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Chris Shaw Swanson

CHRIS SHAW SWANSON

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

Literary Agent:    n/a

Chris Shaw Swanson is an award-winning playwright whose comedies and Dramas have been performed throughout the United States--from Florida to Ohio, California to New York City. Venues have included First Stage (LA), the John Houseman Theater Center (NYC), Phillips' Mill Theatre (PA), Samuel Beckett Theater (NYC), and the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Her works have also been recognized in numerous playwriting festivals and competitions, such as the Pittsburgh New Works Festival, McLaren Memorial Comedy Playwriting Competition, the Ohio Theatre Alliance Playwriting Contest, the Oglebay Institute Playwriting Contest, Charlotte Repertory Theatre's New Works Competition, the Plays-In-Progress Woman's Festival, the SETC Play Project, the Ten by Ten in the Triangle International Play Festival, the National Theatre Workshop for the Handicapped Short Works Competition, and Theatre Inspirato's Annual Toronto Ten Minute Festival. Chris is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America.

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below is a list of Chris Shaw Swanson's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Aglow         Bankin' on the Grand         Divine Will         Drop 'til You Shop         Family Baggage         Getting Lucky         Growth, The         Heroines Of Central Ohio, The         Lost in the Quagmire         Maxed Out At Christmas         Measured Honesty         Memory Box, The         Memory Box, The         Orientation Day         Out From Under With Mary         Thing About Tex, The         Tophet Point

Aglow

Synopsis:
Every year, self-indulgent Frank took his wife Dolores on vacation to Columbus, Ohio, to watch his beloved OSU Buckeyes play football. Now in the wake of Dolores' death, a grieving, guilt-ridden Frank makes the journey to Columbus alone, where he meets a mysterious bellhop who helps him revisit the past and perhaps rethink the future.

Notes:
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Organisations:
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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:
Drama One Act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Bankin' on the Grand

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
Auckland Performing Arts Centre. Western Springs, Auckland Auckland 1022, NZ    26 Aug 2014

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:
short play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Divine Will

Synopsis:
It's yet another warm-hearted gathering of the church-going Pesh family. Mother Pesh, bemoaning the news that her aged mother broke yet another hip, quips, "Why couldn't my mother just be deceased, like everyone else her age?" Mother, like everyone else in the Pesh family, is obsessed with getting and keeping a generous share of the family fortune. In the midst of these self-seekers comes innocent in-law Jan, a new mother of twins. Can she hold on to her integrity-not to mention her twins-in a family driven by excessive want?

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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:
Satire One Act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Drop 'til You Shop

Synopsis:
Helen is a shopaholic, so extreme that her doctor prescribes total deprivation therapy as a last resort. Banished to the country without a mall in sight or even billboard advertisements, Helen experiences increasingly intense consumer withdrawal. Her patient husband Frank begins feeling the strain, especially after he discovers Helen is stealing junk mail from a neighboring farmhouse. Can this marriage-much less a few bucks for the couple's retirement-be saved?

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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:
Comedy One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Family Baggage

Synopsis:
Terri and Joe meet at an airport, experiencing almost instantaneous attraction. Unfortunately, ringing cell phones keep interrupting their conversations. Parents on both sides, anxious for their children to find appropriate mates, call repeatedly to offer unsolicited advice and varying degrees of support. Undaunted, Terri and Joe struggle to forge an honest connection before boarding their flight.

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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:
Comedy One Act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  1 (either m. or f.)

Further Reference:
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Getting Lucky

Synopsis:
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Notes:
part of the 2nd Annual Salute UR Shorts New Play Festival

1st Produced:

Organisations:
the Rapscallions

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

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Growth, The

Growth, The
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
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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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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:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Heroines Of Central Ohio, The

Synopsis:
Heroines concerns the reaction of a group of romance writers whose organization's funds have been pilfered by one of its members. the writers must collectively decide whether or not to press charges. With the help of the PLAYER (each writer's male muse), Heroines flips back and forth in time and from reality to fantasy, addressing the nature of romance, friendship and forgiveness, and that line-perhaps thin-which separates creativity and madness. "Heroines (is) devious, whimsical. . .Swanson's dialogue is smart, sassy, flowery and blunt in its exploration of the women's whimsy. . .(It) satisfied the secret fantasies that lurk in the souls of all romantics.". --the Arcata Eye, CA. "the dialogue is witty, intelligent, and at times, sexually captivating. . .Deception and laughter ensue in this ambivalent journey." --Out & About, PA

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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:
Comic Drama Comedy

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  7            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Lost in the Quagmire

Synopsis:
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Notes:
To launch the Write Now 5 Festival 2014 the Jack invited playwrights from throughout the UK and beyond to submit a 10 minute play based on the theme of Speak Up, Speak Out. This years theme was chosen by Phil Lindsey, Jack Literary Associate.

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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:
ten min play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Maxed Out At Christmas

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
Charles Stewart Howard Playhouse. Woodland Hills, CA 91367    06 Dec 2014

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:
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Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Measured Honesty

Synopsis:
Set in a Cleveland recruitment advertising agency during the 1980's, Measured Honesty is about a group of help-wanted writers, artists and sales people trapped in cubicles, wondering if they're prostituting their talents, wondering if there's something better out there, wondering about one another, and worrying about losing their jobs. Ultimately, the play questions the liberties people take with the truth, in business practices, interpersonal relationships, and self-contemplation, depicting the ramifications of such "measured honesties." "the five characters are well drawn and distinct, forming an engaging ensemble of office workers whose sharp, witty dialogue kept our actors challenged and our audiences laughing throughout the play. . ." --Co-Founder/Exec. Director, Interborough Repertory theater, NYC

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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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Memory Box, The

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
Best 10-Minute Plays 2013 Plays For Two Actors. Published by Smith and Kraus, Inc.    -

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:
ten min

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Memory Box, The

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
in Best 10-Minute Plays of 2013, edited by Laurence Harbison, Smith and Kraus, Inc.   -

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:
ten min play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Orientation Day

Synopsis:
Set in the future, Michael and Linda Gray are unhappy with the direction of their children's lives. To remedy the problem, the Grays take the children to a meeting with a covert organization capable of reprogramming young minds to parental specifications. Clueless, the children view the event as just another dinner out with the folks

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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:
Drama One Act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  1g 1b

Further Reference:
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Out From Under With Mary

Synopsis:
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Notes:
Goshen Peace Play Contest. Chris Shaw Swanson First prize. Goshen College

1st Produced:
SLAM Boston, Open Theatre Project, Boston Playwrights' Theatre. Boston, MA 02215    02 Dec 2014

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Thing About Tex, The

Synopsis:
This two-character memory play depicts a high school friendship between two girls and its lasting impact on one of its participants. "Chris Shaw Swanson's excellent script. . .is. . .heart-rendering. . ." --Tampa Tribune

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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:
Comic Drama One Act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Tophet Point

Synopsis:
Welcome to my Midwestern middle-to-upper-middle class classic suburban subdivision. . .nightmare. So begins Sara's first-person narration of Tophet Point and quest for personal depth and fulfillment while living in today's suburbs. Sara's journey lands her in sexy Professor Brian's romanticism class studying (and contemplating) adultery, in a fund-raising church play performing the role of a homeless person, in the middle of her neighbors' dog trespassing wars, at odds with her husband's desire to buy an even bigger house, and eventually in conflict and confrontation with everyone--especially herself. "the writing of Tophet Point is strong and well-developed. . .it is a play written around dreams worth investigating. . ." --Times-Standard, CA

Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
A monologue from Chris' full-length play TOPHET POINT was recently published by Smith & Kraus in "the Ultimate Audition Book Vol. 4, 222 Comedy Monologues 2 Minutes & Under, 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:
Comic Drama Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  4            Other:  (1 African-American)

Further Reference:
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