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 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...

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.

Scripts

American Triptych

by Scott Carter Cooper

Synopsis

Denise attended a painting seminar and met Gill. Twenty years later, they reconnect
when Gill judges an art fair. Inviting him to stay with her, she rushes home to make
ready before his arrival. With Gill’s arrival, Renny enters and is told that his painting has
taken third prize. Gill and Denise bolster his spirits by encouraging him to enter a more
prestigious contest in Austin.
After Gill and Denise have...

Denise attended a painting seminar and met Gill. Twenty years later, they reconnect
when Gill judges an art fair. Inviting him to stay with her, she rushes home to make
ready before his arrival. With Gill’s arrival, Renny enters and is told that his painting has
taken third prize. Gill and Denise bolster his spirits by encouraging him to enter a more
prestigious contest in Austin.
After Gill and Denise have slept together, resentments between Denise and Renny
simmer. Gill announces that both artists have been accepted into the Austin competition,
but in separate divisions, increasing tensions. When conflicts seem to be resolved and
another celebration ensues, it’s discovered that Gill is in fact avoiding accountability for
having been at the Capital on January 6th.

In the final scene, Denise is preparing a bon voyage dinner for Gill, when she discovers
that Renny is leaving with Gill.

i loved a certain person ardently

by Scott Carter Cooper

Synopsis

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.

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

Synopsis

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...

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

Synopsis

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

Synopsis

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.

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

Synopsis

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."

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

Synopsis

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.

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

Synopsis

1960. A certain movie goddess decides she wants to make her Broadway debut.

1960. A certain movie goddess decides she wants to make her Broadway debut.

The Donor Class

by Scott Carter Cooper

Synopsis

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.

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

Synopsis

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.

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

Synopsis

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.

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

Synopsis

During the Great Depression, a young talent scout finds a prospect who turns out be more than he bargained for.

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

Synopsis

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...

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

Synopsis

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.

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.