doollee banner
The Playwrights Database
contact doollee


Rich Espey

RICH ESPEY

  (1966 - )
Nationality:    USA
twitter     email:    Click here to contact     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    n/a

Rich espey is a teacher, writer and actor living in Baltimore. Plays include Hope's arbor, winner of the Carol Weinberg award for Best Play at the 2006 Baltimore Playwrights Festival, Fifty-Fifty (Best Play at the 2003 Baltimore Playwrights Festival), and the Christmas comedy Bottom Dollar. Rich's one-act and ten-minute plays have been produced throughout the United States. His short play Martha's Choice won the award for Best Play at the SUNY Brockport Biennial Festival of Ten in 2005, and Near and Far took top honors at another Country Productions' February SLaMBoston Playfest. Rich is Chair of the Baltimore Playwright's Festival, and he is a member of the Dramatists Guild. also an actor, Rich has appeared in dozens of productions in the Baltimore/Washington area including his one-man show SaPIeNS!

Research:    Member of the Dramatists Guild of America (as at 2015)

Buy Plays with Doollee

Each page of doollee.com has links to play/book outlets, either directly to the Publisher, through Stageplays.com and Amazon to the second hand and 1st editions of AbeBooks. These links will automatically take you to the relevant area obviating the need for further search.
AbeBooks.co.uk   AbeBooks.com   Stageplays.com   amazon.com   amazon.co.uk   amazon.ca
whether you are a Playwright who wishes to make their entry definitive, an unlisted Playwright or a User with a tale to tell - we want to hear from you.
download WORD submission template

below is a list of Rich Espey's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Albans Garden         Bang Day         Be More 282         Ben's Extraordinary Experiment!         Bottom Dollar         Bugs         Fifty-Fifty         Following Sarah         Freedom Of Information         Helena Troy         Hope's Arbor         Hoya Saxa         Lightning Farmer         Martha's Choice         Mencken's Baltimore Ablaze!         Messages Deleted         Miss Alice Plays         Near And Far         Playful Poe         Potter County         Rainbow Plays, The         Revelation Of Bobby Pritchard, The         Rice Futures         Sapiens         Take Two         Tea for Tigers         Through A Glass Wetly         Zoo Story 2.0

Albans Garden

Synopsis:
Part of ObamAmerica: An Algerian prisoner is finally freed from Guantanamo Bay but what awaits him? An African-American university graduate campaigns for Obama in rough East Cleveland, Ohio but keeps getting stopped by armed and racist state troopers. A drone pilot in Arizona hides out in a nail bar. Edward Snowden chats to an Obama souvenir salesman in Washington DC. Bradley Manning dances in his jail cell. An ineffectual gun law is hotly debated on a TV news show. The voices of fourteen different playwrights are heard in ObamAmerica, the first theatre festival to focus purely on the effect this iconic American president has had on his country and on the world. ObamAmerica will give snapshots of the challenges that Barack Obama faces and the sometimes controversial choices he has made during his term of office. Playwrights include renowned TV and film writers Charles Evered (Adopt a Sailor starring Peter Coyote, USAs Monk) and Jacquelyn Reingold (NBCs Smash and Law and Order, HBOs In Treatment), many award winning playwrights from around the United States whose work has been seen at Primary Stages, Naked Angels, Manhattan Repertory Theater (NYC), Milwaukee Rep, Kennedy Center and New Jersey Rep as well as several American writers who have studied at the Royal Court Young Writers Programme and had work produced in London. Seven fifteen minute plays will be performed each evening for a week with seven different plays presented the following week.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Theatre503 and Over Here Theatre Company

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
15 min play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Bang Day

Synopsis:
it's Creation Day, but will 17-year-old Maria choose the Big Bang instead?
- press release

Notes:
part of Spring Shorts 5

1st Produced:
Turtle Shell Theater    -

Organisations:
3Graces Theater Co.

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Be More 282

Synopsis:
a play about a young black man and a young white woman who have been murdered in very different circumstances. It takes place under the bridge where their bodies have both been dumped. Both characters want very much to be discovered. the play begins when Beth asks the young black man to take her picture so that the media will make sure a search for her is continued. the play ends when Beth succeeds and the young black man fails.
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
part of Showcase III: (Year end Show

1st Produced:
Joria Productions, 260 West 36th Street, 3rd Floor, NY    05 Nov 2010

Organisations:
thespian Production

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
short play Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Ben's Extraordinary Experiment!

Synopsis:
Paris, 1777. Ben Franklin faces his toughest challenge yet - forge an alliance with France to help the faltering American army win the War of Independence. Working steadily towards his goal, Ben feels the stakes rise higher and higher as he realizes the personal and familial sacrifices he has made along the way.

Notes:
One of six finalists in the 2006 Coe College Playwriting Contest

1st Produced:
A.H. Spotlighters Theatre (Reading)    2006

Organisations:
a.H. Spotlighters Theatre

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Bottom Dollar

Synopsis:
Jason is the manager of X-Mart store 1461 in Crassley, Pennsylvania. a horrible "Black Friday" mob scene brings even more disrepute upon his beloved employer, forcing CeO Big Sam to come to town to mend some fences. Jason has a brilliant scheme to restore public faith in X-Mart: offer a contest in which the town that spends the most money at X-Mart during Christmas gets its money refunded by X-Mart! as his town slowly bankrupts itself, Jason is further challenged by the intrusion of a politically correct watchdog group and his unexpected discovery of Big Sam's true devious plans for the future. Jason, however, is able to summon true heroism and save the day. . .kind of.

Notes:
a dark Christmas comedy for those tired of the same old Christmas plays.

1st Produced:
Mobtown Theatre    2004

Organisations:
Mobtown Players

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
christmas themed Comedy

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Bugs

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
part of the Black Box New Play Festival

1st Produced:
Gallery Players, NY    2009

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Fifty-Fifty

Synopsis:
Thwaite academy Headmaster Scott Wheeler appears to have everything until two intrusions rock his world. First, one of the teachers at his school has created a firestorm by asserting that the school's founder was a "ninety-eight percent lesbian." Second, an old friend with whom he had a gay relationship shows up in need of "complete disclosure" to fully recover from the trauma of Scott's unceremonious speedy departure from their affair. Scott treads a careful path through these two minefields until the truth blows up in his face, yet it's a truth that ultimately enables Scott to acknowledge and tell the truth about himself.

Notes:
Winner of the Carol Weinberg Award for Best Play At the 2003 Baltimore Playwrights Festival

1st Produced:
A. H. Spotlighters Theatre    2003

Organisations:
Moated Grange

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy. - - Gay, theme/character one act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Following Sarah

Synopsis:
the cross country running team is thrown into disarray when they receive an e-mail from former team mate Sarah. Sarah has been dead for a year

Notes:
won the Carol Weinberg Award for Best Play at the Baltimore Playwrights Festival

1st Produced:
Fells Point Corner Theater, Baltimore    03 Aug 2012

Organisations:
Baltimore Playwrights Festival

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Freedom Of Information

Synopsis:
Marylyn a telemarketer telephones the lonely Jeremy to try and get him to renew a magazine subscription

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    2002

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Helena Troy

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Spotlighters, Baltimore    15 Aug 2008

Organisations:
Baltimore Playwrights Festival

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Hope's Arbor

Synopsis:
Hope is a senior at Thwaite academy. Under pressure from her mother to finish a college essay, Hope instead spends all her time online pursuing relationships with the intriguing Chris and the mysterious Saiko. Hope is subjected to a horrifying act of cruelty from schoolmate Caitelynne, and she uses a trip to a college interview as a chance to meet Chris in person and run away with him to her parents' summer home. as Hope is pursued by her parents and her fears, she realizes that she is running towards Saiko and acceptance of her confusing and initially unwelcome feelings. Hope's arbor is a coming of age story for the age of technology.

Notes:
Winner of the Carol Weinberg Award for Best Play At the 2006 Baltimore Playwrights Festival.

1st Produced:
Ah Spotlighters Theatre    2006

Organisations:
Spotlighters Theatre

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy/Drama Comedy. - - Gay, theme/character one act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Hoya Saxa

Synopsis:
Two players are sent off. Back in the changing room things start to develop

Notes:
Part of "Sochi: Three Short Plays About Gay Athletes"

1st Produced:
Center on Halstead, Chicago    2014

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Gay one act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Lightning Farmer

Synopsis:
a farmer's daughter copes with her father's death.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Riverside Theater, Iowa    2006

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Monologue play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Martha's Choice

Synopsis:
Three monkeys escape from a laboratory and hope to take over the world.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Ten minute Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Mencken's Baltimore Ablaze!

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Messages Deleted

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Nativealiens theatre Collective presents Short Stories 8, A short play festival offering An evening of original short plays from the gay/lesbian perspective. This year the festival is scheduled to coincide with Gay Pride Week in New York City

1st Produced:
The Independent, NY    2007

Organisations:
Nativealiens Theatre Collective

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
short play One act. - - Gay, theme/character one act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Miss Alice Plays

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Fells Point Corner Theater, Baltimore    29 Jun 2006

Organisations:
Baltimore Playwrights Festival

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Near And Far

Synopsis:
Hope looks for friends - at school and online.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Ten minute play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Playful Poe

Synopsis:
Works By Susan Middaugh, John J. Conley, Kevin Kostic, Amy Bernstein, Brent Englar, Andrew Hager, And Rich Espey Based On Edgar Allen Poe'S Short Stories Set In Modern Times. Some Are Spooky, Most Are Funny, And All Are Quirky Tributes To Baltimore's Most Famous Buried Resident!

Notes:
The Kennedy Center hosts its 11th annual Page-to-Stage festival, featuring more than 40 D.C.-area theater companies. This three-day event offers free readings and open rehearsals of plays and musicals being developed by local, regional, and national playwrights, librettists, and composers

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Potter County

Synopsis:
a high school principal is ordered to carry out the school board's demands.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Rainbow Plays, The

Synopsis:
the rainbow flag that symbolizes gay pride and the gay rights movement was created more than 30 years ago. In its current version, the flag consists of six horizontal stripes, each of which has a symbolic meaning: red (life), orange (healing), yellow (sunshine), green (nature), blue (harmony), and purple (spirit). the first six plays in this collection address one of those themes; while the seventh play incorporates them all into one.

Notes:
the Kennedy Center hosts its 12th annual Page-to-Stage festival, featuring more than 40 D.C.-area theater companies. This three-day event offers free readings and open rehearsals of plays and musicals being developed by local, regional, and national playwrights, librettists, and composers.

1st Produced:
Kennedy Center,South Atrium Foyer, Dc    31 Aug 2013

Organisations:
Baltimore Playwrights Festival

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Revelation Of Bobby Pritchard, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
part of the BAND PLAYS ON, a festival of new gay-themed playwriting named in honour of Mart Crowleys 1968 classic and presented in partnership with award winning writer and director Patrick Wilde (What's Wrong With Angry).

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Gay, theme/character, one act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Rice Futures

Synopsis:
Miss LaCoeur wants red beans and rice, but trans-fat-laden French Fries are what she needs.

Notes:
part of the Source festival

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Sapiens

Synopsis:
Can creationism and evolutionism ever be reconciled

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Take Two

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Directors Choice Theater, Baltimore    16 Aug 2001

Organisations:
Baltimore Playwrights Festival

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Tea for Tigers

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Baltimore Footlights Reading Series, Spotlighters Theatre 817 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, Md 21202    29 Jan 2015

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Through A Glass Wetly

Synopsis:
Buck the seahorse is pregnant again. In the seahorse world it is the males who reproduce and he wants his partner Mavis to be more involved.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Ten minute Comedy

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Zoo Story 2.0

Synopsis:
Nativealiens theatre Collectivepresents the 11th annual production of Short Stories, a short New Play festival celebrating the GLBT experience. Plays from all over the world were submitted to Nativealiens for consideration, and this year they have selected 10 diverse plays to comprise the evening's lineup. Ranging from hilarious commentary on gay social life to poignant takes on personal relationships, Short Stories 11 is sure to have something for everyone
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
part of Short Stories 11

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Nativealiens Theatre Collective

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
short story. - - Gay/Lesbian, of interest

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page