“The Year Dad Finally Lost It at Christmas”

That's me at left playing myself.

I rarely perform in my own work. I don’t claim to be an actor. Plus, I like to see my own work, partly so I can critique it. But my five-minute piece “The Year Dad Finally Lost It At Christmas” seemed like own where I should play myself.

This was done at No Shame Theatre in Roanoke, Va., in December 2004. That’s my wife, Trina, and my son, Keith. In the final photo, Simon Adkins is the neighbor dressed as Santa Claus.

 

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“Hamlet on Spring Break” at Highland Park HS, St. Paul, Minn.

“Hamlet on Spring Break” — published by Playscripts — is one of my most frequently-produced one-acts.

The plot is pretty much what you think it is; Hamlet goes to the beach instead of Elsinore. Comedy ensues.

These photos are from the show’s third production, at Highland Park High School in St. Paul, Minnesota in November 2004:

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“The Last Man on the Moon Blues” at Curry College, Mass.

“The Last Man on the Moon Blues” comes in two versions — a five-minute script and a ten-minute script. The ten-minute version was produced at Curry College in Milton, Mass. in May, 2004.

Just a few months earlier, it was produced at another Bay State venue — the Acme Theatre New Works Winter Festival in Maynard.

Here’s another photo from Curry College:
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“Ye and Truly: The History of Rock’n’Roll”

Notice the Rolling Stones sweatshirt. There's a reason why my son is named Keith.

I performed this piece at the very first No Shame Theatre in Roanoke, Virginia — in October 2003.

I quickly realized it was better to have others perform my work so I could watch and critique it.

That’s my wife, Trina, and my son, Keith. I hadn’t planned for him to have a part, but he saw me rehearsing and talked his way into it, so I re-wrote the ending to give him the punchline.

It’s not one of my best pieces, but it was fun to do and helped inaugurate No Shame in Roanoke.

More photos:

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Most of my scripts are royalty-free

Yes, you read that right: Most of my scripts are royalty-free.

Why is that?, you might wonder.

Glad you asked!

Here’s why: First, being a playwright isn’t a paying gig. Fortunately, I do have a day job (which sometimes is a night job, too, but that’s another story.) So I’m not trying to make a living at this.

My psychic payment comes from seeing my work performed (or at least knowing it’s performed, in the case of distant venues.) And I know most theatres don’t have piles of cash sitting around.

But also . . . My ultimate goal is to see my scripts published (which means they’ll get performed more often, and publishers do want to be paid, which means I get royalties there.) But most publishers won’t consider work unless it’s been produced (sometimes more than once.)

So it’s in my interest to get scripts produced — royalty-free — so I can more quickly get them in front of publishers.

If you’re a high school or community theatre looking for scripts but dreading royalty payments, this is your lucky day!

I invite you, of course, to patronize my publishers. I’ll even include a list of my published scripts. But all the rest — and believe me, I have many more — are available royalty-free. So browse through the “scripts” category to see if there’s something that strikes your fancy. If so, let me know, and we’ll see if we can do business, without any money changing hands.

* Big Dog Plays: The one-acts “Red, Ripe and Round” and “Santa Claustrophobia.”
* Brooklyn Publishers: The one-acts “The Fruitcake,” “The Kissing Consultant,” “Mac and Beth” and “The Weird Sisters Go On Holiday.”
* Eldridge Plays and Musicals: The full-length “Fairweather Friends,” the one-acts “Code 40 Verona,” “Hit the Books,” “Macbeth Goes Hollywood,” “My Girlfriend’s Stupid Talking Parrot,” and the collections “24/7” and “Animal Instinct,” the latter of which includes the one-act “Spiders.”
* Heuer Publishing: The one-act “The Fruitcake” (in conjunction with Brooklyn Publishing, a corporate cousin.
* Playscripts:The one-acts “Hamlet on Spring Break” and “Jenna and Her Prize-winning Pig Change the Course of History.”

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Full-length scripts

Here’s a complete list of my full-length scripts.

All can be produced with minimal staging.

All are available directly from me, except for
* “Fairweather Friends,” which is available through Eldridge Plays and Musicals
* “The Hurleyburg Twirling Society,” which is available through Rebel Belle Publishing.
* “The Armadillo Queen,” “The Cactus Rustlers,” “Exchange of Gifts”, “Rhonda’s High-Class Roadkill Chili,” “This Rose Has Thorns,” “Shakespeare’s Lost Christmas Play” and “On The Thirteenth Day of Christmas,” which are available through Norman Maine / Big Dog Plays.

The list: Read the rest of this entry »

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Ten-minute scripts

Here’s my list of ten-minute scripts. Most are suitable for high schools or community theatres.

All are available directly from me.

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Five minute scripts (or shorter)

I have many five-minute scripts available, almost all of them royalty-free and almost all (but not quite) suitable for high schools. Here’s a list (still under construction): Read the rest of this entry »

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One-acts, the complete list

Here’s my complete list of one-acts. Most are suitable for high schools and community theatres; a few would not be.  To weed those out, see the post “one-acts for high schools.”

Almost all run about 25-30 minutes; designed to fit within the time limits of most one-act contests.

A few run longer, a few run shorter, as noted.

All can be produced with minimal staging.

All are available directly from me, except those that have been published, which are noted — and are available from their respective publishers.

Enjoy!

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One-acts for high schools

Here’s a list of my one-acts that I’d deem suitable for high schools and community theatres. Almost all run about 25-30 minutes; designed to fit within the time limits of most one-act contests.

A few run longer, a few run shorter, as noted.

All can be produced with minimal staging.

All are available directly from me, except those that have been published, which are noted — and are available from their respective publishers.

Enjoy!

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