Greg Oliver Bodine

Arkham Sanitarium. Spring, 1928. At the inaugural conference of the American Psychiatric Association, a patient, introduced only as "Francis X" is presented to a select audience of physicians as a case study in "Persecutory Delusional Paranoia" -- having professed, upon being admitted, that he had knowledge of some horrific secret, and was in grave danger for merely acquiring it. He reluctantly begins to recount, in the months leading up to his arrival at Arkham, a nefarious series of events surrounding the untimely death of his great-uncle, a professor at Brown University, and his own discovery of a murderous cult, whose followers worship a gigantic, ancient deity they believe will soon emerge from the depths of the ocean to once again rule over the earth.

Autumn, 1890. Mrs. Moore, a former housekeeper, insists on her sanity after murdering her employer -– a wealthy, old man with a "vulture eye." The Tell-Tale Heart is widely considered a classic of the Gothic fiction genre and one of Edgar Allan Poe's most famous short, horror stories -- uniquely adapted here as a short, (mostly) one-woman play.

Recently performed as part of FOUR-SHORTENED: an evening of Zoom readings at ShopTalk, June 2021.

A battle-weary G.I. reflects on the horrors of the Holocaust and his attempts to save one of its youngest victims, whom he has just liberated from a concentration camp at the end of World War Two in Europe.

Recently performed as part of FOUR-SHORTENED: an evening of Zoom readings at ShopTalk, June 2021.

Sherlock Holmes meets his match -- the criminal mastermind, Prof. Moriarty, in a climactic struggle above the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland, leaving a grief-stricken Dr. Watson to pick up the pieces and help solve a brutal murder nearly three years later in this full-length play based on the stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

A 19th century tavern proprietor and barmaid narrate three yarns of mystery and murder, with characters from each story appearing and breathing life into the words of their storytellers. A 65-minute play adapted from “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe.

“A celebration of all things spooky…the writing leaves you with thoughts and feelings to contemplate afterwards. However, you may want to hold off on such contemplation until after you have turned on all the lights.” –Offoffonline.com *Critic’s Pick

New England, 1891. Jane, a sensitive and imaginative woman, finds herself sequestered on a remote estate that her husband, a physician, has rented for the summer. She is forbidden to write, and must hide her journal entries as she recuperates from what he has diagnosed as a "temporary nervous depression” following the birth of their baby. Without anything or anyone to stimulate her, Jane becomes obsessed by the wallpaper in her bedroom as the effect of her domestic oppression and stifled creativity begins to take a toll on her sanity. A 65-minute, one-woman play adapted from the classic short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

"[The Yellow Wallpaper] casts its lot with the power of live storytelling to enchant an audience through perseverance and sincerity, not tricks or guile. An audience member’s efforts to follow where the production is leading will be richly rewarded." -Sergei Burbank, NYTheatre Now

“More then a century after it was written, The Yellow Wallpaper continues to enthrall its readers, and I was delighted to bring this dynamic stage production of the short story to campus. Annalisa Loeffler is absolutely compelling in this absorbing portrait that delves into the tormented mind of a woman who is trapped in a world she cannot escape.” --Dr. N. J. Stanley, Coordinator, Women’s & Gender Studies Program, Lycoming College, PA

It's Man vs. Nature set in the unforgiving landscape and sub-zero temperatures of the Yukon. A 15-minute play adapted from the classic, 1908 short story of survival by Jack London.

Originally produced as part of the 2012 'Cold Snaps' Short Play Festival at The Workshop Theater, NYC. Recently performed as part of FOUR-SHORTENED: an evening of Zoom readings at ShopTalk, June 2021.

“Quite good, quite believable…a rewarding evening of innovative theatre.” –Richmond Shepard, Performing Arts INSIDER and lively-arts.com

A wounded Navy Corpsman, home on leave, struggles to relate his war experience in Afghanistan to his Vietnam Vet father. An 18-minute, one-act play that explores PTSD, the suppression of education for Afghan girls, and the consequences of what happens when a good person naïvely does the wrong thing for the right reasons.

A Samuel French Short Play Festival Semi-Finalist and originally produced as part of the 2011 'They That Have Borne The Battle' Short Play Festival at The WorkShop Theater, NYC. Recently performed as part of FOUR-SHORTENED: an evening of Zoom readings at ShopTalk, June 2021.

A seafaring explorer discovers a darkened 'form' aboard his ship - hanging over the remains of its creator - and must now choose between an act of honor-bound vengeance and compassion. A 10-minute play adapted from Mary Shelley's classic, 1818 novel of Gothic horror, FRANKENSTEIN.

A veteran CIA station chief, forced into retirement after the murder of a defecting Russian spy, is visited by his successor a year later when revelations about a possible mole inside the Agency are revealed. With careers on the line and reputations to protect, what ensues is a cat and mouse tête-à-tête of intrigue and betrayal about who murdered the defector and why. A full-length play inspired by current events.

Midnight. Late December, 1937. Reed, a disgraced archeologist and aesthete, is running for his life. Having stolen an ancient amulet from the fetid grave of a neglected Holland churchyard, he locks himself in the library of his London townhouse in order to evade the pursuit of some 'malign being.' In shocking detail, he recounts a gruesome testimony of unnatural occurrences surrounding the totem's theft... and the appalling consequences for all who come to possess it. A solo one-act play adapted from the classic, short horror story by H.P. Lovecraft.

"A brilliantly skillful production. How could North Shore Theatre [Productions] possibly succeed in bringing this story to the stage? The answer is through ingenuity, a shrewd and judicious altering of the text, and a terrific performance by adapter Greg Oliver Bodine." 5 STARS! --DC Theatre Scene

"Recommended. Best of Week 3 Capital Fringe" --DCist

“Deliciously creepy…a well-realized piece indeed…clever writing complemented by excellent sound and light make for a most entertaining evening.” —NYTheatre.com

"A smart and lively adaptation…deliciously macabre” –Tor.com

“Greg Oliver Bodine’s adaptation of “The Hound” at Manhattan Theatre Source was perhaps the best Lovecraftian play I’ve seen in a long time. A good script, well acted and staged.” –Andrew Leman, Founding Member, H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society.

London, 1799. Having returned to England after a failed sea expedition to the North Pole, Capt. Robert Walton is entreated to describe his strange encounter with Victor Frankenstein, a young science student whom he had rescued after finding him nearly frozen and traveling by a dog-drawn sled across the ice. Walton then recounts Frankenstein’s own fantastic tale of a monster he had fashioned from the parts of stolen corpses -- only to reject, then pursue his creation across Europe into the Arctic hinterlands of Russia, vowing to destroy it…or die in the trying. A one-man play faithfully adapted from Mary Shelley’s classic novel of Gothic horror.

"This new production is moodily atmospheric--an engrossing gothic
tale of mystery and horror that captured and held our audience from
start to finish!" -Katherine Van Leeuwen, Assistant Director, The Brookfield Library, CT

"Mr. Bodine perfectly personifies the complicated and nuanced
characters of Shelley's work. It is almost unfathomable that one
person can bring a work like this to life, and yet he does it. Using
his voice and subtle changes of aspect, Bodine manages to convey the futile rage of the "monster" one moment while the next he has us contemplating the moral corruption that Frankenstein acknowledges
that lead to his creation." -Kathy Kelly, Proprietor of Paranormal Books & Curiosities, Asbury Park, NJ

Two short, solo one-act plays adapted from “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe.

THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO: a Venetian nobleman narrates a chilling tale of revenge involving his friend, Fortunato, against whom he has carried a grudge for an offense that is never fully explained -- an altogether sinister tale of one man’s thirst for vengeance, born from arrogance and jealousy. THE BLACK CAT: a condemned man speaks from his prison cell on the night before he is to be executed for the brutal murder of his wife -- Poe’s masterful study of domestic violence, guilt and one man’s descent into madness … a journey that illustrates the ability of the human mind to observe and comment on its own destruction, without being able to stop it.

“Poe, Times Two sets a high bar for the remainder of Fringe 2016. Greg Oliver Bodine has taken two very difficult but very Fringe-y types of theater, the horror genre and the solo performance form, and hit them both out of the ballpark. If you like horror generally, or Poe specifically, put Poe, Times Two on your Fringe calendar.” –DC Theatre Scene, 5/5 Rating: “Pick of the Fringe”

“Bodine expertly brought these two haunting classics off the dusty pages of the textbook and to vivid, breathing life on the stage.” -DC Metro Theater Arts, 5 Stars: “Best Of The 2016 Capital Fringe”

“Adapter / Performer, Greg Oliver Bodine, dramatically renders the stories of “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Black Cat” with intelligence, humor and a serious appreciation of Edgar Allan Poe’s understanding of our fears and madness... POE, TIMES TWO provides an evening perfectly suited to this season of late October and early ‘bleak November!” –Joe Franklin, Bloomberg Radio

“These two one-actor plays re-awaken all that youthful enjoyment of their uncanniness. You’ll be chillingly scared and eerily spooked. But these renditions also reveal the works as far more intricate, interesting, and important than merely being the origins of the genre of short horror fiction. They are portrayals of states of mind that challenge everything we assume about ourselves as rational beings…A scary, stunningly staged, high-fright homage to the creator of the horror story.” -New York Theater Buying Guide

Charles Dickens' 1867 American Reading Tour is off to a rough start. Due to an inexplicable loss of his luggage, he regretfully announces that he will be unable to read from his beloved classic, A Christmas Carol. All is not lost however; Dickens delivers what he promised by performing from memory the magical story of Ebenezer Scrooge's journey from miserliness to redemption with warmth and humor. This one-man play is based on the condensed version Dickens himself used on his historic reading tours of the United States. A one-man play adapted from the classic, holiday novella by Charles Dickens.

“Mr. Bodine’s script follows closely the condensed “Christmas Carol” Dickens created for this readings, whose cuts include the schoolroom scenes…Children ready for a Dickens introduction, however, will be captivated.” –The New York Times

It's Christmas Eve in America's heartland, and radio host Bjorn Gundlarrsen is preparing for the telethon performance that will keep his tiny polka station afloat. Unfortunately, the prize troupe of British actors he's hired has all fallen ill due to a dastardly combination of indigestible foreign meats. With time running out, will Bjorn be able to replace them in time and save the show? After all, it's not like Christmas is known for miracles. A one-act from the comedic, short story, “The Thieves Who Couldn’t Help Sneezing,” by Thomas Hardy.

In 1909, an inexperienced, young sea captain is torn between his duty to his ship and his loyalty to a fugitive, to whom he has offered refuge after the murder of a mutinous crew member. Adapted from the short novel by Joseph Conrad, and set against the background of the sea at the end of the "Age of Sail," the play explores the themes of race, morality and self-identity.

On a quiet summer evening, a master carpenter is caught finishing his work on a gazebo when his younger boss shows up after receiving a noise complaint. This tightly paced 10-minute drama explores the consequences of taking away one's reason to be when that reason is simply to work. Published as part of "Great Short Plays: Volume 10" by Playscripts, Inc.

“The most powerful piece of the evening….it’s a modest but gripping piece, and treats the lives of working-class Americans with a truthfulness that is all too lacking in contemporary theatre.” –NYTheatre.com *Critic’s Pick