The Mating Instinct

Carl, an English teacher in a small, private high school, is about to publish his third YA novel, The Mating Instinct, which depicts an intimate relationship between a teacher and a student. After a copy of the book is leaked, everyone, including Carl's wife, Anne, believes that the events in the book are based on Carl himself and a senior named Mackenzie. Rather than downplaying the book, Carl fights back in the press, with the help of his daughter, Danielle, also a student at the school. But when Mackenzie's father, a lawyer, threatens him, suddenly Carl's job, reputation, and family are at stake, as the line between truth and fiction becomes increasingly blurred.

Workshop Production: 5th Wall Productions, Charleston SC

Kill the Editor

Ben, a young editor, has just landed his dream job to edit a documentary film at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. The catch is: he only has one week to cut a five-hour version down to size and the egomaniacal, obsessive filmmaker, Cameron, doesn’t want to touch a frame. And when Libby, Cameron’s ex-editor and girlfriend, shows up and demands her old position back, Ben gets caught in the middle.

Kill the Editor is a fast-paced, relentless comedy/drama about the interplay between creation and editing, what we choose to leave in and out in both art and life.

Produced at Exit Theater, directed by Aren Haun, starring Josh Schell, Kathleen McHatton, and Ben Elie.

Produced at Desert Theater Ensemble, directed by Kudra Wagner, starring Sean Timothy Brown, Keivan Safavi and Eliza Convis.

Read the play at New Play Exchange or request a copy.

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 co-worker. Things don't go to plan, however, when his wife leaves Chris, their 12-year old son, in his care. Stanley perseveres, placing his faith on his a horse racing system and getting his jazz band back together. But when his mother visits, pressuring him to attend his father's wedding, the wall of reality comes crashing down.

Gentleperson:

Aren Haun's play A SEPARATION [retitled: Make a New Plan, Stan] is a completely original, tender, desperate, farcical family drama--a newly minted form that dives directly into the heart of one family's pain at a time in American history seldom dramatized today. I believe in this play and hope that you will see its many strengths and possibilities as I.

Warmly,

Craig Lucas

Make a New Plan, Stan

Read the play at New Play Exchange or request a copy.

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Parallax

Vincent and Joe are grifters at the racetrack who run cons on unsuspecting patrons. One day, Vincent hits a big winner and begins making plans on getting out of the life and becoming an owner of thoroughbreds. But then he meets, Erin, a young woman who needs Vincent’s help to win enough to buy back the horse her father sold out from under her. Vincent agrees. And when he thinks he’s spotted the right horse, Vincent decides to risk everything he’s got on a single race. But Joe might have other plans.

‘Parallax’ is a light and enjoyable play in the vein of the classic comedy film ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’ or the Oceans 11 series. It’s plotted to keep the audience hooked on the twists and turns of who’s fooling who, who’s got the upper hand and how much the audience know at any given moment.

Reading: The Last Frontier Theater Conference

Read the play at New Play Exchange or request a copy.

UK and US versions available.

Grunge

Robbie Murphy is a famous musician in his 50s who returns to Seattle after 29 years following the death of his best friend and former bandmate, Mark Holmes. Robbie reunites with Andrew, Mark’s brother, and together they get the old band back together to arrange a tribute. But things don’t go to plan when Robbie meets Nicholas, the son of Mark and Haley, who also happens to be Robbie’s ex-wife and still holds a grudge against him for the way he treated her when they were married. Robbie needs Nicholas’s permission to use songs that he and Mark wrote in the early 90s, but Nicholas surprises him by tempting him with past addictions.

Grunge is a play about the nostalgia and destructiveness of youth, as well as the potential pitfalls of returning to the past.

Read the play at New Play Exchange or request a copy.

Paperback Writer

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 entitled Chelsea Merriweather, 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!

Reading: Abacus Arts, London (as Chelsea Perkins)

Read the play at New Play Exchange or request a copy.

UK and US versions available.

Love-All

During a weekly mixed doubles match, a group of friends play their hearts out, both on and off the court. Their games and states of minds are thrown off, however, when one of them experiences a brush with death. 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 and tennis as these mere players fight to the death for love.

Reading: Script Readers UK

Read the play at New Play Exchange or request a copy.

UK and US versions available.

Expecting

The year is 1973. Abby, nine months pregnant, and her husband, Stan, are expecting a visit from Stan's old college roommate, Frank. But when Frank arrives, Abby is surprised to discover that he has brought along a young companion named Taylor. As Abby and Stan attempt to entertain their unusual guests, Frank and Taylor seem to subtly mock their hosts through a series a social games, causing Abby to see her marriage in a new light. With a Pinteresque style and set in the context of an unsettling time in American history, Expecting explores the fundamental nature of social interactions in an entertaining way.

Produced at Players Loft, New York City; directed by Aren Haun, starring Samantha Henning, James Liebman, Kirsta Peterson

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Eulogy for an Insignificant Man

Stan flies to New Mexico for his father’s funeral. Expecting to receive a big inheritance, Stan discovers instead that his share of the will is virtually nothing. As he and his mother, Ruth, go through his father’s belongings, she reveals that she has a contract entitling her to half the estate, which Stan believes should be shared with him. 

Old Standards

Christmas Day, 1969. Abby returns to her family home for Christmas dinner. Her parents, Helen and James, are surprised when they discover she has arrived without her husband, Stanley. Abby reveals that she is questioning her marriage, along with everything else, including her identity and what is happening in the world. Then, to her surprise, Stanley unexpectedly shows up and reveals a secret that Abby doesn’t want her parents to know.

Done to Death

Chris, a young actor, returns home from New York after his father, Stan, suffers a heart attack, to find his family in a state of chaos. His sister, Deirdre, has dropped out of school and wants to pursue a career in modelling, while his mother, Abby, is anxiety-ridden over their dire financial circumstances. And Stan , refusing to rest after his surgery, has taken on directing a production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and he wants Chris to play the role of Biff. Despite questioning whether or not he wants to continue to pursue acting as a career, Chris agrees to the role for the sake of his father's health, while trying to find a way to save his family from themselves.

Produced at Venue 9, San Francisco (earlier version)

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Froth

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 plans to move into an apartment with her slightly mental friend, Nicole. Then one evening, Erica has a crazy impulse to sleep with her soft-spoken co-worker, Theo. But just as she and Theo are starting to date, Erica falls for the new employee, Christian.

Produced: Beckman Theater, NYC (earlier version)

Read play at New Play Exchange

Three Rebels

Jeff, Megan, and Scott are three struggling young actors who decide to take their careers into their own hands by making a movie based on the behind-the-scenes world of Rebel Without a Cause. They dream of the film’s success turning them into movie stars, just like James Dean, Natalie Wood, and Sal Mineo. But as the production begins to have problems, they turn to Tim, a more experienced actor, to guide them.

Read play on New Play Exchange

The Way it Goes

After her marriage collapses and she overdoses, 30-year-old Julie enters rehab, battling resentment towards her estranged husband and the program, all while grappling with her father's recent death. Though she slowly accepts the need for help and begins working the steps, deep-seated anger and an inability to forgive her mother over a tumultuous past threaten her recovery, leaving her resistance stubbornly high.

A Magnificent Lie

When Stan’s worst fears are confirmed and he is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, he discovers an optimism he didn’t know he had. Rather than giving into despair, he seizes the opportunity to complete his unfulfilled ambitions, recruiting his full-grown children, Chris and Deirdre, to aid him. But when Stan’s wife, Abby, discovers that the doctors are in contradiction with one another, she is determined to uncover the truth.

Reading: Play Readings With Friends, NYC

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Orinda

Facing foreclosure, Stan and Abby host a small party, hoping Stan's brother Larry will invest in Stan's horse racing system to save their home. As more friends arrive, including the crass Bill and Carol who brazenly propose hosting their wedding at the house, the impending deadline intensifies. Abby begins to seriously question her husband's judgment, as their shared dream of salvation clashes with a chaotic reality.

Big Dreams in a Tiny Apartment

Alan and Lisa are a young married couple co-existing in a minuscule Brooklyn apartment, surviving on dreams and leftovers. One day Alan catches his big break, only to have it suddenly disappear again. Determined to get his screenplay produced, Alan tries to raise money for his project, but soon realizes that the thing that’s mostly been getting in his way is … himself.

The Essentialist

It’s 1962. Stan, a graduate student in philosophy at the University of Redlands, is nervous about proposing to his girlfriend, Abby, so he seeks the advice of his friends, Irv and Frank, who are both absorbed in an intense game of chess.

Too Good to Be True

The year is 1928 and Max Barry’s new play on Broadway depicting a true-life scandal involving William Randolph Hearst, Charlie Chaplin, and Marion Davies has been selling out to out of town audiences. Things go haywire, though, when it’s discovered that the events depicted in the play never actually happened.

Reading at Playwrights Center of San Francisco

What Else Is New

Mark is a young art student, working in a burger place. One day an eccentric customer comes in, an older man named Bruno. Bruno tries to make a connection with Mark, but his aggressive manner keeps Mark at a distance.

Produced at Labute New Play Festival, 2022

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Gull

A modern-day variation on Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, following the characters of Masha and Medvedenko.

Holiday

ed wants desperately to go on a holiday with his family, but some inexplicable force is preventing him.

Finalist and Staged Reading at Carlow Little Theatre, Ireland