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Mal Andersen

MAL ANDERSEN  (1938 - )

 Nationality:    Australian
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    Michael Weston Organisation Pty Ltd  


Mal andersen has taught in Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Education in Queensland. He is a former Head of Expressive Arts Dept. (art, Music, Drama.) at The Brisbane College of advanced Education. as a lecturer at Queensland University of Technology he was co-ordinator of a/Dip Creative arts. In 1991 he abandoned left to pursue his professional writing career. His published works include poetry, song lyrics and scripts for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and commercial television. Mal is the author of three school musicals which have been performed widely throughout Australia. His theatre works include several two act plays and a large catalogue of one act plays encompassing a range of genres from Dramatic Tragedy through Comedy to Theatre of the a\absurd.

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

 Angel At Conroy's Crossing, An         Big Jim         Big Jim Mcdonagh's Funeral (12 Irishmen And A Corpse)         Blind Date         Calling It Quits         Family Tree         Fear, The         Goin' Bonkers         Having Lunch With Strangers         Little Bit Of Insurance, A         Market Forces         Mates         Miss Jennifer O'Brien's Problem         Person Of Interest, A         Seance, The         Serious Allegations         Sisters         Some Days I Don't Exist         Sudden Death         Terror On The Train         That Damn Road

Angel At Conroy's Crossing, An

Synopsis:
a schoolgirl claims to have seen an angel

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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

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Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Big Jim

Synopsis:
Big Jim all twenty stone of him dies in his upstairs room. The undertaker goes to the bar to get help with getting him out of the building and ready for his funeral.

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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

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Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  12            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Big Jim Mcdonagh's Funeral (12 Irishmen And A Corpse)

Synopsis:
When Big Jim Mc Donagh, who weighed over twenty stone, died at home in an upstairs bedroom, he created something of a problem. Whilst he was a good man in life, he was bad news in death. When the local Undertaker was informed in the bar of the pub, he called in the help of most of the town with hilarious results. We trace the collection of the body, the funeral, and the wake through the eyes of twelve Irishmen who prove Murphy's Law once again that what can go wrong, definitely will.

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1st Published:
Michael Weston Organisation, 2005   -

Music:
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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

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Genre:
Comedy/ Telling a Tale 30 min

Parts:
Male:  12            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Blind Date

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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:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Calling It Quits

Synopsis:
On the advice of their solicitors Max and Joan go to a cafe to sort out who gets what from their upcoming divorce. Things are not helped by an interfering waitress.

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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:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Family Tree

Synopsis:
Louisa starts tracing her family history. But is she prepared for the scandal she uncovers?

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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:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Fear, The

Synopsis:
a couple are trapped in a farm house by an unknown force

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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:
-

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Goin' Bonkers

Synopsis:
Three characters come together in the recreation courtyard of a mental hospital and play out aspects of their lives in an ever-changing drama. Who is a patient and who is not? What is true and what is not? What does it mean to be sane or insane? We are drawn deeper and deeper into these questions and given an insight into the act of Goin' Bonkers.

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1st Published:
Michael Weston Organisation, 2004   -

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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:
Theatre Of The absurd 45-50 min One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Having Lunch With Strangers

Synopsis:
a young woman with a secret comes into the well-ordered lives of two successful academics. Her disturbing presence forces them to revisit their past, and reassess the choices they made. Echoes of past mistakes now poison the present and threaten the future. The truth is that you can never go back and start over again. all you can ever do is slowly and painfully learn to go on.

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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
Michael Weston Organisation, 2001   -

Music:
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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:
Contemporary drama 90 min

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Little Bit Of Insurance, A

Synopsis:
During a bungled hold up the junky robber takes a woman shopper hostage

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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:
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Market Forces

Synopsis:
Somewhere in the future four members of the 'Corporation' are trapped in an outpost administration centre by an uprising of 'Primitives'. They are in hostile territory, cut off from all outside help. Communication is impossible. They have no alternative but to follow the 'Code' of the corporation and 'Trade' their way out. It is a time when there is no race only citizenship. When there is no morality, only results. There is no choice, only responsibility. Economic Rationalism is the religion and Business is all! What happens when the value of a human life is subjected to 'market Forces' and traded like any other commodity? But hasn't it always?

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1st Published:
Michael Weston Organisation, 200   -

Music:
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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:
Futuristic Drama 30 min One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Mates

Synopsis:
Barry, Ian, and Ron are good mates. They go back to high school days together. They were friends through their courting days, early-married life, and the arrival of children. The test for wives and family was whether they could accept and be accepted by the mates. Often, it was whether they could take second place to the needs of this peculiarly Australian phenomenon, 'mateship'.The mates are now approaching their mid-life together with its re-evaluation, uncertainty and challenge. Their collective mid-life crisis intrudes on their regular Sunday bar-b-cue.

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1st Produced:
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1st Published:
Michael Weston Organisation, 2001   -

Music:
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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:
Contemporary Social Comedy/Drama 120 min

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Miss Jennifer O'Brien's Problem

Synopsis:
Jennifer O'Brien is a successful account executive in advertising and an unsuccessful single mother. Natural maternal instincts seem lacking in Jennifer. The child, who is tolerably acceptable by ordinary standards, is the most objectionable burden ever placed on any woman according to his reluctant mother. The child's lungs, that were supposed to be damaged by her smoking during pregnancy, can shatter glass for twenty-three and a half hours in every twenty-four. Desperate situations require desperate measures, or something akin to a miracle. Louise is that miracle. Getting Jennifer back on top of her career and straightening out a dysfunctional household is just the challenge Louise is looking for as she grapples with her own dilemma.

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1st Produced:
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1st Published:
Michael Weston Organisation, 2001   -

Music:
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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:
120 min Farce

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Person Of Interest, A

Synopsis:
an elderly gentleman is found dead in the visitors open garage at 'ashmore', Number 9, ashmore Crescent, Fernlea. It is an expensive Unit Block, composed of several, separate units. an assailant or assailants unknown murdered the victim late on Thursday night. He had been struck a savage blow to the head by a gardening spade. It is now Friday morning and a young female police officer is questioning the last of the residents to see the victim alive. She is not a suspect, the young police officer rushes to assure her, but 'a Person of Interest'. For the young female policewoman the interview is a steep learning curve.

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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
Michael Weston Organisation, 2004   -

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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:
Crime Story 30 min One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Seance, The

Synopsis:
The eccentric Mrs. Jill Windsor is having the famous Madam Zetta hold a private seance for her at home this evening and is in a state of excited anticipation. Her husband Tony is going along with it without objection. His years of marriage have taught him that this is the only way to have a quiet life. The unexpected arrival of the daughter Kirsty and her latest boyfriend, Ben, causes Jill considerable annoyance. She is about to throw the daughter and Ben out rather than be embarrassed by them in front of the famous medium, when someone substituting for the real Madam Zetta arrives and conducts a seance with remarkable results. Beginner's luck or the beginning of a new career for the would-be medium. Poetic justice or the end of Jill's interest in the para-normal. a stroke of good luck for Kirsty or the kiss-off for Ben. all of this and a hazy memory and a hangover for Tony.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Play With Your Food. Zaks, Brisbane    2007

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Michael Weston Organisation, 2004   -

Music:
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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:
30 min Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Serious Allegations

Synopsis:
a teacher is arrested and charged with indecently dealing with boys at a private school. although he denies the serious allegations he is found guilty. Was he set up? Were the allegations false? This play traces the trial and court appeal process and the affect it has on all concerned. In the emotionally charged environment where such cases are brought and pursued is objectivity ever really possible? What are we to believe? What is truth? and, ultimately, what is justice?

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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
Michael Weston Organisation, 2001   -

Music:
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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:
Contemporary drama 100 min. - - Gay/Lesbian, of interest

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Sisters

Synopsis:
On the death of their mother, two sisters, who have not been close for years, come together to make arrangements for the funeral. Their awkward meeting and the emotion of such a time stir up the old unresolved bitterness from their childhood and early adult lives.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Ipswich Little Theatre, Quensland    2006

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Michael Weston Organisation, 2004   -

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:
Theatre Of The absurd / Domestic Drama 30 min

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Some Days I Don't Exist

Synopsis:
a patient tells his psychiatrist that there are some days when he does not exist. Is he right?

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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:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Sudden Death

Synopsis:
at the wake after the funeral of her late husband, Joan abbott discovers that her recent sudden loss was not the accident it seemed to be. Mr. Emanuel Papadopolis arrives to offer his condolences and wishes to exchange the computer back-up files that the deceased accountant kept in a shoebox somewhere in the house for a neat one million dollars. The deceased accountant's two adult children want to get into the act with frightening results. The son Philip, who now wants to be called Philipa, (must be the shock), and daughter Elizabeth, call me Liz, who now simply wants a large slice of the money, (must be grief), contrive a plan that may well lead to further cases of sudden death in the family. Mr. Papadopolis, the odd-job messenger and 'hit-man' just wants to get back to the 'Big Boss" with the back-up files before the Big Boss gets impatient. The remaining members of the abbott family's idea of turning the 'family's' business into a family business may not sit too well with the Big Boss. Then again. . . maybe it will. But any mistake could lead to 'Sudden Death'.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Lakes Players. Forest Lakes    2008

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Michael Weston Organisation, 2004   -

Music:
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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:
30 min Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Terror On The Train

Synopsis:
a terrorist meets his match when he gets into a railway carriage with two little old ladies.

Notes:
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1st Published:
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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:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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That Damn Road

Synopsis:
It is a fact of Political Life that one issue, one mistake, or one idea before or after its time can bring down a good Government, or equally, save a bad one. Onto such a greasy pole are clinging grimly the fortunes of political parties and the men who lead them. and on only slightly firmer ground are the Superannuation payouts of those men and women of the Public Service who advise them and implement their policies. Not so long ago in the hothouse climate of an election campaign the routing of a highway became a burning issue in a far off land and brought down a government. This was strange enough. It was stranger still when a couple of elections later a highway re-routing almost boiled into a major issue again. What was funny once and laughable the second time became the idea that sparked this creation. all's fair in politics and theatre even in this far off land. So here for your entertainment is a fanciful solution should the issue ever arise again. and it probably will.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
Michael Weston Organisation, 2005   -

Music:
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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:
Political Satire 50 min

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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