About the Play:

Small Talk is a collection of eight ten-minute plays by Eric Fallen. Each of these eight diminutive and perfectly formed two-handers starts out, as the collective title Small Talk implies, with some idle shooting of the breeze before coagulating into a dark cloud of human misery, pain, or menace.

Morphing locations from park benches and libraries to porn sets and family homes, this collection of eight 10 minute plays all explore that suspicious enemy called 'small talk', and what may or may not be lurking behind it. Included are:

Perfect Weather: When a stranger interrupts a man's meditative morning ritual in Central Park, and what begins with small talk about the weather, soon devolves into a chilling interrogation. (Cast: 2 male or 1 female, 1 male)

The Merry-Go-Round: After a vigorous morning of work, two porn actors get lost in a circular conversation. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male)

Communion: When a dying man's request for a strawberry milkshake is denied by his long-suffering wife, the couple descend into a battle that could be their last. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male, 1 off-stage voice)

The Monster: A motorcycle salesman uses all the usual tricks to lure his customer in, but a strange and violent story prevents him from closing the deal. (Cast: 2 male)

Basic Plumbing: A small town library is the setting for a stand-off between an uptight librarian and the town crank shifts that from library policies to matters of the heart. (Cast: 2 male)

The Driving Range: While an instructor leads a woman through the basics of the golf swing, an underlying tension threatens to throw them both off their game. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male)

Behind The Wheel: A man begs his brother to save him from despair by letting his father-in-law die. (Cast: 2 male)

The Inclusion: When a woman invites an old friend to her jewelry store to help him find the best diamond for his fiance, it eventually becomes clear that he wants more than her advice. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male)

About the Playwright:

Eric Fallen is a Brooklyn-based Canadian playwright and screenwriter. Born in Montreal and raised in Hamilton, he moved to New York City to study playwriting with Jack Gelber and Mac Wellman at Brooklyn College. His plays have been produced in New York, Montreal and Toronto.