PLAYS
Kill the Editor at Exit Theatre. Directed by Aren Haun; featuring Josh Schell, Kathleen McHatton, and Ben Elie. Photo by Julie Schuchard.
To read complete scripts, please visit the New Play Exchange.
The plays below have all received either a full production or staged reading.
To view works-in-progress, please click here.
Kill the Editor
Produced at Exit Theatre, Desert Ensemble Theater
Ben, a young editor, has finally landed his dream job: to edit a documentary film for the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. The catch is, he only has a week to cut the five-hour rough cut down to size and Cameron, the obsessive filmmaker, doesn’t want to touch a frame.
Expecting
Produced at Player’s Loft, NYC
Abby, nine months pregnant, and her husband Stan, receive a visit from Stan’s college roommate, Frank, who arrives with Taylor, a 17-year old girl. Abby tries to be a good hostess, but her attempts at hospitality backfire when she realizes her unusual guests aren’t what she was expecting.
The Mating Instinct
Produced at 5th Wall Productions, Charleston SC
At a small, private high school, an English teacher named Carl writes a YA novel depicting a relationship between a teacher and a student. Once a copy of the advance proof is leaked, however, everyone, including his own wife, believes that the book is based on an actual relationship between Carl and a senior named Mackenzie.
Parallax
Staged Reading at Last Frontier Theater Conference, Valdez AK
Vincent, a horseplayer with a knack for picking winners, partners up with an ambitious woman named Erin, willing to go all-or-nothing on a high-stakes bet to win back her horse.
Love-All
Staged Reading at Script Readers, UK
During a weekly mixed doubles match, a group of friends play their hearts out, both on and off the court. Between smashing forehands and volleys, infatuations and attractions are revealed, risks are taken and hearts are broken. This Shakespearean-like comedy reflects the parallels between life, mortality, and tennis as these mere players fight to the death for love.
Paperback Writer
Staged Reading at Abacus Arts, London UK (as ‘Chelsea Perkins’)
After completing her magnum opus – an angsty, bitter novel about life’s inherent unfairness – Emma writes a second book for her own amusement, a send-up of the “chick-lit” genre, which is surprisingly accepted. Emma then meets Rob, a charming, intelligent young publisher, and soon her new fairy-tale life begins to resemble the same fantasy world she only previously imagined.
Make a New Plan, Stan
Staged Reading at Playwright’s Center of San Francisco, CA
The year is 1977. After completing the "est" training, a six-day seminar designed to inspire personal accountability, Stanley decides to radically change his life. He separates from his wife, quits his job, and attempts an affair with a coworker. Things don't go to plan, however, when his wife leaves Chris, their 12-year old son, in his care.
A Magnificent Lie
Staged Reading with Play Readings With Friends, NYC
When Stan’s receives a life-threatening diagnosis, he discovers an optimism he didn’t know he had, seizing the opportunity to fulfill his unfulfilled ambitions and develop new connections with his wife and children. And when the test results begin to inexplicably show a vast improvement in Stan’s condition, he prepares himself for a new lease on life.
Grunge
Staged Reading with the Playwright’s Unit, EST/LA, CA
Robbie Murphy, an famous aging rocker, returns to Seattle after nearly thirty years to pay tribute to his former best friend and bandmate, Mark Holmes. But the old band holds resentments from the ‘grunge’ days and become suspicious of Robbie’s motives when he shows interest in acquiring the rights to the last album they produced together. Then Robbie meets Nicholas, Mark’s son, and he’s given a surprising chance at redemption.
Too Good to Be True
Staged Reading at Playwright’s Center of San Francisco, CA
It’s 1928, and Max Barry’s new Broadway play depicting a true-crime incident on William Randolph Hearst’s yacht is a smash hit with out-of-town audiences. Things go haywire, though, when one day Max sees the alleged victim, Thomas Ince, walking around Times Square, very much alive. Max, along with Sam Harris, the producer, and Basil Dean, the director, call Marion Davies in a panic to get the straight story.
Done to Death
Staged Reading with the Playwrights Unit, EST/LA, CA
Chris returns home from New York after his father’s heart attack, only to discover that his father, rather than resting, is mounting a production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and he wants Chris to play Biff Loman. Chris reluctantly goes along with his father’s plan, while desperately trying to find a way to save his crazy family from themselves.
Three Rebels
Staged Reading with the Playwright’s Unit, EST/LA, CA
Jeff, Megan, and Scott - three struggling young actors - decide to take their careers into their own hands by making an independent film based on the behind-the-scenes world of the classic film Rebel Without a Cause.
The Way It Goes
Staged Reading with the Playwright’s Unit, EST/LA, CA
Julie, a highly-functioning third-year law student, battles resentments at a substance-abuse treatment center, blaming her ex-husband, her parents, and the program itself for her current life situation.
Big Dreams in a Tiny Apartment
Staged Reading with the Playwrights Unit, EST/LA, CA
Alan and Lisa are a young married couple co-existing in a minuscule Brooklyn apartment, surviving on dreams and leftovers. One day Alan’s wealthy parents come for a visit and they realize that swallowing their pride and asking for help might be their only hope. But the answer they get isn’t the one they were expecting.
Froth
Froth was produced, in an earlier version, at the Beckman Stages in New York City. It has since been rewritten as a new play and an 8-part limited TV series.
Erica believes there’s got to be more in life than serving overly-fastidious customers in a café and watching British mysteries with her mom. So she decides to change her life by planning to move into an apartment with her best friend, Nicole, sleeping with her soft-spoken co-worker, Theo, and falling for the new employee, Christian.