John Kelly

10 MINUTE PLAY - Jamie is a 16 year-old girl who recently lost her only close relative, her Grandpa, a beekeeper. A friendly neighbor teaches Jamie a lesson about bees, a lesson that just might teach Jamie a bit about life. What else might she learn?

NOTE: Contains some swearing.

ONE ACT PLAY (20 minutes) A new substitute teacher and her mass communication class are confronted by a school lockdown.

TEN MINUTE PLAY - Two unique individuals - one Ojibwe, one of Irish descent - both of whom could be described as two-spirited people, meet while “fishing.” Will they become “soul-friends?”

10 MINUTE PLAY - The lives of two sisters - and all those around them - are changed when one of their children becomes transgender.

10 MINUTE PLAY - COMEDY - A lesbian couple wake up to find that one of them has a most unwanted male body. What to do?

TEN MINUTE PLAY - Jeff’s daughter Lise has asked him to bring her to a lake
she and he had visited with her recently deceased mother.
But why this particular lake? And just why now?

10 MINUTE PLAY - A young teen trans woman is trapped in a bathroom stall while two women argue over what should be her fate (in a state with a Transgender Bathroom Law.)

TEN MINUTE PLAY - Kayla and Maddie have been suspended from school for wearing Nazi uniforms and burning books. Their parents are called in to discuss the problem. Not all goes as planned.

ONE ACT PLAY (45 MIN) The suicide of a young woman affects her wife, mother, and friends in a myriad of ways.

SHORT PLAY: Based upon historical fact - John W. Jones, an escaped slave, has buried almost 3000 Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. Three women from the UWC arrive, with the intent of returning their fallen heroes to their homes, far from the inhospitable Northern soil. But they don't...

SHORT PLAY: An operator of drones for the American military is kidnapped by three women, all related to a man mistakenly killed in a drone strike. Who the women are, and where they come from, is a mystery. Together, they seek to teach the man the error of his ways.

TEN MINUTE PLAY - During the time of "the troubles" in Ireland, a trio appears in the woods... a man and two girls. A shot rings out. Then more shots. And an unseen boy's life is lost. The trio moves on, only to discover that one of their own has also been wounded. She too must be given up for lost. Will mankind ever learn? Will they ever care?

The arrival of Afghan refugees in the United States demands much of a former Vietnamese refugee.

TEN MINUTE PLAY - A young man... his Mom... an unlocked door... and a life size, anatomically correct rubber doll. Things happen.

20 MINUTE ONE ACT - The spirits of the victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and three survivors (a newspaperman who witnessed the horror, an employee who escaped, and the building's elevator operator) return to the site of the disaster to try to come to terms with the tragedy.

TEN MINUTE PLAY - A young Ukrainian woman wants to fight for her country. Her mother hopes she won't

TEN MINUTE PLAY - Janie returns to the river... a site visited by all the former members of her military family. One by one they defend their service, but in the end, the question "What difference did it make?" must be answered.

TEN MINUTE PLAY - A very pregnant young woman meets two strangers who
introduce her to concepts she’d not heard before.

SHORT PLAY. More than 35 years after establishment and initial creation of the AIDS Quilt's, people whose loved ones are represented on it share their thoughts and feelings.

10 MINUTE PLAY - At the circus, an adult son finds the father that abandoned both him and his mother... to be both a drunk... and a clown.

10 MINUTE PLAY - A Vietnam veteran, suffering the effects of Agent Orange, is confronted with a moment from his past.

TEN MINUTE PLAY - About a llama, Zahma, his mama, Yama, a girlfriend Rama, who's a brahma and... well... you get the idea. Reminiscent of the best of Abbott and Costello. A two-handed tongue twister that is perfect for IHS thespians looking for a real challenge.

TEN MINUTE PLAY - The proprietor and waitress of a Mom and Pop breakfast/coffee shop discuss an older customer who has just left.

TEN MINUTE PLAY. Sometimes, when "ya gotta go," you just "gotta go!"

SHORT PLAY: A bit of nonsense. A couple driving home one night is visited by an otherworldly couple in search of "joystick" in order to make "baykees"

SHORT PLAY: A German immigrant searches the lower East Side of NYC for his wife who was lost in processing on Ellis Island

10 MINUTE PLAY: Lovely Young Children deals - tangentially - with the opioid crisis, as an individual stages the bodies of lovely young victims of the drug epidemic for all to see. The play is uniquely structured to permit any relationship between the two characters involved.

SHORT PLAY; Astronauts returning from the first manned landing on an asteroid encounter difficulties. (Inspired by, but having nothing to do with, the Covid-19 virus)

VERY SHORT PLAY - An elderly woman, of German heritage, tells of her first and only love –
and their dances together in the snow.

TEN MINUTE PLAY. (1F,1M) After a Pride parade, an elderly woman and a young gay teen boy meet on the subway. The ride home allows them both to share a bit of their lives with one another.

VERY SHORT PLAY (7-8 minutes)
An elderly Jewish man and a young girl meet.
Both are waiting for that elusive someone.

10 MINUTE PLAY - A night watchman disturbs a man’s sleep in the park.

10 MINUTE PLAY - A bit of Pythonesque humor. Two "men" meet, greet, and depart. One lays under a great slab of stone, seemingly oblivious to "his" situation. Just a bit of fluff.

10 MINUTE PLAY. A very long time ago, in the coldest of winters, two sisters have their barn suddenly burn.
Marta, the eldest, has saved Irina from the fire. Suddenly a stranger, Pyr, appears from the flames. He assures Marta that Irina will be well. It is 'not yet her time.' When Irina learns that their house may burn as well, she begs her sister to go and save the gifts their deceased mother gave to them. Marta returns to their home and the furious flames. Pyr follows, leaving Irina alone. It appears it may be Marta's time.

SHORT PLAY: A father takes his two daughters to watch their brother play little league baseball. The elder daughter wants nothing to do with anything so boring as baseball, while the younger daughter just wants to learn about the game.

SHORT PLAY - Based upon the early history of space exploration, this is the humorous tale - told by a person of some age (called Grandpa in the text) - of two animals (a Dog and a Monkey) who are sent into space and return heroes.

Two older women meet a man at the park. The man is not what he seems, but then neither are the women.

10 MINUTE PLAY. (2F,1M) On the banks of a river, an older man (Willy) hopes to attract the attention of a lovely older woman (Bett). She does not speak. Her friend Thea, however, does and interprets for her. If Willy can't involve Bett in conversation, perhaps she would like to play... chess (on an oversized outdoor board) They play, and Bett checkmates Willy. Well... enough is enough. If she's going to treat him like that, he'll just set his sights on Thea. But that's what the women intended all along!

TEN MINUTE PLAY: Three children who recently lost their mother (having already lost their father some time ago) deal with the youngest sister’s nightmares. (a rather innocent and admittedly religious viewpoint)

TEN MINUTE PLAY. (3F,1M) TYA. Two teen girls set a boy up for a date with a truly beautiful girl... with a unicorn horn protruding from her forehead. He's shocked by it, but the others either don't see it or don't seem to care. Does he?

SHORT PLAY: TYA, A witch exchanges the personalities of two very different girls at the school dance - one shy and reserved, the other outgoing and wild.

FULL LENGTH, ONE OR TWO ACTS - Teri, an opinionated 16 year old, has become homeless after the death of her mother. Fran, a social worker for the state, has searched for any remaining family for Teri and has found no one…except perhaps a Jefferey Denison. Might the man everyone knows as JD be this Jefferey
Denison? And might he be Teri’s grandfather? Even if he should be, will he take Teri into his
care? He lives on his boat, the Everything Good, and has no interest in changing his lifestyle.

FULL LENGTH PLAY: Members of the French Resistance capture four women accused of giving aid and comfort to German soldiers during the occupation of Eastern France. What is to be done with collaborators? What does it mean to be patriotic? a survivor? human? humane? (Working draft)

FULL LENGTH PLAY. Handel's latest work has been rejected by London audiences. He accepts an invitation to go to Dublin and work there. While there he decides to present his new oratorio, Messiah. Musical talent seems lacking in the city, but Handel discovers one of his favorite singers, Susannah Cibber, is visiting with her brother. He convinces her to join Messiah. Susannah, however, comes with baggage. She is not only a famous actress, she is infamous. Her husband (the son of the noted London theatre manager Colley Cibber) took her to court for infidelity – an infidelity he himself instigated. Susannah was divorced and lost custody of her children. Having a woman such as she appear in Messiah is deemed sacrilegious – at least by the Dean of St. Patrick’s Church, the Reverend Jonathan Swift (of Gulliver’s Travels fame.)
Eventually Messiah is performed - quite successfully. The reputations of Handel and Susannah are saved.

FULL LENGTH PLAY: A near-future Pope - African and blind - wishes to begin the ordination of women. He seeks help from Vatican staffers, both priests and nuns. Suddenly a death is discovered, in the very chapel the Pope met with one of his closest counselors. How could such a sacrilege occur, especially in the Holy See?

FULL LENGTH ONE ACT: A century ago in Leenaun, Ireland, a man loses his wife. Soon after, a pod of seals arrive in the harbor… then a mute, unclothed, woman appears. Might she be a Selkie? (a mythological being - half seal, half departed loved one whose life was lost at sea) Might she be more than she seems?

FULL LENGTH PLAY. When two dead white prisoners are discovered in the locked
entry hall to Dartmoor Prison’s Ward Four – an all-black
ward - suspicion is thrown upon many inhabiting the infamous
nineteenth century penal institution. Were black prisoners
responsible for the deaths, or might it have been the white
prisoners of the other wards? Or could it possibly be…

FULL LENGTH PLAY. The residents of a Lower East Side neighborhood find their community changing - and not always for the better. Violence is not always present... but is always possible... and the older residents know their children do not see the concept of community or neighborhood as they did and still do.

FULL LENGTH; 4F, 1M - Anne, and her live-in love Pat, attempt to protect Anne’s teenage granddaughter Cassie from her drunk and abusive father, Jack. Jack physically abused Cassie while she was an infant, a child who thankfully was much too young to be able to remember the incident. Cassie’s mother - and Anne’s daughter - Jackie, forever refused to accept the possibility of any such abuse, causing a total rift between herself and Anne.
‘O’ begins shortly after Jackie’s untimely death in an auto accident. Alcohol seems to have been a contributing factor in the accident. Cassie has agreed to move in with her grandmother while the funeral for her mother was arranged and held. In no way does she intend to stay – her mother wouldn’t have even set foot in the house. She has no intention of making it her new home.
Suddenly the long absent Jack reappears, looking to find Cassie. Why? And why suddenly now? For money? Cassie has none. Cassie, having wanted to meet Jack for as long as she can remember, finally does so. And she appears to be falling under his spell. She hopes to be able to live with him.
Eventually, all ends as it should. Cassie learns of her father’s evil and comes to appreciate her grandmother.

FULL LENGTH PLAY: A woman and her two grown daughters are left to fend for themselves when their men go off to fight for Missouri in the Civil War.

FULL LENGTH PLAY: WINNER OF THE 2016 ROOTS OF THE BLUEGRASS CONTEST. WC begins with the interrogation of Said Zakee al Rashidi, a British educated commander of Islamic State militants, by retired US Colonel (and now attorney) Frank Stanstead. The two men bait each other, trying to maintain what each believes is the upper hand in the interrogation. Al Rashidi attempts to be comical and aloof, while Stanstead seeks to trap him into lying to authorities. When al Rashidi intentionally injures himself, he accuses Stanstead of improper treatment. Only a camera, thought to have been turned off, saves the Colonel from embarrassment.
American Secretary Joyce Blanton meets with Stanstead and Liz Strong, another member of her team, at an undisclosed location. She is concerned that Stanstead was almost outwitted by Said. Liz believes his actions were appropriate, but shares Joyce’s concern that Frank was not “his usual self.” Joyce shares Frank’s military history with Liz, including a stint in Bosnia during which ethnic cleansing and genocide were rampant. Being reminded of those atrocities may have caused Frank to take the current situation personally.
Said meets with an attorney, Rebecka Bullock, who wishes to defend him. He wants no part of her. She is a woman, one who has fallen into shameful Western ways. She manages to convince him that her improper appearance and behavior is merely a masquerade - a cover to allow her to appear friendly to Westerners. She tells of important supporters - men who would be of benefit to Said, but refuses to name them. Said remains unconvinced, but grudgingly moves forward with Rebecka’s proposed defense. Together they will make War - a legal War - on the infidels of the West.
Act Two begins with both teams trying to convince the ICC Prosecutor to take the case. The ICC has no jurisdiction in the matter, because neither Iraq nor Syria is a signatory to the Rome agreement governing War Crime trials. Only the previously unemployed Personal Jurisdiction of the Prosecutor can result in bringing al Rashidi to the court.
Both sides worry about their positions, as it is discovered that a photograph of al Rashidi’s hand - with a unique birthmark - has been taken by an American spy satellite. This picture, presented as evidence to the Prosecutor, is sufficient to bring Said to the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber.
Both sides present their cases to the Chamber. Rebecka presents a new set of pictures, taken under the supervision of the ICC staff, that shows numerous other militants who display the same mark on their hands as Rashidi. The quality of the photographs is such that Stanstead cannot identify Said’s photos from the others. The photo evidence is negated, and Said is released into the custody of his attorney.
As al Rashidi enters Rebecka’s hotel for a hastily arranged press conference, the hotel explodes. Frank is certain the explosion was staged. Al Rashidi will never be seen again. Everyone on the American team believes this to be true , but the question arises, “Was the explosion the work of Said and his team, or Frank?”

A monologue - a young Confederate soldier is interviewed shortly after the Civil War.