Heartland Plays Catalog
| Product Code: | A0010-F |
| Title: | A Field of Daisies *** view sample *** [minus last 5 pages] |
| Category: | Adult Full Length |
| Author: | Rebecca Ryland |
| Short Desc: | A Full-length Drama in Two Acts |
| Summary: | An award winning and potent portrayal of a city man, Tom Benedict and his wife, Jennifer, in conflict between themselves and their new life in the country. Filled with symbolism and harsh reality, the audience has the opportunity to witness the final days of a deteriorating relationship and then sit in judgment to the truth. Is he a misogynist who terrorized his wife or is Tom driven over the brink of insanity by the tribulations of their marriage and the pressures of life, maximized by a farm accident involving a young boy? No one leaves the theatre on this one without a passionate opinion as to the outcome of the trial in which Tom stands accused of murder. Challenging, engaging, and downright riveting. |
| Cast/Time: | 5M/5W |
| Fees: | $75 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $75 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. |
| Product Code: | A0040-F |
| Title: | A Man Without Means *** view sample *** [minus last 5 pages] |
| Category: | Adult Full Length |
| Author: | Rebecca Ryland |
| Short Desc: | A Full-Length Comedy in One Act |
| Summary: | First performed at Ensemble Studio Theatre’s theatre lab in New York, this slapstick comedy of errors has all the makings of a great farce. Set in a dilapidated hostel on the outskirts of SoHo in London, two Americans find themselves stuck without means in a guest room used for storage. Throw in an uncontrollable nose bleed, two workmen and their ladder, cheating spouses, a lunatic Canadian and the equally nutty hostel manager and your audience will find itself rolling in the aisles. Is this a hotel or an insane asylum? It’s fast, it’s funny and it’s frightfully entertaining, right down to the circular saw massacre in the end. |
| Cast/Time: | 4M / 3W Unit Set; Playing time approximately 75 minutes without intermission |
| Fees: | $60 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $75 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. |
| Product Code: | A0050-SP |
| Title: | Mothers, Daughters and the Space Between *** view sample *** [minus last 5 pages] a collection of three one-act plays |
| Category: | Adult One Acts and Short Play Collections |
| Author: | Beth Dotson Brown |
| Short Desc: | A Collection of Three One-Act Plays |
| Summary: | Perfect for performance or scenework, this collection offers an intimate portrayal of motherhood from three poignant places; A mother struggling with the loss of her daughter, A step-mom struggling for her position in her new family, and a woman struggling to accept a motherless life. Blood on the Highway is set on a lonely stretch of highway where a mother scrubs the blood stain off the road where her daughter was killed by a drunk driver. Motherhood Unbidden brings two woman together, both facing the uncertainty of motherhood. The Stranger on the Porch is a testament to the fact that you can sell someone anything if you dress it up to look like something they want. Blood on the Highway first appeared in shortstory form broadcast over the BBC on Public Radio International. |
| Cast/Time: | 3M / 6W, 2-4 actors each Total Playing Time: Approximately 45 minutes |
| Fees: | $30 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. No Royalty required for use for scenework. |
| Product Code: | A0060-SP |
| Title: | Nothing But Trash *** view sample *** [minus last 5 pages] a collection of three contemporary short plays |
| Category: | Adult One Acts and Short Play Collections |
| Author: | Rebecca Ryland |
| Short Desc: | A Collection of Three Contemporary Short Plays including: THE INTERVIEW THE MAN IN THE CAN A BIRD IS NOT A PET |
| Summary: | Nominated for the Samuel French New Play Festival, The Interview premiered at the Creative Place Theatre off-Broadway in New York along with the third work in this collection, A Bird is Not a Pet. The Interview is a seemingly simple 10 minute piece that hits home with its humorously dark message about the door to success. In The Man in the Can, a young man sitting in a trash can in Central Park attracts a Bag Lady who mistakes him for her friend, Fred. A Bird is Not a Pet, (A Tragic Act of Separation or A Comic Act of Desperation) takes an absurdly funny look at a confrontation between a woman who wants to separate her trash so that men will have something to die for and the totalitarian bureaucracy of her Condo Association. This deceptively funny collection creates an interesting evening at the theatre with its keen perceptions on the state of society. |
| Cast/Time: | 4M / 9W, 3-6 actors each Total Playing Time: Approximately 50 minutes |
| Fees: | $30 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $50 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. No Royalty required for use for scenework. |
| Product Code: | A0070-F |
| Title: | Ceremonies of Prayer *** view sample *** [minus last 5 pages] |
| Category: | Adult Full Length |
| Author: | Evan Guilford-Blake |
| Short Desc: | A Full-length Drama in Two Acts |
| Summary: | Developed at Chicago Dramatists, Ceremonies of Prayer revolves around the conflict between William, a volatile artist caught between the emotional extremes of a sophisticated aesthetic view of the world and a childish detachment from the realities of everyday life, and Cristina his lover, an equally volatile ex-prostitute, now pregnant with his child. Matters are further complicated by William's financial and emotional dependence on his art-dealer brother, Ned, who struggles to remain vigilant to William’s vulnerability and supportive of his genius while coping with the resentment of his wife, Joanne, for the intrusions it inflicts in their lives. Suggested by incidents in the life of Vincent van Gogh, this 1996 winner of the prestigious Utah Playfest Competition drives home the raging turmoil within and without the great artist whose passion for love and art lingered on the brink of insanity. Note: Contains adult language and situations. |
| Cast/Time: | 2 M / 2W |
| Fees: | $30 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $75 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. |
| Product Code: | A0080-F |
| Title: | An American Wife *** view sample *** [minus last 5 pages] |
| Category: | Adult Full Length |
| Author: | Karen Blomain & Michael Downend |
| Short Desc: | A Full-length Comic-Drama by Karen Blomain & Michael Downend |
| Summary: | When Frank Flynn returns home from fighting in the war to his little coal mining town in Pennsylvania, he doesn’t get the welcome he expected. His mother, Nanna, doesn’t appreciate his bringing back a Polish war bride, especially with him engaged to her best friend’s daughter. His new wife, Stella, finds trying to fit into the little house, already crowded with Nanna, Frank’s brother, Phil, his wife and their young daughter, Jody, is as difficult as fitting into a small, prejudice, Irish Catholic community. But Stella, who lost everything to World War II, has more will and courage than anyone could have imagined. When the mines shut down from lack of work, Stella leads the way to women working in the mills, and with a baby on the way, must come to terms with her nearly unbearable losses and the revelation that she took someone else’s sweetheart. Stella's haunted and painful past not only brings her new family together but also imbues those around her with her optimism and verve. The story is pre-feminist feminist, working class, blue collar, and small town– anytown USA. This amazingly heartfelt story of this strong-willed Irish Catholic family as they struggle to accept the challenges of their post war life is one every theater will cherish. And with its ties to the holiday season, it will remind audiences everywhere that angels come in all shapes and sizes, at Christmas and throughout the year. |
| Cast/Time: | 2M / 3W / 1F Child Total Playing Time: Approximately two hours |
| Fees: | $35 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $65 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. |
| Product Code: | A0090-SP |
| Title: | Beach Play *** view sample *** [minus last 5 pages] |
| Category: | Adult One Acts and Short Play Collections |
| Author: | Robert R. Lehan |
| Short Desc: | Two One Acts by Robert R. Lehan |
| Summary: | What we leave behind is often the last for others to give up. Such is the dilemma for Tom in ASHES, the first play in this pairing of two one acts that pit the needs of one character against those of another. In ASHES, the bereaved Tom has lost his beloved wife and all that remains are her ashes. For him, those ashes belong in a family plot where he and those who loved her can gather to honor and remember her. But his wife, Barbara, had other ideas and her ghost confronts Tom on an isolated beach where he struggles to follow her wishes to have her ashes scattered in the sea. STONEKIPPERS is a quirky yet alarming story of a man longing to become the Stoneskipping Champion of the World and the anguish of a starving homeless woman living on the beach where he practices. The conflict between real need and trivial pursuit reaches a climatic ending with only one getting their wish. Robert R. Lehan, who brings a lifetime of experience in theatre to his work, notes that STONESKIPPERS is an anatomy of revolution fostered by the conflict between the “haves” and the “have nots” and warns “there will be shots fired.” Both plays are certain to trigger an emotional response from the audience. |
| Cast/Time: | 1M / 1W, each play Total Playing Time: Approximately 45 minutes |
| Fees: | $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $35 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. |
| Product Code: | A0100-F |
| Title: | Where Did We Go Wrong *** view sample *** [minus last 5 pages] |
| Category: | Adult Full Length |
| Author: | Verna Safran |
| Short Desc: | A Comedy in Two Acts by Verna Safran |
| Summary: | Remember the days when your grown daughter hid her live-in boyfriend in the closet when you showed up unannounced? Well, neither does Ethel whose daughter, Sandra never rebelled about anything. And now that Ethel’s in their sixties one would think she wouldn’t have to hide the fact that she’s living out of wedlock with her lover, Henry, in her condominium in Miami. But times have changed and a huge storm blows in when conservative Sandra, and her husband Joe show up for a rather unexpected visit. Although taking great pains to hide their living arrangement, the cat’s out of the bag in no time flat and Sandra’s bent on her mother marrying Henry whether she wants to or not. Throw in a 60 year old still active next-door activist and a 50 year old beach bum for friends and Sandra’s ready to tear her hair out! “Where Did We Go Wrong?” will have everyone wondering who’s on first when Ethel and Henry run away from home so that Sandra and Joe can work out their marriage woes and hopefully discover the true values in life. A delightful twist on the generation gap! |
| Cast/Time: | 3F / 3M |
| Fees: | $35 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $65 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. |
| Product Code: | A0110-F |
| Title: | INKHOKHOTSAZANA *** view sample *** [minus last 5 pages] |
| Category: | Adult Full Length |
| Author: | Mulima kw’omusundi wa kuboka |
| Short Desc: | A Full-length Modern Play in Classical Style |
| Summary: | Set in an organized society in a developing country, Inkhokhotsazana tells the story of ruler Mfalme who has banished his wife, Inkho believing she betrayed him by ‘sleeping’ with her step-son Leo. As it turns out, Mfalme’s chief advisor, Pom, has orchestrated the ruse as revenge against Mfalme for snatching Inkho from him. As Mfalme’s cousin and most trusted advisor, Pom’s accusations are accepted without question and thus create a case of ‘the enemy within’. Mfalme’s anger and jealousy against Inkho spreads oppression and cruelty to all the women of the land and by royal decree, men are permitted to abuse their women. In a bid to bring Mfalme to his senses and punish Pom, the women of the land revolt by forming the Women’s Liberation Front and focusing the eyes of the world upon them, including the journalist, Gloria, from the neighboring country of Noteba. Reminiscent of Greek classics and Shakespearean tragedies, Kenyan playwright Edwin Mulima Omusundi brings home the struggles that still exist in modern times when old ways collide with new. |
| Cast/Time: | 7M/3W plus a Chorus of Men, a Chorus of Women and Dancers |
| Fees: | $40 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $65 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. |
| Product Code: | A0120-F |
| Title: | The Window *** view sample *** [minus last 5 pages] |
| Category: | Adult Full Length |
| Author: | Donald Dewey |
| Short Desc: | A Full-length Drama of Mystery and Intrigue |
| Summary: | A successful painter, Louis Chalk is dead. He fell from The Window in his artist studio. It was ruled an accident. But was it? Tortured by his death, or perhaps even more by his life, Louis’s much younger wife, Stella, who had been alienated from her husband for some time, grapples with the truth. Stella has come under police suspicion as a murderer; radical emotional vacillations have made her a suspect even in her own eyes. And what agenda does the lawyer, Waters, really have when he shows up offering detailed information about a multitude of old paintings left in a large closet in the studio? And what was the relationship between Louis and Kate, the owner of the art gallery where Chalk had his most conspicuous success? The self-important-ness of the upscale art world colors this dark, almost noir story of love, betrayal, guilt and fear. And ever present is The Window that opens the way out. Not just as a “whodunit” but a “whatwasdun” as well. Note: Contains adult language and situations. |
| Cast/Time: | 2 W / 4 M |
| Fees: | $35 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $65 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. |
| Product Code: | PP400-NR |
| Title: | Riverboat Jeopardy *** view sample *** [minus last 5 pages] |
| Category: | Plot Party Plays Non-Royalty Plays, Scenes and Monologues |
| Author: | Amanda Horn |
| Short Desc: | Plot Party Plays |
| Summary: | Throw a Plot Party Play and be the talk of the town! At a Plot Party, each guest dresses as a character and becomes part of the plot. As guests RSVP, they are assigned a character and provided secret information about that character, such as hidden identities, personal agendas and love interests. The Riverboat Jeopardy is in dire straits. This may be the last voyage unless $50,000 is raised to pay the debt and save it from bankruptcy. And it seems half the guests onboard have $50,000; from The Loud-Mouth at the Poker Table to The Old Prospector to the notorious Low Down and Dirty Gang disguised as…well…read the Sequence of Events to get the whole story. When you order Riverboat Jeopardy you’ll get the right to download and copy everything you need for an evening of entertainment starring your favorite fiends in roles they’ll have a blast playing! The download includes invitation, the Host’s Sequence of Events, Individual Character Plot Party Guides for each of your guests, a seating chart, a secret survey and the REAL ending to the story! It’s simple, it’s fun and there’s no place else that’s got it! |
| Cast/Time: | For 24-30 Guests |
| Fees: | $75 Single Use Copyright Fee. |
| Product Code: | Y01-SP |
| Title: | The Troll in the Belfry and The Old Beggar Woman *** view sample *** [minus last 5 pages] |
| Category: | Childrens Theatre and Youth One Acts and Short Play Collections |
| Author: | R.J. Ryland |
| Short Desc: | Two Fairy Tale Plays for Young Audiences Inspired by Van Gogh’s “A Starry Night” |
| Summary: | In the tradition of classical fairy tales, two bold stories filled with poetic language and inspiring imagery. Played by adult and child actors or by youth alone, these two short plays will tickle your wit and challenge your imagination. The Troll in the Belfry is the tale of a wicked troll who has taken over a town destroying its spirit, only to be outwitted by two children and an old widow woman. In The Old Beggar Woman, all the mothers and fathers in the village have disappeared in the night and only a strange old beggar woman knows why. |
| Cast/Time: | 4M / 5W Playing Time: Approximately 35 minutes |
| Fees: | $30 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $35 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. |
| Product Code: | Y02-H |
| Title: | Grandma Bear's Christmas Party *** view sample *** [minus last 5 pages] |
| Category: | Childrens Theatre and Youth Holiday Plays and Musicals |
| Author: | R.J. Ryland |
| Short Desc: | A Heartwarming Holiday Tale for Young Audiences |
| Summary: | One of the best holiday plays for kids ever! But don’t be surprised if this play touches your heart, no matter what your age. Grandma Bear is getting old. Despite the companionship of her faithful cat, Lucille, she grows more lonely and confused everyday. Her neighbor, Wolf, does his best to look out for her. And she delights in her visits with all her little forest friends from Rabbit and Beaver to the playful Wood Orphans who live in tree-houses nearby. But when Grandma Bear decides to throw her first Christmas Party in years, perhaps her first party ever, no one will come. Laugh and cry with Grandma Bear as she rediscovers the true meaning of friendship and the joy of the holiday spirit.
*Script includes vocal/piano score for two carols plus props list. |
| Cast/Time: | 5F / 1M and 11 either + Optional Extras Playing Time: Approximately 55 minutes |
| Fees: | $50 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. |
| Product Code: | Y03-NR |
| Title: | Monologues Just for Kids! *** view sample *** [minus last 5 pages] |
| Category: | Childrens Theatre and Youth Non-Royalty Plays, Scenes and Monologues |
| Author: | R.J. Ryland |
| Short Desc: | A Collection of 50 Great Monologues For Audition, Competition, Training, and Performance |
| Summary: | Wow the crowd with these 50 great monologues playable by boys or girls. From 30 second pieces to over two minutes, each monologue captures a moment in a child’s life, a reflection from a child’s perspective, a fresh look at a timeless experience or an honest expression of relationships with family, friends, teachers and pets. Some monologues make you chuckle, some bring a tear and all hit square on the mark. With so many to choose, you’ll find the perfect piece for your audition or competition. And with such a wide range of playing time and content, you’ll find the right monologue for the right kid for training or performance. Playwright R.J. Ryland, founder of Arts for Kids, ETC, a theatre arts training program for youth, brings 20 years experience working with children to this outstanding collection which lists 25 pieces for elementary age kids and 25 for pre-teen/early teen but with many suitable for either. |
| Fees: | $25 Single Use Copyright Fee. No Royalty required. |
| Product Code: | YA101-F |
| Title: | just another school shooting *** view sample *** [minus last 5 pages] |
| Category: | Teen and Young Adult Full Length |
| Author: | Gerald Arthur Moore |
| Short Desc: | A 70-minute Play in 4 Scenes |
| Summary: | There it is again, on the AP, on CNN, on FOX News at 10. Another school shooting somewhere in the U.S., in Canada, or across the universe. Gerald Art Moore’s sensitive and provocative work brings the headlines home as a group of surviving students struggle to make sense of their lives and the impact of a single juncture in time that will forever color their destinies. By starting the play months after the shooting and working back in time, the audience gathers insights into the students and their relationships to one another, always cognitive that what happened is waiting just around the corner and that moment of terror is a train wreck that no one can stop. When the horror hits, who do we obsess about? The shooter or the victims? How does one go about honoring the dead without glorifying the perpetrator? The answer is that this play will have your audience talking long after the lights go down and the crying fades away |
| Cast/Time: | 5 F / 3 M plus 10-15 extras |
| Fees: | $60 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $60 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. |
| Product Code: | YA104-SP |
| Title: | The Pinocchio Problem *** view sample *** [minus last 5 pages] What is Human? |
| Category: | Teen and Young Adult One Acts and Short Play Collections |
| Author: | Paul DiLella |
| Short Desc: | A One-Act Comedy with Overtones Playable for Teens or Adults |
| Summary: | Warning! These toys can talk! Yes, Annie Redwig, Jacques du Fleur, and Gerta Alpine have a lot to say about what it means to be human. Each of the toys---a Raggedy Ann doll, a Jack-in-the-Box, and a Swiss ballet dancer figurine---wants to be under some boy or girl's Christmas tree. While they wait, they think about Pinocchio and how lucky he is to be a real boy. To satisfy their curiosity and to increase their awareness, the dolls enact experiments about "the human condition" with comic and unintended results. In the end, the toys understand the price one pays to be human. Provocative, The Pinocchio Problem will spark discussion about our human condition creating a work playable to both teen and adult audiences. This play is easily staged, requiring only a few set pieces. |
| Cast/Time: | 2 F / 1 M |
| Fees: | $20 Single Use Copyright Fee plus $40 Royalty per Performance for Amateur Theatre. Professional Theatre Royalties Calculated on Application. |
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