Colleen M. Hughes

Colleen M. Hughes

Colleen M. Hughes is a playwright born and raised in Somerville, MA. She received her BA in English and Theatre from the College of the Holy Cross and her MFA in Playwriting from Boston University. Colleen’s work has been produced and developed at the Boston Theater Marathon, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Fresh Ink Theatre, New Repertory Theatre, Company One, Dance Connection Theatrical, and the Brazen-Faced...
Colleen M. Hughes is a playwright born and raised in Somerville, MA. She received her BA in English and Theatre from the College of the Holy Cross and her MFA in Playwriting from Boston University. Colleen’s work has been produced and developed at the Boston Theater Marathon, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Fresh Ink Theatre, New Repertory Theatre, Company One, Dance Connection Theatrical, and the Brazen-Faced Varlets. Her play The Mouse was a national semifinalist for the 2011 KCACTF Ten-Minute Play award, and Directive 47 was an O’Neill semifinalist. Colleen was a 2011–2012 New Voices Fellow at New Rep, a 2015–2016 member of the C1 PlayLab Unit at Company One, and is a member of the Dramatists Guild.

Plays

  • The Kids' Table by Colleen M. Hughes
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    8
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: teenagers, pre-teens + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, young audiences
    Keyword: teenagers, pre-teens, LGBTQ, Non-Binary, virtual theater, Virtual Performance, zoom, middle school
    A group of cousins stuck at the kids' table at a wedding discover the importance of being there for your family (even when they're being really annoying).
  • The Legend of the Ghost Forest by Colleen M. Hughes
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    12
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    Genre: comedy, young audiences
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    Keyword: plays for young audiences, Summer Camp + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, young audiences
    Keyword: plays for young audiences, Summer Camp, ghost story, Young actors, elementary school
    A group of kids tell a story around a campfire about a ghostly encounter long ago. A group of ghosts tell the same story at their own campfire. But each group's tale doesn't quite match up with how things really happened.
  • Ms. Arnold's Class Presents 'Persephone' by Colleen M. Hughes
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    8
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    Genre: comedy, young audiences
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    Keyword: middle school, zoom + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, young audiences
    Keyword: middle school, zoom, online appropriate, school, Ancient Greek Myth, Persephone, one act
    When a reluctant Melody logs onto her Zoom class to give her presentation about the Greek myth of Persephone but her teacher is nowhere to be found, she and her classmates take matters into their own hands and retell the story their own way.
  • Step Into Christmas by Colleen M. Hughes
    Cast: 
    5–40
    ·
    Genre: comedy, holiday + 1 more
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    Keyword: holiday, christmas + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, holiday, young audiences
    Keyword: holiday, christmas, dance, family, Santa, Sisters, children, large cast
    Ever since that year her little sister Sam broke her favorite toy, Ava hates Christmas. But a trip to the North Pole shows both sisters the true magic of the season.

    Note: This play was written for a dance studio's holiday production and includes numerous dance numbers. The music used in the original production is included in the script, but it can be easily adapted to suit other holiday...
    Ever since that year her little sister Sam broke her favorite toy, Ava hates Christmas. But a trip to the North Pole shows both sisters the true magic of the season.

    Note: This play was written for a dance studio's holiday production and includes numerous dance numbers. The music used in the original production is included in the script, but it can be easily adapted to suit other holiday music. The text alone runs about 35 min. With the dance numbers in the script, total runtime is about 60 min, but could go as long as 90 with different edits to the given songs or with different song choices.
  • The Travellers by Colleen M. Hughes
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    7–11
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 2 more
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    Keyword: time travel, coming of age + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, science fiction, young audiences
    Keyword: time travel, coming of age, family, 1980s, future, past, irish, teenagers
    Bri is seventeen and desperate for adventure. Her wish seems to be coming true when she meets the Traveller, a mysterious woman who can travel through time. But who is the Traveller, and why does she seem to care if Bri patches up her relationship with her mom? A play about the past, present, and future, what happens when you try to change them — and what happens when time starts to fight back. *First draft.*
  • Directive 47 by Colleen M. Hughes
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: drama, political
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    Keyword: Catholic, Catholic priest + 4 more
    Genre: drama, political
    Keyword: Catholic, Catholic priest, Nuns, inspired by real life, abortion, feminism
    Sr. Barbara O’Keefe has approved an abortion to save the life of a critically ill patient at the Catholic hospital where she works, an action which Bishop Michael Williams decrees worthy of excommunication. When he offers her a return to full standing in the Church if she repents, everyone has difficult choices to make: should Sr. Barbara sacrifice her beliefs to get back the community she loves? Should fellow...
    Sr. Barbara O’Keefe has approved an abortion to save the life of a critically ill patient at the Catholic hospital where she works, an action which Bishop Michael Williams decrees worthy of excommunication. When he offers her a return to full standing in the Church if she repents, everyone has difficult choices to make: should Sr. Barbara sacrifice her beliefs to get back the community she loves? Should fellow nuns Sr. Catherine and Sr. Elizabeth support Sr. Barbara in her time of need or, as Williams desires, seek to remove her from their order? Inspired by a true story, Directive 47 explores faith and doctrine, power and compassion, and what happens when those values collide.
  • The Prayer Bargain by Colleen M. Hughes
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: family, Boston + 7 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, holiday
    Keyword: family, Boston, christmas, dinner, dinner table, drug addiction, seizures, money, Boston Irish
    It is Christmas Eve, and Molly Murphy has returned to her family’s home after breaking off her engagement. She soon finds herself caught right back up in family problems she thought she had escaped. A story of family, of the pasts that continue to haunt us, and of what keeps us going through it all.
  • The Mystery of Biology Monthly by Colleen M. Hughes
    Cast: 
    3–7
    ·
    Genre: farce, mystery/thriller
    ·
    Keyword: office, coffee stirrers + 1 more
    Genre: farce, mystery/thriller
    Keyword: office, coffee stirrers, editors
    Editors Mike, Emma, and Dianne have put up with a lot—losing holidays, rising health care costs—but this is the last straw. Someone at Biology Monthly has been putting used coffee stirrers back into the cup of unused ones! Who is the culprit? Seat-pissers, poo-handers, and all-around batshit crazy coworkers abound, and everyone is a suspect.
  • Charming by Colleen M. Hughes
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy
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    Keyword: Disney, princess + 1 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: Disney, princess, fairy tale
    Belle, Snow White, and Cinderella each had her dreams come true. But lately Belle's been having some second thoughts, and maybe "happily ever after" isn't all it's cracked up to be.
  • The Button by Colleen M. Hughes
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: mysterious red button, red button + 1 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: mysterious red button, red button, absurdism
    Gary and Rob are guarding a mysterious red button. Pushing the button could change the world. Or not.
  • The Mouse by Colleen M. Hughes
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: Disney, Mickey Mouse + 1 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: Disney, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck
    Caroline, a young web developer for the Walt Disney Company, learns in her annual performance review that her work is not up to proper magical standards.