really thinking. 1m, 4f or 2m, 3f. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '99, The Complete Plays and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 5 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.

(1998) 22ND HUMANA FESTIVAL
ACORN by David Graziano: 10-minute play. Acorn is a Brooklyn romance about a 26-year-old, unemployed union carpenter who puts his heart on a clothesline and the 18-year-old girl who folds it in half. 1m, 1f. Published in Dramatics Magazine; by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '98, The Complete Plays; and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 5 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.

DINNER WITH FRIENDS by Donald Margulies: 2 acts. When Tom and Beth’s marriage unravels, their best pals Karen and Gabe face some terrifying questions. What exactly are the ties that bind them to their friends? Or even to each other? This rueful comedy about marriage, friendship and the fallout from other people’s divorces is penned by one of Off-Broadway’s brightest stars and is the winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize. 2m, 2f. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '98, The Complete Plays and by Dramatists Play Service. Made into a motion picture by HBO Films.

LET THE BIG DOG EAT by Elizabeth Wong: 10-minute play. When four famous captains of industry meet to play a friendly game of golf, their competitive banter evolves into a debate weighing the pleasure of sheer accumulation against the scramble to spend on the public good. Exploring the game of giving, this bouncy comedy offers a highly imaginative look at the image-driven rivalries of the ultra-rich. 4m. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '98, The Complete Plays and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 5 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.

LIKE TOTALLY WEIRD by William Mastrosimone: Full-length in 1 act. Two "totally weird" teens steal into a Hollywood mansion to meet their idols, a film producer and his leading lady. But these mega-stars of the 90s soon find themselves trapped in a reenactment of a "body-bag" action thriller, a frightening scenario of their own making. This edgy, suspenseful drama portrays what can happen when life imitates art— and art is all murder and mayhem. 3m, 1f. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '98, The Complete Plays.

MEOW by Val Smith: 10-minute play. It’s happy hour and , for two professional women, time to dish a little after-work dirt. Amidst friendly wisecracks, fried wontons and foibles of a scatterbrained waitress, these long-time friends discover some disquieting truth in cattiness—and the cattiness of truth. 3f. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '98, The Complete Plays and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 5 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.

MR. BUNDY by Jane Martin: 2 acts. When a convicted child molester moves into the neighborhood, the quality of everyone’s mercy is strained. Weighing Mr. Bundy’s rights against the risks to their own daughter, one working couple falls prey to two outsiders—crusaders with a vengeful cause. This provocative drama pits Christian ethics against the Juggernaut of parental fear, as fate and justice waver between vigilance and vigilantes. 3m, 4f. Published by Samuel French, Inc. and by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '98, The Complete Plays.

RESIDENT ALIEN by Stuart Spencer: 2 acts. Michael has landed—in the biggest mess of his life, that is. His ex-wife and her doltish husband are furious with him. The sheriff has an arrest warrant handy. And nobody but nobody believes his story that 12-year-old son Billy was beamed up by aliens. The only proof is the elusive visitor left behind, the one with the vaguely green complexion and an affection for beer. The National Enquirer smacks head-on into Kierkegaard in this charmingly offbeat romantic comedy. 5m, 1f. Published by Broadway Play Publishing and by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '98, The Complete Plays. More About the Play

TI JEAN BLUES adapted from the works of Jack Kerouac by JoAnne Akalaitis: In his writing, Jack Kerouac poured forth memory, passion, the wonder of turbulent cities, a restless search for spirituality and the wild freedom of travel, drugs and sex. Adaptor/director JoAnne Akalaitis weaves the life and writing of Kerouac into an exuberantly brilliant dramatic fabric. Using stylized movement and both individual and choral expressions of Kerouac’s dynamic language, Ti Jean Blues captures the sizzle of the Beat Poet’s life journey. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '98, The Complete Plays. More About the Play

THE TRESTLE AT POPE LICK CREEK by Naomi Wallace: 2 acts. High atop a railroad trestle that spans a bone dry creek, two teenagers plan to race across the bridge against an oncoming locomotive. At first their scheme adds excitement to life in a small factory town during the Great Depression, then sensual experience awakens dangerous passions in an era of stifled ambitions. With theatrical flourish and lyrical finesse, Naomi Wallace delves into a world where people struggle to change lives that bear down upon them. 3m, 2f. Published by TheatreForum and by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '98, The Complete Plays.

(1997) 21ST HUMANA FESTIVAL
GUN-SHY by Richard Dresser: 2 acts. What do you do when your divorce isn’t working? Evie and Duncan are forced to face this question when they find themselves snowbound in New England with their new partners. Marriage gets a second look in Richard Dresser’s no-holds-barred comedy for the nineties. 2m, 2f, extras. Published by Dramatic Publishing and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '97, The Complete Plays.

ICARUS by Edwin Sanchez: 2 acts. An empty beachhouse settled between dunes and the roar of the sea...a perfect spot for swimming—though it’s the middle of March! A woman, her brother and an eccentric dream catcher set up camp, but a masked stranger’s arrival complicates their fantastic plan to swim out to touch the sun. This poignant comedy of loneliness and escape reevaluates notions of beauty as five outcasts discover just how much they’ll give—and give up—for love. 3m, 2f. Published by Broadway Play Publishing and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '97, The Complete Plays. More About the Play

IN HER SIGHT by Carol K. Mack: A beautiful blind pianist who stunned audiences of 18th century Europe, Maria Theresa Paradies is suddenly cured by Dr. Franz Mesmer in a grand medical "coup". But now that she can see, the famed prodigy can apparently no longer play. Stunned but bound by her love for Mesmer, she bravely struggles on, as Vienna darkens with intrigue and betrayal within the medical establishment. In this tragic and elegant romance, the web of scandal grows into an international incident, and Paradies is forced to choose between music and sight. 4m, 3f. Published by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '97, The Complete Plays.

LIGHTING UPTHE TWO-YEAR OLD by Benjie Aerenson: 2 acts. On a horse farm in north Florida, three men conspire to beat the odds when a racehorse doesn’t meet their expectations. Criminal deeds are generously rewarded, until panic rends their uneasy alliance. This foray into the dark side of "the sport of kings" reveals what it takes for one racehorse owner to get into the winner’s circle. But is the glory worth doing the time? 3m. Published by Dramatists Play Service and Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '97, The Complete Plays.

MISREADINGS by Neena Beber: 10-minute play. On the eve of her exam, a hip college student visits her professor to try to insure herself a passing grade. Her Professor wants her to drop the class—and the differences don’t end there. As student and teacher struggle to bridge their worlds, they discover a gap wider than their generations. 2f. Published by Applause in The Best American Short Plays 1996-1997; by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '97: The Complete Plays; and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 4 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.

POLAROID STORIES by Naomi Iizuka: 2 acts. To the sounds of transistor radios, video arcades and a thousand collect phone calls in the night, Naomi Iizuka transforms the chaotic life of a group of street kids into a fierce elegy of emptiness, sensation, desire and fear. By an abandoned pier at the edge of an old city, young "speed-racers" scan for "pharmaceutical treasure" while "neon girls" drink from the river of forgetfulness, echoing in their words and deeds ancient stories of gods and humans. This haunting evocation of Ovid's Metamorphoses reimagined for the 1990s lends mythic power and social immediacy to America’s lower depths. 5m, 5f. Published by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '97, The Complete Plays. More About the Play

PRIVATE EYES by Steven Dietz: 2 acts. In Steven Dietz’s new comedy of suspicion, honesty is only the last resort. Matthew’s wife Lisa is having an affair with their director... but oh, if it were only that simple! From their rehearsal room to a restaurant to a therapist’s office, deception becomes a matter of perception until this play within a play within a play (within a play...) gives over to the true reality—the simple fact of two people alone, eye to eye, with nowhere left to hide. 3m, 2f. Published by Dramatists Play Service and Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '97, The Complete Plays.

STARS by Romulus Linney: 10-minute play. At a soiree in Manhattan, on a beautiful penthouse terrace, two strangers strike up a conversation. Inspired by the summer stars, they confide shocking truths—or delectable lies, take your pick. Either way, their road to love is paved with strange intentions. 1m, 1f. Published by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '97, The Complete Plays; by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 4 from Actors Theatre of Louisville; and by Vintage Books in Take Ten: New 10-Minute Plays.

WATERBABIES by Adam LeFevre: 10-minute play. An overprotective young mother tries to enroll her infant in a YMCA swim class. The instructor has a knack with waterbabies—apparently. But as peculiar answers lead to unfathomable questions, this strange encounter of the aquatic kind plumbs the depths of maternal instinct. 2f. Published by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '97, The Complete Plays and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 4 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.

(1996) 20TH HUMANA FESTIVAL
THE BATTING CAGE by Joan Ackermann: 2 acts. The last wishes of an extraordinary young woman have a secret design. At a Florida Holiday Inn, two estranged sisters struggle to carry them out, each marooned in a deep state of despair. A sip from the Fountain of Youth, speeding hardballs and bicycle couriers, a semi-gallant conquistador and a bouquet of roses all conspire to lead a brilliant engineer and her recently divorced sister to a new sense of themselves. And to each other. In this charming offbeat comedy, a family that has lost its bearings is restored. 2m, 2f. Published by Dramatists Play Service and Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '96, The Complete Plays.

CHILEAN HOLIDAY by Guillermo Reyes: As Santiago celebrates the second anniversary of Pinochet’s coup d’etat in 1973, one Chilean family marches to its own Latin rhythms. Romance, a birthday and plenty of homemade brew make theirs a festive backyard soiree–until plans to emigrate are revealed and collaborators are confronted. At a time when the darkest secrets are known only to secret police, this political-romantic comedy pries into the future of two cynics who are hatefully in love. 2m, 3f, female voice. Published by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '96, The Complete Plays.

CONTRACT WITH JACKIE by Jimmy Breslin: 10-minute play. What would happen in America if politicians first tested their schemes for our nation at home? Turns out some have, according to playwright/journalist Jimmy Breslin, in this high-spirited send-up of politics brought down to their most personal and revealing level. 1m, 1f. Published by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '96, The Complete Plays and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 4 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.

FLESH AND BLOOD by Elizabeth Dewberry: 2 acts. When Crystal commits the social indiscretion of the year, her astounded Southern clan can’t figure out why–or can they? Unanswered questions abound in this comedy macabre, as sibling passions get channeled into culinary misadventure. Rattling the closet skeletons of "The New South," playwright Elizabeth Dewberry pushes her gothic rivalry to a shattering conclusion. 1m, 3f. Published by Dramatic Publishing and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '96, The Complete Plays.

GOING, GOING, GONE by Anne Bogart & the Saratoga International Theater Company: Erratic quantum physics mix with torrid sexual gambits at the ultimate cocktail party of the century. As the social occasion unravels over too many martinis, so too do the absolute truths of Newtonian physics, leaving two couples to play out their dangerous games in a world of uncertainty, relativity and parallel universes. Inspired by recent scientific writings, this expressionist peformance explores our perilous balancing act between salvation and destruction. 2m, 2f. Contact The SITI Company, 172 E. 7th St., 6D, New York, NY 10009.

JACK AND JILL by Jane Martin: 2 acts. In her newest work, Jane Martin mines the subtle and often treacherous depths of modern wedlock. To love, honor and cherish–those are the easy parts of the union. It’s where one person leaves off and the other begins that proves the stumbling block. By turns funny, sensual and fierce, this poignant drama captures the essential humanity of relationship–for better or worse. 1m, 1f. Published by Samuel French, Inc. and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '96, The Complete Plays.

MISSING/KISSING by John Patrick Shanley: Two one-acts.
KISSING CHRISTINE By turns romantic, fiercely introspective, and very, very funny, John Patrick Shanley zooms in on a very unusual first date. Two extremely individual people battle their way from hilarious self-disclosure to startling self-discovery. Valiantly working through "the strangest conversation of their lives," Christine and Larry manage to transform a chance encounter into a fateful affair. 1m, 1f. Published by Dramatists Play Service, Inc. in Missing/Kissing and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '96, The Complete Plays. More About the Play

MISSING MARISA Two men engage in a madcap wrangle over a woman who has left them both. Funny and scary and downright mysterious, Terry and Eli are rivals and friends. They speak in the raunchy shorthand of people who have too much history and no inhibitions. An outrageous play about men alone together, their bizarre transactions and their chaotic humor. 2m. Published by Dramatists Play Service, Inc. in Missing/Kissing and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '96, The Complete Plays. More About the Play

ONE FLEA SPARE by Naomi Wallace: 2 acts. Fleeing plague in the streets of 1665 London, a poor sailor and a waif steal indoors, only to discover themselves quarantined for a month with the Master and Mistress of the house. As fears of the outside world turn inwardly to jealousy and suspicion, the gentry and underclass boarded in together wait for either freedom or death. This searing and lyrical drama explores the politics of compassion within the shadow of the grave. 3m, 2f. Published by Broadway Play Publishing and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '96, The Complete Plays. More About the Play

REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION: Six Playwrights Bury a Seventh by Tony Kushner: 10-minute play. At midnight in a cemetary on Martha’s Vineyard, six moderately inebriated playwrights prepare to bury the remains of a seventh—illegally. Countering despair with wit, these bandit dramatists revel in their mad adventure and muse against the dying of the light. Published by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '96, The Complete Plays and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 4 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.

TRYING TO FIND CHINATOWN by David Henry Hwang: 10-minute play. Ronnie is a rock ’n’ roll violinist, street-smart hipster and (only incidentally) Chinese-American. Benjamin is blonde, square, wide-eyed, Midwestern and (only incidentally) Caucasian. Their confrontation on the Lower East Side of Manhattan sparks a riff on race that swings to the very heart of identity. 2m. Published by Dramatists Play Service, Inc. in Trying To Find Chinatown and Bondage and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '96, The Complete Plays.

WHAT I MEANT WAS by Craig Lucas: 10-minute play. An American family sits down to dinner, and out pours more pain and comfort, admissions and understanding than most families experience in a lifetime—all in ten minutes! This comic yet rueful remembrance of the way things weren’t offers at least a ray of hope for the way things still might be. 2m, 2f. Published by Applause in The Best American Short Plays 1996-1997; by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '96, The Complete Plays; and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 4 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.

(1995) 19TH HUMANA FESTIVAL
BELOW THE BELT by Richard Dresser: 2 acts. Is there more to happiness than misery? That’s the paradox in this labor of laughs, when three men grab for all the gusto their meaningless jobs can brew. Stationed in a remote industrial outpost, these pixilated fellows are rewarded for teamwork with loneliness, boredom, ennui, back-stabbing, jealousy and revenge. Yes, many are the benefits of working for a faceless corporation that sucks life from all it touches– including a front row seat when Mother Nature vents her towering rage! 3m. Published by Samuel French, Inc; by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '95, The Complete Plays; and by Heinemann in A Decade of New Comedy: Plays From the Humana Festival.

BEAST ON THE MOON by Richard Kalinoski: 2 acts. In 1921, an Armenian mail-order bride is shipped to Milwaukee to begin a new life with her photographer husband. Both yearn to emerge from the dark shadows of the Armenian holocaust. As they struggle to redefine family amidst grief and displacement, these kindred strangers realize a love deeper than ever imagined. 2m, 1f, 1 boy. Published in Dramatics Magazine and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '95, The Complete Plays.

BETWEEN THE LINES by Regina Taylor: 1 act. After graduating from college, Becca and Nina set off on an unpredictable journey. While Nina stays home to pursue a career, Becca empties her trust fund to travel the globe. Soon Becca’s adventures fuel Nina’s discomfort with a life devoid of real passion, intimacy and romance. So when Becca returns, Nina’s already primed to make a few radical–and violent–changes. 3m, 5w, 2 extras. Published by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '95, The Complete Plays.

CLOUD TECTONICS by José Rivera: 1 act. On a stormy night in Los Angeles, a lonely man picks up a pregnant hitchhiker and welcomes her into his home. Clocks stop, visitors materialize and love ticks toward its inevitable climax. In a magical world where two years can pass in a night, Cloud Tectonics asks if there ever exists a "right time" for love. 2m, 1f. Published by Broadway Play Publishing and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '95, The Complete Plays.

HEAD ON by Elizabeth Dewberry: 10-minute play. Only minutes before an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, a therapist specializing in multi-orgasmic sex must find common ground with a woman who’s witnessed a head-on collision. In this age of sensational media disclosures, it’s surprising to watch what can happen off-camera when real intimacy is given a chance. 2w. Published by The University Press of Kentucky in By Southern Playwrights: Plays from Actors Theatre of Louisville; by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '95, The Complete Plays; and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 4 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.

HELEN AT RISK by Dana Yeaton: 10-minute play. Helen takes her ideals to prison along with her workshop in creative mask-making. When a wise-guy inmate starts acting up, however, self-expression takes a nasty turn, and art provides the imprimatur for deadly craft. 1w, 2m. Published by Samuel French in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 3 from Actors Theatre of Louisville; by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '95, The Complete Plays; by Vintage Books in Take Ten: New 10-Minute Plays; and in the journal Art Teatral: Cuadernos de Minipiezas Ilustrades.

JULY 7, 1994 by Donald Margulies: 1 act. Capturing a recent day of disturbance an