Michael Aman

Michael Aman

Michael Aman’s POZ has been produced around the country and was nominated for Best New Work for the 2015 Carbonell Awards in Southern Florida. The Waterfront Playhouse produced Glass in January of 2020 to rave reviews and will be part of the Tennessee Williams Festival in St. Louis later this year. 2019 premieres: Step Three, Kalamazoo, Michigan and Dick and Jane, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 2018 premieres:...
Michael Aman’s POZ has been produced around the country and was nominated for Best New Work for the 2015 Carbonell Awards in Southern Florida. The Waterfront Playhouse produced Glass in January of 2020 to rave reviews and will be part of the Tennessee Williams Festival in St. Louis later this year. 2019 premieres: Step Three, Kalamazoo, Michigan and Dick and Jane, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 2018 premieres: Muscle Bears the Musical, Stalker Bob and His Mother. Muscle Bears had its NYC premiere in November, 2019 and has two more productions coming up. His play Feeding the Bear was produced at Island City Stage in June, 2016. The Unbleached American won best play for the African American Playwrights’ Exchange (AAPEX) in 2012 and had its premiere at The Stoneham Theatre in Massachusetts in 2014. He wrote the book for the musical Coyote, which was presented through the FWD Theatre Project in Chicago in 2016. His musical Frida (book and lyrics; music by Olivier nominee Dana P. Rowe) was presented at the Repertory Theater of St. Louis in April, 2019. He co-wrote the book for The Piper (with Grammy winning songwriter Marcus Hummon), which premiered at the Actor’s Bridge Ensemble in Nashville, 2010. He co-wrote the book and lyrics for The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde (2005 NYMF). He also co-wrote the book for Let Me Sing! A Musical Evolution (George Street Playhouse; Charlotte Repertory Theatre). Michael is represented by Barbara Hogenson at the Barbara Hogenson Agency.

Plays

  • POZ by Michael Aman
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: HIV/AIDS, LGBTQ
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, romantic comedy
    Keyword: HIV/AIDS, LGBTQ
    POZ is about a young man in 2003 with tuberculosis who discovers that if he was HIV+ he would be covered by insurance for chemo. He meets an HIV+ man with the idea of being infected. The play examines an unconventional love between the two men and an odd family of characters, each dealing with their own demons: an aging actress, struggles with asthma, an eccentric woman who speaks with angels, a middle aged...
    POZ is about a young man in 2003 with tuberculosis who discovers that if he was HIV+ he would be covered by insurance for chemo. He meets an HIV+ man with the idea of being infected. The play examines an unconventional love between the two men and an odd family of characters, each dealing with their own demons: an aging actress, struggles with asthma, an eccentric woman who speaks with angels, a middle aged flamboyant queen, and a young man who died of AIDS early in the health crisis.
    REVIEWS:
    http://www.southflorida.com/theater-and-arts/your-gay-boyfriend-blog/sf-lauderdale-theater-poz-review-20141029,0,2304671.story

    http://www.miamiartzine.com/Features.php?op=Article_Promising+Premiere+of+POZ

    http://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/ent-columns-blogs/christine-dolen/article3402948.html
  • GLASS by Michael Aman
    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: Tennessee Williams, History + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, period
    Keyword: Tennessee Williams, History, Laurette Taylor, alcoholism, LGBTQ
    Glass is a two character play that takes place on December 26, 1944 on the opening night of The Glass Menagerie. It’s two hours before the first performance and Tennessee Williams waits in the dressing room of the star of the play, Laurette Taylor. Miss Taylor’s reputation for drinking and destructive behavior has filled the playwright with fear that she will ruin what he considers his last chance as a...
    Glass is a two character play that takes place on December 26, 1944 on the opening night of The Glass Menagerie. It’s two hours before the first performance and Tennessee Williams waits in the dressing room of the star of the play, Laurette Taylor. Miss Taylor’s reputation for drinking and destructive behavior has filled the playwright with fear that she will ruin what he considers his last chance as a playwright. The play is a confrontation between the two figures. It’s a battle of a woman struggling to regain her glory and a playwright desperate to gain a foothold in the theatre world. The play explores the role of truth and the power of theatre to heal two wounded souls.
  • The Dark Ages by Michael Aman
    Cast: 
    15–20
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    Genre: adventure, comedy + 5 more
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    Keyword: plague, virus + 3 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, dark comedy, docudrama/historic, period, romantic comedy, young audiences
    Keyword: plague, virus, teenagers, high school, large cast
    It's 1546 somewhere in Scotland. A group of girls live in a broken down house in the forest. They have sought sanctuary from the plague. A group of boys arrive. This is the dark ages, according to one of the characters - the age when teens begin to take an interest in each other. The play looks at the complications of a group of teens forming a community. Through illness, weather issues and even a bear,...
    It's 1546 somewhere in Scotland. A group of girls live in a broken down house in the forest. They have sought sanctuary from the plague. A group of boys arrive. This is the dark ages, according to one of the characters - the age when teens begin to take an interest in each other. The play looks at the complications of a group of teens forming a community. Through illness, weather issues and even a bear, the play explores the comic possibilities of such a suggestion against the backdrop of the plague.
  • The Unbleached American by Michael Aman
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: biography, comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: African American, History
    Genre: biography, comedy, docudrama/historic, drama
    Keyword: African American, History
    The Unbleached American is a two character play that tells the story of Ernest Hogan, the African American comedian who wrote the first “coon song,” a fact that made him wealthy, but haunted him his entire life. The play looks at Ernest’s relationship with his Irish American nurse, Sharon. It is a love story, which explores dichotomies: male/female, rich/poor, ill/healthy, African American/Irish. At its core,...
    The Unbleached American is a two character play that tells the story of Ernest Hogan, the African American comedian who wrote the first “coon song,” a fact that made him wealthy, but haunted him his entire life. The play looks at Ernest’s relationship with his Irish American nurse, Sharon. It is a love story, which explores dichotomies: male/female, rich/poor, ill/healthy, African American/Irish. At its core, The Unbleached American is a celebration of performance.
  • Goddess by Michael Aman
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: religion vs. faith, older sibling rivalry
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, faith-based, farce, satire
    Keyword: religion vs. faith, older sibling rivalry
    Goddess. Esther and Edna Hefel, two sisters of a certain age, live together in constant tension somewhere in Ohio. Esther is cranky and foul-mouthed, Edna is a church going sweetie and one of them might actually be a goddess. When a stranger from an island nation finds the sisters through the signs, he is certain he has found his island’s missing goddess. With the added weight of Esther’s adult daughter Early...
    Goddess. Esther and Edna Hefel, two sisters of a certain age, live together in constant tension somewhere in Ohio. Esther is cranky and foul-mouthed, Edna is a church going sweetie and one of them might actually be a goddess. When a stranger from an island nation finds the sisters through the signs, he is certain he has found his island’s missing goddess. With the added weight of Esther’s adult daughter Early (Earl), they debate the issues raised by the prophet Ra’anui to determine who could be the missing goddess.
  • Rescue by Michael Aman
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: abuse, LGBTQ + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: abuse, LGBTQ, theater, dogs, ghosts
    Albert, a successful Broadway costume designer, has recently been freed from an abusive relationship due to the death of his partner Rey. Befriended by his next-door neighbor, Sol, a promising young actress who dreams of a life in the theater, despite her mother’s discouragement, suggests that Albert to adopt a puppy to help him heal. Enter Rufus, a full-grown pit bull, played by a male actor. Rufus shares...
    Albert, a successful Broadway costume designer, has recently been freed from an abusive relationship due to the death of his partner Rey. Befriended by his next-door neighbor, Sol, a promising young actress who dreams of a life in the theater, despite her mother’s discouragement, suggests that Albert to adopt a puppy to help him heal. Enter Rufus, a full-grown pit bull, played by a male actor. Rufus shares Albert’s history of abuse. The play walks the fine between love and abuse and the pain of learning to trust.
  • His Heroine by Michael Aman by Michael Aman
    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: drama, experimental + 2 more
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    Keyword: addiction, Lesbian + 3 more
    Genre: drama, experimental, melodrama, tragedy
    Keyword: addiction, Lesbian, LGBTQ, family, fiction and reality
    How does a parent help a child who is struggling with drug addiction? HIS HEROINE looks at a man doing his best to deal with his daughter who is addicted to heroin. Glen, a divorced novelist, hears that his daughter contacted her ex-girlfriend, which leads to Glen’s fear and hope that she might return home after being missing for months. He struggles to find the “right” way to be a good father to a daughter...
    How does a parent help a child who is struggling with drug addiction? HIS HEROINE looks at a man doing his best to deal with his daughter who is addicted to heroin. Glen, a divorced novelist, hears that his daughter contacted her ex-girlfriend, which leads to Glen’s fear and hope that she might return home after being missing for months. He struggles to find the “right” way to be a good father to a daughter who is struggling with addiction. The play alternates between a 24 hour period in which he thinks he daughter might return and the fictional versions of her that he as created of her.

  • Feeding the Bear by Michael Aman
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: LGBTQ, gay + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: LGBTQ, gay, Alzheimer's Disease, aging
    Feeding the Bear is a four character comedy based on a true story and concerns a middle aged gay man with body dismorphia who has to learn to care for his father with Alzheimer's. After watching a reality show hosted by a drag queen, the father begins to wear the clothes of his departed wife. Because of dad’s dementia, Miss Martini, the fabulous African American drag queen and hostess for Cooking is a...
    Feeding the Bear is a four character comedy based on a true story and concerns a middle aged gay man with body dismorphia who has to learn to care for his father with Alzheimer's. After watching a reality show hosted by a drag queen, the father begins to wear the clothes of his departed wife. Because of dad’s dementia, Miss Martini, the fabulous African American drag queen and hostess for Cooking is a Drag, steps into the role of dad’s German home care worker. The daughter becomes dad’s departed wife. And the son has to learn to deal with all of it. The play is an exploration of acceptance, specifically, self-acceptance learned through the acceptance of others.
  • Step Three by Michael Aman
    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: sobriety, gay + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, experimental, immersive
    Keyword: sobriety, gay, alcoholism, LGBTQ
    Step Three examines faith and sobriety in a respectful, yet comic way while using a non-linear chronology to paint a mosaic. It is about a middle aged gay man who addresses his sobriety for the first time and in so doing confronts his long latent faith in the form of an eccentric woman who may or may not be God. The play's setting is nothing more than would be found at a typical AA meeting - chairs,...
    Step Three examines faith and sobriety in a respectful, yet comic way while using a non-linear chronology to paint a mosaic. It is about a middle aged gay man who addresses his sobriety for the first time and in so doing confronts his long latent faith in the form of an eccentric woman who may or may not be God. The play's setting is nothing more than would be found at a typical AA meeting - chairs, tables, etc. Ultimately, Step Three is about fear in battle with faith. The play shifts back and forth in time creating a mosaic that comes together to paint a picture of a man's struggle to find himself.
  • Caliban by Michael Aman
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: Shakespeare, poetry + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental, fantasy
    Keyword: Shakespeare, poetry, heightened language, Fantasy, resentment, iambic pentameter
    Caliban is a play about language and resentments. Shakespeare’s creature from The Tempest is still alive and well and still holding the resentments toward Prospero after all these years. He lives on an island where he finds a woman, hoping she can save the man he has imprisoned in his cave. Caliban is a four character play that like Shakespeare’s works, should be done with minimal scenery. Caliban speaks...
    Caliban is a play about language and resentments. Shakespeare’s creature from The Tempest is still alive and well and still holding the resentments toward Prospero after all these years. He lives on an island where he finds a woman, hoping she can save the man he has imprisoned in his cave. Caliban is a four character play that like Shakespeare’s works, should be done with minimal scenery. Caliban speaks in iambic pentameter while the other three characters speak in contemporary and sometimes off-color language.
  • Meanwhile, in the Lobby by Michael Aman
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: older actors, community theater + 1 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: older actors, community theater, Shakespeare quotes
    A short play about what the ushers are up to in the lobby as the play is performed. Eunice, Terrence and Walter are volunteer ushers of a certain age with a number of hangups. Eunice pops in the bathroom regularly to snort coke. Walter spies on the performance that has cast one of the former ushers, hoping he fails. And Terrence tries to keep everyone on track while quoting Shakespeare.
  • Dragged by Michael Aman
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic + 2 more
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    Keyword: drag queen, black lives matter + 2 more
    Genre: biography, docudrama/historic, experimental, fantasy
    Keyword: drag queen, black lives matter, LGBTQ, William Dorsey Swann
    A white woman(Ginny)is thrown in an unmarked van at a Black Lives Matter protest. She finds herself in a cell with a black woman who is asleep. The sleeping woman is William Dorsey Swann (Queen). Swann challenges Ginny about her beliefs. When Swann removes her hat, Ginny is shaken with the encounter of a drag queen. The two women argue about the meaning of acceptance and in the end, Swann accepts Ginny for her...
    A white woman(Ginny)is thrown in an unmarked van at a Black Lives Matter protest. She finds herself in a cell with a black woman who is asleep. The sleeping woman is William Dorsey Swann (Queen). Swann challenges Ginny about her beliefs. When Swann removes her hat, Ginny is shaken with the encounter of a drag queen. The two women argue about the meaning of acceptance and in the end, Swann accepts Ginny for her flawed self. The cell is without of time or space.
  • Awake by Michael Aman
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, biography + 5 more
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    Keyword: feminist, 19th century + 3 more
    Genre: adaptation, biography, docudrama/historic, drama, melodrama, period, romantic comedy
    Keyword: feminist, 19th century, Creole, southern, zoom
    Based on Kate Chopin's The Awakening, Awake explores the relationship between an author and her protagonist. The Awakening was a 19th century feminist novella and was considered scandalous at the time. The novella follows Edna, who doesn't prescribe to the strict conventions that women were expected to follow. As the play progresses, the relationship between author and protagonist turns to love. The...
    Based on Kate Chopin's The Awakening, Awake explores the relationship between an author and her protagonist. The Awakening was a 19th century feminist novella and was considered scandalous at the time. The novella follows Edna, who doesn't prescribe to the strict conventions that women were expected to follow. As the play progresses, the relationship between author and protagonist turns to love. The cast of five actresses play all the roles. The play was designed to be performed online in a Zoom or similar platform.
  • Nails by Michael Aman
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: gender non-conforming, LGBTQ + 4 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: gender non-conforming, LGBTQ, trans, college, closeted, Covid-19
    Nails: Nova and Marvel haven’t seen each other since their college went online. Nova has had to go back to acting like a boy around her dad. The two girls Zoom-dish about school and the other non-conformists there. Nova tells Marvel about her gay grandfather and finds out he might not make it. She decides for his sake, to not hide her true self.
  • The Dark Ages by Michael Aman
    Cast: 
    15–20
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: play for teens, plague + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, docudrama/historic
    Keyword: play for teens, plague, majority of female characters, teen love
    The Dark Ages: t's 1546 somewhere in Scotland. A group of girls live in a broken-down house in the forest. They have sought sanctuary from the plague. A group of boys arrive. This is the dark ages, according to one of the characters - the age when teens begin to take an interest in each other. The play looks at the complications of a group of teens forming a community. Through illness, weather issues and...
    The Dark Ages: t's 1546 somewhere in Scotland. A group of girls live in a broken-down house in the forest. They have sought sanctuary from the plague. A group of boys arrive. This is the dark ages, according to one of the characters - the age when teens begin to take an interest in each other. The play looks at the complications of a group of teens forming a community. Through illness, weather issues and even a bear, the play explores the comic possibilities of such a situation against the backdrop of the plague. The play is comic in tone with the underpinnings of a serious situation. It is filled with intentional anachronisms for comic effect.
  • Mom by Michael Aman
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: Alzheimer's Disease, memory loss + 3 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: Alzheimer's Disease, memory loss, resentment, mother and daughter, Assisted Living
    Mom: June visits her mother in her assisted living apartment. It’s been years since June has seen her abusive mother. Miriam doesn’t recognize her daughter, but the pain that both of them are in is alleviated just through the opportunity to talk.