The Playwrights Database
WENDY MACLEOD
Nationality:
USA
email:
n/a
Website:
n/a
Literary Agent:
Agency for the Performing Arts represented by
Beth Bickers
Wendy MacLeod's plays Juvenilia and the Water Children premiered at Playwrights Horizons in New York. the Water Children was subsequently produced at LA.'s Matrix Theater where it was cited as "the most challenging political play of 1998" by La Weekly and earned six L.A. Drama Critics Circle nominations. Her plays Sin and Schoolgirl Figure both premiered at the Goodman in Chicago. Her play the House of Yes became an award-winning Miramax film starring Parker Posey, earning a Special Jury award at Sundance. the play has also been done in LA, at Soho Rep, at the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin, and at the Gate Theater in London, where it was selected to be published in Plays International. Her children's musical, How To Make an Apple Pie and See the World,based on Marjorie Priceman's book, premiered at the Kennedy Center. Her new play Things Being What they arepremiered in Spring 2004 at Seattle Rep, and was seen at Steppenwolf in Chicago. a New Dramatists alumna and a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Ms. MacLeod is the playwright-in-residence at her alma mater, Kenyon College. She is currently working on a commission for Steppenwolf.
Research: Member of the Dramatists Guild of America (as at 2015)
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Apocalyptic Butterflies
Synopsis:
Cooped up in their cramped cottage in a remote part of Maine, Hank and Muriel Tarer are beginning to get on each others nerves. they have still not agreed on a name for their sevenweek-old daughter, Muriel refuses to accept motherhood and housework as a full time occupation, Hank is having an affair with a busty checkout girl ar the local IGa store and, to top it all off, Hanks Father has dumped a load of totem poles in their front yard, hoping to jar Hank out of his "traditional thought patterns." In fact, a general shaking-up is what Hank and Muriel need if they are to overcome the resentment and constant bickering which have beset their young marriage and, in a series of wildly funny scenes, that is exactly what they get. It all comes to a boil when Muriel catches Hank in the arms of Trudi, his supermarket bimbo, but as things can't get worse they actually (and miraculously) get better, much to the bemusement of Hank's delightfully eccentric parents. In truth, Hank and Muriel really do love each other, and
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Yale
1987
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Comedy
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: 3 Other: -
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Ballad of Bonnie Prince Chucky, The
Synopsis:
The rugby captain at a Scottish boarding school declares himself King
Notes:
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1st Produced:
His Majestys Theatre, Aberdeen
2014
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Youth play
Parts:
Male: 4 Female: 4 Other: -
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Birnham Woods
Synopsis:
Kevin invites Janice's husband to join him in a consultancy group for a mysterious organization - or has he been invited to join a terrorist group?
Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
- -
Music:
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Genre:
Drama
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: 1 Other: 1 boy
Further Reference:
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Boxes
Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
Sketchbook Festival, Chicago
2004
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Short play
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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Chemistry
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Sketchbook Festival, Chicago
2001
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Short play
Parts:
Male: 1 Female: 1 Other: -
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Connect Five
Synopsis:
the Common Tongue's Connect Five unites new writers with established playwrights in an evening of one-act plays by award winning writers Wendy MacLeod and Lucy Thurber and emerging playwrights Danny Mitarotondo and Bronwen Prosser. an exploration of what it means to connect with one another in this modern world, Connect Five features stories about people striving for love and acceptance.
- nytheatre.com
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Ars Nova511 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019
07 Jan 2011
Organisations:
the Common Tongue
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
One act
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: 5 Other: -
Further Reference:
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District Views
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
Written by Caleen Sinnette Jennings; Wendy MacLeod; Ken Zacarias and Stephen Belber
1st Produced:
Arena Stage, Washington Dc
2001
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
-
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
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Division III
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
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1st Produced:
-
1995
Organisations:
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1st Published:
- -
Music:
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Genre:
Short play
Parts:
Male: 3 Female: - Other: -
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Downstairs Upstairs
Is the man working in the basement ready for a promotion upstairs? A man from upstairs comes down to see
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Sketchbook Festival, Chicago
2006
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Contained in: "Best Ten Minute Plays for 2 Actors" published by Smith and Kraus 2009 978-1575257099
Music:
-
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Genre:
Short play
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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House Of Yes, The
Synopsis:
It's Thanksgiving and Marty's arrival home is greatly anticipated by his mother, Mrs. Pascal, his twin sister, Jackie-O, and his younger brother, Anthony. He arrives during a hurricane, but worse than the storm is the fact that Marty brings Lesly, his fiancee. This ruins everything. Marty's engagement is a threat to the well-being of this family, and a greater threat to Jackie-O who has always wanted her brother for herself. On top of that, Jackie-O has just recently been released from a mental hospital, Anthony dropped out of Princeton, and their mother has a serious problem handling any of this. This is also a family severely affected by the Kennedy family, whose Virginia Compound makes them neighbors with the Pascals. Mr. Pascal left his family on the very day JFK was assassinated. Jackie-O and Marty made a game out of reenacting the moment of the assassination, which became a sort of foreplay to their incestuous relationship. So, Marty just can't marry Lesly! Jackie-O convinces Anthony to try and seduce Lesly and steal her away from Marty. Marty will then have to stay at home, which suits Anthony just fine as he is immediately attracted to Lesly. the only way he finds to seduce her, though, is to convince her that Marty and Jackie-O are lovers. In a series of short scenes, Lesly spies on Marty and Jackie-O doing their Kennedy reenactment; Mrs. Pascal catches Anthony and Lesly in bed; Lesly confronts Marty, who begs her to take him back and away from his family; Mrs. Pascal insists Lesly pack up and leave; Jackie-O pleads with Marty to stay with her; and Anthony tries to convince Lesly to take him with her instead of Marty. Finally Jackie-O goes over the edge and begins the reenactment game again, only this time with real bullets. Killing Marty with a shot to the head, she brings the play to a bloody, conclusive end.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
San Francisco
1990
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
in Plays International (now published by Dramatists, NY), 1990 -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Black Comedy Comedy
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: 3 Other: -
Further Reference:
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How To Make An Apple Pie And See The World
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Kennedy Center
2000
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Childrens musical
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Juvenilia
Synopsis:
Bored of frat parties and second-run movies, a group of college friends challenge each other to have a three-way with the Christian who lives next door. ("It could be the new Survivor.") In this undergraduate world of irony and internet porn, sex is common but love is the thing that dares not speak its name.
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1st Produced:
Playwrights Horizons (New York, NY, United States)
2003
Organisations:
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1st Published:
Playscripts, Inc - New York -
Music:
-
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Genre:
115-125 min Comedy/Drama
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: 2 Other: 2 males, 2 females
Further Reference:
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Lost Colony, The
Synopsis:
Mr. and Mrs. Lang are vacationing with their daughter Stevie and her boyfriend Jack. the two couples banter back and forth about where to have dinner, what sights to see and eventually about the states of their relationships. the ideals of the older couple clash with those of the younger's. Stevie, it seems, is much more interested in men who are disinterested while Jack only wants to settle down with Stevie. Mr. and Mrs. Lang's attitudes are simply practical: a man must have a job he hates so he can support the family he loves, according to Mr. Lang, and a woman should find a man who will love her even if he doesn't say it and all he gives her for Christmas is a broom, says his wife. the comfort may be there for her parents, but Stevie may not be convinced, even when Jack says he'll leave her if she doesn't find it within herself to commit
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1st Produced:
Organisations:
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1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, -
Music:
-
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Genre:
One act
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: 2 Other: -
Further Reference:
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My House Play, The
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Organisations:
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1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, -
Music:
-
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Genre:
-
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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Night Terrors
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
-
Organisations:
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1st Published:
in 2008: the Best Ten-Minute Plays 3 or More actors, Smith & Kraus, (2009) 978-1575257105
Music:
-
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Genre:
Ten Min
Parts:
Male: 1 Female: 2 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Phantom Limb
Synopsis:
ephraim, a contemporary Iraq War veteran joins forces with the ghost of a Civil War veteran to wrest the New Hampshire farmhouse away from the Boston Yuppie who recently bought it as a summerhouse. ephraim has fought for his country. Doesn't he have a right to a piece of it?
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1st Produced:
Organisations:
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1st Published:
- -
Music:
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Genre:
-
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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Photo Op
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Sketchbook Festival, Chicago
2005
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Short play
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Probabilities, The
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
part of ensemble Studio theatre's 29th Annual Marathon-a festival of new short plays from A diverse spectrum of American playwrights
1st Produced:
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
short play One act
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Schoolgirl Figure
Synopsis:
Welcome to a high school where the in-crowd is the thin-crowd. the death of the uber-anorexic Monique, queen of the Carpenters, kicks off a scramble for the crown, and the school's hottest hottie, the Bradley. Renee, with the help of her bulimic best friend Patty, is determined to claim the crown by out-foxing her rival Jeanine and taking her body back to its pre-puberty contours. Let the diet wars begin!
Notes:
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1st Produced:
The Goodman Theater (Chicago, Il, United States)
2000
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Playscripts, Inc - New York -
Music:
-
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Genre:
85-95 min Comedy
Parts:
Male: 1 Female: 4 Other: 1 male, 4 females (5-11 actors possible: 1-3 males, 4-8 females)
Further Reference:
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Shallow End, The
Synopsis:
Teresa, Becca and addie, best friends, lounge around a pool talking about their tans, and, of course, boys and clothes, while they constantly make fun of Marjorie, a non-member of their clique. Over a period of days they become fascinated by Marjorie's friend Brendan, a boy with a heart condition, expected to die at any moment (which makes him romantic). addie finds Brendan cute and the other girls convince her to approach him. Rather than befriending the boy, she finds that Marjorie is not the "dufus" Teresa and Becca claim she is. Days later the girls hear that Brendan has died, more grist for the gossip mill, which addie finds too distasteful. In the final scene, Teresa and Becca cannot believe that addie has left their circle to sit with Marjorie, an insult they can't even begin to understand-what ever could be wrong with her?
Notes:
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1st Produced:
-
Organisations:
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1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, -
Music:
-
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Genre:
One act
Parts:
Male: - Female: 4 Other: girls
Further Reference:
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Shooting Pollock
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
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1st Produced:
-
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Short play
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: 1 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Sin
Synopsis:
Set in San Francisco on the eve of the earthquake of 1989, SIN is a contemporary morality play featuring "avery Bly on High," a helicopter traffic reporter who is trying to keep herself above life's messiness. avery says, "From the sky, the world is perfect," but on the ground she is surrounded by people who are less than perfect. Her soon-to-be-ex-husband is a charming alcoholic, her roommate is a glutton, she's trapped daily in a helicopter with an envious coworker, and her blind dates are disasters. It takes her dying brother to make her see that pride is the deadliest of sins, and it takes an act of God to bring her back down to earth.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Chicago
1994
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1998 -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Contemporary morality Play
Parts:
Male: 6 Female: 2 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Snake Oil
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
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1st Produced:
CATCO
2006
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Short play
Parts:
Male: 1 Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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Things Being What they Are
Synopsis:
As Bill anxiously waits for his unfaithful wife and his furniture, he is visited by Jack, a divorced neighbor who suggests the loneliness of life after marriage. At first Jack appears to be a nightmare neighborintrusive, needy, boorishbut gradually Bill's perception of his new "friend" deepens. While it's true that Jack managed to lose his wife's trust and his children's love, Bill discovers that Jack is wrestling with circumstances that would challenge the best of us. A funny and wistful exploration of love, loss, masculinity, and the needs that bring people together and drive them apart.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Organisations:
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1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, 2015 978-0822231691
Music:
-
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Genre:
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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This Flight Tonight
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
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1st Produced:
-
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Best 10-Minute Plays 2013 Plays For Two Actors. Published by Smith and Kraus, Inc. -
Music:
-
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Genre:
ten min
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Tornado
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Sketchbook Festival, Chicago
2002
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Short play
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Undescended
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
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1st Produced:
-
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Short play
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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Water Children, The
Synopsis:
Megan is an actress somewhere between "ingenue" and "Mom." When she loses an important role to a younger woman, her agent convinces her to take a part in a commercial for Life Force, an anti-abortion group. Megan, having had an abortion, and being a staunch liberal, is conflicted about the job. She complicates her life even more when she begins to date Randall, the organization's executive director. Megan and Randall hit it off and they try to put their personal beliefs aside, but when Randall's colleagues become militant, things suddenly become more difficult. and when Megan learns she is pregnant, it sends her on the personal journey of her life, spinning into her past, magnifying her present, and leaving her completely at a loss as to her future. To get away from it all, she accepts a job in a Japanese commercial. In Japan, she learns of the shrines to the mizuko-the "water children." She makes a pilgrimage to the temple and learns of Japan's beliefs about abortion-the very reason for the temple's being. While at the shrine, Megan meets the soul of the child she aborted those many years ago and finally makes her own peace and a decision about the child she's now carrying.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Judith Anderson Theatre, NY
1997
Organisations:
Women's Project
1st Published:
Contained in: "Women Playwrights - the Best Plays of 1998" published by Smith and Kraus 2000 978-1575251813
Music:
-
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Genre:
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: 4 Female: 4 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Women In Jeopardy!
Synopsis:
Jo and Mary think that their friend's new boyfriend is a serial killer
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Geneva Theatre, Rochester, New York
2015
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, Inc. NY (2016) -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Comedy
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: 4 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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