Stop Laughing Without Me by Philip Middleton Williams

Five-Minute: (2021) A playwright meets with a producer, but the meeting doesn't go as planned.

The script is available at www.pmwplaywright.com.
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Stop Laughing Without Me

Recommended by

  • Jaxson Mackling:
    20 Jan. 2023
    “ As a playwright, are producers truly supposed to understand where the story is coming from and its intentions? Well for Claude, his intentions are final and will do nothing to stop getting his play produced the way he wants it done; the right way. WILLIAMS’ play “Stop Laughing With Me” is a look at just that. What does it truly mean to have your play produced the way the playwright intended. I want to see this produced. Lovely. Masterful. Well done! ”
  • Larry Rinkel:
    3 Mar. 2022
    “ Do we achieve our intentions when writing a play? Does the reader get what we expected, or do they respond more truly than we realize to what we actually wrote? Maybe Claude Balz's (Balls?) play is funnier than he thinks he is, or maybe producer Sid just doesn't get the intended serious meaning. Who knows. Either way, Philip's delightful short reminds me of Oscar Wilde's classic line about Dickens's "Old Curiosity Shop": “One must have a heart of stone to read the death of little Nell without laughing.” ”
  • Morey Norkin:
    3 Mar. 2022
    “ Maybe the funniest, and certainly the most unexpected line I’ve read in some time! Took me in hook, line, and sinker. That would be the ending of Philip Middleton Williams’ insightful short play. Leading up to this, is a look at what I believe most (all?) playwrights worry about when they hand their work over for production: do they get it? Of course, in Claude’s case, a little self-awareness would have been helpful. I’m going to find myself bursting into laughter whenever that line pops into my head! ”
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Character Information

  • Sid
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Any age
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Any gender
  • Claude
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Any age
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Any gender