Janet J. Lawler

Janet J. Lawler is an LA-based playwright and screenwriter. Her new full-length play "Bette Davis and the Hollywood Canteen" was a recent semifinalist in the 2025 Austin Film Festival for Stage Plays. Her one-act plays "Trending", "Biscuits & Bones", "Netfits", "Extreme Green", "The Kiss", and "Good Grief" have received staged performances across the United States.

Coming up in April 2026, Silver Theater Productions in Massachusetts will stage "Biscuits& Bones". Janet's play "NetFits" was staged by the River Falls Community Theater in Wisconsin in 2025.

In 2024, "Biscuits & Bones" received a reading by the Open Eye Theater in the Catskills, NY and Over Our Head Players Theater in Wisconsin. This play was also staged by Parish Players Theatre in Vermont in 2023. "Biscuits & Bones" had...

Janet J. Lawler is an LA-based playwright and screenwriter. Her new full-length play "Bette Davis and the Hollywood Canteen" was a recent semifinalist in the 2025 Austin Film Festival for Stage Plays. Her one-act plays "Trending", "Biscuits & Bones", "Netfits", "Extreme Green", "The Kiss", and "Good Grief" have received staged performances across the United States.

Coming up in April 2026, Silver Theater Productions in Massachusetts will stage "Biscuits& Bones". Janet's play "NetFits" was staged by the River Falls Community Theater in Wisconsin in 2025.

In 2024, "Biscuits & Bones" received a reading by the Open Eye Theater in the Catskills, NY and Over Our Head Players Theater in Wisconsin. This play was also staged by Parish Players Theatre in Vermont in 2023. "Biscuits & Bones" had its debut virtual reading at Naked Angels Tues@9NYC in 2020. Janet's previous work "Netfits" and "Good Grief" were produced by The Ridgefield Theatre Barn for it's "Evening of One-Acts Festival 2018."

"Trending" was staged in 2023 Summer Staged Reading Series by the Valley Players in Napa, California.

Janet is the creator/writer of the TV Pilot "Hello, News!", a semifinalist in the 2022 Austin Film Festival Screenwriting Competition. Janet's original screenplay "The Tenant" was an Austin FF semi-finalist and a Nicholl Fellowship quarter-finalist in 2015.

Janet is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America. If you are interested in producing a play of Janet's, please contact her for permission.

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Scripts

BETTE DAVIS AND THE HOLLYWOOD CANTEEN

Full-Length Play by Janet J. Lawler

Cast Size
5—8
Genre
comedy,
docudrama/historic,
drama,
period,
zoom

In 1942, actress Bette Davis and actor John Garfield launched an entertainment dance club called The Hollywood Canteen for WWII American soldiers and their Allies passing through Los Angeles before shipping off to war.

Davis and Garfield ruffled more than a few feathers when they insisted the Hollywood dance club be integrated at a time when racial segregation was widespread in the U.S., including in the...

In 1942, actress Bette Davis and actor John Garfield launched an entertainment dance club called The Hollywood Canteen for WWII American soldiers and their Allies passing through Los Angeles before shipping off to war.

Davis and Garfield ruffled more than a few feathers when they insisted the Hollywood dance club be integrated at a time when racial segregation was widespread in the U.S., including in the military and in many aspects of the entertainment industry.

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BISCUITS & BONES

by Janet J. Lawler

4
Cast Size
2
Genre
comedy,
movement/physical,
romantic comedy,
zoom

A couple finds love at a dog park and soon discover they are quirkier than their dogs.

A couple finds love at a dog park and soon discover they are quirkier than their dogs.

TRENDING

by Janet J. Lawler

1
Cast Size
2
Genre
comedy,
drama,
radio drama

A seasoned TV anchorwoman finds her career in jeopardy when its discovered her social media numbers are not up to par.

A seasoned TV anchorwoman finds her career in jeopardy when its discovered her social media numbers are not up to par.

GOOD GRIEF

by Janet J. Lawler

2
Cast Size
2
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
drama,
radio drama,
zoom

A woman thinks she has met the man of her dreams until she discovers what he does for a living -- he's a mortician.

A woman thinks she has met the man of her dreams until she discovers what he does for a living -- he's a mortician.

INK DEEP

by Janet J. Lawler

Cast Size
2
Genre
comedy,
drama,
radio drama,
zoom

A woman decides to get her first tattoo after a bad breakup. The skin deep experience brings up unexpected humor and raw emotions.

A woman decides to get her first tattoo after a bad breakup. The skin deep experience brings up unexpected humor and raw emotions.

NETFITS

by Janet J. Lawler

Cast Size
2
Genre
comedy,
romantic comedy,
zoom

A newly married couple battle over their Netflix viewing habits and password.

A newly married couple battle over their Netflix viewing habits and password.

THE KISS

by Janet J. Lawler

Cast Size
2—3
Genre
drama,
radio drama

While on vacation in San Diego Bay, a brother and sister debate the artistic and social implications of the famous 25 ft. "Kissing Statue", which depicts a WWII sailor spontaneously kissing a civilian woman in Times Square.

While on vacation in San Diego Bay, a brother and sister debate the artistic and social implications of the famous 25 ft. "Kissing Statue", which depicts a WWII sailor spontaneously kissing a civilian woman in Times Square.

EXTREME GREEN

by Janet J. Lawler

Cast Size
2
Genre
comedy,
drama,
radio drama

An earnest young man takes possession of an abandoned lot to grow an organic garden in his community, that is until the property's irate owner shows up to put an end to his environmental plans.

An earnest young man takes possession of an abandoned lot to grow an organic garden in his community, that is until the property's irate owner shows up to put an end to his environmental plans.