The Playwrights Database
ERNEST THOMPSON
Nationality:
USA
email:
Click here to contact
Website:
Click here
Literary Agent:
n/a
[photo by PT Sullivan] Ernest Thompson has won an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a Writers Guild Award and a Broadway Drama Guild Award for Best Play. His work has been nominated for a Tony, an Emmy and a British Academy Award. His more than 35 plays have been seen in theatres around the world. The most enduring, ON GOLDEN POND, has been translated into 30 languages, Arabic the newest, and played in more than 40 countries on six continents. Other plays include THE WEST SIDE WALTZ (starring Katharine Hepburn and Dorothy Loudon), A SENSE OF HUMOR (Jack Lemmon and Estelle Parsons), AX OF LOVE, AMAZONS IN AUGUST, MURDERING MOTHER, WHITE PEOPLE CHRISTMAS, THE ELIXIR, and HUMAN BEINGS. His soon to be released anthology of 25 short plays contains the collections THE PENIS RESPONDS, ANSWERS and VALENTINES FOR TWO, as well as THE ONE ABOUT THE GUY IN THE BAR and AMERICAN TERRORIST. His films include ON GOLDEN POND (Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda and Jane Fonda), SWEET HEARTS DANCE (Susan Sarandon and Jeff Daniels), THE LIES BOYS TELL (Kirk Douglas), 1969 (Robert Downey Jr. and Bruce Dern), THE WEST SIDE WALTZ (Shirley MacLaine and Liza Minnelli), OUT OF TIME (James McDaniel and Mel Harris), and the live ON GOLDEN POND (Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer), the last four of which Ernest also directed, as he has his latest films, TIME AND CHARGES and HEAVENLY ANGLE. Both were produced with his partners in Whitebridge Farm Productions, Morgan Murphy and Lori Gigliotti Murphy, and offered as On Location Training to anyone of any background, experience or age interested in any aspect of filmmaking. Eager to return to his love of community filmmaking, Ernest is already planning to direct and act in Whitebridge Farm Productions' third film, an adaptation of his play HUMAN BEINGS, when his schedule permits. In the theatre, Ernest had directed many of his plays, most recently ON GOLDEN POND in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, close to where his iconic film was shot. For his first time directing the play on stage, Ernest collaborated with longtime composing partner Joe Deleault to create two new songs, THE FATHER DAUGHTER DANCE, written with and performed by Carly Simon, and the anthemic ON GOLDEN POND, composed with and featuring the extraordinary Cape Breton fiddler Natalie MacMaster. Never having acted in his own play, Ernest got to see it from the inside out by taking on-to wild success-the role of Charlie the mailman. He has directed the world premieres of his plays THE ELIXIR, AX OF LOVE, ANOTHER SUMMER (the ON GOLDEN POND musical), and, in partnership with Rock the Vote, his darkly funny collection POLITICAL SUICIDE, which opened on Primary Night in New Hampshire 2012, and was followed by productions across the country. Ernest conducts his internationally-renowned workshops for writers, actors and directors at his farm in rural New Hampshire, and offers private coaching to actors and public speakers and one-on-one script analysis. A prolific songwriter, Ernest has written scores of lyrics and worked with a myriad of extraordinary composers and singers and he has directed videos for his songs BRONTĖ BROOK, written with and performed by the remarkably talented Ray Porcell, and YOU ARE LOVED, written with and performed by the legendary Justin Jaymes. Ernest's music is available on iTunes and at Amazon and other online outlets. Ernest is in discussions to direct a fourth Broadway run of ON GOLDEN POND as well as the London West End premiere. Ernest and his Broadway producers are out to some very exciting, hope-to-be-revealed-soon stars for his new play SOME PARTS MISSING, and his newest, ASK|ANSWER, is headed for a New York workshop. He will direct the long-awaited sequel to ON GOLDEN POND, slated to film this autumn, and is working on a remake of THE PAPER CHASE for Fox 2000, with several other films on the docket.
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
Amazons In August
Synopsis:
Ruth has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She goes to New York for a second opinion. In New York she rents an apartment. She makes friends with her upstairs neighbour - Cassandra an actress. Together they tackle the problems and pitfalls of what lies ahead
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Generic Theatre, Norfolk, Va
1994
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:
Drama
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
American Terrorist
Synopsis:
A young American man takes patriotism to an extreme level
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Organisations:
Speakeasy Stage 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:
play Ten Min
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: 6 characters
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Another Summer
Synopsis:
This is the love story of Ethel and Norman Thayer, who are returning to their summer home on Golden Pond for the forty-fourth year. He is a retired professor, nearing eighty, with heart palpitations and a failing memory-but still as tart-tongued, observant and eager for life as ever. Ethel, ten years younger, and the perfect foil for Norman, delights in all the small things that have enriched and continue to enrich their long life together. they are visited by their divorced, middle-aged daughter and her dentist fiance, who then go off to Europe, leaving his teenage son behind for the summer. the boy quickly becomes the "grandchild" the elderly couple have longed for, and as Norman revels in taking his ward fishing and thrusting good books at him, he also learns some lessons about modern teenage awareness-and slang-in return. In the end, as the summer wanes, so does their brief idyll, and in the final, deeply moving moments of the play, Norman and Ethel are brought even closer together by the incidence of a mild heart attack. Time, they know, is now against them, but the years have been good and, perhaps, another summer on Golden Pond still awaits
Notes:
Music by Roy Rogosin; lyrics and book by Edward Thompson. Based on the play "On Golden Pond" by Edward Thompson
1st Produced:
Seacoast Repertory Theatre, Portsmouth, Nh
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:
Musical
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Answers
Synopsis:
In A GOOD TIME, a kooky New York career girl gets an unexpected visit from the California highway patrolman who stopped her for speeding several years earlier. In return for not giving her a ticket she promised him a "good time" if he ever came to New York-and he is here to collect. However, things don't turn out quite as she fears. (1 man, 1 woman). In the CONSTITUENT, a toughminded, foul-mouthed old Maine curmudgeon, who is given to writing abusive letters to his Senator, suddenly finds himself face-to-face with his nemesis. the two men, oddly enough, find much in common-but then the fur begins to fly again, with hilarious results. (2 men). In TWINKLE, TWINKLE, a bored housewife who has written a seductive fan letter to her favorite soap opera actor is dumb-founded to find her hero on her doorstep. Once she (and her husband) recover from their shock (and her husband goes bowling) their relationship takes on a hilarious see-saw nature, with the possibility of promised delights left in the balance.(2 men, 1 woman).
Notes:
A trio of delightful, imaginative comedies by one of our theatre's most talented And resourceful writers. the three plays together make A cohesive, well-balanced evening, but they can be produced separately with equal effectiveness
1st Produced:
-
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,
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:
Three Short Comedies One Act
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Ax of Love
Synopsis:
Thirty years in the lives of four friends who meet at college. Book an angry young writer. Walt who was Book's room mate and who is running for Senator. Walt is assisted by Beulah. Beulah's room mate Candy has trouble with her alcoholic mother
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:
Drama
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Constituent, The
Synopsis:
a toughminded, foul-mouthed old Maine curmudgeon, who is given to writing abusive letters to his Senator, suddenly finds himself face-to-face with his nemesis. the two men, oddly enough, find much in common-but then the fur begins to fly again, with hilarious results.
Notes:
part of Answers
1st Produced:
-
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,
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
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Elixir, The
Synopsis:
A New Age reporter convinces her husband and two friends to drink an elixir. Drinking it will lead to enlightenment. The elixir is made out of the urine of an ibex
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Isis Theatre Company, Idyllwild, Ca
01 Sep 2008
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:
Black comedy
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Good Time, A
Synopsis:
a kooky New York career girl gets an unexpected visit from the California highway patrolman who stopped her for speeding several years earlier. In return for not giving her a ticket she promised him a "good time" if he ever came to New York-and he is here to collect. However, things don't turn out quite as she fears
Notes:
part of Answers
1st Produced:
-
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,
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
Parts:
Male: 1 Female: 1 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Human Beings
Synopsis:
A young man and woman are being held prisoner. Their guards speak a language that they do not recognise or understand. The guards are given to using mental torture on them
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:
Drama
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Lessons
Synopsis:
A group of students are in the green room waiting to go on stage in a production of Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie". They talk about their hopes and fears. Ten years later they are all back at the college to put it on again. Over the years one of them stayed on at the college to teach. One went to Hollywood and became a big star.
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:
Drama
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Murdering Mother
Synopsis:
A domineering mother determined to keep control of her son. She drives his fiancee mad and battles his psychologist
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Seacoast Repertory Theatre in Portsmouth, NH
1994
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:
Black comedy
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Occupy New Lexington
Synopsis:
A young man organises a protest but the only person who turns up is the Chief of Police
Notes:
Originally performed with three other short plays under the overall title: "Political Suicide"
1st Produced:
Pitman's Freight Room, Laconia, NH
2012
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 play
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
On Golden Pond
Synopsis:
This is the love story of Ethel and Norman Thayer, who are returning to their summer home on Golden Pond for the forty-fourth year. He is a retired professor, nearing eighty, with heart palpitations and a failing memory-but still as tart-tongued, observant and eager for life as ever. Ethel, ten years younger, and the perfect foil for Norman, delights in all the small things that have enriched and continue to enrich their long life together. they are visited by their divorced, middle-aged daughter and her dentist fiance, who then go off to Europe, leaving his teenage son behind for the summer. the boy quickly becomes the "grandchild" the elderly couple have longed for, and as Norman revels in taking his ward fishing and thrusting good books at him, he also learns some lessons about modern teenage awareness-and slang-in return. In the end, as the summer wanes, so does their brief idyll, and in the final, deeply moving moments of the play, Norman and Ethel are brought even closer together by the incidence of a mild heart attack. Time, they know, is now against them, but the years have been good and, perhaps, another summer on Golden Pond still awaits.
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Hudson Guild Theatre, New York
1978
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1979
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: 3 Female: 2 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
One About The Guy In The Bar, The
Synopsis:
An angry young man takes on a bar full of cynics
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Ensemble Theatre Company Marathon, New York
1987
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
Penis Responds, The
Synopsis:
The male "Vagina Monologues".
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Off-Off Broadway
2000
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:
Drama
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Potato Head For President
Synopsis:
Two pollsters think that if they combine the qualities of two candidates that they would have a reasonable candidate
Notes:
Originally performed with three other short plays under the overall title: "Political Suicide"
1st Produced:
Pitman's Freight Room, Laconia, NH
2012
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 play
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Rewrite!
Synopsis:
A U. S. Senator had an affair many years ago with a young female reporter. She is now a newspaper editor and his toughest critic
Notes:
Originally performed with three other short plays under the overall title: "Political Suicide"
1st Produced:
Stageworks on the Hudson
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 play
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Rip Your Heart Out
Synopsis:
Three bored young men come across Jules. Jules is gay and they beat him almost to death. Kale who had not taken part in beating takes Jules home to recover. They become very close - literally as they get handcuffed together
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:
Gay full length
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Sense Of Humor
Synopsis:
A middle aged couple have the horrible task of packing up and emptying their daughter's house after she and her boyfriend have killed themselves
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Denver, Colorado
1983
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:
Drama
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Telephone Lothario, The
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
part of Valentines for Two
1st Produced:
-
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Contained in: "the Best American Short Plays 1992 - 1993" published by Applause 1993
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
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Twinkle, Twinkle
Synopsis:
bored housewife who has written a seductive fan letter to her favorite soap opera actor is dumb-founded to find her hero on her doorstep. Once she (and her husband) recover from their shock (and her husband goes bowling) their relationship takes on a hilarious see-saw nature, with the possibility of promised delights left in the balance
Notes:
part of Answers
1st Produced:
-
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,
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
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: 1 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Valentine Fairy
Synopsis:
A woman who has decided to give up on love arrives home to find a man dressed in a white tutu. He is the Valentine Fairy and he shows her where she went wrong in previous romantic encounters
Notes:
part of Valentines for Two
1st Produced:
-
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Contained in: "the Best American Short Plays 1992 - 1993" published by Applause 1993
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
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Well Fare Thee Well
Synopsis:
A once wealthy widow has to apply for welfare
Notes:
Originally performed with three other short plays under the overall title: "Political Suicide"
1st Produced:
Pitman's Freight Room, Laconia, NH
2012
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 play
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
West Side Waltz, The
Synopsis:
Holding out indomitably against advancing age, dwindling finances and failing health, Margaret Mary Elderdice, a widow and former concert pianist, resists the attempts of her violin-playing spinster neighbor, Cara Varnum, to move in with her. While she enjoys playing duets with Cara and gossiping about the other tenants in their upper West Side apartment building, Margaret Mary values her independence above the dubious comforts that the constant presence of the priggish Cara might provide. So Cara is shocked when Margaret Mary engages Robin Bird, a rather kooky young would-be actress, as her paid, live-in companion. Relations between the three are strewn with hilarious pitfalls from the start, with additional comic complications being provided by a malAprop-prone Rumanian building superintendent and an eager young lawyer-suitor whom Robin Bird brings home for dinner. Ultimately things do fall into place, and largely so because of the spirited will of Margaret Mary, who goads the others to rise above their problems, to stake a personal claim on life, and to resist, with all their strength, the infirmities and misfortunes that flesh is heir to.
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
San Diego
1980
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,
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
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: 3 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
White People Christmas
Synopsis:
Santa Claus is coming.. But when he arrives at a redneck family house they are all appalled that he is black
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Zephyr Theatre in Hollywood, CA
2003
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:
Black comedy
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Zipless
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
part of Valentines for Two
1st Produced:
-
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Contained in: "the Best American Short Plays 1993 - 1994" published by Applause 1995
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
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page