Theater Plays

Tom Stoppard is a towering and beloved literary figure. Known for his dizzying narrative inventiveness and intense attention to language, he deftly deploys art, science, history, politics, and philosophy in works that span a remarkable spectrum of literary genres: theater, radio, film, TV, journalism, and fiction. His most acclaimed creations - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, The Real Thing, Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Shakespeare in Love - remain as fresh and moving as when they entranced their first audiences.

To write for the theater, you need to know about theater. Ideas are easy to come by. Examine your background, interest, and beliefs. Examine the world around you. Exercises can help you come up with ideas. Choose the audience you want to reach, and write to that audience.

All the Ways to Say I Love You by Neil LaBute, directed by Leigh Silverman, is a thoughtful, psychological solo play centered around the character Faye Johnson, performed by multi-award-winning actress Judith Light (Transparent, American Crime Story, Who's the Boss?). Reflecting on an event from her past, Johnson confronts the defining question of her life: What is the weight of a lie?

All the Ways to Say I Love You received its World Premiere production at the MCC Theater in September of 2016. MCC is under the leadership of Artistic Directors Robert Lupone, Bernard Telsey, William Cantler, and Executive Director Blake West.

Bonus content includes an Audible-exclusive conversation between director Leigh Silverman and actress Judith Light.

An eighth grader dares to direct the school play. Can she handle her cast of peers? Aimi Wilby loves theater and writing. With the spring play coming up, the budding author is thrilled to be assigned as an assistant director. Diligent Aimi can’t believe it when her teacher abruptly quits, and she is chosen to write and direct the entire production. Aimi refuses to be deterred even when she loses her mentor, her cast members fight, the school administrators prove apathetic, and parents are constantly overbearing. However, what the intrepid teenager fears most is that she will disappoint ...

Stagehands argue about their relationship between acts, a mountain climber struggles to rise above the summit of public opinion, the man once sent to kill a princess finds her working at a diner, retired superheroes lament their new life, and a villain threatens to blow up the world if he can get the Henchman Union to end contract negotiations. These are some of the situations found in this second collection of ten-minute plays. Each one is designed to be produced with just a few actors, few props, and within a single setting. They are easy to perform or fun to just read.

Why Shakespeare? What explains our continued fascination with his poems and plays? In Living with Shakespeare, Susannah Carson invites 40 actors, directors, scholars, and writers to reflect on why his work is still such a vital part of our culture.

Three theatrical adaptations of ancient stories: Agamemnon A queen, her son, and his teacher await the return of their king after ten years of brutal war. Gilgamesh The oldest story in the world, in which a king finds and loses a great friend, and then sets off in search of an answer to the question of eternal life. The Golem In 17th-century Prague, a rabbi and his family turn to ancient mysticism in a desperate attempt to protect their community from approaching violence.

Four original, full-length plays: The King of Infinite Space In the ruins of an old prison at the edge of a landscape blasted by war, teenagers enact the story of the previous generation’s struggle for survival. Scenes from a Broken Hand A young man inherits an old car from his activist parents and drags his best friend on a cross-country journey in search of meaning and understanding. Motherland A teacher in a small Slovak town tries to free herself from old ways of thinking and living in the wake of the Velvet Revolution and the fall of Communism. The Wind on the Water A Jewish ...

Johnny is a Spanish guitar player with a mysterious past. At a party, he meets the beautiful songstress Aphrodite who is enthralled with his flamenco guitar skills. Later, she learns they have a connection, a particular song they both appear to know. Aphrodite discovers the connection, and through dreams, the two fall in love. The question is whether they will ever be together.

In his first work for the theater, James Baldwin brought all the fervor and majestic rhetoric of the storefront churches of his childhood along with an unwavering awareness of the price those churches exacted from their worshipers. For years Sister Margaret Alexander has moved her Harlem congregation with a mixture of personal charisma and ferocious piety. But when Margaret's estranged husband, a scapegrace jazz musician, comes home to die, she is in danger of losing both her standing in the church and the son she has tried to keep on the godly path.

A Scottish meteorologist locks horns with his American counterpart as both men try to convince General Dwight D. Eisenhower that they can accurately predict the atmospheric conditions needed to launch the greatest amphibious assault in the history of mankind - the D-Day invasion.

This theatrical presentation features romantic love poems found in Mr. Villegas's books Poetic Prose and Poetry, The Raven Haired Girl and others. The poems are arranged so they create a love story about a young woman and her soldier husband.

"It's The End" is a comedy-monologue about a woman who is supposedly in her last moments, and therefore makes some radical decisions. "The Beast" is about an elderly woman who moves into the refrigerator in protest at the neglect of her caregivers.

This stage play is about the struggle of the main character, Ricard, who has recently been arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol. The play chronicles his personal struggle to deal with how he became an alcoholic and how to repair his life. It focuses on his values, how to identify their role in his life, and how he can shed alcohol as a value. As he begins to understand what is important in his life, he begins the trek from his distorted value structure to what is important in life.

Ben is having a difficult week. After five whole years of “drinking from Mommy’s boobies”, he suddenly has to step aside for his new baby sister, Beatrice, who may or may not be human. Mommy says he has to “support her appearance no matter how humiliating it is for us as family”, but that’s hard to do when your sister has branches for arms and legs.

He was known as the Wildman more than 100 years ago, terrorizing lumberjacks and farmers who complained that their lives were at stake. The American Indians, depending on their tribe, had many names for the Creature: Sasahevas, Sasquatch, Bukwas (wild man of the woods), See'atco (one who runs and hides). What would Native American Indians have to gain from falsifying the existence of a Beast?

Orla lives a carefree and contented existence. She enjoys visiting the library and taking strolls around town. She talks to herself and laughs aloud at whatever she finds humorous. As well, she likes to write; her stories a mashup of song lyrics and film plots the narrator finds most entertaining. Sometimes, Orla comes up with the idea for a play, and these, she takes to theatres all over Dublin. The staff in every establishment have gotten to know her, and have learned how to deal with her, then send her on her way. But one day, she encounters a manager who is new in the job. He invites ...

An undercover vampire, a prophetic park bench, an audience on stage, a mixed-up fairy tale, a bad hand, a little gibberish, some self care, a dental obsession, and the end of the world are some of the things you will encounter in this fourth collection of ten-minute plays. Most are designed to be produced with just a few actors, a few props, and within one or two simple settings. They are easy to perform or fun to just read.

Charles Paris has landed a dual role in a lavish West End musical: onstage as a bit player, offstage as an undercover sleuth. The production's nervous backers fear that someone is trying to kill the play. The ultimate showstopper would be to eliminate the star.

Are you ready to embark on a journey through the remarkable achievements of African American men and women who have left an indelible mark on America and the world? “TEAR DOWN THE WALLS" is not just a play; it's a captivating exploration of the profound contributions made by African Americans across a spectrum of fields. From science to politics, law to sports, and the arts to entertainment, this production shines a spotlight on their outstanding accomplishments. Prepare to be moved by the touching portrayal of the struggles and triumphs that have shaped African American history. From the...