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Steve Willis

STEVE WILLIS

  (1959 - )
Nationality:    USA
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    n/a

Steve Willis has received numerous prizes and awards for his plays including the 2004 and 2003 Carolina Contemporary Playwrights Competition (for Falling So Slowly and the Shadow of Eldorado); the North Carolina Theatre Conference's 2003 New Play Award (for the Shadow of Eldorado); and a 2001-2002 Playwrights' Fellowship from the North Carolina Arts Council (also for the Shadow of Eldorado). In 2005, his romantic comedy/Drama Falling So Slowly premiered in Melbourne, Australia, produced by Fly-on-the-Wall Theatre. His plays have been performed in South Africa (National Arts Festival in Grahamstown), New York City (Grove Street Playhouse, Bank Street Theatre), Chicago (Bailiwick Rep), and various cities throughout the southeastern United States. In 2006, Steve completed a Scholar in Residence appointment at New York University during which he continued research for his latest project, a one-woman play based on the life and career of the late African American actress Diana Sands. He holds a Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A) degree in Acting/Directing from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in English/Dramatic Arts & Speech from Averett University. Currently, Steve resides in Greensboro, North Carolina where he is an AssistANT Professor of Speech and Theatre at Bennett College for Women. Additionally, he is an adjunct professor at Guilford College, where he teaches playwriting, and a member of the teaching staff at Triad Yoga Institute.

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

         After Happily         Blessed Assurance         By Her Side         Condolences To Every One Of Us         Diana Sands: a Certain Toughness of Spirit         Falling So Slowly         Fixing Things         Gentlemen's Pleasure         Good Sense         Goodnight Professor Broadway         Jeff Trilogy, The         Mother May I?         Notso Plain Folk         Passing Ceremonies         Personal         Postcards         Ray's Request         Resolution         Shadow Of Eldorado, The         Smoke Lilies And Jade         Spring Visit         Sprouting Wings         Truth About Fantasy, The         Truth and Noonday Light         Waiting Games         We Never Close         Whitney's Grace

After Happily

Synopsis:
"and they lived happily ever after" or did they? What happens next to various fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
OutCharlotte Cultural Festival, Charlotte, North Carolina    2001

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:  dobling

Further Reference:
-

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Blessed Assurance

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Based on the novella "White People" by Allan Gurganus

1st Produced:
Guilford Technical Community College, Jamestown, North Carolina    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

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Genre:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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By Her Side

Synopsis:
A fifty something lesbian has been told she has not much longer to live. She sets out to find a replacement for herself for her partner

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Bank Street Theatre, New York    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

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Genre:
One act. - - Lesbian, one act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Condolences To Every One Of Us

Synopsis:
Two elderly women realise that they have gone to the wrong funeral parlour

Notes:
An Adaptation of the novElla by Allan Gurganus.

1st Produced:
Broach Theatre, Greensboro, North Carolina    2001

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

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Genre:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Diana Sands: a Certain Toughness of Spirit

Synopsis:
Two-time Tony nominee, Hope Clarke (Jellys Last Jam, Caroline or Change) shares her remembrances of actress Diana Sands, a two-time Tony and Emmy nominee with whom Ms. Clarke performed in Hallelujah Baby.
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Working theatre
NY, USA    15 May 2012

Organisations:
Juneteenth Legacy Theatre

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

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Genre:
80 min one act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Falling So Slowly

Synopsis:
Falling So Slowly chronicles the first weeks of a relationship between Bobby, a young Caucasian man from Alabama who recently relocated to New York City, and Grant, an African American musician from Philadelphia who has lived in Manhattan for several years. Bobby and Grant quickly connect sexually, but they struggle in their efforts to share other parts of themselves. By the end of this two-act play, Bobby and Grant have discovered a unique and meaningful rapport that allows them to express to one another their private truths, their wants, and their needs.

Notes:
Winner of 2003 Carolina Contemporary Playwrights Competition, USA

1st Produced:
St. Martin's Theatre, Melbourne, Australia    2005

Organisations:
Fly-On-the-Wall Theatre

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 Play/Drama. - - Gay, full length

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Fixing Things

Synopsis:
Jeff and his closeted ex-lover are thinking about getting back together

Notes:
Part of the "Jeff Trilogy"

1st Produced:
Broach Theatre, Greensboro, North Carolina    1999

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, one act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Gentlemen's Pleasure

Synopsis:
Gentleman's Pleasure is inspired by La Ronde, a play by Viennese playwright Arthur Schnitzler (1862-1931). Although it maintains Schnitzler's "roundelay" structure, the setting is moved to New York City in the 1920s-a time when the city was taking its place as the most powerful metropolis in the world. the play further stretches Schnitzler's original premise by exploring the fears and secrecy that were so much a part of urban gay life during the decades prior to the Stonewall rebellion.

Notes:
Adapted from "La Ronde" by Arthur Schnitzler.

1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
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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:
Adaptation. - - Gay, full length

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Good Sense

Synopsis:
He lives in a remote rural town. When he realises that he is gay he decides not to move to the big city but to stay and be a role model for younger gay men

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Grove Street Playhouse, New York    1998

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:
Monologue play. - - Gay, one act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Goodnight Professor Broadway

Synopsis:
A retired professor meets a student that he had loved

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:
One act. - - Gay, one act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Jeff Trilogy, The

Synopsis:
Three one-act plays about Jeff, a young, gay man who faces many challenges after coming out to his rural North Carolina family

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Broach Theatre, Greensboro, North Carolina    1999

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 Drama One Act. - - Gay, full length

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Mother May I?

Synopsis:
Sexuality, parenting, and family responsibilities are major themes in this play about a young mother's journey toward greater self-awareness and independence.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Guilford Technical Community College, Jamestown, North Carolina    2001

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 Drama Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Notso Plain Folk

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    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:
-

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Passing Ceremonies

Synopsis:
Poet/essayist/activist Essex Hemphill (1957-1995) meets Harlem Renaissance writer/visual artist Richard Bruce Nugent (1906-1987) in a terrace bar overlooking a river, somewhere between "earth life" and paradise. Essex is anxious to finish a project he was working on shortly before his death: a book on the lives of older black gay men. He wants to interview Bruce, but Bruce insists that it is now impossible for Essex to complete the book. Throughout the play, the two spar, lament, share stories about their passions, and challenge those left behind to "pick up [their] weapons."

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Theatre Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina    2001

Organisations:
OutCharlotte

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:
Fantasy. - - Gay, full length

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Personal

Synopsis:
A student tries out his public speaking assignment

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:
One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Postcards

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
An Adaptation of the short story by Lee Zacharias.

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:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Ray's Request

Synopsis:
A professor meets the brother of a former student

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:
Ten minute play

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Resolution

Synopsis:
Jeff visits his estranged mother

Notes:
Part of the "Jeff Trilogy"

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, one act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Shadow Of Eldorado, The

Synopsis:
A powerful award-winning Drama about a long-divorced couple brought together by their son's death.

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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Smoke Lilies And Jade

Synopsis:
A one-act play adapted from the short story by Richard Bruce Nugent.

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:
Adaptation One Act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Spring Visit

Synopsis:
Brief encounter between Peter Pan and an elderly Wendy that takes place many years after their first meeting.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Greensboro Cultural Center    2000

Organisations:
Greensboro Playwrights' Forum

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:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Sprouting Wings

Synopsis:
A coming-of-age story about a young woman living in a small North Carolina town who dreams of Hollywood.

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:
comedy Drama Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Truth About Fantasy, The

Synopsis:
A businessman contemplates having an affair

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Greensboro Playwrights Forum    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:
Ten minute play

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Truth and Noonday Light

Synopsis:
the Deep South of the United States 1980s

Notes:
Based on "Ghosts" by Henrick Ibsen

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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Waiting Games

Synopsis:
Five people are in a waiting room - but none of them know what they are waiting for.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
North Carolina Central University, Durham, North Carolina    1998

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:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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We Never Close

Synopsis:
A stranded traveller meets a lonely waitress at a diner

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
University of North Carolina, Greensboro    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:
One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Whitney's Grace

Synopsis:
the friendship of two young women from different religious backgrounds

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:
One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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