DIANA HOWIE

On a freezing day in February 1837, the Allen Brothers advertisement for the new City of Houston doesn't match the mud-hole reality, and even the “good” settlers want to leave. Fearful that he will lose not only his investment but his freedom (having fled the U.S. after being sentenced to debtors’ prison), spec house builder CK Huntington seizes on the very next person who arrives, determined to make this unlikely newcomer see Houston as The Promised Land.

Each evening in New Orleans Clairelise Broussard tucks her two children into bed and entertains them by reading a story from the book Old Creole Days. But the warmth of this perfect hour is not enough; Daddy's absence continues to be on all their minds, and to reach out to him, they decide to go "on the air". In Scene Two, "The Broussard Family Storyhour" is in its second week of local radio broadcasts, direct from the children's bedroom. Clairelise shares some of the letters the storyhour program has received. The last letter is from a producer in Montreal who makes an offer to broadcast them to the world if they would only come to Canada. Could they leave their Louisiana heritage? could they leave Daddy? Audience comments: "I wanted to stay in that bedroom forever." - "A perfect romantic evening." - "What you want your life to be."

After “stealing” the engaged Almeron Dickinson from her friend, fifteen-year old Susanna is willing to follow her husband’s dream and leave Tennessee for Texas. All she wants is to be with Almer, but the life of a Texas settler is not a life of “togetherness,” and Susanna is alone in Gonzales for many frightening new experiences. The fight for independence takes Almer away to San Antonio for two months as the Texans try to push the soldiers back to Mexico. Insisting on going back to San Antonio with him as more soldiers are on the march in, Susanna survives the horror of the Alamo massacre in March 1836. Then she is called to meet with Santa Anna.

A collection of monologues drawn from experiences of contemporary teens, living in both urban/suburban areas and in small towns. Divorce, parents, school, getting in trouble, finding your own way, physical appearance, the opposite sex - all loom large. In each one, the character is anticipating a difficult confrontation, experiencing something frightening or new, or weighing his options in a decisive situation. Each piece takes five minutes or less to perform. As there is this common thread of "being in a jam", a one or two-hour program of related monologues could be presented under the collective title of Tight Spots

At a murder trial, Alexandra pushes her fellow anxious-to-leave jurors for a speedy verdict with her argument that possession of a gun proves Guilt. When she can’t persuade Della into consensus, this busy stockbroker becomes increasingly distraught at being stuck for hours in the jury room. The discovery of her own concealed gun, though, throws the group into an uproar as the threat of jail now looms over them too.

Reader comment: "It's a great idea and the music is really great." (Richard Parison, Assoc.AD, Prince Music Theater)
Audience comments: “What a slam-dunk finish to a funny situation.” - “A lively and moving
score and a story that moves like a locomotive.” - “Makes you really think twice about
what America is coming to.”

Having travelled from Latvia to North America, Edward Leedskalnin has left his former life far behind him, except for his dream to marry Agnes, the girl who jilted him the day before their wedding. Finally, he settles in the tip of Florida, but the longer he lives isolated in this farm community, safe from embarrassing questions about his past, the more he longs for Agnes. His only companion is the moon, to whom he empties his brokenhearted shame. When a damning letter arrives from Agnes’ husband, Edward loses himself in the moon’s sweet embrace.
One of four plays in the full-length "Awesome America." Licensed through nextstagepress.net

At her mother's grave with the just-published Folio in her hand, Shakespeare's daughter demands that her mother reconsider Will’s bad reputation in Stratford. Will "appears," telling Susanna to stop harassing Anne. She turns on him (the absent father), and then is even more determined to set the whole Shakespeare history straight. In the Second Act, it is a time of Civil War, and Queen Henrietta is encamped at Susanna's house. Susanna fears her Folio will be seized (along with other household items) and sold to fund the King's army. Desperate and scared, Susanna unwittingly conjures up Will again. Together they search for a way she can cope in these very frightening times.
Audience comment: "An elegant new work that raises questions about the Bard that have endured for centuries. Brilliantly written.” (Blogcritics Magazine)

From the time you are born 'til the time you die there is someone ready to put you under his thumb. Bending, fighting, standing tall, accommodating, running, second-guessing are all ways we learn to cope with these top dogs. The progress of civilization may depend on our sympathetic humanity and our desire to help one another improve, but individual survival still calls for doggie skills. To be the best, we must prepare for the worst.

Even in the field of education, the hallways are full of power plays. In our story, we follow the newborn Michael Harrison through a childhood of being bullied and learning to bully, to the point where he chooses the field of education so he can "have a life without having to compete every minute of the day.” Sorry to say, he finds himself tangling with one-upmanship every step of the way. There is the Principal who is more interested in his good image rather than his students' achievements; the Assistant Superintendent who demands meaningless work from his smarter subordinates just to remind them who's on top; and, the Superintendent who purposefully makes his subordinates look bad so he will smell like a rose.

Finally despite his proven success at turning children into learners, Michael stands at the pinnacle of his career as Superintendent of Schools, up against a Mayor who thinks nothing of ruining everyone in town to achieve his own desires. Taking refuge across state lines, he is encouraged to take another chance as a high school principal in a small town. But the first day of school, yet another kind of top dog demands Michael's submission. Michael finds himself laughing uncontrollably as the Dean of Boys holds a gun on him. This time he had anticipated the top dog maneuver, and was prepared.

Reader comment: “Although we are unable to include this worthwhile project at the Conference, I write to express my personal admiration of your talents, and the combination of craftsmanship and soul at the heart of this particular work.” (Lloyd Richards for the O’Neill Theater Center).

Aboard the Yellow Stone steamboat to Galveston Island, the captive Santa Anna fears he will be killed at any moment and tries various ploys to persuade his two traveling companions to help him. He calls on loyalty to get his old friend Lorenzo Zavala (former statesman of Mexico and now Vice-President of Texas) on his side, but Zavala has been skunked by Santa Anna too many times. And Santa Anna’s every attempt to persuade the badly-injured Houston to help him is also thwarted by Zavala.

Review comment: “An intriguing exploration of three of the most important men to survive the
war for Texas independence. The dialogue is filled with as much factual information as
possible, giving us characters that are as honest and true to life as possible.”
(Broadway World.com)

When Mark Peters graduated high school, his parents gave him one last tank of gas and told him to "get a job." When they proudly arrive to see his first workplace, a sandwich shop, Mark lunges at his dad. Luckily a customer, Joe Winston, is able to restrain the boy, and encourages the parents to leave. Joe stays for coffee at the shop, but is thrown out when the boss discovers Joe bathing in the restroom. In the next days, Joe makes a nuisance of himself, yet Mark finds it hard to ignore this exasperating and desperately needy man.

Reader comment: "Neatly written & engaging." (Jack Bradley, Literary Manager, Royal National Theatre)

In a bookstore marked for demolition, an elderly midget arranges what he hopes will stop the wrecking crew: his collection of Judy Garland memorabilia. As Sean finds his display items, he chafes when remembering how the film industry treated Judy (and himself). Once his mementos are gathered together, he anxiously awaits the wreckers. In Act Two, Jack Baker is the first man inside after the bookstore is down. His assignment on the demolition crew is to bag any human remains before the machines level the site. He lets us know he is a much better person than this job implies. He is, after all, Marilyn Monroe's son (albeit now middle-aged & balding). The boss hollers in, anxious for Jack to finish. Threatened with the loss of even this low-level job, Jack turns to the task at hand and spots Sean.

Reader comment: "You have showed us the destruction of society as we know it, but then
a little ray of hope is offered from a most unlikely source." (José Quintero)

Eight-year-old Mark is already bored to death on this Saturday morning in his suburban neighborhood. In anger, he pulls down the sign at the corner of Beckner Street and Beckner Place, and it comes apart into two nineteenth-century German-Americans, Gustav and Clara Beckner. They are the original owners of the farm that is now this subdivision, and they are as startled to see Mark as he is to see them. The Beckners forcibly commander Mark to help them find their home, taking the boy on a time-travel adventure into the history of his neighborhood.

Reader comment: "A fresh original story with lessons of history and urbanization of farms that children would learn while seeing this play." (Indiana Repertory Theatre)

As in the classic tale, the children are abandoned in the woods, but here the Father insists on going to look for his lost children, and the stepmother, shamed by his remorse, accompanies him. Combined with their scary experiences in the woods and with the Witch, the children are challenged not only with lessons of survival, but forgiveness as well.

Susan, the new reference librarian at Ridgeview Library, adores helping people find answers to questions, but she hates to confront the discipline problems inherent in a public space. As the library fills up, the users become raucous. Her supervisor Bill gets an emergency call, and tells Susan her top priority is to restore the quiet. When Bill returns, he finds a scene of total uproar, and he fires Susan on the spot. As she is packing her things, a surprise attack threatens the library and everyone in it, and Susan is finally provoked to confrontation.

Audience comments: "I can't believe all that goes on in a public library! I am going there tomorrow just to watch." "Delightful and funny - the play just keeps bubbling along."

National Park Ranger Ceal DiOrio is leading her first walking tour in New Orleans' old French Quarter, but hustlers interrupt, vying for the group's attention. Ceal keeps us moving on, repeatedly doubling-back to retrieve one or two of us who are more interested in hustlers than history. Ceal finally loses every one of us to the lure of pralines, balloons, and performers. Overwhelmed by her failure to hold the group’s attention, she collapses in an artist's chair, only to have a Cop demand a cut of her business. Facing absolute dismissal if she returns to the office without the group, Ceal is forced to look to the hustlers for help.

Audience comments: "I think you've shown us every kind of hustle there ever was." "I can't believe I learned so much history while laughing." "I could never have imagined where this play was going." "I feel like I've taken a trip to New Orleans."

Burette Furder at 81 has never lost his zest for life, a fact dramatically pointed out by the slew of women with whom he carries on regularly in the town of Goshen, Texas. Now Burette is about to take Lois as his fifth wife. As a wedding present, Lois demands that she be "his only one." The play's action is the persistence, the waning and the renewal of Burette Furder's ever-present sex drive.

Reader Comment: "The amusement of this insatiable octogenarian never seems to fade.
Everyone in town knows what the old man is up to, and, even as his wife catches him
repeatedly in the act, Burette goes back for more." (The Script Review)

At forty-years old, Susanna Shakespeare Hall has received a startling present: a large printed book containing all her father’s plays. Finally, she has the proof in hand to determine the truth about her father’s reputation: demonized in Stratford, praised in London. In the Second Act, Susanna is sixty years old, and a wartime emergency has placed the Queen of England as a guest in Susanna's house in Stratford. A faux pas puts her prized Folio at risk of being seized for the Royal’s war chest.

Audience comments: "A humor-flecked script. As her epitaph proclaims, Susanna was indeed witty above her sex." (Houston Post). "A jewel of a play. Fascinating... deeply moving and also very amusing." (Shakespeare Quarterly reviewer Alfred Weiss)