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Steve Harper

STEVE HARPER

  
Nationality:    African American
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    Creative Artists Agency CA  

STEVE HARPER is an award-winning writer of TV scripts and plays, an actor and a certified creativity coach helping actors write their stories. His short films include the comic spy drama Intelligence (directed by Phil Kaufmann) - screened at Dances With Films in 2013, and the supernatural comedy Betty on the Bed (also director, producer and actor). He co-wrote the martial arts film Undefeatable. Steve worked for two years as an Associate Producer of audio projects and home video at Sesame Workshop and worked on the South African version of Sesame Street. He spent two seasons writing for the USA Network show Covert Affairs. Steve has written more than 20 plays including Princeton Theory - about a meeting between Paul Robeson & Albert Einstein. His plays have been produced and workshopped across the country including Classical Theatre of Harlem, New York Stage & Film, Chicago's American Theatre Company, L.A.'s Celebration Theatre and the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway. As an actor, Steve has appeared in theatre (The Guthrie, Cincinnati Playhouse and Williamstown), film (Chico and Rita, Broadway's Finest) and TV including The Arsenio Hall Show, Matador, 90210 and Law & Order SVU. Steve is a graduate of Yale, The A.R.T. Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard and the playwriting program at Juilliard. He's a frequent contributor to the online magazine: The Good Men Project. He's currently producing an original web series about time traveling black people. Steve is repped by CAA and The Shuman Company. For more information: www.harpercreates.com or www.yourcreativelife.com

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

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

         Abstract Purple         Actual Cost         Black / Out Stories         Bloomington Faces the God         Brink Of Life         Escape Artist's Children         First Encounter         Iggie Imagines Marriage         Laundry Channel         Oaksmith And the Holiday Spirit         Princeton Theory         Things Are (Mostly) Crazy         This Is Now         Urban Rabbit Chronicles         Wheelchair Pornography

Abstract Purple

Synopsis:
When Rosa, a teenage run-away breaks into Mary's NYC apartment, she challenges (and ultimately inspires) the elderly woman - a painter who has lost her will to live. their initial violent meeting precipitates Mary's greatest artistic work - but at what cost?

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Fells Point Corner Theatre    1994

Organisations:
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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 One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Actual Cost

Synopsis:
When bickering interracial couple B.T. and Iyana head to a wedding on the subway, they have no idea their relationship will be tested when Michael, a homeless black man, makes a pitch to them for funds.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Juilliard (100th Anniversary)    2005

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
the Kenyon Review Online, 2008   -

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:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Black / Out Stories

Synopsis:
a black writer explores his relationship with coming out while conducting a series of interviews with a diverse group of black gays and lesbians and navigating his relationship to his white partner.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
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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:
full length play

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Bloomington Faces the God

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Brink Of Life

Synopsis:
a group of high-school seniors brave the challenges of the SaT, while navigating distraction, romance, and the joys and fears of an uncertain future.

Notes:
co-story And lyrics by Steve Harper; Book by Laura ekstrand, Music by Oliver Lake

1st Produced:
Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre    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:
full length Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Escape Artist's Children

Synopsis:
When Grayson, an unemployed black attorney, struggles against an overwhelming depression due to the death of her father, and the fact that her brother is in a coma - even her girlfriend angie and therapy don't seem to be providing the cure. She sees her Father everywhere and talks to her comatose brother (and he talks back) constructing a history of her family that has elements of myth and reality in unsuccessful effort to break out of her mood. Running into Sheri -her ex from Law School - now married and straight, Grayson decides to pursues Sheri in the hopes of getting a kiss she just knows will magically make things right. In this comedy about family, power, slavery and freedom, Grayson negotiates love, mysticism, and mental health in a way we can all relate to.

Notes:
Read And workshopped At the Tribeca theatre Festival, New York theatre Workshop, Jean Cocteau Rep And New York Stage And Film.

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
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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:
Full Length Drama/Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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First Encounter

Synopsis:
Jessica and Bob are on a date. they seem perfect for each other. But why does he seem reluctant to tell her what he does for a living.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Falcon Theatre / Nbc Diversity Showcase, La    2005

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:
Short comedy (5 minutes)

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Iggie Imagines Marriage

Synopsis:
Just before Matthew is about to get married, Iggie, his best friend and best man, accidentally stops time - and admits to having feelings for Matthew.

Notes:
The play's first production was at the John Houseman Theatre in 1997, in an evening of one acts produced by Sanford Schimel and Stephanie Mittman. The first Actors Equity (professional) production was at Dreamcatcher Repertory Theater in 2001, presented as part of an evening entitled "Love, Hate, Friendship, Marriage".

1st Produced:
John Houseman Studio    1997

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:
comedy One act. - - Gay, one act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Laundry Channel

Synopsis:
the Laundry Channel follows Pool, a black TV producer who nervously consents to move in with his white partner, Clay and Clay's ten year old son, Mark. after moving in, Pool gets more nervous when he stumbles onto a bizarre cable channel, hosted by the Laundress, a white woman in a 50's dress, who's blindfolded, tied to a chair and spouting seemingly random laundry hints. even more bizarre is the fact that only Pool can see her. as Pool anxiously investigates this supernatural mystery, TV images and history, race, homophobia and self-acceptance come into play in this surreal comedy.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Juilliard (Workshop)    2004

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:
Full Length Comedy/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Oaksmith And the Holiday Spirit

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Princeton Theory

Synopsis:
Lloyd Brown blames Paul Robeson and Albert Einstein for ruining his life. You've probably never heard of Lloyd Brown. That's his gripe exactly. 1952. The height of the blacklist. The Professor's home in Princeton. A meeting between two great men and their helpers. No one knows what happened in that house. Until now. Princeton Theory takes a real life meeting with these two famous men and spins it into a memory play that addresses the creative impulse, the lure of success and the challenges of fame.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
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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:
Historical / Fantasy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Things Are (Mostly) Crazy

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
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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:
-

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This Is Now

Synopsis:
When Grace arrives at the home of Tate (a famous author and Father to her one-time boyfriend, Nick) to inform Tate of her true feelings for him, she is unaware that Nick and the ghost of Tate's wife alice are also in the house.

Notes:
This play, created for A benefit had An original cast that included Tracie Thoms, Margaret Colin, William Sadler, Hayden Christensen And Wilson Jermaine Heredia.

1st Produced:
American Airlines Theatre, New York    2005

Organisations:
the 24 Hour Plays

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:
-

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Urban Rabbit Chronicles

Synopsis:
When black Manhattanites Ted, a pharmacist, and Karen, an editor, attend a flea market on the advice of Father MacKenzie, their marriage counselor, they buy a small wooden rabbit statue from a charismatic vendor. Strangely, just days after the purchase, Karen writes a complete novel, and Ted becomes convinced that she's possessed by the spirit of the statue. Karen claims Ted is delusional, but Ted fights to enlist his pharmacy assistant Rose, and Father MacKenzie in the battle to save his marriage and reclaim the soul of his wife.

Notes:
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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:
Full Length Comedy/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Wheelchair Pornography

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
Spectral Sisters Productions

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:
-

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