Brian Cox

Brian Cox

Brian Cox is a newspaper editor in Detroit. He’s received a variety of journalism awards and has published a handful of short stories. He is the artistic director of Pencilpoint Theatreworks in Ypsilant, Michigan. His one-act play STUCK was produced by Oakland Community College in April 2015. NYCPlaywrights selected his monologue SABOTAGE as its “Play of the Month” for June 2013. His one-act play THE VOICES IN...
Brian Cox is a newspaper editor in Detroit. He’s received a variety of journalism awards and has published a handful of short stories. He is the artistic director of Pencilpoint Theatreworks in Ypsilant, Michigan. His one-act play STUCK was produced by Oakland Community College in April 2015. NYCPlaywrights selected his monologue SABOTAGE as its “Play of the Month” for June 2013. His one-act play THE VOICES IN MARTY’S HEAD MEET THE VOICES IN MARY’S AND FALL IN LOVE was produced by TLC Productions in January 2014. He conceptualized, directed and wrote monologues for SUSPICIONS: AN INVESTIGATION OF MONOLOGUES, which was produced by From Around Here Productions in May 2014. He conceptualized, co-directed and co-wrote 7 DEADLY SCENES, which was produced by From Around Here Productions in April 2015. His one-act THE ROAD SIGN UP AHEAD and the monologue UNDERSTANDING were selected to be read as part of Ann Arbor Civic Theatre’s “The Play’s the Thing” festival in April 2015. His play MATING CALLS was produced in April 2016 by From Around Here Productions. His full-length play CLUTTER received its world premiere at Theatre Nova in March 2017 and received a Wilde Award for Best New Script. He and his wife Dana have two children, Elijah and Annie.

Plays

  • CLUTTER by Brian Cox
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: marriage, metatheatrical + 2 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: marriage, metatheatrical, funny, emotional
    How do you tell the story of your life? And what if the characters in the story tell it differently than you remember? In this funny and theatrical play about sex and marriage, a man sits at a desk, sorting through the clutter of his life - a book, a flashlight, a wedding ring. Sifting through the relics of his failed marriage, he attempts to piece together some understanding of where things went wrong, with...
    How do you tell the story of your life? And what if the characters in the story tell it differently than you remember? In this funny and theatrical play about sex and marriage, a man sits at a desk, sorting through the clutter of his life - a book, a flashlight, a wedding ring. Sifting through the relics of his failed marriage, he attempts to piece together some understanding of where things went wrong, with the help of two actors who play younger versions of himself and his wife. As he relives and reenacts each moment, from hilarious to heart-wrenching, he must ultimately take stock of his life and his marriage, and in the end must decide a course of action that challenges his flawed understanding of love and commitment.
  • Mating Calls by Brian Cox
    Cast: 
    6–14
    ·
    Genre: romantic comedy
    ·
    Keyword: boys and girls, marriage + 1 more
    Genre: romantic comedy
    Keyword: boys and girls, marriage, wedding
    MATING CALLS is a romantic comedy made up of 4 vignettes that center around falling in and out of love. In the first vignette, a bride reaches a startling realization in a church basement on her wedding day. In the second vignette, the voices in Marty and Mary's heads help the shy pair connect in a cafeteria. The third vignette tells the story of Tracy and Reuben's marriage over the years through...
    MATING CALLS is a romantic comedy made up of 4 vignettes that center around falling in and out of love. In the first vignette, a bride reaches a startling realization in a church basement on her wedding day. In the second vignette, the voices in Marty and Mary's heads help the shy pair connect in a cafeteria. The third vignette tells the story of Tracy and Reuben's marriage over the years through scenes in front of a bathroom mirror. In the final vignette, a groom whose bride left him at the altar attempts to break into a basement to retrieve an intended wedding gift.
  • Her Mark by Brian Cox
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama, zoom
    ·
    Keyword: ambitious politicans
    Genre: drama, zoom
    Keyword: ambitious politicans
    Denise and Charlotte's mother was a dynamic small-town politician with national ambitions who would never have won a "mother of the year award." When Charlotte arranges a Zoom meeting with Denise to let her know that the town is naming a park in their mother's honor, Charlotte reveals political ambitions of her own, much to Denise's distress.
  • The Signpost Up Ahead by Brian Cox
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller
    Styled after a "Twilight Zone" episode, Sheriff Donald Hartman returns home to find his wife and daughter anxious about receiving mysteriously empty boxes on the front porch. As Hartman investigates who could be sending these boxes and discovers cryptic messages written in what may be blood, he learns his wife and daughter have been keeping a dark secret.
  • Queenmaker by Brian Cox
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    Genre: comedy
    NancyAnn Parisot is the owner of Beauty Within and has styled the hair of the most influential women in the county for decades. Now she is threatening to close up shop unless the results of the Tippatawabee Beauty Contest are overturned. She shows everyone where the strings of influence are pulled.
  • A Touch Awkward by Brian Cox
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    4–5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Genre: comedy, drama
    A man seeking the comfort and reassurance of human contact recalls significant moments in his life when touching another human being proved awkward and uncomfortable. If only connecting were not so complicated and fraught with social anxiety.
  • Stone Dragon Stew by Brian Cox
    Cast: 
    25–35
    ·
    Genre: comedy, fable/folktale + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: children, folktales + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, fable/folktale, young audiences
    Keyword: children, folktales, Covid-19, dragon, knights, sharing, community
    The villagers of Nerehere are plagued by a stone dragon that threatens to drop rocks on their heads if they dare go outside without a helmet. Forced to spend most of their time indoors, the villagers miss the days of routine interaction with friends and family and are desperate for life to return to normal. They decide to recruit the greatest knights in all the land to help rid them of the dragon, but it is a...
    The villagers of Nerehere are plagued by a stone dragon that threatens to drop rocks on their heads if they dare go outside without a helmet. Forced to spend most of their time indoors, the villagers miss the days of routine interaction with friends and family and are desperate for life to return to normal. They decide to recruit the greatest knights in all the land to help rid them of the dragon, but it is a chef with a special recipe who shows them the best way to treat a stone dragon. The play interweaves themes of isolation from COVID-19 with the European folktale about stone soup.
  • Last Train by Brian Cox
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: drama
    Genre: drama
    Liz visits the local train station where she encounters Libby, a young woman waiting for the next train to Chicago where she plans to start a new life. When Libby's boyfriend shows up to persuade her to stay and build a life with him in their small town, Liz tries desperately to convince Libby to get on the last train and leave.
  • Letter to the Editor, 1971 by Brian Cox
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama + 1 more
    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama, political
    Diane, now in her late 60s or 70s, recounts for her granddaughter the impact on her family of a letter to the editor she wrote as a young woman in support of the Camden 28, a collection of anti-Vietnam War activists on trial for breaking into a draft office.
  • Venom by Brian Cox
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: horror
    Genre: horror
    A brother in search of his runaway sister finds her hiding in a cave, transformed by years of abuse at the hands of their father into a terrifying presence.
  • Wishbone by Brian Cox
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: Thanksgiving
    Genre: comedy, drama, holiday
    Keyword: Thanksgiving
    Holidays with the family are tough. When you're struggling to get a foothold on life after college, you'll take any break you can get, that's what Gabby Fowler concludes when she's home for Thanksgiving and preparing to finally best her brother in breaking the wishbone. What she isn't prepared for is that her mother has invited her ex-boyfriend over for drinks after dinner.