Building Madness by Kate Danley

FULL LENGTH Screwball Comedy
WINNER - PANOWSKI PLAYWRITING AWARD 2016

The year is 1930. The stock market has just crashed. Max and Paul are just trying to keep their architecture company afloat, but they accidentally hired the mob to build a police retirement home. With the "help" of their dizzy secretary, Trixie, they may never get the project done, but they are most definitely building madness.
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Building Madness

Recommended by

  • Jerry Polner:
    5 Jul. 2021
    “ Kate Danley doesn’t miss a screwball comedy trick in this wonderfully funny story about two architectural partners doing business with the police commissioner’s daughter while they’re in hock to the mob. Set in 1930 with all the right dialect, it runs like eggs in coffee. Produce this play! ”
  • Margaret O'Donnell:
    6 Apr. 2021
    “ What fun! Trixie the secretary is guileless...or is she? The witty dialogue is pure 1930s Hollywood snappy, and the complications arise naturally from the situation and characters. The scenes where Trixie manages everything, right in front of her clueless bosses, are intricately and beautifully written. Life at an architecture has never been more engaging. ”
  • Cheryl Bear:
    23 Aug. 2020
    “ Shenanigans ensue as that little accidental hire spirals everything out of control for these guys and it's hilarious! Highly entertaining! ”
View all 4 recommendations

Character Information

Non-traditional casting is encouraged.

  • Trixie Fuller
    20s - 40s,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    Dizzy secretary at TF Architecture. Crazy like a fox. (Strong comedian)
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Paul Fielding
    20s - 40s,
    Any
    ,
    Male
    a down-to-earth, easy-going architect with a casual charisma
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Max Marshall
    20s - 40s,
    Any
    ,
    Male
    A passionate and ridiculously insecure architect. Vulnerable in the bluster. A beta dog put into an alpha position.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Gwen Gladwell
    20s - 40s,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    a witty, smart socialite who is a fool when it comes to love
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Ruby Deleoni
    30s - 50s,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    the va-va-va-voom head of the Deleoni family
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Vito Deleoni
    20s - 40s,
    Any
    ,
    Male
    Ruby's nephew. A tough but dim mobster.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    TheatreLab UK
    ,
    2017
  • Reading
    ,
    Seattle Playwrights Salon
    ,
    2017
  • Reading
    ,
    Theatrelab UK
    ,
    2015
  • Reading
    ,
    Eclectic Theatre
    ,
    2015
  • Reading
    ,
    Friday Night Footlights Reading presented at the Frederick Lowe Room of the Dramatists Guild, NYC
    ,
    2015

Production History

  • University
    ,
    Freed-Hardeman University
    ,
    2020
  • High School
    ,
    Woodstock High School
    ,
    2018
  • Community Theater
    ,
    Grande Prairie Live Theatre
    ,
    2017
  • University
    ,
    Northern Michigan University
    ,
    2017
  • Workshop
    ,
    Grove Theatre Center
    ,
    2016

Awards

Winner
,
2016 PANOWSKI Playwriting Award
,
Northern Michigan University
,
2016