Lesley Becker

Lesley Becker

Lesley Becker lives in Burlington,Vermont. She writes plays about intractable social issues that bind humankind in a perilous gridlock. She approaches the creative process with informed hope and optimism. The topics include women’s rights and abortion, climate change and renewable energy.

Plays

  • RED AND BLUE by Lesley Becker
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: drama, political
    ·
    Keyword: abortion, full length + 4 more
    Genre: drama, political
    Keyword: abortion, full length, Roe, Roe v. Wade, women's social issues, American Racism
    Female friendships are torn apart by modern political and social truth-telling. When some women get empowered and others don’t, issues of reproduction rights and the specter of racism raising its ugly head causes relationships to implode and lives to explode.

    A birthday celebration with friends on opposite sides of the political spectrum ends when Stacie hears the news Roe v Wade is overturned....
    Female friendships are torn apart by modern political and social truth-telling. When some women get empowered and others don’t, issues of reproduction rights and the specter of racism raising its ugly head causes relationships to implode and lives to explode.

    A birthday celebration with friends on opposite sides of the political spectrum ends when Stacie hears the news Roe v Wade is overturned. Stacie, a liberal state representative, will now have to fight a trigger ban that goes into effect. Stacie’s friend Pearl, a conservative health care clinic director, learns that her teenage daughter Belle is pregnant, and pressures her to have the baby. Belle asks Stacie to help her get an abortion, and is at Stacie’s house when Belle has a medical emergency that puts her life at risk unless she gets an abortion soon. The new trigger law prevents Belle from having an abortion until she is in a medical crisis. Belle doesn’t understand the risk, and won’t go to a hospital unless Stacie promises not to tell her mother, Stacie’s friend Pearl. Stacie agrees reluctantly and takes Belle to a hospital in a neighboring state where she has an emergency abortion procedure. Belle’s father, Hayes, is a conservative legislator and seeks revenge against Stacie in a way that is politically expedient and may send Stacie to prison. Belle retaliates against her father for attacking Stacie by weakening his political stature when she posts a photo online showing him at a Klan meeting. Hayes pressures Pearl to exaggerate a past incident involving Stacie’s use of painkillers, and threatens Stacie with blackmail unless she resigns from the legislature, which would tip the balance of the vote so that the abortion ban would become more restrictive. The friendship between Stacie and Pearl explodes as the relationship between Pearl and Hayes implodes with the new revelations.
  • THE POPULAR TRUTH GAME SHOW by Lesley Becker
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, musical + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: comedy, satire + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, musical, parody/spoof, political, satire
    Keyword: comedy, satire, parody, Politics, contemporary social issues
    A TV game show, THE POPULAR TRUTH GAME SHOW, poses questions to contestants to test their knowledge not of facts or truth, but of the most popular American viewpoints and ideas. Unpopular truths are fed into a noisy paper shredder!A love triangle is resolved by an unconventional departure.
    More songs are included in a 20 minute version.
  • THE GODS OF THE HILLS by Lesley Becker
    Cast: 
    7–8
    ·
    Genre: drama, political
    ·
    Keyword: climate change, social issues + 8 more
    Genre: drama, political
    Keyword: climate change, social issues, social justice, wind energy, renewable energy, rural community, tar sands, energy production, Raffensperger, Guardians of the Future
    The Gods of the Hills addresses the “hot button” topic of energy production, from tar sands oil to industrial ridgeline wind tower, and raises issues of environmental justice, as well as the loss of democratic process in small communities and how that is balanced against the urgent need for renewable energy.

    Karin Green, a renewable energy advocate and attorney, wants to join forces with a...
    The Gods of the Hills addresses the “hot button” topic of energy production, from tar sands oil to industrial ridgeline wind tower, and raises issues of environmental justice, as well as the loss of democratic process in small communities and how that is balanced against the urgent need for renewable energy.

    Karin Green, a renewable energy advocate and attorney, wants to join forces with a charming bureaucrat, Eric Powers, to combat climate change. She learns that Eric’s methods are not always what they seem. Alison Fields, a community official in a small town, struggles against Eric’s efforts to force an energy project that could endanger the town’s drinking water. As Alison struggles against Eric’s maneuvers, Karin discovers the truth behind Eric’s public image and his involvement in the death of a town commissioner.

    The issue of appropriate solutions to address climate disruption is an issue of concern because the need for climate disruption solutions is urgent. The public subsidies and faith that is being invested in industrial scale renewable energy requires that these solutions are credible. If the energy projects approved by government do not actually reduce fossil fuel use, is a loss of precious time to move in the direction of genuine solutions. This point is illustrated in The Gods of the Hills. In installing industrial scale projects, irreplaceable natural areas are destroyed and polluted, and the impact will be a great loss of natural resources and the weakening of the ecosystem’s ability to re-calibrate during the impacts of climate disruption events. Carolyn Raffensperger, executive director of the Science and Environmental Health Network, developed a concept of a precautionary principal and appointed legal Guardians, which is transformed into “Guardians of the Future” in this play, alerting the audience about the need to assess the environmental impacts of energy projects on future generations.

  • WINDS OF CHANGE by Lesley Becker
    Cast: 
    7–8
    ·
    Genre: drama, political
    ·
    Keyword: climate change, rural community + 5 more
    Genre: drama, political
    Keyword: climate change, rural community, wind energy, social issues, environment, justice, social justice
    When a powerful utility company offers a farmer who’s come to hard times a sweet deal to lease the mountain behind his farm – the farmer takes the offer and life is changed forever for the family and the town.

    Dave Taylor got an offer he can’t refuse – enough money to keep the family farm and send his kids to college - but what he doesn’t know - it will make their home unbearable.
    ...
    When a powerful utility company offers a farmer who’s come to hard times a sweet deal to lease the mountain behind his farm – the farmer takes the offer and life is changed forever for the family and the town.

    Dave Taylor got an offer he can’t refuse – enough money to keep the family farm and send his kids to college - but what he doesn’t know - it will make their home unbearable.

    The mountain ridge is pristine and is priceless wildlife habitat – but also the perfect site for industrial wind turbines.

    The vulnerabilities of a small rural community where poverty and unemployment are the norm make the town an easy target for oversized wind turbines planned by the utility company.

    Dave’s children both see themselves as environmentalists - his daughter Deirdre loves the mountain ridge behind their house and doesn’t want it to be blasted for roads and wind towers – but her brother Johnny believes that technology and sustainability have precedence over conservation because of climate change.

    Neighbors skeptical of the size of the huge power project discourage Dave and town leaders from accepting the lucrative offers from the utility company. Dave accepts the deal – and signs a gag order agreeing not to talk about the deal or the project – ever.

    The neighbors’ son is killed in a drunk driving accident – Deirdre served the drinks to him at the bar where she works as a waitress – already angered by the wind tower project, the unequivocally religious neighboring family blames Deirdre for their son’s death.

    Deirdre’s high school sweetheart returns from serving in the army in Afghanistan – on first returning home – he wants to go up to the waterfall on the mountain ridge with Deirdre – he thought of the mountain often while he was away, and is shocked to find the mountain top has been destroyed by explosives, in preparation for paving roads and wind tower platforms.

    The first morning that wind tower goes online – the family farm is shrouded by flickering shadows as the sun rises behind the spinning blades. The utility company doesn’t see the flickering shadows, or the noise, as a problem – and Dave’s family is prevented by the gag order from talking to anyone about what is going on at their farm.

    As the power project progresses – the next tower to go online will cast flickering shadow on the house of the neighbor’s whose son died recently. Someone sets off some explosives at the base of the tower – utility security and police surround Dave’s home.

    The family realizes that Johnny set off the explosives – and they all feel his helplessness and desperation to save their home and community.
  • THE COURTROOM by Lesley Becker
    Cast: 
    3–4
    ·
    Genre: drama, political + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: environment, climate change + 2 more
    Genre: drama, political, verse
    Keyword: environment, climate change, environmental crisis, legal protector of the environment
    The Courtroom is a verse drama addressing the “hot button” topic of energy production, from tar sands oil to industrial ridgeline wind tower, and raises issues of environmental justice, as well as the loss of democratic process in small communities and how that is balanced against the urgent need for renewable energy.