This page features a list of the author’s plays. Click on any blue coloured title to open a script excerpt made available here for reading and study purposes. To request a performance licence, see the “Rights/Royalties” page.
Legend: f = female; m = male. Running times are approximate..
Shorts
Cold Turkey – 1 f, 1 m. 6-7 minutes.
Clarissa and Ben are attracted to each other. Problem is that she is years, well, decades his senior, although only Clarissa seems to think the generation gap is an insurmountable obstacle.
Copernicus’ Eyes — 1 f, 1 m. 12 minutes.
Monique, modelling for renowned artist Thomas Frenelle, engages him in a discussion about the independent spirit of T-shirts while the great sculptor tries to teach her about more lofty subjects such as astronomy and underwear.
I Wandered Lonely — 1 f, 1 m. 10-12 minutes.
Bert, a hospital patient recovering from a motorcycle accident, meets Nel, a young nurse who enjoys reading modern poetry. In spite of his earthy humour it becomes apparent that Bert feels sorry for himself. To help him overcome his bitterness Nel introduces him to the free verse of E. E. Cummings… with mixed results.
I Wandered Lonely appeared in print in the anthology Instant Applause II: 30 Short Canadian Plays (Blizzard Publishing, Winnipeg, 1996).
This is a short two-character adaptation from the author’s one-act play Dropping Ballast.
Also available in a monologue version:
White — 1 m. 4-5 minutes. May be shortened for auditions.
Jocks – 1 f, 1 m. 8-9 minutes.
Wyn and Laura, comfortably ensconced in their respective domestic (in)activities — watching TV and reading the newspaper — find they are on different wavelengths when actually trying to communicate with each other.
Shadows on the Beach – 1 f, 1 m. 10 minutes.
A man tells his companion why he suspects his wife of infidelity with someone she regularly meets at dusk on the beach below. But who is his companion?
Shadows on the Beach may be performed royalty-free if 50% of the ticket proceeds are being donated to an Alzheimer’s or dementia organization. Conditions to be negotiated with the playwright.
One-Act
A Leak in the Plumbing – 4-5 f, 1-2 m. 20-22 minutes.
When the elevator at Beecham Apartments gets stuck between floors — loaded with four elderly residents, a healthcare worker, a flower deliverer and a trades person, one of the occupants has an “accident.” The imprisoned handle the subject of bladder incontinence with varying degrees of (in)competence and compassion. This play has been performed in a forum theatre (Theatre of the Oppressed) setting
Cassie – 2 f, 2 m. 30 minutes.
Cassie, a high school student, becomes infatuated with her history teacher. Her confiscated diary is taken as proof of their affair, apparently resulting in his resignation. But soon the surreal undertones in this story beg the question: what is real and how much belongs to Cassie’s imagination?
Dropping Ballast – 2 f, 1 m. 60 minutes.
Three characters of three different generations have a chance meeting in a shopping centre at lunchtime. In one way or another each has been abandoned by a loved one, yet in a quirky fashion all are able to help each other — not entirely overcoming the feeling of loss, but at least beginning the healing process.
You Can See Africa From Sicily – 2 f, 2 m. 45 minutes. Upon his estranged wife’s return, a writer dreams of the couple’s Mediterranean honeymoon. But soon all-too-real ghosts appear, engage him in a physical and verbal duel, forcing him to acknowledge missed opportunities, wasted time and neglect of his wife.
YOUNG AUDIENCES
These plays are also suitable for performance with puppets
or as outright puppet shows.
Pipsqueak and the Pumpkin-eating Monster
1 f, 3 m (flexible). 25 minutes.
Cracatorius, the mean magician, has devised a clever plan to get rid of all the children. As his giant furry pet monster, Gobble, loves eating pumpkins he’ll simply turn kids into pumpkins! The first child to fall victim to his wicked scheme is Pipsqueak. But Master Cracatorius hasn’t counted on the wit of her best friend, Moppy. With the help of the children in the audience, Moppy devises a plan to thwart the magician, save Pipsqueak and keep Gobble happy at the same time.
Warm Fuzzies and Cold Pricklies – 7-16 f/m. 40 minutes.
Once upon a time, people across the world had forgotten about the custom of chasing rainbows — all except one person who knew exactly where the rainbow was hiding. His name was Willie, a greedy little fellow. Didn’t have eyes for the beautiful things in life, or so it seemed. Some say it was all the fault of the Cold Pricklies. Most of the time you can’t even see these little creatures, but if they touch you it makes you feel cold and creepy all over — and mean — but only if you let them. After all, you can always call the Warm Fuzzies for help.
DROPPING BALLAST
Dubai Media City • 10, 11 & 12 March 2003 • 7 pm
Photo by Tejal Patni
Directed by Navin Talreja and starring
Rosaleen Smyth; Steve Farac-Cipran; Samar Al Medfa.
Full-length
The Cuckoo Song — Drama. 3 f, 4 m (2 m if doubling).
90 minutes.
It is 1948 and World War II has been over for three years. But for Kaia, an Estonian refugee living in Germany, who is waiting for her long overdue sailor husband’s return home, the conflict does not let up. As she is pursued by memories from the country of her youth, tragedy strikes her family once again. Will she mentally and physically succumb to this latest blow? Whom can she turn to when everyone seems to have abandoned her?
Rewind — Surreal drama. 1 f, 2 m. 80 minutes.
Tahti is giving birth to a son. As she speculates on the mysteries of life with her friend Croe, a dramatic change occurs: while her son grows up under the shadow of an increasingly sinister and powerful Croe, Tahti becomes younger with each passing year!
Adaptations
The Mountain Race (from a short story by Jean Speare)
1 f, 1 m. 25 minutes.
First Nations tribes from far and wide are converging on the Williams Lake Stampede in British Columbia’s central
interior. All the men and women have gone into town to celebrate. Only the very old and the very young stay behind in an encampment at the outskirts of town. As the fires burn low, and young Josh tells his grandmother his dreams of one day becoming a competitor, old Noki relates the story of a fateful horse race that a few years ago claimed Josh’s father’s life.
The Princess Swan (from a short story by Jean Speare)
2 m, 5+ dancers. 25 minutes.
A farmer’s son makes friends with a First Nations boy and learns first hand about the ancient legend of a chief’s daughter who became a swan, returning every year to a nearby lake on the Chilcotin plateau of central British Columbia.
Othello 5 — (from the play Othello the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare) 2 f, 3 m (flexible). 80 minutes.
Audiences of this condensed version of Shakespeare’s play will notice some unconventional touches. To start with, only five actors are required to play six original characters and an invented Greek chorus (without doubling, this play could accommodate more actors). So, while the words are all Shakespeare’s, they have often been reassigned to the chorus to advance the plot to its inevitable tragic end in about half the time it takes to perform the Bard’s original play. This version was first performed at the 1999 Victoria Shakespeare Festival with two male and three female actors (Cassio as an Amazon warrior)!
Nō
Willows by the River — a Nō (Noh) drama with 5 characters and chorus.
After 27 years of living abroad Thomas, encouraged by a friend and travel companion, has finally returned to his hometown. It is a pilgrimage of sorts in hopes that he may find a semblance of peace after decades of inner turmoil. He encounters a local woman whose eerie knowledge about his past unsettles him, and who could well be the older self of a person he once knew, if it wasn’t for the fact that person died long ago. Nor does he expect to have visions of the river spirit who really seems to be an incarnation of the young girl whom he once abandoned to a tragic fate.
To order any complete script, please fill out the form below. There is a small charge per script:
Short play $7; one-act play $10; full-length or nōh play $15 (Canadian dollars). This also permits you to print one copy per character and crew for study purposes. However, script purchase does NOT include the right to perform a play,