Scott Carter Cooper

Scott Carter Cooper

Scott's work has been presented in countries around the globe including Canada, Ireland, Germany, India and Japan. Domestically, his work has been seen by audiences with The Artistic Home, The Nomads Arts Collective, The Arc Theatre, NyLon Fusion, Almost Adults, The Lightbulb Factory, and Chicago Dramatists. His ten-minute piece "Cookie Eatin'" was selected to be part of the 2022 Ripped...
Scott's work has been presented in countries around the globe including Canada, Ireland, Germany, India and Japan. Domestically, his work has been seen by audiences with The Artistic Home, The Nomads Arts Collective, The Arc Theatre, NyLon Fusion, Almost Adults, The Lightbulb Factory, and Chicago Dramatists. His ten-minute piece "Cookie Eatin'" was selected to be part of the 2022 Ripped Festival with American Blues Theatre and many of his short pieces have been featured in reading series with The Dandelion Theatre, Chicago Dramatists - Playwrights Aloud, Naked Angels Tuesday @ 9, and iO's Cold Reads, Hot Scripts. Scott Carter Cooper has also been included in the inaugural class of PlayGround-Chicago's Writers Pool.

As an actor, singer, director, and producer, Scott has worked with such Chicago companies as The Lyric Opera of Chicago, Steppenwolf, Theo Ubique, Center Theatre, Circle Theatre, Trap Door, CityLit and countless other storefront theatres.

Scott Carter Cooper holds a BFA from Drake University and an MA in writing from DePaul University.

Plays

  • i loved a certain person ardently by Scott Carter Cooper
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: gay, romance + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, romantic comedy
    Keyword: gay, romance, multi-generational, stage combat, blue collar
    When his husband is suddenly killed, a young man negotiates a profound sacrifice to remain part of his in-law’s family before it is torn apart by grief.
  • Trojan Woman by Scott Carter Cooper
    Cast: 
    12
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, drama + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: large female cast, heightened language
    Genre: adaptation, drama, movement/physical, political, tragedy, verse
    Keyword: large female cast, heightened language
    Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera meet to discuss the story of Troy. As they squabble over Hecuba’s reign, Gaia, informs them she has decided the time has come for the Final Destruction of humanity, but is persuaded to
    allow Hecuba to demonstrate humanity is worth one more chance. The Chorus drags in a chained Hecuba and Cassandra is brought to her. Cassandra has been offered freedom if she will support...
    Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera meet to discuss the story of Troy. As they squabble over Hecuba’s reign, Gaia, informs them she has decided the time has come for the Final Destruction of humanity, but is persuaded to
    allow Hecuba to demonstrate humanity is worth one more chance. The Chorus drags in a chained Hecuba and Cassandra is brought to her. Cassandra has been offered freedom if she will support Menelaus but is
    persuaded to remain loyal to Hecuba. Cassandra is dragged to her death by the Chorus.

    Andromache, eight months pregnant, is brought to Hecuba with news of dead family members. While she appears to be loyal to Hecuba, she has come to trap Hecuba into incriminating herself to save her unborn daughter. When Andromache fails, she is led away to her own death.

    Finally, Helen is brought to Hecuba. Instead of signs of torture, she is radiant, having returned to Menelaus. She has no offer of life or freedom for Hecuba, only a sentence of being entombed with Four, who will keep Hecuba alive to watch the Final Destruction. Gaia is skeptical, but the goddesses are elated to learn that although the Final Destruction must take place if there is a hope of humanity evolving in its next iteration, she will allow humanity to begin again.

    Gaia informs Four that allowing humanity to begin again is not a blessing, it is her curse. Humanity will repeat all of its horrors over and over until the end of time. Still, Four is grateful for her life, and for this Gaia
    grants Four the blessing of oblivion after the Final Destruction.
  • Jumping Puddles by Scott Carter Cooper
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: gay, awkward romance + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, mystery/thriller
    Keyword: gay, awkward romance, LGBTQ, Fantasy, family ghosts
    Vince is desperate to save his marriage and family home. With the hundred-year lease about to expire, his only hope is to strike a deal with a teenage Marine with whom he’s had a relationship. As tensions mount between the two, Vince’s mother, Puddles, arrives carrying a bouquet of dead rats to prepare for her fourth wedding. The confrontations with Puddles and the Marine force Vince to become increasingly...
    Vince is desperate to save his marriage and family home. With the hundred-year lease about to expire, his only hope is to strike a deal with a teenage Marine with whom he’s had a relationship. As tensions mount between the two, Vince’s mother, Puddles, arrives carrying a bouquet of dead rats to prepare for her fourth wedding. The confrontations with Puddles and the Marine force Vince to become increasingly frantic with his offers. Everything is disrupted by a call from Vince’s husband.

    With Vince despondent, Puddles and the Marine joke to raise Vince’s spirits, but tensions reveal Vince has destroyed Puddles’ engagement. Appearing to rise above the emotion, Puddles continues to needle Vince until a car suddenly appears to take her back to her own home, leaving Vince and the Marine to resolve issues.

    As bulldozers are approaching and the Marine magically vanishes, Vince chooses to save two letters before the house is demolished: the first is from the US Marine Corps written in 2004 informing him of the Marine’s death, the contents of his will, and an unopened letter. The second is Puddles’ note, written just before she jumped from a balcony. As the house is demolished around him, Vince exits to start his new life.
  • And Then Galatea Laughed: A Very Modern Romance by Scott Carter Cooper
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: biography, comedy + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: romantic comedy, historical comedy
    Genre: biography, comedy, radio drama, romantic comedy, zoom
    Keyword: romantic comedy, historical comedy
    George Bernard Shaw is struggling to produce his new
    play, Pygmalion. With only one day before the first
    performance, Mrs. Patrick Campbell has just returned from an
    unannounced three-day holiday and Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is
    struggling with the production.
  • Black and White Ball by Scott Carter Cooper
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: biography, comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: one-act, comedy + 1 more
    Genre: biography, comedy, drama, period
    Keyword: one-act, comedy, small cast
    As Truman Capote prepares for his famous Black and White Ball at The Plaza Hotel, Tallulah Bankhead, Rock Hudson, and James Baldwin come to convince him to talk to the head of CBS about producing a Tennessee Williams play for Tallulah. The party is interrupted by John Wayne, who would rather die than be caught with "these people."
  • Boys Will Be Boys by Scott Carter Cooper
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: Toxic Masculinity, misogyny
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, political, radio drama
    Keyword: Toxic Masculinity, misogyny
    On Bobbie's birthday, his two best friends take him out for a night of drinking and saying good-bye to their lives as boys, and come to realize they may not be as prepared for manhood as they thought.
  • Actress by Scott Carter Cooper
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: drama, period
    ·
    Keyword: drama, one-act play + 1 more
    Genre: drama, period
    Keyword: drama, one-act play, Marilyn Monroe
    1960. A certain movie goddess decides she wants to make her Broadway debut.
  • The Donor Class by Scott Carter Cooper
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: Ten-Minute Play, mature themes
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, political, satire
    Keyword: Ten-Minute Play, mature themes
    An exhausted man and woman make the decision to donate the woman's reproductive organs for cash, only to discover they have something of more value.
  • Under the Bitter Cherry Blossom Tree by Scott Carter Cooper
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: drama, fable/folktale + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: gay, centers lgbt characters + 2 more
    Genre: drama, fable/folktale, tragedy, verse
    Keyword: gay, centers lgbt characters, Fantasy, ten minute drama
    A wicked, bitter cherry blossom tree falls in love with a beautiful young man, but when his advances are rebuffed the tree turns the young man into a snow tiger and curses him to fall in love with a wandering soldier.
  • Zoe, Dei, Bees by Scott Carter Cooper
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: LGBT characters, spirituality intergenerational
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: LGBT characters, spirituality intergenerational
    A young man wanders into an abandoned church seeking answers and ends up providing inspiration to a caretaker who is struggling to keep the faith.
  • The Users by Scott Carter Cooper
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: abuse in theatre, The Great Depression + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, political
    Keyword: abuse in theatre, The Great Depression, Broadway, justice
    During the Great Depression, a young talent scout finds a prospect who turns out be more than he bargained for.
  • The Morning Glory Stories by Scott Carter Cooper
    Cast: 
    4–14
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: large female cast, period + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, melodrama, romantic comedy, tragedy
    Keyword: large female cast, period, Anthology
    A collection of short pieces, (10-15 minutes) telling the stories of the women in a small town on the prairie facing the challenges of The Great Depression and the coming world war.

    “Novena” - Two young women meet on a train trestle over a small river and discuss the cosmos.
    “By Hook or By Crook” – A woman deals with an unplanned pregnancy.
    “The Girls of the Club Café” – A mother’s...
    A collection of short pieces, (10-15 minutes) telling the stories of the women in a small town on the prairie facing the challenges of The Great Depression and the coming world war.

    “Novena” - Two young women meet on a train trestle over a small river and discuss the cosmos.
    “By Hook or By Crook” – A woman deals with an unplanned pregnancy.
    “The Girls of the Club Café” – A mother’s plans for her daughter’s future include opening a café but
    the daughter has other ideas.
    “Over the Edge” - Three small-town women gossip about ways to make money and an infidelity.
    “Stoned” – Two women go to the local cemetery to pay their respects to a recently deceased friend.
    “Catching Moonlight in a Sparkling White Dress” – A woman jilts her fiancé and hops a train.
  • Toxic Masculinity by Scott Carter Cooper
    Cast: 
    5–17
    ·
    Genre: biography, comedy + 8 more
    ·
    Keyword: Toxic Masculinity
    Genre: biography, comedy, dark comedy, drama, melodrama, parody/spoof, period, political, satire, tragedy
    Keyword: Toxic Masculinity
    A collection of short pieces, from extended monolog to forty-five minute one-act focused on the theme of toxic masculinity. Seventeen roles that can be played with a diverse cast as small as five. While the majority of the roles are cis male, they need not necessarily be played by cis male actors, and in fact themes may be brought into sharper focus with an all-female cast, or non-binary actors.