A Note on Casting Descriptions:
All distinctions of gender in casting descriptions are merely suggestions and not rules. Any role may be played by an actor who is trans, non-binary, genderfluid, cisgender, etc.
No version of any of these plays should exist with a cast that is all White, all cisgender, and all able-bodied. This is not to say that White, cisgender, and able-bodied people may not perform these plays, but rather that they should not be the only people cast.
Please cast consciously from the broad spectrum of humanity.
full-length plays
Two acts, plus intermission.
What We Have Now (or, Valentine’s-f**king-Day)
3 WOMEN • 1 MAN
With Valentine’s Day peeking ominously over the horizon, Mallory, Shannon, Mark, and Ellen are just trying to distract themselves from their lives -- and their woefully tangled relationships -- as well as they can. But in the early morning hours of February 13th, someone they all know is rushed to the hospital -- and their tightly wound facades all start to unravel. Dominoes fall in quick succession, and the next day they all end up at the hospital together, desperately holding together their lives and looking for something -- or someone -- to cling to.
Two Wrens, Soaring: A Play with Music
4 WOMEN • 1 MAN • 2 YOUNG PERFORMERS (optional)
Set in a futuristic society where families are only allowed one daughter and one son for “budget concerns”, twin sisters raised as the same daughter wrestle with the ramifications of their parents’ decision and the uncertainty of their individual futures. When safety concerns force Ella to be sent away to live with an aunt, leaving Isa behind, they must face the fact that the divide between them may be too great to bridge in any one lifetime.
This script is in progress. To read a sample, please make a request through the contact form.
one-act plays
60 minutes or less, no intermission.
Stardust
3 WOMEN • 3 MEN
Coming soon…
Wire Taps
4-9 ACTORS • FLEXIBLE CASTING
Told by nine non-binary, nameless characters, WIRE TAPS weaves together several stories about coming out, mental health, and what it means to be growing up queer in a rapidly changing world. WIRE TAPS is told entirely through telephone calls, voicemails, and text messages.
Quiet Girls
5 ACTORS • FLEXIBLE CASTING
Two women in an office, separated by a few feet of threadbare carpet and a generational divide of fifty years, must learn to find their common ground when the world around them suddenly feels more volatile than the coffee maker in the break room.
Second Drafts
3 WOMEN • 3 MEN • 1 YOUNG PERFORMER
Belle, Amos, and Alice have all moved on from the losses they’ve suffered over the years— but somehow, they haven’t quite managed to let go. Told through a series of vignettes, this play weaves together three different love stories to explore how love and loss intertwine, how the past exists in the present, and how sometimes the things we miss the most are right in front of us.
Voices of VOW: A Verbatim Theatre Project
Written in collaboration with Prof. Martin McClendon, Carthage College
4-5 ACTORS • FLEXIBLE CASTING
Voices of VOW was edited, compiled, and arranged by Emma Swain with assistance from Martin McClendon from interviews conducted in 2019 by Martin McClendon. It is a verbatim play that tells the stories of four United States military veterans and their lives after their service. Battling mental illness, homelessness, family rejection, injury, disability, and many other obstacles, these veterans all eventually found their way to the the James A. Peterson Veteran’s Village in Racine, WI, where they now live and work as members of the Village's community. It is through cooperation with the Village that we are able to tell their stories.
To read a sample, please make a request through the contact form.
short plays
Itty-bitty ten or fifteen-minute plays.
tequila sunrise
3 WOMEN • FIFTEEN MINUTES
near dawn on an old city bus. the sunrise is imminent.
only college students, early-morning commuters, and people without ordinary sleep schedules are awake.
carolyn and jodie are friends and maybe more.
lalya is drunk.
but tequila and secrets don't mix well.
and growing up is hard.
Leave a Light On
4 ACTORS • FLEXIBLE CASTING • FIFTEEN MINUTES
Four people discover their links to one another are about to be severed by the spread of a mysterious illness that makes those infected gradually forget everything. They work to preserve what they treasure about humanity before it all slips away.
plays for young actors
Plays specifically written for TYA programs or young performers.
Cinderella: The Real Story
10-12 YOUNG PERFORMERS • FLEXIBLE CASTING • ONE ACT
Written in collaboration with TYA playwright John Maclay, Rayven Craft, and Austin Nelson.
A new take on an old classic, this play tells the forgotten stories hidden in the fairy tale we all know so well. Funny, imaginative, and powerful, this play is specifically designed for young performers in a TYA setting and may be adapted to a virtual or in-person performance venue. Premiered at Orlando Repertory Summer Program 2020 by commission of Orlando Repertory Theater.
Licensed through Theatrical Rights Worldwide. Please contact them directly for rights/perusal inquiries.
The Papier-Blumen Meadow
A dual-language play in German and English.
5 YOUNG PERFORMERS • MIXED ADULT ENSEMBLE (AT LEAST 3 W/2M) • ONE ACT
1955, Berlin: Gerlinde Ising is only eleven years old when she departs for a foster home in Holland with nothing more than a small, thin suitcase, her wavering courage, and a blank diary from her sister Ute, who is convinced the three-month stay will be a grand adventure. But Gerlinde’s not so sure. Everything is different in Holland! She misses her home, her garden, and most of all, her family. After all, since the war in Germany is over now, shouldn’t they all try to stay together? But with the help of Ute and Elze, her foster sister, Gerlinde is able to discover that flowers can grow just about anywhere — and that they’re just as beautiful in Holland as they are back home in Berlin.
This script is in progress. To read a sample, please make a request through the contact form.