Mat Smart

Mat Smart has written 25 full-length plays that have been produced around the United States and he currently has several television projects in development. THE AGITATORS, a two-hander about the true, untold friendship between Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass, was in the midst of 15 different productions from Maine to Seattle before Covid shut down live performances. He recently adapted it into a podcast hosted by Ashley C. Ford and produced by PRX, the National Park Service, and the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission. Select plays include: KILL LOCAL (La Jolla Playhouse, nominated for Outstanding New Play by the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle), THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF ANTARCTICA (Gift Theatre, recipient of the 2015 Jeff Award for Best New Work in Chicago), SAMUEL J. AND K....

Mat Smart has written 25 full-length plays that have been produced around the United States and he currently has several television projects in development. THE AGITATORS, a two-hander about the true, untold friendship between Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass, was in the midst of 15 different productions from Maine to Seattle before Covid shut down live performances. He recently adapted it into a podcast hosted by Ashley C. Ford and produced by PRX, the National Park Service, and the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission. Select plays include: KILL LOCAL (La Jolla Playhouse, nominated for Outstanding New Play by the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle), THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF ANTARCTICA (Gift Theatre, recipient of the 2015 Jeff Award for Best New Work in Chicago), SAMUEL J. AND K. (Williamstown Theatre Festival; Steppenwolf for Young Adults), NAPERVILLE (Slant Theatre Project; Theatre Wit), TINKER TO EVERS TO CHANCE (Geva; Merrimack Rep; Artistry), and THE HOPPER COLLECTION (Huntington; Magic). An avid traveler and baseball fan, Mat has been to all of the states, all of the continents, and all of the current MLB stadiums. A native of Naperville, Illinois, he currently lives in Brooklyn. Undergrad: University of Evansville. MFA: UCSD.

Scripts

The Agitators: The Story of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass

by Mat Smart

Cast Size

2

Genre

biography,

docudrama/historic,

drama,

period,

political

The Agitators tells of the enduring but tempestuous friendship of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass. Great allies? Yes. And at times, great adversaries. Young abolitionists when they met in Rochester in the 1840s, they were full of hopes, dreams, and a common purpose. As they grew to become the cultural icons we know today, their movements collided and their friendship was severely tested. This is the...

The Agitators tells of the enduring but tempestuous friendship of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass. Great allies? Yes. And at times, great adversaries. Young abolitionists when they met in Rochester in the 1840s, they were full of hopes, dreams, and a common purpose. As they grew to become the cultural icons we know today, their movements collided and their friendship was severely tested. This is the story of that forty-five-year friendship – from its beginning in Rochester, through a civil war, and to the highest halls of government. They agitated the nation, they agitated each other, and, in doing so, they helped shape the Constitution and the course of American history.

Eden Prairie, 1971

by Mat Smart

Cast Size

3

Genre

drama,

period

As war churns in Vietnam, night falls over the tranquil hills and creeks of a small Midwestern town, and a young woman hears a tap at her window.

On the same night Apollo 15 makes its lunar landing, draft-dodger Pete steals home to Eden Prairie, after a 300-mile trek from Canada. He risks arrest to deliver an important message to his childhood friend, Rachel. Both are caught between duty to the ones they love...

As war churns in Vietnam, night falls over the tranquil hills and creeks of a small Midwestern town, and a young woman hears a tap at her window.

On the same night Apollo 15 makes its lunar landing, draft-dodger Pete steals home to Eden Prairie, after a 300-mile trek from Canada. He risks arrest to deliver an important message to his childhood friend, Rachel. Both are caught between duty to the ones they love and their own futures. In a moment of national tension that mirrors our own, Pete must defend his choices and grapple with the sacrifices he has made.

This stark, passionate drama questions our notions of bravery and responsibility.

(It is a 3-person, single set, single scene 90-minute play.)