Susan Middaugh

Susan Middaugh

A member of the Dramatists Guild and the Playwrights Group of Baltimore, Susan has had 34 of her short plays produced or read by community theaters in the U.S., Canada and England. They include Source Theatre, Shelterbelt Theatre, Stone Soup Theatre, Wasatch Theatre Company, Magnetic Theater, Onstage Atlanta, Fells Point Corner Theatre, Dorset Players, Thetford Players as well as Barrington Stage. Theatrical...
A member of the Dramatists Guild and the Playwrights Group of Baltimore, Susan has had 34 of her short plays produced or read by community theaters in the U.S., Canada and England. They include Source Theatre, Shelterbelt Theatre, Stone Soup Theatre, Wasatch Theatre Company, Magnetic Theater, Onstage Atlanta, Fells Point Corner Theatre, Dorset Players, Thetford Players as well as Barrington Stage. Theatrical Mining Company produced two of her full-length plays, A Modern Pas de Deux, and Black Widows as part of the Baltimore Playwrights festivals. Next Stage Press has published Black Widows. She has studied with playwright Jeffrey Sweet, Daisy Foote (Sewanee Writers Conference) and with Ernie Joselovitz of the Playwrights Forum. Susan has also participated in the Iowa Summer Writing Festival for playwriting in a class led by Kate Aspengren.

Plays

  • Feeble-Minded White Trash a full length
    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...
    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.
  • The Next Dance
    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.
  • Black Widows, a full length play
    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...
    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
  • Master Theft, a full-length play
    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?
  • A Modern Pas de Deux, a full length play
    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?
  • Not in Service, a full length play of about 60 minutes
    This play tells the story of three people of different races, ages and backgrounds who are thrown together during a bus accident. Will they become friends?
  • Hooked: Anybody's Child, a docu-drama of about 70 minutes
    This docu-drama shows the impact that substance abuse has had on individuals and families. They are true stories based on personal interviews with men and women in a variety of cities and towns in Maryland, but they could be anywhere in the U.S.
  • When I Fall in Love, It Will Be..., a 10-minute play
    Two devoted spouses of dementia patients strike up an unlikely friendship when they discover what's going on at their partners' assisted living facility.
  • Taking the A Train, a 10-minute play
    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 Senior Moment
    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?
  • Meet Me in the Endive, a 10-minute play
    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.
  • The Jackson, a 10-minute political play
    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.
  • Queen for a Day, a 10-minute play
    It all starts out innocently enough. A young woman wins a butler for a day. Then the action veers off in an unnerving direction.
  • Skeletons in the Cellar, a 10-minute play
    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?
  • It's My Party!, a 10-minute play
    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 will be the outcome?
  • Consumer Confidence
    A convenience store clerk insists that all sales are final when his former elementary school teacher requests a refund. Will she persuade him otherwise?
  • Killing Time, a 10-minute play
    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?
  • Just a Bus Driver, a 10-minute play
    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.
  • Circumcised or Circum-skeptic? And the winner is...
    Margie, who is pregnant for the first time, and her husband Sol disagree over whether to have their baby son circumcised. Who will prevail?
  • Headlong into the Abyss, a 10-12 minute play
    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?
  • Just Another Face in the Crowd
    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?
  • Night Divers, a 10-minute play
    Phil, an unemployed 20-something, takes his well-to-do girlfriend Janet, dumpster diving. Will their relationship survive?
  • Old Goldilocks and the Two Bears, a 10-minute play
    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?
  • Shattered, a 10-minute play
    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.
  • Sisters
    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?
  • Standby, a 10-minute play
    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?
  • Such Good Neighbors, a 10-minute play
    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
  • Suite 510, a 10-minute play
    A woman writer, alone in her office this night, encounters a male intruder who threatens to kill her.
  • The Swinging Bridge
    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 on a hike with a local club.
  • Table for Two, a 10-minute play
    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.
  • Waterfront Property, a 10-minute play
    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.
  • One Shoe Off, One Shoe On
    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!
  • Headlong into the Abyss, radio play
    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.
  • Headlong into the Abyss
    During Hurricane Katrina, Lamont and his Aunt Pauline escape to the attic of her home. As the water rises, they look with horror as their neighbors resort to drastic measures. Lamont devises a plan to escape through the roof. But Aunt Pauline resists.
  • My Heroine, a 10-minute play
    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 Club No Parent Wants to Join
    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?
  • Not All Heroes Wear Capes
    Two women meet at a coffee shop and discover they have something in common. Will it bring them together or pull them apart?
  • Nature: The Last Refuge?
    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.