Jackie Martin

*Festival Length - Approx. 38 minutes*
Loosely inspired by The Odyssey, The Light Through the Pines follows four teens who run away from a disciplinary camp. As they make their way toward home - or whatever comes next - they meet helpful strangers, a deceptive influencer, and monsters. Each traveler must learn to listen to the voice within and forge their own path along the way. With ample opportunities for creative staging, dance, puppetry, and more, The Light Through the Pines explores themes of identity, belonging, and unity.

*FINALIST: Woodward/Newman Award 2023

FULL LENGTH. Published and licensed by Next Stage Press.

Abigail grapples with feeling like an outsider, and for good reason - she claims she is from another galaxy, here only to study human behavior. After her behavior intensifies, her parents place her in a psychiatric facility for adolescents. Despite her best efforts to isolate herself, Abigail forms a connection with another patient which leads her on a journey of self-discovery. As Abigail begins to listen and share, she gains powerful insights about belonging and the complexities of being human. "Abigail, For Now" is a poignant and surprising exploration of mental health, identity, and the search for connection in a world that often feels unfamiliar.

Finalist, B Street Theatre's 2020 New Comedies Festival. Published and licensed by Next Stage Press.

FULL LENGTH. It's the biggest opening ever for Ashby's Galleria, and everyone is anxiously awaiting the arrival of Jonathan Bixby, hermit billionaire. When an uninvited guest shows up, he throws a wrench into the evening, and more than one life is forever changed. A play about money, art, and the BS that surrounds it all.

75-80 Minutes. Now published and licensed by Pioneer Drama. Co-winner of the A+ Playwrighting for Teachers Award.

Two teens writing a report on Greek mythology are startled when they get a visit from Hermes, winged helmet and all! The messenger whisks them away to Mount Olympus, where various gods and goddesses retell their myths to the students in a more favorable light. In a quest to get people to worship them once again, Zeus and the other gods and goddesses want to put a more positive (and hilarious!) spin on their version of events.

From Medusa just wanting to be noticed to Eurydice quickly tiring of Orpheus’s attention and Paris having to choose who to give his golden apple to on the reality TV show “Apple of His Eye,” the two teens are surprised to hear different perspectives on familiar ancient Greek stories. The only problem is... the mythological figures might not exactly be telling the truth!

Both educational and highly entertaining, this vignette-style play offers great flexibility and incredibly simple staging.

ONE ACT. Joe visits his wife Laney in prison, but he carries more than the photographs she has requested of their son. He also brings with him news of his future plans, which do not include her. As a result, the pair must confront the tragic past that ties them together and decide how to negotiate a future that they can both live with.
Winner, Peter Honegger Prize for Best One-Act, Firehouse Center for the Arts, 2019
Now published by Heuer Publishing.

*Winner: The LabWorks Producers Choice Award, Pittsburgh New Works Festival

ONE ACT: The funeral is over and the mourners have gone home, leaving a mother and son alone to try and come to terms with their loss.

ONE ACT.
Mike has the perfect proposal planned out for his girlfriend - and it's all going down at the Putt-Putt Palace, Alyssa's favorite childhood mini-golf course. Unfortunately, while they wait their turn and discuss the highs and lows of relationships with a more experienced couple, Alyssa's ambiguous feelings about lifelong commitment come to light.

SHORT. Jenna and her mother, Maggie, have a complicated relationship, strained by a rocky past. Now that Jenna has left her husband, she's reluctantly taken her daughter to stay with Maggie for the summer. One late night, Maggie tries to connect with Jenna and unspoken thoughts, unresolved resentments - and maybe first steps toward an understanding? - begin to emerge.

Winner, Peter Honegger Prize for Best Short Play, Firehouse Center for the Arts, 2019
Winner, Audience Choice, Short Play Festival, Shadblow Theatre, 2020

*Included in the Best 10 Minute Plays of 2022 (Smith & Kraus)

SHORT. Diane is distraught when her career takes an unexpected turn - right into a dead end. Her new office mate offers words of wisdom and a passive - very passive - way to fight back.

SHORT. Maria and Gabby are inching closer to high school graduation and their new lives as college students. One evening, the two friends discover their views on the subject differ - except for when they don’t.

*A version of this play which has been adapted for virtual performance is available upon request.

*Included in the Best 10 Minute Plays of 2024 (Smith & Kraus)

10 MINUTES. Mia and Lucy are reuniting after seven years apart, but catching up isn't the only thing on their minds.

10 MINUTES.
Remember your favorite childhood toy? There's a chance it remembers you too...
While cleaning out their childhood home, Oakley has an unexpected encounter with a beloved toy from their past.

ONE ACT.
Maddie Dickson-DeWitt has witnessed many executions in her job as a prison reporter in Huntsville, Texas, known as the “death penalty capital” of the country - but only one has ever made her question what she believes about good and evil.

TEN MINUTES.
After losing everything, Gideon has returned to his family's homestead. His father is overjoyed.
His brother? Not so much. FOMO: The Prodigal Son Play imagines what may have transpired between two brothers after one's famed return home.

SHORT. Recently revised.
When Daniel washes ashore on a (mostly) deserted island, he is understandably dazed, afraid, and desperate for help.
Unfortunately, he's really getting in the way of Harold's peace and quiet.

Nina is ready to try a new approach to life, and Delia has just the thing to help her.

After a difficult night in the ER, Kevin checks in with his husband, David. Kevin’s ready for a tough conversation about the future. David isn’t.

[First draft/28 Plays Later]
Former high school sweethearts reminisce at a 20th reunion.

SHORT. Two coyotes lament the current state of their world.

Janelle and Paul are high school seniors who are missing out on the end of their school year due to a stay-at-home order. They are friends during their one class together, but otherwise exist in very different social circles. Paul has asked Janelle to meet him online for a virtual prom date, but she’s somewhat suspicious of his motives. Published and licensed with YouthPLAYS.

Kathy unexpectedly shows up at her neighbor's house to collect her mail and helps herself to a few of the freshly baked cookies sitting out on the table.
But Myriam didn't make those cookies for Kathy. She made them for Bethany.
And Kathy's about to learn a lesson about taking things that don't belong to you.

FIVE MINUTES.

A late summer evening.
A meteor shower.
A kiss.
What else could you want at the end of the world?

5 minutes. Three friends gather the nerve to get into the damn water, already.

A professor and student meet to discuss a grade.

Jack and Caroline get some news on their last day of vacation.

Danica and Joel are about to find out whether this round of IVF worked... they just need to wait one more minute.

Siblings meet unexpectedly in the night.

*Featured in Smith & Kraus's "Best Men's Stage Monologues 2020"

Denny Jacobs is a 46 year old man who has been serving time on death row in Huntsville, TX since murdering his parents at the age of 17. Here, he speaks with journalist Maddie Dickson-Dewitt on the eve of his execution, recounting the actual circumstances of his crime for the first time.

Full script posted separately.

After a parent-teacher conference the night before, Layla seeks out her teacher to correct a misconception.

Middle schooler Cam is an only child...which was pretty cool until a pandemic hit and everyone had to stay home all day. Now, Cam's sort of wishing for an annoying sibling.

10 minutes. After viewing her own memorial, Betty has some questions about the way she's being remembered.

10 minutes. A man struggles to get information from his home assistant device, AVA, who is done being taken for granted.
*Zoom-friendly
*As the device is portrayed via voice-over, only one actor needs to be onstage for this play.

SHORT.
We've all been there. You're tired. You're so tired. And you think that you'll just fall right into a deep sleep because you're just. so. tired.
But your brain? It has other plans.

Two pregnant women end up in the same virtual waiting room and bond over their shared experience.
Well, sort of.

ONE ACT. Hans isn't as educated as his older brothers. He thinks of things in his own way, which has earned him the nickname "Blockhead Hans." But when a royal proclamation announces that the princess is looking for a husband, he journeys with his goat Mika to try his luck. Will Hans learn that his family was right about him, or will he discover that intelligence comes in many different forms?

1 minute, movement-based.
The journey of a life, based on the riddle of the Sphinx from Oedipus the King.