Piper Plays 2013 Festival: Smart Plays for Young Actors
June 13, 14 and 15 at 7 pm
at BAX, 421 Ffith Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
Admission $20
Proceeds to benefit the Piper Education Program
Tickets at door or at Brown Paper Tickets
Runs 90 minutes
Piper Theatre and Piper Plays present 10 new one-act plays that explore the world of youth. The second annual festival, Piper Plays: Smart Plays for Young Actors, is the culmination of our nationwide playwriting contest. These plays have been selected from over 200 entrants from throughout the United States and Canada. All presented plays will be New York or world premieres. Associate Director, Philip Suraci. Associate Producer, Marielle Duke.
The festival’s one-acts are smart, dynamic, quirky, exciting, funny, and disturbing. Smart Plays for Young Actors will present a vital range of theater: a boy protects his gerbil from the zombie apocalypse; a son asks his father to teach him to be a stand-up comic; a mutated girl can see “the true.” Original, poignant, hilarious concerning puberty, dating, divorce and loss, these plays are portals into the secret world of children, teens, and their parents.
Each play will be performed on two of the festival’s three nights—six or seven plays per evening—each 10 to 20 minutes in length. After the festival, three plays will be selected by an expert panel of judges to be presented again on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 during the Piper Theatre Summer season at the Old Stone House & Washington Park in Brooklyn. At the July 10 performance, the audience will vote on their favorite one act and the winner will receive at $500 prize.
All ten plays will be published in the anthology “Piper Plays: Smart One-Acts for Young Actors 2013.”
About the Plays
Cheeseballs by Jeri Weiss. Directed by John P. McEneny
Two best friends (and mad texters) scheme to get prom dates, settling on an approach that employs a can of cheese whiz.
Driven to Distraction by Matt Crowley
On the bus ride to the family farm, Tim tries to get his mom to give him back his confiscated video game.
From Funny by Philip Dawkins. Directed by Kelly Klotz
A recently widowed father helps his approaching bar mitzvah son pursue his interest in stand-up comedy.
The Glass by Michael Johnson. Directed by Hollie Rosenberg
Two young sisters question the veracity of the local aquarium pirate as they bid farewell to the beluga whale.
Little Gerbil Man by Rachel Ewing. Directed by Olivia Harris
A son implores his mother to protect his gerbil from the zombie apocalypse.
Message to Grandma by Claudia Haas
Missing his late Grandmother, a boy devises a plan to send her greetings through insects and party favors.
Princess Pegasus by Carrie Behrens. Directed by Marielle Duke
Mutated by a nuclear waste mishap, a teenage girl sees “the true” through her new third eye.
The Best Secret Santa Present Ever in the History of Peckinpaw High School by Ira Gamerman. Directed by Marielle Duke
A teen boy plots to get the perfect Secret Santa gift for an “out of his league” classmate with the help of his fed-up with Christmas best friend.
The Ultimate Battle for Total Control of the Universe by Rich Orloff. Directed by Henry Pines
Boy and girl tweens engage in discovery and confession as they battle one another for hegemony of the cosmos.
Vintage Quirk by Robert Stevenson. Directed by Leigh Poulos
Two teens cheekily vet one another before their blind date.
Piper Plays Year One
Piper Plays Year One Press Release
CONGRATULATIONS: Piper Plays celebrates our first year!
Congratulations to all our playwrights, actors, and directors that participated in our 2012 Piper Plays emerging playwriting program.
Out of a nationwide search of more than 300 plays, 9 short plays were chosen by Artistic Director John P. McEneny and Literary Producer Philip Suraci to be produced at BAX (Brooklyn Arts Exchange) with performances held June 15, 16, 17 2012. Three finalists were chosen for excellence by a panel of educators and artists.
On July 11, 2012, the three finalists (Thomas A. Atkinson’s Dancing Turtle, Christopher Dimond’s The Blasphemy of Bees, Sean O’Donnell’s Brechtian Alienation) received encore performances of their plays at the Old Stone House where the audience voted for their favorite. Congratulations to Thomas A. Atkinson who was awarded $500.
All nine plays that competed in our June festival will be published in our inaugural anthology – Piper Plays: Smart Plays for Young Actors, Vol. I. In addition, we are happy to announce that four additional plays were found to be so exceptional that they will also be published in the anthology as well. They are Steve Koppman’s Tall Tale, Kelby Siddons’ War Paint, Mark Eisman’s Dark Knight, Tarnished Silver, and Kathleen Barber’s Bookends
Piper Plays hopes to provide directors, teachers, actors and students challenging smart theatre which will be both entertaining and enlightening for audience and participants alike.
Piper Plays: Smart Plays for Young Actors, Vol. 1 will be available on-line through print-on-demand early 2013.
For more information about the upcoming Piper Plays 2013 playwriting festival or if you would like to submit your play, please contact philip@pipertheatre.org or marielle@pipertheatre.org.
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The inaugural anthology of Piper Plays: Smart One-Acts for Young Actors will include the following plays:
1) Dancing Turtle—by Thomas M. Atkinson
(Drama) This play invites the audience into the inner life of a girl—damaged at birth—that is both painful and glorious, as she navigates the first longings of adulthood at an Appalachian Festival.
4 Characters: Molly, age 16; Mary, her idealized self; Molly’s mother, age 40; Native American man, age 20
11 pages
2) The Blasphemy of Bees—by Christopher Dimond
(Comedy/Drama) Seventh grader Arthur Reckhouse is desperate to win his Catholic school’s science fair. His project, however, a proof that God does not exist, gets him into hot water with the school’s powers-that-be. Arthur defies authority and moves forward with the project in secret, regardless of the consequences. As he competes with his arch nemesis, the school’s reigning science fair champion, the reasons behind Arthur’s apparent atheism are revealed. This dark comedy examines the points where faith, science, and awkward middle school romance collide.
5 Characters: 2 kids, age 12; 3 adults
30 pages
3) Brechtian Alienation—by Sean O’Donnell
(Comedy) A group of determined students force a reluctant teacher to watch their self-written play to get into a student play festival. Their play is a mash-up of “Little Women” and “Trojan Women.”
6 Characters: 5 kids, age 12; one teacher in her 20’s
12 pages
4) The Queen of Cocoa Puffs and The Captain Crunch King– by Corey Pajka
(Comedy) Some of the greatest battles in history are unrecorded. Some of the bloodiest wars are fought right at home. When a pair of sovereign siblings sit down for breakfast with two hearty appetites and one cereal box between them, a battle cry is heard across the kingdom of New Brunswick. There will be blood—and perhaps orange juice.
4 Characters: 2 kids, age 8; their mom; Narrator
8 pages
5) Dandelions for Angels—by Marco Santarelli
(Drama/Comedy) Centers on a critical time in the lives of two teenagers struggling with something far beyond their years. Tom, trying to come to terms with his mother’s death, has joined a troupe which performs in hospitals. After one such performance, he meets Stacy, who suffers from a long-term illness. They form an immediate and strong relationship, and Tom begins to heal his guilt over his mother’s death as he brings Stacy dandelions and promises to visit her even as her illness progresses. Although they leave their dialogue to return to their own routines, they do so with a sense of peace and contentment, as they attempt to close the door on their previous struggles.
2 Characters: Tom, age 18; Stacy, age 17
13 pages
6) Fall of Duty—by Jeane Iribarne
(Drama/Comedy) Dave and Tony are young computer programmers who work in a basement designing games. The basement provides the perfect, low-light environment for the boys, that is until the power goes out—for seven days! How will the boys cope? Naturally, they re-enact scenes from their favorite games (including “Call of Duty,” “World of Warcraft,” etc.), discovering some surprising things about the games and themselves in the process.
11 Characters: 2 young men; 9 video game characters
26 pages
7) Burying Barbie—by Christopher Dimond
In this dark comedy, Rachel, a morbid young girl, stages elaborate funeral ceremonies for her Barbie dolls. Together with her imaginary friend, she must bury the dolls as, one by one, they die of elaborate forms of cancer. As she approaches the final doll, her worried mother attempts to put a stop to the game and, in the process, discovers the disturbing truth behind her daughter’s unusual behavior. The play examines what it means to lose, to grieve, and to heal.
3 Characters: Rachel, age 7; Rachel’s Mom, age 35; Chuck, Rachel’s imaginary friend, age 37
27 pages
8) Handy Man—by Steve Koppman
(Comedy) Mitch, age 14, has been roped into helping Mrs. Gobler, mother of his friend, into helping her with her groceries after knocking over her shopping cart. She then prevails upon him to do one chore after another while offering him unsolicited advice. The two of them, both isolated people, make a certain connection.
3 characters: 2 Boys 14; Mom age 50
12 pages
9) Cravings –by Tatiana Suarez Pico
(Comedy) A young teen boy speaks his deepest thoughts about a beautiful older girl while sitting in a café with his mother.
1 to 3 characters (may be done as a monologue) Boy age 14; Girl age 17; His mother, age 40
6 pages
10) Tall Tale—by Steve Koppman
(Comedy) Dave tells Jerry his characteristic story of conquest the night before which is, as usual, totally unbelievable—not even a good effort. He is sick of Jerry’s poorly told tales. Just back from his first year of college, Dave has gained an appreciation for the elements of storytelling and tries to convey such to Jerry. Jerry, a quick learner, tries to embroider his next story with such telling detail that Dave is entranced. “Tall Tale” asks if it’s important that a good story be really true.
Characters—2 boys age 17 and 18
12 pages
11) War Paint—by Kelby Siddons
(Drama) A group of camp counselors, on their last day of sleep away summer camp, play a harsh game of hide and seek—settling scores, making confessions and moving on suppressed passions.
9 Characters: 3 counselors, age 18; 5 C.I.T.’s, age 15-17; and one camper age 14
53 pages
12) Dark Knight, Tarnished Silver—by Mark Eisman
(Drama) The play takes place in a suburban kitchen and a juvenile detention facility as a teen girl tries to understand why another teen has murdered his stepmother.
4 characters: girl, age 17; 2 boys, age 17; young woman, age 26
20 pages
13) Bookends—by Kathleen Barber
(Drama) In a home in 15th century England, Mary can read and do sums; she helps her father grow rich. One day, Mary reads a word that shatters the world of her father, her family, and herself. Mary is confined to an empty storage room when she refuses to recant the knowledge she has obtained. Mary’s younger sister, Rose, comes to plead with Mary to restore the world she has destroyed.
2 characters: Mary, age 19; Rose, her younger sister
10 pages
Thomas M. Atkinson
Thomas M. Atkinson (Dancing Turtle) is the author of a number of plays, including Cuttings, Copperheads, Clear Liquor & Coal Black Nights, The Circle of Mystery and D’s Tire Towne. His one-woman show Cuttings has had several critically-acclaimed productions, and was a finalist for last year’s NAAA Double X Play Reading Festival in London. His short plays, including Battling the Ghost of Max Schmeling, and Dancing Turtle have been included in the Culture * Park Annual Short Plays Marathon in New Bedford, MA. “Grimace in the Burnt Black Hills,” the final story in his recently completed Standing Deadwood short fiction collection, will appear in the July issue of The Sun magazine. The collection’s title story appeared in The North American Review, and “River’s Edge” appeared in The Indiana Review. The short story upon which Dancing Turtle is based won Grand Prize in the inaugural Santa Barbara Writers Conference National Writing Contest. He has won numerous honors and awards for both fiction and drama, most recently an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award for 2012. His first novel, Strobe Life, which also received an Ohio Arts Council grant, is currently available for Kindle on Amazon. He just completed his second novel, TIKI MAN, and lives in Ohio with his wife and two sons. This artist was awarded an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award for 2012.
Christopher Dimond
Christopher Dimond (Burying Barbie, The Blasphemy of Bees) is perhaps best known for his work with composer Michael Kooman, with whom he has won a Jonathan Larson Grant, the Lorenz Hart Award, the KC/ACTF Musical Theatre Award, and been a three-time finalist for the Fred Ebb Award. Additionally, Chris has been awarded the Harold Adamson Award, the Mark Twain Prize for Comic Playwriting (2nd Place), and a Sloan Screenwriting Fellowship. His plays and musicals include DANI GIRL, GOLDEN GATE, HOMEMADE FUSION, JUNIOR CLAUS, CONFESSIONS OF AN 8th GRADE NOBODY, and THE NOTEWORTHY LIFE OF HOWARD BARNES. His work has been developed and produced at such theaters as The Kennedy Center, 5th Avenue Theatre, American Conservatory Theatre, the Flea Theatre, the Hangar Theatre, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival. He also wrote and produced the web series GEOFF RUSSELL IS A TOTAL DOUCHE and the short film FLOUR BABY. Along with Kooman, Chris is currently working on a commission from the Kennedy Center. The duo has recently released their first album, which is available on iTunes. Learn more at www.koomandimond.com.
