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Ara Watson

ARA WATSON

  
Nationality:    USA
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    n/a

Ara Watson's plays have been produced in New York at the Provincetown Playhouse, the WPA, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and American Palace. Her play A DIFFERENT MOON was co-winner of the Great American Play contest at Actors Theatre of Louisville. ATL has also commissioned and produced a number of one-acts by Ms. Watson. Her plays have been produced throughout the United States and in Europe. A list of plays includes A DIFFERENT MOON, WIN/ LOSE/ DRAW (co-written with Mary Gallagher), HPB, BITE THE HAND, MOONCASTLE, IN BETWEEN TIME, THE DUCK POND, SCARECROWS, TREASURE ISLAND, and SPECIAL FAMILY THINGS (co-written with Mary Gallagher). Ms. Watson's plays are published by Dramatists Play Service.

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

         Bite the Hand         Chocolate Cake         Different Moon, A         Final Placement         In Between Time         Little Miss Fresno         Mooncastle         Treasure Island         Win/Lose/Draw

Bite the Hand

Synopsis:
the place is the back porch of an old house in a small town in South Dakota, the time the summer of 1947. Reba (in her forties) and April (in her twenties) are two women who, forced to fend for themselves when the local mill laid them off, have turned to the "oldest profession." But now April has accepted an offer of matrimony and is packing to leave-a development which is not easily accepted by Frank, the manager of the mill and one of April's "regulars." To make matters worse, it turns out that Frank has just shot his wife and her lover, and learning that April is also defecting is almost more than the shaken Frank can bear. Furthermore, he still has the gun in his pocket-which makes April's defiance all the riskier and Reba's nervousness all the greater. But the crisis passes (the gun is empty) and Frank departs (they'll probably let him go scot-free) and the two ladies, collapsing in relieved laughter, decide to relax and take in a movie before April boards the bus to Sioux City and a new life with her husband-to-be (who happens to look just like Frank).

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Ensemble Studio Theatre, NY    

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/Drama One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Chocolate Cake

Synopsis:
about two secret gorgers who meet in a hotel room while attending a women's conference. One is a simple, country mouse, married to a mechanic; the other a brassy city dweller whose husband is a wealthy businessman. Inevitably their conversation gets around to their favorite topic-food-but the funnier their exchanges become the more we are made poignantly aware of the deprivation and disappointments which have led them to compensate with compulsive over-eating.

Notes:
written by Mary Gallagher And Ara Watson

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Different Moon, A

Synopsis:
the setting is a small town in Arkansas, the time 1951. Tyler Biars, a young soldier just out of basic training, is at home visiting his mother and sister before being shipped off to Korea. Brimming with charm and sensual magnetism, Tyler basks in the doting admiration of his family, until his idyll is interrupted by the unexpected arrival of Sarah Johnson, a Georgia farm girl who is both the sister of one of Tyler's army buddies and one of his amorous conquests. Sarah, who is some years older than Tyler, is also pregnant-and while the flustered Tyler promises to set things straight what he does, instead, is to sneak away ahead of schedule, leaving his mother and sister to deal with the problem. His departure brings on the crux of the play as Sarah, awkward and unwanted, gradually wins the respect and affection of Tyler's mother and sister with her quiet fortitude and instinctive good nature. She becomes, in truth, a member of the family, and when in the end she stoically accepts the fact of her abandonment and returns to Georgia, her departure leaves the others as bereft and saddened as they were, for very different reasons, by the irresponsible exit of their now discredited son and brother.

Notes:
-

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:
Two Act Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Final Placement

Synopsis:
the scene is the Tulsa office of a child welfare caseworker. A mother guilty of child abuse is intent on regaining the custody of her son, even though he has been put up for adoption by the courts. Despite her poverty and ignorance she displays a touching eloquence-and a disquieting menace-as she attempts to stave off the inevitable

Notes:
part of Shorts.

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, Inc. and in Louisville Today Magazine.,    -

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 One Act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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In Between Time

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Victor Jory Theater, Louisville, Ky     1981

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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Little Miss Fresno

Synopsis:
deals hilariously with two very competitive mothers whose daughters are in the semi-finals of a local moppet beauty contest. One mother is a gossipy veteran who coolly keeps a score card along with the judges; the other, a first-timer, is anxious and ill-at-ease. When both daughters win there is a truce between them-but the finals are still to come.

Notes:
written by Mary Gallagher And Ara Watson

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:
Play One Act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Mooncastle

Synopsis:
Divorced and living alone in a remote Oklahoma town, Lloyd welcomes a visit from his sister Eve, a hard-drinking, tough-talking carnival operator trying to make a living with what remains of a touring show that was broken up by her partner's sudden demise. Lloyd puts on a good face, although he is disturbed by the news that his ex-wife has remarried and by the fact that his children never call him; while Eve, ever ebullient, cannot disguise the emptiness she feels at Red's death (even though he was married to another woman), a sense of loss that the brassy young Don, who she has signed as helper and lover, cannot really assuage. Trying to reach out to his neighbors, Lloyd persuades Eve to set up her paraphernalia in his front yard, charging the local kids a nominal twenty-five cents (even for the fabled "Mooncastle" ride); but the sheriff quickly closes them down, and they don't even take in enough to pay for the electricity. But somehow the experience becomes a watershed for both of them, as Eve decides that this will be her "farewell tour," and Lloyd accepts the fact that what he has is all he ever will have-or could really ever have hoped for.

Notes:
-

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/Drama One Act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Treasure Island

Synopsis:
brings to life this boy's thrilling adventure-as reflected upon by his adult self-in search of buried treasure on a distant and mysterious island. This classic coming-of-age story is complete with stolen map, pirates, swashbuckling battles, betrayal, and the infamous Long John Silver, who just may be the "devil hisself."

Notes:
from the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson

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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  18            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Win/Lose/Draw

Synopsis:
LITTLE MISS FRESNO (jointly written by both authors) deals hilariously with two very competitive mothers whose daughters are in the semi-finals of a local moppet beauty contest. One mother is a gossipy veteran who coolly keeps a score card along with the judges; the other, a first-timer, is anxious and ill-at-ease. When both daughters win there is a truce between them-but the finals are still to come. (2 women.)FINAL PLACEMENT (written by Ara Watson). the scene is the Tulsa office of a child welfare caseworker. A mother guilty of child abuse is intent on regaining the custody of her son, even though he has been put up for adoption by the courts. Despite her poverty and ignorance she displays a touching eloquence-and a disquieting menace-as she attempts to stave off the inevitable. (2 women.)CHOCOLATE CAKE (written by Mary Gallagher) is about two secret gorgers who meet in a hotel room while attending a women's conference. One is a simple country mouse, married to a mechanic; the other a brassy city dweller whose husband is a wealthy businessman. Inevitably their conversation gets around to their favorite topic "food," but the funnier their exchanges become the more we are made poignantly aware of the deprivation and disappointments which have led them to compensate with compulsive overeating.

Notes:
written by Mary Gallagher And Ara Watson

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 Related Short Plays

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  flexible

Further Reference:
-

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