Plays

Arthur, Reading

Full-length play—2M,1W

What does it mean to be your brother’s keeper? In Arthur, Reading, a play about mental illness, Carol struggles to balance the needs of her brother, Arthur, who suffers from schizophrenia, with her own. With compassion and humor, the play explores Arthur’s relationships with his sister and with Michael, his case manager and friend.

• Staged reading: Wilbury Theatre Group, Providence, RI, 2022

All The World’s A Stage

Short play—2W

Julie and Paula, two workers at the box office of a local theater, field calls from patrons about an upcoming production of Hamlet. Meanwhile, Julie and Paula can’t put the drama of their own lives on hold. (With original songs by Paula Elser Clare.)

• Production: Providence Fringe Festival (online), Providence, RI, 2020

Assisted Living

Short play—1M, 1W

Assisted Living takes a look at the challenge of caring for aging parents, particularly those with dementia. Although set in the present day, the play examines this by imagining what takes place offstage during Act I of Shakespeare’s King Lear. The characters are Goneril, King Lear’s oldest daughter, and her husband Albany.

• Staged reading: With Apologies to Will: Riffs on The Bard, The Contemporary Theater Company, Wakefield, RI, 2023
• Finalist, Red Bull Theater Short New Play Festival, New York City, 2015
• Production: Gamm Studio Theater Lab 10-Minute Play Festival, Pawtucket, RI, 2014
• Staged reading: Culture*Park 12th annual Short Plays Marathon, New Bedford, MA, 2014

At the Creation

Short play—2M

In At the Creation, Elliott, an aspiring playwright, tries to convince his actor friend Joe that what seems like the unpromising story of Adam and Eve would make a successful romantic comedy. This play stretches the definition of romantic comedy while dramatizing the creative process.

• Staged reading: Culture*Park 13th annual Short Plays Marathon, New Bedford, MA, 2015

By The Sea

Short play—2W

Two women watching their children play at the beach discover they’re on opposite sides of the political spectrum after the 2016 election. Can they try to understand one another?

• Production: Providence Fringe Festival, Providence, RI, 2017

Catharsis Interruptus

Short play—2M, 1W

In ancient Greece, two actors, Cosmas and Hilarion, use the occasion of an outdoor drama festival to debate the wisdom and necessity of the theatrical practice of wearing masks. Meanwhile, Thalia, Cosmas’ sister, has her own ideas. The play uses anachronism to heighten the comedy and put the mask-wearing in perspective.

• 2023 New Works Festival, Firehouse Center for the Arts, Newburyport, MA, 2023
• Production: Providence Fringe Festival (online), Providence, RI, 2021

Control Freak

Short play—1M, 2W

A newly married couple on a military base negotiates the boundaries of trust and personal freedom in their relationship. Control Freak reimagines the story of Shakespeare’s Othello and Desdemona for the present day.

• Semifinalist, J L Smith New Play Festival at York College of PA, 2021

Divide and Conquer

Short play—2W

In Divide and Conquer, two sisters, Clare and Anne, sort through and attempt to divide their parents’ possessions after the deaths of their mother 18 months ago and their father three months ago. This activity tests their bond as sisters, exploring their connection and exposing their hurts.

• Staged reading: Culture*Park 14th annual Short Plays Marathon, New Bedford, MA, 2016

The Lady Romeo

One-act play—3W

The Lady Romeo, which is set in 1862, centers around the relationship between prominent nineteenth-century American actress Charlotte Cushman; her friend and lover, the American sculptor Emma Stebbins; and a young theatergoer and admirer of Cushman, Matilda Gant. Inspired by seeing Cushman’s performance as Romeo, her admirer ingratiates herself into Cushman’s inner circle, disrupting Cushman’s life and her own. The play is about performance and about negotiating the terrain of love and friendship.

• Production: 2021 Femme Fatale Play Festival (online)
• Production: BoxFest Detroit 2018, Hamtramck, MI, 2018
• Production: St. Luke’s Little Theater One-Act Play Festival, East Greenwich, RI, 2018
• Finalist: Nightingale Song Festival, Ruthless Nightingale Theater Company, New York City, 2018
• Finalist: Shakespeare in the ‘Burg 2018 One-Act Playwriting Competition, Middleburg, VA, 2018
• Reading: Re-Imagine Theatre Company, Providence, RI, 2017

Hiding in Plain Sight

One-act play—3W

Hiding in Plain Sight is a shortened version of The Lady Romeo, staged as part of Hidden Lives, a joint presentation with Kay Bullard.

• Production: J. W. Riker Green Room of the Barker Playhouse, Providence, RI, 2023
• Production: Providence Fringe Festival, Providence, RI, 2023

Mom Sequitur

Short play—2W

Lucy visits her mother, Marianne, who is recuperating at home after a hip operation. A daughter always knows what her mother is saying — or does she?

• Production: Providence Fringe Festival, Providence, RI, 2022

New West

Short play—1M, 2W

The play takes place in July 1803 in a room for receiving visitors in the President’s House (not at that time called the White House) in Washington, DC. William Clark is to meet with President Jefferson, who is going to ask him to be part of the expedition to explore the Louisiana Purchase. Clark is reluctant to take this on, but something happens during the play to get him to change his mind. Characters in the play are explorer William Clark; Lemhi Shoshone woman, Sacagawea; and President Jefferson’s public relations staffer.

• Production: Providence Fringe Festival, Providence, RI, 2016

One-on-One

Short play—1M, 1W

While watching a basketball game, a brother and sister (Paul and Sue), begin a conversation that reveals and solidifies their bond, even while it exposes a painful and embarrassing secret. One-on-One explores the complicated landscape of domestic violence.

• Production: 2020 New Works Festival, Firehouse Center for the Arts, Newburyport, MA, 2020
• Production: Boston Theater Marathon, Boston, 2019
• Production: Providence Fringe Festival, Providence, RI, 2018
• Staged reading: Culture*Park 16th annual Short Plays Marathon, New Bedford, MA, 2018

Othello, A Sequel

Short play—2M, 1W

After the devastating events in Shakespeare’s Othello, some characters attempt to pick up the pieces. But Cassio is reluctant to take on the duties he has been given in Cyprus, especially deciding on the unfinished business of what to do with the villain Iago.

• Staged reading: Culture*Park 15th annual Short Plays Marathon, New Bedford, MA, 2017

Sales Pitch

Short play—2M

In Sales Pitch, Jason tries to convince his reluctant grandfather, Frank, to go in on a business venture with him. The play reveals not only the grandson’s failings but his grandfather’s weaknesses as well.

• Production: Providence Fringe Festival, Providence, RI, 2019
• Staged reading: Culture*Park 17th annual Short Plays Marathon, New Bedford, MA, 2019

Tough Love

Short play—2W

Stephanie teaches writing at a prison. In Tough Love, she confides potentially life-changing news to her friend Amy who helps her work through her anxieties and ambivalence.

• Production: 2022 New Works Festival, Firehouse Center for the Arts, Newburyport, MA, 2022

Undercover

Short play—1M, 2W

A husband and wife discover something about their relationship,  after an unexpected visitor drops in.

• Production: Providence Fringe Festival, Providence, RI, 2023

The Wizard of Arden, or If You Don’t Like It

Short play—2M, 1W

Silvius, the lovesick shepherd from As You Like It, unexpectedly encounters Bottom from A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the Forest of Arden. He just may also have encountered a solution to his marital woes.

• Staged reading: With Apologies to Will: Riffs on The Bard, The Contemporary Theater Company, Wakefield, RI, 2023