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Elephant's Graveyard
George Brant

“The script—based on a true story about a traveling circus that, in 1916, stumbled into gory disaster in a muddy Tennessee town—is, like the best art, microscopically specific with echoes that radiate outward across time. It conjures a world with its own atmosphere and terrible internal logic. It’s mesmerizing... symphonic in its emotional variations on a tragic theme. Elephant’s Graveyard buzzes with truth about the consequences of misunderstanding, the invisible but enormous gap between artists and their audiences, and the infernal beauty of vaudeville.”--The Stranger, Seattle

“A theatrical masterpiece.”--Columbia City Paper

“The most striking production in the (NSDF) festival.”-- Times of London

“Deeply moving…has the audience in stitches at the open and tears at the close.”-- TheSunCoast.com

Elephant’s Graveyard is the true tale of the tragic collision of a struggling circus and a tiny town in Tennessee, which resulted in the only known lynching of an elephant. Set in September of 1916, the play combines historical fact and legend, exploring the deep-seated American craving for spectacle, violence and revenge.

Winner of the 2008 Keene Prize for Literature
Winner of the 2008 David Mark Cohen National Playwriting Award

Character Descriptions:

The Circus

RINGMASTER – obsessed with the bottom line
TRAINER – loves his work
BALLET GIRL – a showgirl in control
TOUR MANAGER – bit of a bully
STRONGMAN – a proud muscleman from Europe’s far-off shores
CLOWN – a comedian with an inferiority complex
DRUMMER – keeps the beat

The Town

HUNGRY TOWNSPERSON – African-American, a steel-trap memory
MARSHAL – keeps the peace
MUDDY TOWNSPERSON – a haunted widow
PREACHER – doggedly hopeful
STEAM SHOVEL OPERATOR – looking for escape
YOUNG TOWNSPERSON – excitable dreamer
GUITARIST/HARMONICA PLAYER – sets the rhythm

The Railroad

ENGINEER – confident Time is on his side

Drama. 10m, 3f, flexible casting (Roles may be played by any race or gender except when specified.). Acting Edition $9.95

Dawn
Thomas Bradshaw

"[Bradshaw's] most daring and mature work to date!"--The New Yorker.

"You will enjoy this latest visit to the unsettled world of Thomas Bradshaw, where people misbehave without the cushion of guilt or the filter of psychology. ****4 Stars! Critics' Pick "--Time Out New York.

"Bradshaw's best play! It will be a sad statement about the NYC theatergoing public if there is one empty seat in the house for the rest of this show's run."--www.NYTheatre.com.

Dawn revolves around Hampton, an abusive alcoholic who has completely alienated his wife and children. Can he stop drinking and make up for the past, even amidst some very dark revelations of incest and pedophilia? Dawn is one father's story of redemption and reconciliation — with a twist. Bradshaw was named Playwright of the year by the theater blog KUL-That Sounds Cool and Dawn was named among the best performances of Stage and Screen for 2008 in The New Yorker.

Character Descriptions:
HAMPTON - 60, A successful businessman
SUSAN - 40, His wife
NANCY - 60, His ex-wife
STEVEN - 33, Hampton and Nancy’s son
LAURA - 36, Hampton and Nancy’s Daughter
CRISSY - 14, Laura’s Daughter
DOCTOR

Drama. Simple Set. 2m, 4f, plus 1 male or female character and 1 male voice over. Acting Edition. $9.95.

Southern Promises
Thomas Bradshaw

"Slowly, almost single-handedly, a twenty-eight-year-old black playwright named Thomas Bradshaw has been taking on the idea of race in the theatre. At the same time, he has sliced open the pretensions of the white avant-garde with a wittily glistening axe. In his new play, Southern Promises (at Performance Space 122), one can catch a glimpse of Bradshaw's anarchic gifts."--The New Yorker.

"It's a striking, challenging piece that studies the abuse of power and the liquidity of morality." --NYTheatre.com.

"Likely to leave you speechless"--The New York Times.

"Thomas Bradshaw's deeply twisted, coolly brutal period drama Southern Promises" --Village Voice.

When the master of the plantation dies, he wills his slaves to be freed, but his wife doesn't think that good property should be squandered. Pandemonium ensues. The play is inspired by the true story of Henry Box Brown who escaped to the north by mailing himself in a box. Southern Promises provides a unique portrait of the old south. Bradshaw was named Playwright of the year by the theater blog KUL-That Sounds Cool and Southern Promises was named among the best performances of Stage and Screen for 2008 in The New Yorker.

Character Descriptions:
ISAIAH - 32, the Master of the plantation
ELIZABETH - 28, his wife
DAVID - 30, Isaiah’s brother
JOHN - 32, Elizabeth’s brother, a minister
BENJAMIN - 32, a loyal slave
CHARLOTTE - 30, Benjamin’s wife, a light-skinned mulatto slave. She should look almost white.
PETER - 37, a slave, Benjamin’s friend
IMAGINARY SLAVE
DOCTOR
CLERK
MAN # 1
MAN # 2
Casting note: The role of Man # 1 can be played by the same actor who plays Isaiah. The roles of Doctor, Clerk, and Man # 2 can be played by the same actor. The role of Imaginary Slave should be played by the same actor who plays Peter. A total of 8 actors are needed.

Drama. Simple Set. 6m, 2f, with doubling. Acting Edtion. $9.95

Welfarewell
Cat Delaney

Esmerelda Quipp is 80, still of sound mind, but her body is beginning to “come unglued”, as she puts it. Having spent her working life as an actress, age pushing her gradually out of the business, she now faces the fact that her meagre government pension is insufficient to support her, even with her minimal needs. When she is arrested for attempting to bury her dead cat in her landlord’s yard, she finds that there is some sense of community, not to mention free room and board, within the prison system. She devises a plan to get herself sent back to jail; she robs a bank. But a well-meaning public defender gets the charges against her dropped. Esmerelda Quipp is undeterred! Using money she gets from returning stolen wine bottles to a recycling depot, she buys a toy gun at the local dollar store, and commits armed robbery. Knowing that she will be convicted because she will plead guilty, she assumes that she can spend the rest of her days living free, hanging out with other women, and being fed decently in a women’s prison. But the system that has failed her also wants to forgive her because of her age and general health, and the public defender wants to use an insanity plea to get her off. How will Esmerelda convince the legal system she should be incarcerated, literally, for life?

Winner of the 2009 Samuel French Canadian Playwriting Competition

Dramatic Comedy. Simple Set. 1m, 7f, Larger Cast Possibilities. Acting Edition. $9.95

People vs. Friar Laurence: The Man Who Killed Romeo and Juliet,
Ron West and Phil Swann

“Hysterical—West and Swann have shrouded the tale with witty story devices and a bright cloak of catchy songs that add to the ribald humor while moving the story along in the best traditions of musical theatre.”--Chicago Sun Times

A musical comedy spoof starring the Friar of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet! Friar Laurence is behind bars, charged for the ‘murder' of the lovers. As the trial progesses, mayhem and silliness are abound with bits, songs, and scenes equal parts Vaudeville and Bard. A “load of laughs” (Chicago Sun Times, highly recommended), The People Vs. Friar Laurence: The Man who Killed Romeo and Juliet is sure to leave both Shakespeare scholars and low-brow humorists rolling in the aisles!

Comedy. Simple set. 6m, 3f. Acting Edition. $9.95.