John Robert Tillotson

A collection of 7 monologues adapted from Chekhov's short plays and stories. All are told in new, contemporary ways and set in current times.

Flighty and fickle or faithful and true? All Men Do It: A Primer poses this classic question in a fast-paced seriocomedy involving the misadventures of two gay cousins and their fiancés, a pair of alpha-male navy men. For these starry-eyed couples, romantic illusions are given a nasty wake-up call when they are provoked by Professor Pandemonium and his unwitting accomplice, Bingo, to test the boundaries of love, loyalty, and friendship in a complicated game.

All Men Do It: A Primer is an adaptation of Lorenzo Da Ponte’s libretto to Mozart’s opera, Così fan Tutte, but freed of all that pesky music. Its timeless story offers some unique twists on themes of love and fidelity while embracing many classical theatrical traditions in a contemporary setting.

Having been isolated by a pandemic, two people meet in a park to remind themselves (and their observers) of the need for human contact.

Colonel Fainwell meets the woman of his dreams, Anne Lovely, who is currently under the control of four disparate guardians, who can't agree on anything. In an effort to free Lovely, who is desperate to escape her oppressors, she and the Colonel maneuver an all-out battle of wit and will to both discover new independence. Set on July 4, 1794, in the hubbub of lower Manhattan, and anachronistically adapted from Susanna Centlivre's A Bold Stroke for a Wife, many of the predominantly male characters have been gender-swapped into a cast of Seven Women and One Man. Perception is turned on its ear in this fast-paced comedy of bad manners and true love.

In order to avoid an eviction, an actor of a certain age has been forced to cull through her scripts which illuminate the story of her life in the theatre. A book dealer, who has seen the process played out before with other clients, helps to ease her burden. The potential of the future far outweighs the desire to cling to the past glories. Goodbyes are bittersweet.

A life-model and his artist contemplate art, love, and lust. Expectations are not necessarily what they appear to be as personal revelations occur. And both go on.

It is a dark and stormy night... George and Virginia are proceeding through their nightly routine. As George works his way through a six-pack of beer, Virginia tries to make sense of her life with questions and observations. The play ends with Virginia announcing her fear to an empty room.

In "Form and Moving", we find Kris, leaving New York and her Kip’s Bay apartment, as she compromises her artistic dreams, in exchange for financial security. Peter, her friend and Charlie, her brother and Peter's life-partner, are there to help Kris’s transition to a new beginning.

"Form and Moving" is part of THE PETER PLAYS, three 30 minute short plays which are part of a larger cycle of plays, THEATRIKALS. It can be produced as a stand-alone play.

See THE PETER PLAYS on the NPX for more information.

In "Late-Walking through the Realm", we meet Charlie, a successful lawyer and an ex-actor, and Peter, his longtime friend, and an actor currently in a career slump. Near dawn, atop am MTA bus kiosk in the East Village, they finally face reality and admit their longtime love for each other

"Late-Walking" is part of THE PETER PLAYS, three 30 minute short plays which are part of a larger cycle of plays, THEATRIKALS. It can be produced as a stand-alone play.

See THE PETER PLAYS on the NPX for more information.

In Nimble Souls, we are introduced to Peter, an actor recovering from a near-crippling injury, and his longtime friend Kris, an artistic director of a small regional theater, who meet in Central Park to commiserate about the current state of the theater.

Nimble Souls is part of THE PETER PLAYS, three 30 minute short plays which are part of a larger cycle of plays, THEATRIKALS. It can be produced as a stand-alone play.

See THE PETER PLAYS on the NPX for more information.

THE PETER PLAYS are three 30 minute short plays which are part of a cycle of plays, THEATRIKALS.

The three plays, united as THE PETER PLAYS, share the common character of Peter, an actor. They are the only plays in which Peter appears, however, he is referenced in other THEATRIKALS plays. Kris, an artistic director, appears in three additional plays and Charlie, Kris’ brother and a lawyer, appears in one full-length play. All of these characters are in their fifties. The plays take place in NYC in 2011.

In "Nimble Souls," we are introduced to Peter, an actor recovering from a near-crippling injury, and his longtime friend Kris, an artistic director of a small regional theater, who meet in Central Park to commiserate about the current state of the theater.

In the next piece, "Late-Walking through the Realm", we meet Charlie, a successful lawyer, and an ex-actor, who is Kris’s brother and Peter’s longtime friend. Near dawn, atop am MTA bus kiosk in the East Village, they finally face reality and admit their longtime love for each other.

In the final piece, "Form and Moving", we find Kris, leaving New York and her Kip’s Bay apartment, as she compromises her artistic dreams, in exchange for financial security. Peter and Charlie, now partners, are there to help Kris’s transition to a new beginning.

Dirck, a harried and underappreciated stage manager, has been tasked to give a welcome speech for tonight's performance and make sure audience electronic devices have been turned off. He shares a bit of insight into his life both on and off stage as he speaks about his interactions with company members and the producing artistic director of a small theatre company. Freely adapted from Chekhov's "On the Harmfulness of Tobacco." A perfect opener for a series of one-act plays.

Shirl, a harried and underappreciated stage manager, has been tasked to give a welcome speech for tonight's performance and make sure audience electronic devices have been turned off. She shares a bit of insight into her life both on and off stage as she speaks about her interactions with company members and the producing artistic director of a small theatre company. Freely adapted from Chekhov's "On the Harmfulness of Tobacco."