About
the Book:
Editor
Craig
Pospisil
compiled this collection Outstanding
Short Plays: Vol. 4.
Inside these pages you will find authors from widely varied
backgrounds, some well known, others less so, but all immensely
talented. This collection of one-act plays represents some of the
best writing in the American theatre today.
The
collection Outstanding
Short Plays: Vol. 4
includes
the following plays:
Brown
by Cherie Vogelstein. Peter is in the middle of a job
interview. It's a little shaky at first, but Ira, Maurie, and Mary
seem to like him and to be impressed that he went to Brown. But then
they ask him – hypothetically – if he'd rather sleep with a dog
or his mother. And that's when things get really – strange. (Cast:
1 woman, 3 men)
Dog?
by Kara Lee Corthron. A man being interviewed as a prospective
dog-sitter is stunned when the dog turns out to be a young woman
pretending to be a dog. He doesn't want to get involved, but then it
seems this may be some role-playing game. Or is it something else?
Just what's going on here? (Cast: 1 woman, 2 men)
For
Unto Us by Stephen Kaplan. Mary and Joseph are a pair of
5-year-olds playing with a doll. But before they can start, they'll
need to debate gender stereotypes, the relative merits of Christmas
versus Hanukkah, the nature of God, and what it means to have two
dads. (Cast: 1 woman, 1 man)
Happenstance
by Craig Pospisil. First off, Cassidy is definitely not crazy.
Secondly, she is totally over her ex-boyfriend. So when she runs into
Abe at a coffee shop, she totally doesn't think about what happened
between them. Or what could happen. And she totally didn't forget
that her husband Martin is sitting right next to her. Totally. (Cast:
2 women, 2 men)
Jack
by Melissa Ross. Maggie and George are divorced. It's been six
months, and they're dating other people. But they're in the middle of
a huge argument outside the dog run in the park about why George
didn't call Maggie about an emergency involving Jack, the dog they
adopted together at the start of their relationship. (Cast: 1 woman,
1 man)
Linus
And Murray by Leah Nanako Winkler. Linus is a cat who's
seen it all. Murray is a young dog, who's newly adopted and neurotic.
They share a yard, but can they get past the antiquated idea that
they are mortal enemies and become friends? Can they be more than
friends? (Cast: 2 men)
The
Presentation by Lia Romeo. Samantha, polished and
professional, finishes a presentation on sexual harassment in the
workplace and she opens the floor up for questions. Unfortunately,
the three Vikings she's been addressing haven't gotten the point of
her talk, especially where it concerns not raping. (Cast: 1 woman, 3
men)
The
Sculpture Gallery by Aoise Stratford. As Kennedy, a young
woman in an art gallery, sketches lifelike sculptures of women, a man
several years her senior strikes up a conversation. Jack, trading on
their shared love and understanding of art, breaks down Kennedy's
barriers until she – and we – are no longer able to tell where
the objectified artist's subject begins and the person ends. (Cast: 2
women, 1 man)
Shock
And Awww by Dan Castellaneta and Deb Lacusta.
Stewart and Patrick are roommates who agreed: No pets. So when
Stewart comes home to find Patrick cuddling a kitten named Mr.
Squiggy, he says the cat has to go. But Mr. Squiggy isn't going
anywhere. In fact, he's already taken over Patrick's mind. (Cast: 2
men)
Waiting
For The Matinee by Eric Coble. "Nothing to be done."
Estelle and Vivian are waiting for a show to begin, but nothing
happens. They've read the whole program while waiting. But nothing
happens. Should they go? Should they stay? Should they unwrap their
candy? (Cast: 2 women)
About
the Editor:
Craig
Pospisil is an American playwright, and musical bookwriter. He is
multiple award-winning author, six time Heideman Award finalist, and
received the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival's award
for Excellence in Playwriting.