PRODUCED PLAYS by Wendy E. Shepard
The plays below are among a few that were chosen for juried festivals. Those who are interested in performance rights for a specific run can contact:
San Juan Valley Press
P.O. Box 1964
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
sanjuanvalleypress@gmail.com
FIVE-MINUTE MONOLOGUES can be delightful curtain-raisers – warm-up acts, in a way – for an evening of theater. The character usually faces something that will change their lives forever. The transformation, which has to take place in five minutes, weaves together the past, the present dilemma, and possible futures until a decision becomes clear. Two examples:
RED SATIN SHEETS
Synopsis: A 79-year-old woman tries to decide whether or not to accept an 80th birthday present from her friends – a personal ad for a male companion.
Running Time: About five minutes
HOLY MOLY!
Synopsis: The existence of a roughly-hewn, earthy carpenter in his 40s turns upside down when a dream tells him that his job on Earth is to evolve as a spiritual being.
Running Time: About five minutes
SHORT ONE-ACT PLAYS, over five minutes and under 30 minutes, can make up an intriguing evening of theater when clustered together. They contain more than one character, whose relationships change over the course of the play. Three examples:
INFINITE PARALLELS
Synopsis: Dreams toss an older couple into a salad of parallel realities as unfamiliar behaviors guide them away from what their relationship has been to what it might become.
Running Time: About ten minutes
ALL RIGHT!
Synopsis: A romp that explores what happens when a play’s script disappears. Four characters have to reexamine their worlds when a 21st century tap dancer crashes a staid, yet decadent, 19th century play.
Running Time: About 25 minutes
MY GOODNESS!
Synopsis: A woman and her teenage granddaughter, discouraged by corruption in the world, buoy each other up as they watch a hummingbird that should have left the area two months earlier feed on late-blooming fuchsia blossoms.
Running Time: About ten minutes