Lawson Caldwell

Lawson Caldwell

Lawson’s work has been produced in Germany as well as the United States. A Graduate of the University of North Carolina, Lawson holds a Masters Degree in Theatre and Speech from the University of South Carolina. His play, Waltzing, One, Two, Three, was a Heideman Award Nominee (Actors Theatre of Louisville) and was produced at the Out Works Festival (Louisiana State University), the Gary Garrison Playwriting...
Lawson’s work has been produced in Germany as well as the United States. A Graduate of the University of North Carolina, Lawson holds a Masters Degree in Theatre and Speech from the University of South Carolina. His play, Waltzing, One, Two, Three, was a Heideman Award Nominee (Actors Theatre of Louisville) and was produced at the Out Works Festival (Louisiana State University), the Gary Garrison Playwriting Festival (Beaumont, TX), Notes from the Underground Festival (NYC) and by The New American Theatre Company (Los Angeles). The play was also selected for a reading by Village Playwrights as part of New York City’s Pride Tribute. Lawson’s play Just That Sort of Day, which premiered in 2016 at Emerald Theatre Company (Memphis, TN), was also produced by Vermont Pride Theatre (Randolph, VT), Infinity Stage (Washington, DC) and The Group Repertory (Los Angeles). His play, Lavender Shore, received five award nominations in the Midtown International Theatre Festival (NYC) including Outstanding New Script. The Wisdom Channel, one of Lawson’s earlier plays, was translated and produced by THEATER UNTERM REGENBOGEN (Frankfurt, Germany). In July 2018 The Edmonds Driftwood Players (Edmonds, WA) premiered Lawson’s play, Tea with Kate and Lady Bird, and was awarded 2nd Place by the festival judges and Audience Favorite (Saturday Matinee). A month later, The Piece was read in Donna Scott Productions Short Playfest (Charlotte, NC) and was awarded Audience Favorite. In January 2020 The Piece was produced in The Gallery Players’ Black Box New Play Festival (Brooklyn, NY). During 2019 Clifford’s, one of Lawson’s most recent plays, was produced by the M.T. Pockets Theatre (Morgantown, WV) and The Group Repertory (Los Angeles, CA). Serendipitous, written by Lawson earlier last year, was read in The Orange County International Ten Minute Play Festival in August 2020 (Goshen, NY) and was recorded in December as a Radio Play by Open Door Playhouse (Los Angeles). In May 2021, Serendipitous was performed by The Storefront Theatre (Waxhaw, NC). Following the Rules of the Warrior’s Waltz will premiere at Emerald Theatre Company (Memphis, TN) in September 2021.
Lawson is a member of the Dramatist Guild of America.
Please visit Lawson at:
lawsoncald@gmail.com
704-534-4904
www.lawsoncaldwell.com
FB - Playwright Lawson Caldwell
Twitter - LawsonPlaywrigh

THEATRICAL RESUME – PLAYWRIGHT LAWSON CALDWELL _______________

Following the Rules of the Warrior’s Waltz (Ten Minute drama/comedy)
2021 Emerald Theatre Company, Memphis, TN, Production – Ten Minute Play Festival

Serendipitous (Ten Minute drama/comedy)
2021 The Storefront Theatre, Waxhaw, NC, Reading – We Love Short-Shorts Play Festival
2020 Open Door Playhouse, Los Angeles, Reading - Podcast Radio Play
2020 PEP Productions, Goshen, NY, Reading - The Orange County International Ten-Minute Play Festival



The Piece (Ten Minute drama/comedy)
2020 The Gallery Players, Brooklyn, NY, Production - Black Box New Play Festival
2018 Donna Scott Productions, Charlotte, NC, Reading – Short Playfest 2018 - Awarded Audience Favorite

Clifford’s (Ten Minute drama/comedy)
2019 The Group Repertory Theatre, N. Hollywood, CA, Production – Nine Winning One-Acts
2019 M.T. Pockets Theater, Morgantown, WV, Production – One Act Play Contest

Tea with Kate and Lady Bird (Ten Minute drama/comedy)
2018 Edmonds Driftwood Players, Edmonds, WA, Production – Festival of Shorts - Awarded 2nd Place by the festival judges. Awarded Audience Favorite (Saturday Matinee)

Just That Sort of Day (Ten Minute drama/comedy)
2018 Birdhouse Theatre, Milledgeville, GA, Semi-finalist - Edge Fest 2018
2018 Phoenix Stage Company, Oakville, CT, Production – 2018 One Act Festival
2018 The Group Repertory Theatre, N. Hollywood, CA, Production – Nine Winning One-Acts
2018 Infinity Stage, Washington, DC, Production – 10x10xInfinity Short Play Festival
2017 Vermont Pride Theatre, Randolph, VT, Production - Out of the Closet: A Pride Ten-Fest
2017 Mankato West Theatre, Mankato, MN, Semi-Finalist – Minnesota Shorts Play Festival
2016 Emerald Theatre Company, Memphis, TN, Production – Ten Minute Play Festival

A Christmas Visit from Nicholas (Ten Minute drama)
2017 Emerald Theatre Company, Memphis, TN, Production – Ten Minute Play Festival

Waltzing, One, Two, Three (Ten Minute drama)
2017 New American Theatre Company, Los Angeles, CA, Performance
2016 Theatre Southwest, Houston, TX, Reading – 12th Annual Reader’s Theatre
2015 Studio 33 Theatre, Beaumont, TX, Production - Gary Garrison Playwrighting Festival
2015 Little Fish Theatre, San Pedro, CA, Semi-Finalist in the Pick of the Vine Festival
2014 Village Playwrights, NYC, Reading as part of New York’s Pride Tribute
2014 Outworks, Louisiana State University, Production – April/May 2014
2013 New Voice Play Festival, Charles Town, WV, Honorable Mention
2011 Actors Theatre of Louisville, finalist for the Heideman Award
2011 Notes From The Underground Festival, New York City, Production

Four Corners of the Circle (Full Length drama)
2020 Southwest Theatre Productions, Austin, TX, Semifinalist - Play Competition
2014 Alleyway Theatre, Buffalo, Final group of deliberations - Maxim Mazumdar Play Competition
2013 The Sonnet Theatre, New York City, Industry Reading

Lavender Shore (Full Length drama)
2011 Midtown International Theatre Festival, New York, NY, Production - Recognized with five MITF Award Nominations
2008 Accepted to the 3rd Annual Capital Fringe Festival, Washington, DC
2007 Manhattan Theatre Source, New York, NY, Equity Showcase
2006 Dramatist Guild of America, New York, NY, Professional Reading
2005 Actors Theatre, Charlotte,NC, Professional Reading
2005 Theatre Resources Unlimited, New York, NY, Honorable Mention Voices Reading Series
2004 SNAPFest, Omaha, NE, Finalist (Top Four)
2003 American Theatre Co-op, La Jolla, CA, Semi-finalist Playwriting Contest

Gentleman's Wish (Full Length drama)
2009 Midtown International Theatre Festival, New York, NY, Production - Recognized with two MITF Award Nominations
2009 The Process Theatre Company, Atlanta, GA, Staged Reading
2008 Midtown International Theatre Festival, New York, NY, Staged Reading - Recognized with a MITF Award Nomination
2008 Manhattan Theatre Club, New York, NY Staged Reading

Rudy’s Cakewalk (Full Length drama)
2004 SNAPFest, Omaha, NE, Finalist (Top Four)

Diary of a Beauty Queen (Full Length drama)
2004 St. Henry High School, St. Henry, OH, Production

The Wisdom Channel (Full Length drama)
2003 THEATER UNTERM REGENBOGEN, Frankfurt, Germany, Production

New England Lodge (Full Length drama)
2002 Oberon Ensemble Theatre, New York, NY Finalist Reading Series

Plays

  • Clifford's by Lawson Caldwell
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: gay marriage, gay rights + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: gay marriage, gay rights, gay, anti-gay discrimination, LGBTQ
    Ivey and her father, Robert, have taken Ivey’s dog, Frenway, to a dog park in her hometown. She has returned to finalize plans for her upcoming wedding. Robert is not really involved in the wedding plans. While they are in the dog park, one of Robert’s new neighbors, Erskine, who he really doesn’t know comes up to say, “Hello”. Erskine is gay and has brought his dog, Barbara, to the dog park. While the...
    Ivey and her father, Robert, have taken Ivey’s dog, Frenway, to a dog park in her hometown. She has returned to finalize plans for her upcoming wedding. Robert is not really involved in the wedding plans. While they are in the dog park, one of Robert’s new neighbors, Erskine, who he really doesn’t know comes up to say, “Hello”. Erskine is gay and has brought his dog, Barbara, to the dog park. While the three are chatting Ivey and Robert find out that Erskine, who is sixty-three, is also getting married. Ivey and Erskine find they have a lot in common since both are planning their upcoming weddings. Ivey becomes concerned when Erskine tells her that the florist she is using turned him down because the owners did not want to make floral arrangements for a same sex wedding.
  • Just That Sort of Day by Lawson Caldwell
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, fable/folktale + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: gay, coming out + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, fable/folktale, romantic comedy
    Keyword: gay, coming out, LGBTQ
    Like all his relationships, Zoe’s relationship with Sally ends just as quickly as it began causing him to become frustrated and depressed. Lorraine, Zoe’s mother, decides it is time to set the record straight. In Zoe’s case, she sets him gay.
  • Serendipitous by Lawson Caldwell
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: actors of any race, Actor in his 70s + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: actors of any race, Actor in his 70s, Actor in his 20s, serendipity
    Bart, who is seventy, and Tyler, who is twenty-eight, happen to be on the same elevator when it becomes stuck between floors. Bart is concerned that his daughters will think he has gotten lost again and might send him to a retirement community. Tyler does not seem too concerned about anything. In the few minutes they share in the elevator the two find a unique friendship that crosses age barriers.
  • The Brooch by Lawson Caldwell
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: features LGBTQ character, fashion + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: features LGBTQ character, fashion, southern, Actor in their 70s
    Carter Timms, the famous fashion designer, returns to his hometown of Clarksville, Arkansas to visit Penny Nichol. The last time they met, Carter was eight years old and Penny was a young eighteen year old beauty queen. Their meeting fifty-six years ago changed Carter’s life.
  • Tea with Kate and Lady Bird by Lawson Caldwell
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: Lady Bird Bird Johnson, Katharine Hepburn + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: Lady Bird Bird Johnson, Katharine Hepburn, A woman's role
    Sarah has been going through a rough time. She has lost her job and her fiancé. The play begins with Sarah asleep on her living room sofa. When she wakes up she finds Lady Bird Johnson and Katharine Hepburn in her living room. They are paying her a visit in hopes of rebuilding Sarah’s self-esteem.
  • Waltzing, One, Two, Three by Lawson Caldwell
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: 1960s, Closeted gay men + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: 1960s, Closeted gay men, coming out, Gay and LGBTQ
    Glenn and Erskine reside on the same hall in a college dorm during 1964. They are acquaintances who rarely speak to one another except in passing. Erskine is the campus athlete and hangs out with the most popular students. Glenn is quiet and artsy. Erskine asks Glenn to teach him how to waltz. During this simple waltz lesson these two unlikely friends help one another come out.
  • A Christmas Visit from Nicholas by Lawson Caldwell
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: Gay and LGBTQ, gay relationships
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: Gay and LGBTQ, gay relationships
    Twenty-five years after he breaks up with Trevor, Nicholas
    visits him to reminisce and wonder how things might have been
    different for them as a gay couple in today’s world.
  • Act II by Lawson Caldwell
    Cast: 
    8
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: features LGBTQ characters, actors of any race + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, romantic comedy
    Keyword: features LGBTQ characters, actors of any race, Actors in their 30's, Actors in their 50s, Actors in their 70s
    Walter James was one of the most talented actors of his generation until a fake scandal ruined his career. He left the acting profession and moved to an island off the coast of New England. Trey Levinson, a well-known producer is trying to convince an up and coming playwright, Miles Stone, to cast Walter in his new play. If Miles casts him, then Walter will have the opportunity to rebuild his career. Trey...
    Walter James was one of the most talented actors of his generation until a fake scandal ruined his career. He left the acting profession and moved to an island off the coast of New England. Trey Levinson, a well-known producer is trying to convince an up and coming playwright, Miles Stone, to cast Walter in his new play. If Miles casts him, then Walter will have the opportunity to rebuild his career. Trey and Miles travel to the New England island so Miles and Walter can meet and Miles can make his decision. Gillian, Walter’s former assistant travels to Walter’s home for moral support. Gillian is now an assistant to the famous actress Marjorie Dell. Marjorie also arrives on the island to prevent Gillian from returning to work for Walter. Meanwhile, Walter, has started dating PJ, who recently moved to the island and is a baker. During introductions it is discovered that PJ is really Preston Anderson, a former closeted Arkansas State Senator who voted against LGBT+ rights but was outed when photographed kissing his Chief of Staff. PJ has also moved to the island to start a new life. Trey becomes concerned that if Miles gives Walter the part that Walter’s comeback will be sabotaged if the media finds out that Walter is dating Preston Anderson. “Former Actor tarnished by scandal dates a hypocrite who also was tarnished by scandal.” During the course of two days the five characters discover what believing in yourself is all about.
  • Shhh, It's Olive by Lawson Caldwell
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: LGBQT+, features LGBTQ characters + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, mystery/thriller
    Keyword: LGBQT+, features LGBTQ characters, Actors in their 40s, Actors in their 30s, Actor in her 50s, family mystery, 1960s New York
    The play opens with a surprise visitor for Erskine Wells. Gerald is with the CIA and informs Erskine that his estranged aunt who disappeared twenty-two years before was a double spy. He informs Erskine that his aunt, Olive, handed valuable information to the Germans and changed the course of the war in that part of Europe. Olive was recently located in France and was returned to the United States. She...
    The play opens with a surprise visitor for Erskine Wells. Gerald is with the CIA and informs Erskine that his estranged aunt who disappeared twenty-two years before was a double spy. He informs Erskine that his aunt, Olive, handed valuable information to the Germans and changed the course of the war in that part of Europe. Olive was recently located in France and was returned to the United States. She claims she was double crossed. Gerald wants to bring Olive to Erskine’s home in Sutton Place for three days in hopes that she will befriend Erskine and divulge information that would prove her innocence. Erskine explains to Gerald that the dates selected won’t work because he is attending the famous Black and White Ball with the famous columnist Francis Broadmoor Dillion. After a brief discussion Erskine decides to cancel plans with Francis and welcome Olive to his home.
    Gerald and Olive arrive the Sunday after Thanksgiving. To hide their identity from Dora, the housekeeper, and Carter, Erskine’s assistant, they pretend to be mother and son. Though Erskine is engaged to a socialite, he and Carter flirt with one another. Erskine finds out that Carter never cancelled the plans with Francis and that she will be arriving that evening. Gerald and Olive agree to the additional guest. What no one knows is that Francis and Olive were together when Olive handed the information to the German spy.
    Let the story begin………………
  • Four Corners of the Circle by Lawson Caldwell
    Cast: 
    8
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: southern, family dynamics + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: southern, family dynamics, 1969, 1960s, Gay and LGBTQ, coming out
    Why has John traveled all the way from Chicago to attend the second wedding of his childhood friend, Sylvia Hamilton? Is it because he hopes to reignite an old love or is he just merely an observer? Seven years earlier Sylvia’s first husband, Tracy, divorced her without an explanation. Their two daughters are Gerti and Connie. Gerti has just graduated college and is considered by her mother to be a hippie...
    Why has John traveled all the way from Chicago to attend the second wedding of his childhood friend, Sylvia Hamilton? Is it because he hopes to reignite an old love or is he just merely an observer? Seven years earlier Sylvia’s first husband, Tracy, divorced her without an explanation. Their two daughters are Gerti and Connie. Gerti has just graduated college and is considered by her mother to be a hippie because she wears jeans, has long hair and protests the Vietnam War. It was always expected that Gerti would come home from college and help Tracy run the family’s textile business. Connie has recently been chosen Queen of the town’s Cotton Festival and has a strong attraction to another girl in the festival. The festival is taking place the same weekend as the wedding and Sylvia is annoyed that her daughter will take too much attention away from her big day.

    John, who has been in love with Tracy since high school, is surprised when Tracy confides to him that he is planning to move to New York City to live a gay lifestyle. Because he is forty, Tracy wants to make the move quickly before he is too old to make a change in his life. Gerti is not ready to run the mill. Tracy is desperate to leave for New York so he must persuade Sylvia to help Gerti run the mill. He knows Sylvia is capable because she used to help him run the mill when they were married. Sylvia is reluctant and continues to resent Tracy for leaving her without explanation. Visiting John finds himself in the middle of all the commotion not only as an observer but as a confidant as well. He also realizes that the years have not diminished his strong attraction to Tracy.

    “Four Corners of the Circle” takes place the same year Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, the first Vietnam Draft Lottery began, Woman’s Liberation was maturing and the Stonewall Riots occurred. Yes, 1969 was a year full of changes for the country as well as for the Hamilton family in Clarkston, Arkansas.
  • Levinson-Majors by Lawson Caldwell
    Cast: 
    7
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: family, Contemporary gay male life
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: family, Contemporary gay male life
    Victor Majors, a brilliant violinist, has returned home to his grandmother’s house in Memphis during Christmas to announce his retirement at the age of thirty-five. His grandmother, Lillian Levinson, is a prominent figure in Memphis because she, her other grandson, Erskine Levinson, and her son-in-law, Zachary Majors, own Levinson-Majors Department Store. After it was discovered that Victor was a child...
    Victor Majors, a brilliant violinist, has returned home to his grandmother’s house in Memphis during Christmas to announce his retirement at the age of thirty-five. His grandmother, Lillian Levinson, is a prominent figure in Memphis because she, her other grandson, Erskine Levinson, and her son-in-law, Zachary Majors, own Levinson-Majors Department Store. After it was discovered that Victor was a child prodigy his mother, Clarissa, divorced Zachary and took Victor to London where she began managing his amazing career. While the family tries to figure out how to handle Victor’s visit, Clarissa arrives to take Victor back to London. Resentment and actions from the past surface again for both Levinsons and Majors.
  • Lavender Shore by Lawson Caldwell
    Cast: 
    8
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: High Society, New York + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, romantic comedy
    Keyword: High Society, New York, 1930s, Closeted gay men, gay romance, Gay and LGBTQ
    Time: 1936
    Location: The upstairs Library in Harrison Anderson’s Townhouse in the New York City
    Moments after Daphane March marries her second husband, Thomas, she receives a telegram stating that her first husband, Harrison and his valet, Gerald, have been found. Both men were presumed lost at sea five years earlier. Gwendloyn, Daphane’s former best friend and former fiancé of her second...
    Time: 1936
    Location: The upstairs Library in Harrison Anderson’s Townhouse in the New York City
    Moments after Daphane March marries her second husband, Thomas, she receives a telegram stating that her first husband, Harrison and his valet, Gerald, have been found. Both men were presumed lost at sea five years earlier. Gwendloyn, Daphane’s former best friend and former fiancé of her second husband, Thomas, arrives at the wedding to make sure the telegram was delivered. Harrison and Gerald return a week later. Daphane’s Aunt Charlotte encourages Daphane to choose which man should be her husband. During their five years together on a remote island Harrison and Gerald have fallen in love with one another. Out of a sense of duty Harrison attempts to return to his previous life with great difficulty.
    All soon discover that Daphane should not have married again before seven years because that would have made her an official widow and allowed her to marry Thomas. Faced with the realization that he is legally married to Daphane, Harrsion is in a delimna because he loves Gerald but has a sense of duty to Daphane. Thomas loves Daphane. Daphane loves the attention and Gwendolyn has a plan of her own.
  • Gentleman's Wish by Lawson Caldwell
    Cast: 
    8
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: Gay and LGBTQ, Politics + 1 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: Gay and LGBTQ, Politics, gay relationships
    United States Senator Hanford Drake and his staff have returned to his family estate to work on damage control because of a scandal. After telling his wife, Sarah, that he wants a divorce, she discovers that he has been having a twenty-year affair with his best friend, Lake. Lake is a professor who is divorced and has grown children. Sarah has gone to the press and told them of the twenty-year affair....
    United States Senator Hanford Drake and his staff have returned to his family estate to work on damage control because of a scandal. After telling his wife, Sarah, that he wants a divorce, she discovers that he has been having a twenty-year affair with his best friend, Lake. Lake is a professor who is divorced and has grown children. Sarah has gone to the press and told them of the twenty-year affair. Hanford and his staff have not yet responded to the accusations. Elise, Tom and Wilson are the staff members who have joined the Senator and Lake at his mother, Catherine’s house. The Senator is running for re-election so they must work out a way to resolve the scandal. They must decide whether the Senator should publicly establish his new gay image or return to his settled married life in order to win re-election.
    Elise is in the middle of a long distant relationship with her fiancé.
    Tom and Wilson have been secretly dating for two years and are faced with the dilemma of remaining in the closet to protect their political jobs and ambitions or come out for the sake of political integrity.
    A series of events, including a visit from Hanford’s wife, Sarah, and son Haney, culminate to a well-publicized press conference.