Rich Espey

Rich Espey

Rich is a Baltimorean whose plays have been produced more than 100 times throughout the United States. Highlights include The Revelation of Bobby Pritchard, produced by Iron Crow Theatre, and Stand Up!, a monologue included in Baltimore Center Stage’s “My America” project. Rich is a three time winner of the Carol Weinberg Award for best play at the Baltimore Playwrights Festival for Fifty-Fifty, Hope’s Arbor,...
Rich is a Baltimorean whose plays have been produced more than 100 times throughout the United States. Highlights include The Revelation of Bobby Pritchard, produced by Iron Crow Theatre, and Stand Up!, a monologue included in Baltimore Center Stage’s “My America” project. Rich is a three time winner of the Carol Weinberg Award for best play at the Baltimore Playwrights Festival for Fifty-Fifty, Hope’s Arbor, and Following Sarah. Rich is the former Baltimore Regional representative of the Dramatists Guild, a member of DC’s Playwrights Gymnasium and the Playwrights Group of Baltimore, and has served as Chair of the Baltimore Playwrights Festival and as President of the Board of Single Carrot Theatre. He has taught playwriting for adults at Baltimore Center Stage. Check out samples of his work and a production history at www.richespey.com.

Plays

  • Small Fortune by Rich Espey
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: reparations, white privilege + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, political
    Keyword: reparations, white privilege, Race, family conflict, fathers and sons, parent-child conflict, boomer-millennial conflict
    Rob Vantage has decided to pay reparations to the descendants of the enslaved people who built his family's wealth two centuries ago. But some of his own descendants aren't happy about it, and his motivation might not be as pure as he wants us to believe. How far will people go when the family fortune is at stake?

  • I Saw This in Paducah! by Rich Espey
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    3–4
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    Genre: comedy, political
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    Keyword: anti-racism, White Fragility + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, political
    Keyword: anti-racism, White Fragility, Harriet Tubman
    Alice and Barb are attending a ten-minute play festival in Amarillo. They love seeing World Premieres of ten-minute plays, but Barb realizes she has seen one of the plays before. This fact, and the play’s subject matter, prove too much for Barb to endure.
  • FLU by Rich Espey
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    4–9
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
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    Keyword: social media, addiction + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: social media, addiction, celebrity, rebirth, high school, middle age, divorce, redemption
    Depressed by his ex-wife's stunning online fame, English teacher and sometime-poet John Wagner enlists his tech-savvy student Bunny's help to "go viral" himself. John struggles along this journey, meeting disaffected students, a smarmy talk-show host, and Emily Dickinson herself. It all goes horribly wrong until an unexpected gift lights the way.
  • The Revelation of Bobby Pritchard by Rich Espey
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 2 more
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    Keyword: LGBTQ, same-sex marriage + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, faith-based, political
    Keyword: LGBTQ, same-sex marriage, non-linear
    Driven by dreams of the late Bobby Pritchard, Marta returns to her home town of Boiling Springs after forty years away to disclose the truth about Bobby’s death and to marry her partner Cynthia in the conservative church in which she grew up. Marta’s journey back home and the secrets she reveals trigger a flood of memories which mingle and merge as her life flashes before us. Traditional values clash with non-...
    Driven by dreams of the late Bobby Pritchard, Marta returns to her home town of Boiling Springs after forty years away to disclose the truth about Bobby’s death and to marry her partner Cynthia in the conservative church in which she grew up. Marta’s journey back home and the secrets she reveals trigger a flood of memories which mingle and merge as her life flashes before us. Traditional values clash with non-traditional relationships in both funny and frightening ways as a family finds a way to move forward into a brighter present.
  • Following Sarah by Rich Espey
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    6–11
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    Genre: comedy, drama
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    Keyword: non-linear, magical realism + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: non-linear, magical realism, coming of age, teen suicide
    Maddy, Kat and Julia are high-achieving, super-stressed seniors on the Cross Country team at Thwaite Academy. An email from their former teammate Sarah threatens to push them over the edge. Why? Because Sarah died after winning last year’s Cross Country Championship.
  • Rep and Rev by Rich Espey
    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: Race, racism + 7 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, political
    Keyword: Race, racism, White Fragility, White Supremacy, Academia, private school, revelations, outdoors, Antigone
    On the eve of the Bicentennial anniversary of the founding of Crenshaw Academy, student Molly Claire Williams discovers information and experiences a frightening event, both of which upend her school’s long-cherished narrative. Molly Claire confronts Ham Dugan, Head of School, demanding to reveal both important discoveries during the highly-anticipated Bicentennial celebration. Their power struggle culminates in a revolutionary reversal.
  • Alban's Garden by Rich Espey
    Recommendations: 4
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: drama, political
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    Keyword: Race, African American women
    Genre: drama, political
    Keyword: Race, African American women
    Alban’s Garden is a play about two neighbors in the aftermath of a murder in their neighborhood. It takes place in the home of Sharon, whose husband has been recently murdered. Laura seeks information from Sharon about the crime, but Sharon is unable to provide it. Sharon seeks compassion and understanding from Laura. The play begins when Laura brings Sharon a tub of White Chicken Chili. The play ends when...
    Alban’s Garden is a play about two neighbors in the aftermath of a murder in their neighborhood. It takes place in the home of Sharon, whose husband has been recently murdered. Laura seeks information from Sharon about the crime, but Sharon is unable to provide it. Sharon seeks compassion and understanding from Laura. The play begins when Laura brings Sharon a tub of White Chicken Chili. The play ends when Sharon dumps the White Chicken Chili onto a table.
  • In Memory of Mrs. Mary Brown by Rich Espey
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama, faith-based + 1 more
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    Keyword: Lesbian, LGBTQ + 4 more
    Genre: drama, faith-based, tragedy
    Keyword: Lesbian, LGBTQ, religion, women, church, Choir
    Florence, an older woman seeks closure on her life and on her relationship with her deceased friend, Mary. While polishing a plaque on a chair in the choir practice room of their church, Florence decides she wants to know what Mary would have said if she had revealed her love for Mary. The play begins when Mary appears to Florence as Florence is polishing the memorial plaque she created for Mary. The play ends...
    Florence, an older woman seeks closure on her life and on her relationship with her deceased friend, Mary. While polishing a plaque on a chair in the choir practice room of their church, Florence decides she wants to know what Mary would have said if she had revealed her love for Mary. The play begins when Mary appears to Florence as Florence is polishing the memorial plaque she created for Mary. The play ends when Florence makes a decision.
  • Rising Rising by Rich Espey
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: climate change, Dystopia
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: climate change, Dystopia
    Jody and Chris must decide their future. Sea level rise at their waterfront condo has allowed pompanos to move into the floor below. Jody is desperate to leave but Chris is equally desperate to stay, convinced that adaptation by turning into mermaid/mermen is possible. The sight of a merman (or is it a mermaid?) convinces Jody to stay, and it requires Chris to allow their relationship to be redefined. The play...
    Jody and Chris must decide their future. Sea level rise at their waterfront condo has allowed pompanos to move into the floor below. Jody is desperate to leave but Chris is equally desperate to stay, convinced that adaptation by turning into mermaid/mermen is possible. The sight of a merman (or is it a mermaid?) convinces Jody to stay, and it requires Chris to allow their relationship to be redefined. The play begins when Jody attacks some overly intrusive pompanos. The play ends when Jody and Chris agree to test their newly-developed merfolk features.
  • Hoya Saxa by Rich Espey
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, faith-based
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    Keyword: LGBTQ, gay teen + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, faith-based
    Keyword: LGBTQ, gay teen, sports, football, religion
    Poss has been injured by David’s late hit, and David has been kicked out of the football game. As Poss recovers in the training room and hopes to get back in the game, David tries to keep Poss there and investigates the possibility of a relationship.
  • The Joyce Kilmer Service Center by Rich Espey
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: Race, police brutality + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, political
    Keyword: Race, police brutality, authority, protest, poetry
    At the Joyce Kilmer Service Center on the New Jersey Turnpike, a Suspicious Person attracts the attention of an Employee of the Cinnabon, a Security Office and a Police Officer. He wants to change the name of the Joyce Kilmer Service Center so that it honors a figure he deems more worthy. Responses to his request escalate, resulting in an act of violence.
  • Hope's Arbor by Rich Espey
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: coming of age, technology + 1 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: coming of age, technology, LGBTQ
    Hope is 17 and desperate to escape from her restrictive boarding school. After a horrible incident in which she is unwillingly outed, she runs away to meet an online friend who turns out to be not at all what she expected. During her flight, Hope develops the courage to express herself honestly and completely.