Steven Peterson

Steven Peterson

Recent productions of Steven Peterson's full-length plays include PARIS TIME at Capital Repertory Theatre (Albany, New York) in the winter of 2018, THE ACTUARY at Peninsula Players (Fish Creek, WI) in the summer of 2017, AFFLUENCE at Theatre 40 (Los Angeles), and THE INVASION OF SKOKIE at Chicago Dramatists (with revivals by other theaters). His one-act plays have been produced by The Pittsburgh New Works...
Recent productions of Steven Peterson's full-length plays include PARIS TIME at Capital Repertory Theatre (Albany, New York) in the winter of 2018, THE ACTUARY at Peninsula Players (Fish Creek, WI) in the summer of 2017, AFFLUENCE at Theatre 40 (Los Angeles), and THE INVASION OF SKOKIE at Chicago Dramatists (with revivals by other theaters). His one-act plays have been produced by The Pittsburgh New Works Festival, The Artistic Home, Step Up Productions, and others. His plays in development have been presented at Cleveland Play House, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Capital Rep, Centre Stage (Greenville SC), and Theatre Ariel (Philadelphia). He is a two-time winner of the Julie Harris Playwrights Award and a winner of the Dorothy Silver Playwriting Competition. Steve is currently a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists and a member of the Dramatists Guild of America. More at his web site: www.petersonplays.com

Plays

  • The Actuary by Steven Peterson
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: parenthood, Fathers and Daughters
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: parenthood, Fathers and Daughters
    Ed Brooks is an actuary. He calls himself the most boring man in the world. But then he goes to his daughter Tabitha's baby shower and is jolted to learn something nobody could have imagined, not even Tabitha herself. Ed takes us backwards in time, scene by scene, to show us why he takes a drastic action, totally unlike him, all to fulfill a promise to someone he loves. A 3M3W comedy (World premiere at...
    Ed Brooks is an actuary. He calls himself the most boring man in the world. But then he goes to his daughter Tabitha's baby shower and is jolted to learn something nobody could have imagined, not even Tabitha herself. Ed takes us backwards in time, scene by scene, to show us why he takes a drastic action, totally unlike him, all to fulfill a promise to someone he loves. A 3M3W comedy (World premiere at Peninsula Players, June-July, 2017.)
  • The Invasion of Skokie by Steven Peterson
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: Jewish, Chicago + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, period
    Keyword: Jewish, Chicago, Interfaith
    What does Morry Kaplan do when it's 1978 and neo-Nazis threaten to march on his suburb on the same weekend the nice, young Gentile man who has been a family friend for years comes to ask for Morry's blessing to marry his only daughter? A single-set comedy-drama about how far we go to protect what is most important.
  • Affluence by Steven Peterson
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy
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    Keyword: Inheritance, murder + 4 more
    Genre: dark comedy
    Keyword: Inheritance, murder, wealth, Suburbs, family, Affluence
    The once-wealthy Woodley family survived Christmas and their ailing Grandmother hasn't died yet. That's too bad, because they inherit millions more of her money if she dies before midnight on New Year's Eve when inheritance tax rates are due to rise. What does a desperate family do? A 2M4W single-set dark comedy about greed, murder, and what it takes to keep a good family going. (World premiere...
    The once-wealthy Woodley family survived Christmas and their ailing Grandmother hasn't died yet. That's too bad, because they inherit millions more of her money if she dies before midnight on New Year's Eve when inheritance tax rates are due to rise. What does a desperate family do? A 2M4W single-set dark comedy about greed, murder, and what it takes to keep a good family going. (World premiere in 2014 at Theatre 40, Los Angeles.)
  • The Widows' League by Steven Peterson
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
    ·
    Keyword: old age, retirement + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
    Keyword: old age, retirement, florida
    Diana is the Queen Bee of her upscale Florida condo village, fighting fears of loneliness through endless rounds of golf and tennis. Kate is the new widow who joins Diana's team and breaks the rule about Jeff, the widower who takes turns dating all the team's ladies. A 1M4W two-act comedy-drama about how the competition never ends. All roles for actors age 70+.
  • Paris Time by Steven Peterson
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: Anti-Semitism, Jewish + 5 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: Anti-Semitism, Jewish, Americans abroad, France, Paris, Interfaith, marriage
    A drama that looks behind the headlines at anti-Semitism in today's France. When Deborah, the wife of a American executive based in Paris, becomes an activist defending a young Jewish Frenchwoman, her husband Charlie is thrown onto the corporate hot seat. Company policy demands he avoid politics or lose his career. But if he won't get involved, they all may lose much more. 3M2W, single set. World...
    A drama that looks behind the headlines at anti-Semitism in today's France. When Deborah, the wife of a American executive based in Paris, becomes an activist defending a young Jewish Frenchwoman, her husband Charlie is thrown onto the corporate hot seat. Company policy demands he avoid politics or lose his career. But if he won't get involved, they all may lose much more. 3M2W, single set. World premiere upcoming at Capital Repertory Theatre (Albany, New York) in January-February 2018. Prior staged readings at Cleveland Play House, Theatre Ariel, and Chicago Dramatists. Winner of the Dorothy Silver Playwriting Competition and Capital Rep's Next Act Play Summit.
  • Prodigal Brothers by Steven Peterson
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: faith, brothers + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: faith, brothers, road trip, alcoholism, christianity
    Matt is the self-righteous older brother who resents how his parents always loved his reckless younger brother Billy the most. Matt jumps at the chance to drag Billy on a two-thousand-mile road trip across America and into alcoholism rehab. Will that prove Matt's greater worth to their stern father? Or will Matt discover that he is just as lost as Billy? A 3M1W comedy-drama.
  • Key Ring by Steven Peterson
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, experimental
    ·
    Keyword: love, death + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, experimental
    Keyword: love, death, what happens to our keys after we're gone
    Four keys hang on a key ring. They can talk, they can bicker, they can consider the mysteries of life. But when the keys are removed from the ring, one by one, how can love survive? A 10-minute comedy for one hula-hoop and four actors of any age, gender, or identity.