Susan Middaugh

During the 1920s in rural Virginia, Hattie Clawson, an illiterate laundress with two illegitimate children , one of them Black, hasn't heard of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes or his majority opinion in the landmark case Buck vs. Bell. But she will feel the impact of the court's decision when the Commonwealth forces her to undergo an involuntary sterilization, severs her parental rights and takes her son and daughter away. What will she and her children do to survive in a society preoccupied with race and class? Will the stigma every go away? All told, 33 states had laws that authorized forced sterilization during the 20th century; 65,000 Americans were affected, 85% of them were women. To this day the U.S. Supreme Court has not overturned its decision in this case.

When you're a young man in his early 20s who has cerebral palsy, is subject to spasms and still lives at home, what does it take to find sex besides money? Ask Jack Durso. But a real match? Then it helps to have a personal care attendant named Max who's an amateur boxer and who challenges Jack's MO.

Great roles for older women. Small time crooks Gwen and Vera, both in their 70s, pretend to befriend a couple of homeless men they meet through a church soup kitchen. They give the men a place to live, take out multiple life insurance policies on them, and wait for the men to die -- until one night Vera gets impatient. First one hit and run, then another. Will these women get caught? "Inspired by a true story in LA. Published by Next Stage Press see www.nextstagepress.com

A valuable painting by Marc Chagall gets stolen from the home of a successful businessman. Then it falls into the hands of a wide array of people at the high and low ends of society -- drug dealers, street punks, a crooked pawn shop owner, a gigolo who thinks he's an artist, etc. A private detective who knows nothing about art gets hired to find it. Will he succeed?

Pickles Amalfitano and Paul Quinn's romance reflects man and woman's yearning to find the right partner in life -- even in middle age. Are they too different and too set in their ways to acknowledge their need for one another? Will an irascible bartender who considers himself a love coach have an impact on their decision?

If a community is simply a group of people that learn to care about one another, then that sense of belonging can happen anywhere, even in the most humble and unlikely of places -- the public bus. This play tells the story of three people of different races, ages and backgrounds who are thrown together during a bus accident. It is the story of Theresa Aguilar, a Filipino student who is putting herself through college; Donald Green, a 19 year old African American who needs to change jobs and bus driver Henry Maxwell, a widower in his early 60s. Will they become friends?

Two devoted spouses of dementia patients strike up an unlikely friendship when they discover what's going on at their partners' assisted living facility.

Three passengers get trapped in the New York City subway following a derailment. A homeless man doesn't want to escape, but he's the only one who knows the way out. What next?

A man and woman in their 50s, who have met online, discuss their upcoming blind date. Is it possible to yearn and be skeptical at the same time?

A city mayor has achieved a major coup by rehabbing thousands of vacant and affordable houses. The last house is about to go on the market when a Habitat for Humanity worker discovers skeletons in the cellar and threatens to tell the media. Will the mayor's press secretary persuade him to keep his mouth shut?

A widow needs help with her garden, but she won't admit it until she receives a visit from her late husband who is on probation from limbo.

While President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin argue over whether to put Harriet Tubman's face on the twenty-dollar bill, Bernice, an African American member of the White House maintenance staff, reacts to their shenanigans.

Connie, a suburbanite, gets picked up for drug possession. At the jail she meets Crystal, a street savvy prostitute and mother, whom she regards with disdain. They fight over a flashy pair of shoes and discover their vulnerabilities. What's next?

A convenience store clerk insists that all sales are final when his former elementary school teacher requests a refund on a package of condoms. Will she persuade him otherwise?

It all starts out innocently enough. A young woman wins a butler for a day. Then the action veers off in an unnerving direction.

Two women from very different backgrounds meet outside the emergency room. Each of them is waiting for a family member who's inside. What will happen when they discover what they have in common?

On the eve of his retirement, a city bus driver encounters a male passenger who threatens to commit a murder when he leaves the bus.

Margie, who is pregnant for the first time, and her husband Sol disagree over whether to have their baby son circumcised. Who will prevail?

During the height of Hurricane Katrina, Lamont and his Aunt Pauline, who is in a wheelchair, escape to her attic. They watch, horrified, as their neighbors fall into the waters below. When a chopper passes them by, they begin to lose hope -- until Lamont comes up with a plan.Will he succeed?

A severely disfigured man has an opportunity for a face transplant, but he resists. Will his wife and young daughter persuade him to change his mind?

Phil, an unemployed 20-something, takes his well-to-do girlfriend Janet, dumpster diving. Will their relationship survive?

Marge, who is in her 70s, is tired after hiking all day in Spain and in need of a place to stay for the night. She comes across a charming inn, but the owner says they are closed. Will she find a way around him?

A husband who has been in an industrial accident argues with his wife about having a penis transplant. She wants to have children; he doesn't want another man's organ. What's next?

A support group for parents whose son or daughter is addicted to drugs "welcomes" a newcomer. Will they lift her up or bring her down?

Olivia is about to leave for college. How does she say goodbye to her older sister, Beatrice, who has a physical disability? Olivia has resented her sister's intelligence and the attention Beatrice has received from their parents her whole life. Can the two women acknowledge their need for one another despite their differences?

A riff on the Divine Comedy. Jerry Falwell, Jr. and an Italian cardinal meet at an airport and vie for the last seat on a plane that is about to depart for Purgatory, CO. Which man will win?

An older couple are awakened in the middle of the night by their next door neighbors who are having an argument. The nosy wife becomes intrigued by the goings-on; meanwhile, her husband does everything he can to distract her. Published by One Act Play Depot, Canada, in a collection of 3 short plays called Hell Is Other People,www.oneactplays.net.hellis.html

A woman writer, alone in her office this night, encounters a male intruder who threatens to kill her.

Janice, a cancer patient in her 60s, is afraid of dying. Her friend Claire tries to comfort her by reliving a time when Janice overcame her fear of heights while hike across a bridge.

A woman comes to a restaurant on a Saturday night looking for a table for one. She keeps getting passed over by the couples behind her. Increasingly frustrated, she comes upon a solution involving a homeless man.

Two women meet at a coffee shop and discover they have something in common. Will it bring them together or pull them apart?

After being attacked, a homeless woman talks and argues with the statue of a dead governor whom she considers a friend. He encourages her to seek medical attention, but she resists.

Max proposes to Jean and she, in turn, proposes a champagne toast. But instead of raising a glass, Jean suggests they drink from her high-heeled shoe. Then they trade barbs. En garde!

At the height of Hurricane Katrina, Lamont and his Aunt Pauline escape to her attic. They watch, horrified as her neighbors fall from a balcony into the waters below. When a chopper passes overhead without stopping, their hopes for being rescued are dashed -- until Lamont comes up with a plan.

Brenda works at a fast food restaurant and moonlights on the side to put herself through college -- until one day her ambition and desire to succeed get her into trouble. Happy meals are no longer happy and neither is Brenda.

A widow wants a bigger family. She tries to persuade her son, a former sperm donor, to attend a family reunion in which she plans to invite his now adult "offspring." Is Grandma contemporary or out of bounds?

A woman alcoholic is camping in the woods when a strange man threatens her. What happens next is ultimately up to her and two chance encounters.