Once It Finds Them

by Michael Tuton

Bay Area Playwright's Festival (BAPF 47) 2026
STAGED READING: Central Works + ARC April 2025
STAGED READING: Central Works April 2024

BACKGROUND:
In 2025, the FBI received 89,129 reports of online extortion in the United States.
That number doubled from 2023, and the FBI estimates fewer than 15% of cases are ever reported.
The fastest-growing crime wave in history is happening right now.
Not in banks or back...

Bay Area Playwright's Festival (BAPF 47) 2026
STAGED READING: Central Works + ARC April 2025
STAGED READING: Central Works April 2024

BACKGROUND:
In 2025, the FBI received 89,129 reports of online extortion in the United States.
That number doubled from 2023, and the FBI estimates fewer than 15% of cases are ever reported.
The fastest-growing crime wave in history is happening right now.
Not in banks or back alleys or across borders.
It’s happening on social media.

SUMMARY:
When the story of his 30-year-old racist outburst is posted to Facebook, Jonathan Wilkes returns to his hometown to ask Colt McCormack to take it down, and falls into a trap that threatens his job, his family, and eventually, his life.

This play is a 2-hander about how we blame each other for the failures of our fathers, how the online pursuit of social justice bred class resentment, how tech-stage capitalism is like a murderous penis, and whether 90 minutes in a room together can counteract 20 years of trench warfare waged over social media.

mike (dot) tuton at gee mail for the latest draft

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Once It Finds Them

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  • Playwrights Foundation: Once It Finds Them by Michael Tuton
    “

    The community of National Committee readers for the 47th Bay Area Playwrights Festival advanced The Return of Honor to American Life as a Semi-Finalist at Playwrights Foundation. We were specifically impressed with the characterization of Colton, and the nuance this lends to the final moments of this play. We hope this play is considered for further development and investigation, and finds dedicated collaborators in this play’s journey towards production.

    The community of National Committee readers for the 47th Bay Area Playwrights Festival advanced The Return of Honor to American Life as a Semi-Finalist at Playwrights Foundation. We were specifically impressed with the characterization of Colton, and the nuance this lends to the final moments of this play. We hope this play is considered for further development and investigation, and finds dedicated collaborators in this play’s journey towards production.

    ”