Plays
POWER IN THE BLOOD is the story of Ezekiel, a Pentecostal Baptist, who spontaneously begins to bleed from wounds that mirror those of Christ on the cross. Ranger Hardgrove, a revival manager, finds the boy and buys him from his sister. His plan is to introduce the bleeding boy into the revival circuit and then reap the financial benefits from the "miracle".
Ranger encourages both Ezekiel and his public to believe that he may be capable of healing. Ezekiel's ministry is successful, bringing financial reward to Ranger.
Eventually Ranger begins to realize that his control is not complete.
Ezekiel is hearing voices, and the healings may be real. In the end
Ezekiel dies, and leaves behind many people whose lives will never be the
same again. Ranger Hardgrove closes t he play revealing that even he is
beginning to believe in things he cannot see.
Cast: 1 man, 1 teenage boy, 3 women
Single set
THE SECRET OF THE UNIVERSE
Constance is in the waiting room of a county hospital in Oregon waiting to see if her sister will survive her third suicide attempt. A Deputy Sheriff brings in a man named Jack to be evaluated by the doctor. It seems Jack wrecked his ca r, and although he is physically fine, his mental state is questionable as far as the Sheriff is concerned.
It seems that Jack claims he must get to Gonzaga University in Washington state as soon as possible because he has the secret of the universe written on a MacDonalds Quarter-pounder wrapper. Jack believes the Jesuit priests at Gonzaga will be able to interpret the mathematical formula that he has been miraculously given.
Over a period of a few hours, Constance learns a great deal about faith and trust. She gives Jack the keys to her car, and with some help from two night custodians at the hospital, he escapes.
No one knows if Jack is crazy or not, but Constance does know that he
has given her a sense of what it is like to believe that anything is
possible.
Cast: 3 men, 2 women
Single set
HEAVING BOSOMS, HAIRY CHESTS
Diane is the author of a series of romance novels, written under four
different names. There used to be a fifth "name" but it became
too much work and so Diane, along with her agent Morgan, killed her off. So Diane and Morgan concoct a plan to prove the woman who never existed
is dead. What they don't know is that Diane's husband, Ed, and her mother
have also come up with a plan. Unfortunately the plans meet head-on and
disaster looms.
Ultimately they convince the man (who it turns out is not a detective
but a travel agent from Nebraska) that the woman who never existed must
remain hidden. In the process a bittersweet love story takes place. Cast: 3 men, 2 women
Single set Parker Anderson is suffering with depression. Self-medicating with
alcohol, even though he is in therapy, has caused him to lose his job and
his house. At the opening of the play Parker and his wife, Julia, are
moving into a small apart ment. Parker is going to try to freelance as a
graphic artist.
Julia's family and friends are all questioning her willingness to stay
with Parker, who is incapable of holding a job or functioning well on a
day to day basis. Julia loves Parker and remembers how he was before the
depression. Her memories of him ma ke her determined to stick with him
until he is better.
Parker loses his best friend, Michael, in an automobile accident and
the event triggers suicidal thoughts. During the play the audience sees
not only what is happening in Parker's life, but the very battle going on
in his head is seen. His father who abused him, his psychiatrist, and his
dead friend, Michael, all appear and influence how Parker copes.
Parker buys a gun to kill himself, but is found out by Julia and
stopped. At the end of the play it is unknown if Parker is better or
planning to try again. Cast: 3 men, 3 women
Single set Lazarus is a black veteran who is dying with a mysterious illness that
the VA cannot seem to diagnosis. Teddy is a beautiful young man who has
spent his life being called retarded because he never learned to read.
Laura is newly widowed , in her early fifties and lost without her
husband.
These three people meet on a beach in Southern California. Their coming
together is coincidental, and yet it seems somehow fated.
Laura and Lazarus are both in love with the beautiful Teddy, but know
that they cannot act on it. He is more child than man. So they turn to
each other for the love that they seek.
Teddy drowns in the rough waters off the coast one day while out with
Lazarus and Laura. The family that the three had developed together falls
apart. Lazarus leaves. Cast: 2 men, 1 woman
Single set Erik James is running away. A hot young Hollywood actor, he comes to a
small beach on an island off the coast of Georgia after his sister's death
from cancer. During his sister's long battle with cancer, Erik spent as
much time with he r as possible. At the time of her death, he was reading
to her from a novel called SAND DANCER which is placed on this island,
this beach.
Erik promised his sister that when she got well he would bring her
there, but now he never can. Lost and alone he comes to the island, to
that particular beach, to mourn her.
But fate has something else in store for Erik. His car won't start when
he gets ready to leave, and the ferry breaks down. Stranded on the island
he finds help from a woman, a stranger he meets on the beach. Later he
finds out this woman is the novel ist, M. Rachel Davis (Maggie) who wrote
SAND DANCER.
Maggie is grieving, too. One year before her husband of fifteen years
committed suicide on the beach. Maggie invites Erik to participate in her
ritual of grieving. He does, and although the ritual works, it has
unforeseen side affects on Erik.
Maggie and Erik becomes friends and eventually lovers. He finds the
kindness he is desperate for after the loss of his sister, and she finds
the both physical pleasure and an emotional rebirth in being with a man
who desires her. Cast: 1 man 1 woman
Single set Joey was an accident. His mother got pregnant with him when she was
fifteen. She tried several home-style self-abortions, but they all failed
and Joey was born. Now, in his late twenties, Joey is struggling with a
life that has no outs.
Joey was sexually abused when he was five by one of his mother's
boyfriends, a man named Buddy. Buddy died in an automobile accident. Joey
was with him, and there is question as to how accidental the accident was.
Joey has spent his life in and out of the County jail on a variety of
small-time burglary charges. He drinks too much, trying to ease the pain
of a life without redemption. But everywhere he turns there seems to be
more abuse waiting for him. He has been victimized while in jail, beaten
by a deputy. His mother generally does not acknowledge his existence and
when she does it is only to humiliate him.
But Rita, a bartender, likes Joey. She is nice to him. Joey asks Rita
to go out with him, and fully intends to try to be nice to her. However, a
lifetime of abuse and deprivation, coupled with too much alcohol, prove
too potent a mixture. Joey murd ers Rita in a rage against the
frustrations of his life.
Now he faces the death sentence, and his only companions are the ghosts
of Buddy and Rita as he tries to make sense of everything that has
happened to him. No set
Cast: 3 men, 2 women
THE NIGHT IS SO LONG
A SHORT TIME OF NEAR PERFECTION
DANCING WITH THE BAD MAN
ACCIDENT OF BIRTH