L . Jan Eira

L . Jan Eira

I was born in Portugal, and migrated with my family to the US when I was 15. I pursued my first dream and now work as a cardiologist in Indianapolis. Given my passion for stage performances, I am not pursuing my second dream of writing fiction including plays. I have been honored with the opportunity to see some of my plays on stage. I cannot describe the high seeing my plays on stage gives me; higher than I imagine any drug could.

Plays

  • The Casualty Game
    FULL LENGTH, 2-ACT: The only chest cutter in town is trauma surgeon Dr. Kenneth Percy. When faced with the split-second mortal decision to operate on a man reputed to be an abusive, cruel husband without a care for the lives of others, Ken is confronted with an impossible dilemma sure to have far-reaching repercussions. The move he chooses could alter his entire life, and the lives of those around him, forever...
    FULL LENGTH, 2-ACT: The only chest cutter in town is trauma surgeon Dr. Kenneth Percy. When faced with the split-second mortal decision to operate on a man reputed to be an abusive, cruel husband without a care for the lives of others, Ken is confronted with an impossible dilemma sure to have far-reaching repercussions. The move he chooses could alter his entire life, and the lives of those around him, forever. As the mysterious game unfolds, this suspenseful tale of love, loss and lunacy carries twists and turns sure to keep audiences on the edge of their seats.
  • Critical Recall
    FULL LENGTH, 2-ACT: Chris, Aletta, and Balthazar wake up in a locked room. How did they get there? Who brought them into this prison? And, most importantly, why? The three detainees attempt to recall the events prior to waking up in the bolted cell hoping to decipher possible clues as to why they were captured and detained. During their conversation, they begin to realize that the three of them are way more...
    FULL LENGTH, 2-ACT: Chris, Aletta, and Balthazar wake up in a locked room. How did they get there? Who brought them into this prison? And, most importantly, why? The three detainees attempt to recall the events prior to waking up in the bolted cell hoping to decipher possible clues as to why they were captured and detained. During their conversation, they begin to realize that the three of them are way more interconnected then they could have ever imagined.
    Will their collective recalls enable the three captives to paint the picture of what is going on soon enough to avoid injury and death?
  • Stay Small
    FULL LENGTH, 2-ACT: Is it always black vs. white? Is the right answer always clear? These are the questions Dr. Daryl Wells faces as a new father. Does he have a choice, or doesn’t he?
    As he faces an ethical dilemma of epic proportions, Dr. Wells needs to summon all his strength to protect his infant child. Would you have the courage to do what he did? Could you make such a sacrifice of goals and dreams...
    FULL LENGTH, 2-ACT: Is it always black vs. white? Is the right answer always clear? These are the questions Dr. Daryl Wells faces as a new father. Does he have a choice, or doesn’t he?
    As he faces an ethical dilemma of epic proportions, Dr. Wells needs to summon all his strength to protect his infant child. Would you have the courage to do what he did? Could you make such a sacrifice of goals and dreams for your child’s wellbeing?
    Dare to discover the answers for yourself as this unimaginable ordeal unfolds in “Stay Small,” the latest psychological thriller by L. Jan Eira.
  • The Gift
    FULL LENGTH, 2-ACT: A mysterious gift is imposed on Eleanor. The secret to unraveling its mystery, Eleanor realizes, is embedded in her mother’s newfound visions of the future. Now, she must decipher what is truth and what is merely imagination in her mother’s fractured dreams and hallucinations. But Eleanor quickly recognizes that there is no room for miscalculations for if she gets it wrong, she will soon die...
    FULL LENGTH, 2-ACT: A mysterious gift is imposed on Eleanor. The secret to unraveling its mystery, Eleanor realizes, is embedded in her mother’s newfound visions of the future. Now, she must decipher what is truth and what is merely imagination in her mother’s fractured dreams and hallucinations. But Eleanor quickly recognizes that there is no room for miscalculations for if she gets it wrong, she will soon die a dreadfully agonizing death.
  • The Ambush
    FULL LENGTH, 2-ACT: Dr. Amy Sinclair and her police detective husband, Ben, face the unthinkable when their strapping young son collapses on a soccer field, a victim of apparent neurotoxin poisoning with no known cure. Despite the medical staff’s best efforts, their son is given 10-12 hours to live, and a frantic search for an antidote begins. As doctors and police investigate the strange crime, evidence comes...
    FULL LENGTH, 2-ACT: Dr. Amy Sinclair and her police detective husband, Ben, face the unthinkable when their strapping young son collapses on a soccer field, a victim of apparent neurotoxin poisoning with no known cure. Despite the medical staff’s best efforts, their son is given 10-12 hours to live, and a frantic search for an antidote begins. As doctors and police investigate the strange crime, evidence comes to light connecting it with a series of other unsolved murders that all point toward Dr. Sinclair as being the next victim. As Ben struggles with a local police force that refuses his aid, Amy is in constant contact with the local research lab that is working frantically to save her son. Little do they know that the capable, wheelchair­-bound research doctor working on the team is harboring a dark secret and sufficient motivation to want to destroy Dr. Sinclair’s life. Through a final stand­-off with the murderer, Ben is able to take down the culprit and the selfless sacrifice of Dr. Sinclair’s former colleague leads to her son’s life being saved.
  • The Freshman That Could
    FULL-LENGTH 2-ACT PLAY FOR HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STAGES: This play is particularly well suited for high school and college stages with as few as 7 to as many as 21 actors (or anything in between) being able to participate. It is written in small, intertwined segments with a unifying theme:

    Two extraterrestrials come to Earth on a mission to learn more about the human race, in particular the...
    FULL-LENGTH 2-ACT PLAY FOR HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STAGES: This play is particularly well suited for high school and college stages with as few as 7 to as many as 21 actors (or anything in between) being able to participate. It is written in small, intertwined segments with a unifying theme:

    Two extraterrestrials come to Earth on a mission to learn more about the human race, in particular the nature of human emotions. One is a scientist who follows protocol and takes over the body of a young girl (Valerie) who was in the process of dying. The other is a military pilot who tires of the tedium of the scientific process and takes over the body of a perfectly healthy boy (Bruno), thus marking him to die once their mission is done. Bruno lashes out against Valerie and begins plotting against her and the human race, while Valerie pursues her mission with steadfast determination.
    Along the way, Valerie meets a young girl named Lucy and a young man, Henry, who, after Valerie reveals her secret identity, aids Valerie in seeing a broad spectrum of the human experience and emotions. Valerie’s mission complete, she must face Bruno and his outrage over his many foiled plans - plans which, it turns out, were undermined by Lucy who is herself an extraterrestrial being as well. Bruno is properly chastised, and Valerie and Lucy confirm their friendship, contending that they will return to Earth together again soon.
  • The Last Man
    ONE-ACT: Perfect humans, capable of doing absolutely anything with surprising accuracy – it was the utopian ideal scientists worked for years to create. It was evolution at its finest. Or was it? As Colin unravels just how to survive in such an unexpected future, his ancestor, Erica, struggles to reach him across time and prevent tragedy from striking. Will they save the world, or will Colin be The Last Man?
  • The Curse Of Count Dicky
    ONE-ACT: Dicky, Ben, and Rita are medical doctors by day. But when the full moon comes, their canine teeth lengthen and they become hungry for blood. One problem — Count Dicky faints at the mere mention of blood, let alone sight or touch. How long can a vampire go without feeding? As it turns out, three full moons and two have already come and gone. How will Count Bob and Countess Rita help poor Count Dicky with his big, big dilemma?
  • Imminent Danger
    ONE-ACT MONOLOGUE - 45 minutes: A woman describes her ordeal to protect her children from legally-mandated harm.
  • Secrets Of The Heart
    10-MIN PLAY: A family used to lying instead of talking about painful issues goes to great lengths to deceive one another about uncomfortable affairs facing them. Will they ever learn that only the truth can set them free?
  • The Final Word
    10-MIN PLAY: A woman has a gift of being able to see the past and the future. When Orton enters her office and asks her to write his final words before he kills himself due to terminal hopelessness, will she be able to use her gift to change his mind about committing the act?
  • VINI, VIDI, VICI
    10-MIN PLAY: A scientist from a far-away planet goes on a peaceful mission to learn more about inhabited planets. When it's time to explore Earth, she realizes she must meld her essence with a human being so as to be able to live on the planet. Valerie, a freshman at Moseley High School, is dying after a brain aneurysm rupture, and her body becomes the perfect vehicle to learn about humanness. To her...
    10-MIN PLAY: A scientist from a far-away planet goes on a peaceful mission to learn more about inhabited planets. When it's time to explore Earth, she realizes she must meld her essence with a human being so as to be able to live on the planet. Valerie, a freshman at Moseley High School, is dying after a brain aneurysm rupture, and her body becomes the perfect vehicle to learn about humanness. To her dismay, soon after assimilating Valerie, people of Earth begin dying in large numbers. Will Valerie discover what is causing this rapid population decline and save the planet before every living soul on Earth is gone?
  • If Everyone On Earth Dies, I Can't Graduate!
    10-MIN PLAY: Gehovia wants more than anything to graduate with her class. But her doctorate thesis project has run into a big snag. Every living thing on the planet is dying off quickly. To graduate she must find the problem and solve it before the universe as we know it becomes nothing more than an empty cardboard box with suspended lights in it.
  • The Party Shoppe
    10-MIN PLAY: Colin thought he was the last man on earth. He's dying of hunger and thirst and knows he can't go on much longer without sustenance. When he arrives at the one place he knows has food and drink, he realizes that not only is he not alone, but the woman he encounters will fight him to the end to prevent him from getting the water and snacks he was counting on for survival.
  • The Liar
    10-MIN PLAY: Micah has a very big problem, just ask Jackie. He lies about everything and anything. But, Micah and Jackie experience a love that is life-sustaining in more ways than one. When they break up because of perceived lies, the consequences are earth-shattering.
  • Naughty & Nice
    10-MIN CHRISTMAS PLAY: Woblas finally gets the job of his dreams in the much sought-after Gift or Coal Department at the North Pole. What could be simpler, more straightforward, and more interesting than deciding which kids get a gift for Christmas and which kids get coal? Full of energy and excitement for his new role, Woblas begins his training under Miss Peppermint. But soon, he discovers a deception ring of...
    10-MIN CHRISTMAS PLAY: Woblas finally gets the job of his dreams in the much sought-after Gift or Coal Department at the North Pole. What could be simpler, more straightforward, and more interesting than deciding which kids get a gift for Christmas and which kids get coal? Full of energy and excitement for his new role, Woblas begins his training under Miss Peppermint. But soon, he discovers a deception ring of epic proportions, which will result in most kids being coaled. Determined not to allow this to evolve under his watch, Woblas jumps into action, aiming to keep the Christmas spirit alive. Will Woblas be able to save Christmas, or will all the kids on earth be disappointed this year?
  • The Audition
    10-MIN PLAY: Do you know what happens at a school's drama department's audition? Sometimes, all doesn't go well, and well ... weird things happen.
  • Way Back
    10-MIN PLAY: Laura agrees to a first date with Eric at La Cucina Italiana. Despite her friends’ warnings about the type of men who sometimes patronize dating apps, Laura believes she is ready for anything. But nothing could possibly prepare her for what she is about to face on this last first-date.
  • Lethal Tales
    10-MIN PLAY: What wouldn’t you do to save the life of your innocent 8-year-old granddaughter? Would you lie? Would you deceive and steal? Would you kill? A pleasant one-up conversation in a coffee house leads to a cover-up operation with devastating consequences.

    Note: This play is also available as a full-length, called SOULED.
  • What's Up, Doc?
    10-MIN PLAY: Quinn and Joel are both new in the small sleepy town of Brownsburg. They happen to meet at the doctor's office, which is also the doctor's home. The rest is a question of gender and mistaken identity all rolled up into a short play with unfolding comedy of errors.
  • The Promise
    10-MIN PLAY: George and Henry are brought into Police Headquarters when they're found fighting on a tall bridge at the edge of town. Allegedly, George attempted to murder Henry by trying to throw him off into the deep, cold, river waters below. But the police are about to realize first impressions are sometimes wrong. Very wrong! And in so doing, they discover a promise made, promise kept commitment is...
    10-MIN PLAY: George and Henry are brought into Police Headquarters when they're found fighting on a tall bridge at the edge of town. Allegedly, George attempted to murder Henry by trying to throw him off into the deep, cold, river waters below. But the police are about to realize first impressions are sometimes wrong. Very wrong! And in so doing, they discover a promise made, promise kept commitment is sometimes very hard to accomplish.
  • Take Me Home, Mr. H.
    10-Minute Play: A woman takes a share-ride Uber with a man she doesn't know but recognizes vaguely. During their ride, they discover they have much more in common than they could have imagined. Upon reaching their destiny, they both wish, more than life itself, to return to where the ride had initiated.
  • The Great Halloween Prank
    10-MIN PLAY: What does a dildo and breast implant have in common besides silicone? They both afford a way to save your co-pilot and escape the hellhole your mission called for landing on. Good thing they have this thing called Halloween, which provided a ploy to get the job done. But will it be in time, to save your partner and escape?
  • The Prank
    2-MIN PLAY: Medical interns work many long hours under a lot of stress. Once in a while, you get one who destresses in awful ways. Please don't ask. It's better that you don't find out. Whatever you do, don't read this play. And most definitely, don't even think about putting it on stage!