A History by
A brief history of the judicial world as it is known to some of us. Ten minutes.
Susan Hansell
Susan Hansell
Susan Hansell's plays have been presented at The Harold Clurman NYC, The Ohio NYC, The San Francisco MOMA, The Shattered Glass Project (Seattle), The Tank NYC, The Tempe Center for the Performing Arts (Phoenix), The William Inge Festival, (among other venues) and include My Medea (in The Best American Short Plays series) and 14 Ladies in Hats (in Heinemann’s More Monologues for Women by Women). She is a Dramatists Guild member.
Plays
American Rose by Susan Hansell
·Cast:8–12Genre: adventure, docudrama/historic + 5 more·Keyword: ensemble, WWII American homefront + 5 moreGenre: adventure, docudrama/historic, drama, experimental, movement/physical, period, politicalKeyword: ensemble, WWII American homefront, 20th century history of women, All female cast by female playwrights, music from the 1940s, women's history, feministAn ensemble cast presents the changing lives of five diverse American women, all of whom enter war production workplaces or wartime situations during the 1940s. Their stories are juxtaposed with additional roles iconic of individuals from the American WWII period. 90 minutes.An Ocean of Bees by Susan Hansell
·Cast:4Genre: adventure, comedy + 12 more·Keyword: a human reckoning, alternative history + 8 moreGenre: adventure, comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental, fable/folktale, fantasy, farce, immersive, movement/physical, parody/spoof, political, satire, science fictionKeyword: a human reckoning, alternative history, physical comedy, environmental issues, feminist historiography, climate change, human myth making, futuristic, female leads, BIPOC leadsAn absurd post-environmental collapse scenario receives a poignant depiction wherein four souls try to grasp what traits we humans need, and which we need to jettison, for survival. 2-acts, 90 minutes.At Dawn with the Rain and the Stars by Susan Hansell
·Cast:4Genre: docudrama/historic, drama + 5 more·Keyword: 365 Women A Year Playwriting Project, World War II + 4 moreGenre: docudrama/historic, drama, experimental, movement/physical, political, tragedy, verseKeyword: 365 Women A Year Playwriting Project, World War II, experimental, Holocaust, All female cast by female playwrights, 20th century history of womenMarking seventy-five years since the end of World War II while examining the resonance of that period with our own, four female actors create multiple roles in a lyrical story of intellectuals, artists, and ordinary women who live in extraordinary times. The play begins with the fictionalized portrayals of four true-to-life and under-appreciated individuals from the 1930’s. These four characters evolve into a...Marking seventy-five years since the end of World War II while examining the resonance of that period with our own, four female actors create multiple roles in a lyrical story of intellectuals, artists, and ordinary women who live in extraordinary times. The play begins with the fictionalized portrayals of four true-to-life and under-appreciated individuals from the 1930’s. These four characters evolve into a fact-based group of four Partisan resisters arrested on the eve of the Paris deportations. Then the four actors step outside the characters they have created to explore why such stories remain relevant in the contemporary world. 3-acts, 2 hrs.
Every Concentrated Fragment by Susan Hansell
·Cast:4Genre: biography, docudrama/historic + 5 more·Keyword: World War II, women's history + 5 moreGenre: biography, docudrama/historic, drama, experimental, movement/physical, political, tragedyKeyword: World War II, women's history, Charlotte Delbo, 365 Women A Year Playwriting Project, Holocaust, experimental, 20th century history of womenEvery Concentrated Fragment poetically presents the emotional and intellectual relationships between four factually-based female Partisans arrested on the eve of their deportation to the concentration camps of WWII. The play follows their lives until their repatriation home. 45 minutes.In the Beginning... by Susan Hansell
·Cast:2Genre: comedy, experimental + 5 more·Keyword: experimental, myth creation + 7 moreGenre: comedy, experimental, movement/physical, parody/spoof, political, romantic comedy, satireKeyword: experimental, myth creation, mythology, feminist critique, dark comedy, Alternate history, environmental crisis, futuristic, climate changeTen minutes in the Garden of Eden... Redux. 10 minutes.
Letters to Jeff Bezos by Susan Hansell
·Cast:1Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 5 more·Keyword: virtual friendly, one character + 7 moreGenre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental, political, satire, zoomKeyword: virtual friendly, one character, zoom, the 1%, the 99%, The environment, life's big questions, monologue, woman's monologueA letter writer addresses her thoughts on life to Jeff Bezos.
10 mins.
Zoom friendly.Little Kings by Susan Hansell
·Cast:5Genre: adaptation, dark comedy + 7 more·Keyword: Shakespeare-inspired, non-traditional gender roles + 5 moreGenre: adaptation, dark comedy, experimental, farce, movement/physical, parody/spoof, political, satire, tragedyKeyword: Shakespeare-inspired, non-traditional gender roles, feminist critique of traditional literary canon, environmental crisis, family dynamics, dysfunctional family, dark comedyFive family members exist as fractured-fairy-tale-versions of characters from KING LEAR via an originally conceived satire that sends-up 400 years of human civilization. A hilarious and thought-provoking tour de force. 45-60 minutes.MaryMary by Susan Hansell
·Cast:5Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 6 more·Keyword: dysfunctional holidays, Christmas holiday + 4 moreGenre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental, farce, holiday, parody/spoof, satireKeyword: dysfunctional holidays, Christmas holiday, dark holiday, Alternative Holiday, mature female leads, holiday dark comedyMary Mary is a holiday-themed short, absurdist one-act presented in three vivid snapshot flash-scenes. Each scene is set in the same family home at Christmas Dinner; each dinner takes place in a different, consecutive decade. This allows the audience to experience a family’s life and relationships as they are set-down, rebelled against, and re-created throughout generations.My Medea by Susan Hansell
·Cast:10–14Genre: adaptation, dark comedy + 7 more·Keyword: greek theatre, experimental + 4 moreGenre: adaptation, dark comedy, drama, experimental, pageant, political, satire, tragedy, verseKeyword: greek theatre, experimental, gender politics, 20th century history, feminist critique of traditional literary canon, pop cultureAn ensemble-cast (including a chorus which chants in contemporary verse) presents a visceral and exhilarating expose of contemporary values: A vibrant, accessible, and relevant re-telling of MEDEA, imbued with current events cut from the American landscape; this play was a selection of THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT PLAYS series. 90 minutes.Rollover Othello by Susan Hansell
·Cast:3Genre: adaptation, dark comedy + 7 more·Keyword: Shakespeare-inspired, Shakespeare-spin + 8 moreGenre: adaptation, dark comedy, drama, experimental, farce, parody/spoof, political, satire, tragedyKeyword: Shakespeare-inspired, Shakespeare-spin, Shakespeare adaptation, feminist, bipoc, female lead, experimental, feminist critique of traditional literary canon, class race and gender politics, original languageContemporary versions of Oth, Desdie and I. find themselves (and each other) in a contemporary police house, where they "talk" over their various consummations and conflicts. A riveting stand-alone tragicomedy that achieves an emotional wallop. 10 minutes.The CAFO Cafe by Susan Hansell
·Cast:2–4Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 7 more·Keyword: absurdist, food industry + 6 moreGenre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental, farce, movement/physical, parody/spoof, political, satireKeyword: absurdist, food industry, environment, female lead, experimental, pharmaceutical industry, work issues, media issuesAn absurdist comedy about what we eat and who we are. 10 minutes.
Waiting for a Table at the Garden of Eden by Susan Hansell
·Cast:2Genre: dark comedy, experimental + 7 more·Keyword: modular structure, dark comedy + 6 moreGenre: dark comedy, experimental, farce, movement/physical, parody/spoof, political, romantic comedy, satire, tragedyKeyword: modular structure, dark comedy, environmental crisis, climate change, story of a life, story of a relationship, romantic comedy, feministA full-length work structured by modules that can be edited to a production’s preference. Each unique creation should further the play’s trajectory skewering the social and political constructions of romance. The play requires two skilled performers who, as mirror-hall versions of Adam and Eve, take aim at the canonical rom-com. 2-acts, 90 minutes.We Are All Dick 3 by Susan Hansell
·Cast:2Genre: adaptation, dark comedy + 9 more·Keyword: feminist spin on Shakespeare, experimental + 2 moreGenre: adaptation, dark comedy, drama, experimental, farce, movement/physical, parody/spoof, political, romantic comedy, satire, tragedyKeyword: feminist spin on Shakespeare, experimental, dark comedy, feminist critique of traditional literary canonTwo actors present this love/history mash-up by way of re-imagined RICHARD THE THIRD material with romantic subplots and cultural machinations spun from current news and entertainment "factories." WE ARE ALL DICK 3 is a stand-alone compressed comedy-drama of historical male/female relationships. 60 minutes.Who Will Witness for the Witness by Susan Hansell
Recommendations: 2··Cast:4Genre: adventure, docudrama/historic + 5 more·Keyword: 20th century history of women, Holocaust + 7 moreGenre: adventure, docudrama/historic, drama, experimental, movement/physical, period, politicalKeyword: 20th century history of women, Holocaust, experimental, Marthe Cohn, Simone Weil, Gerda Taro, Edith Stein, women's history month, 365 Women A Year Playwriting ProjectWho Will Witness for the Witness is a lyrical play exploring the lives and the life-outcomes of four factually-based women from Nazi-era Europe, as they ponder truth, life, fact, death, and existence. Approximately 30 minutes in length; also in a 20 minute version.14 Ladies in Hats by Susan Hansell
·Cast:1–7Genre: dark comedy, drama + 7 more·Keyword: monologue, metoo + 5 moreGenre: dark comedy, drama, experimental, farce, movement/physical, parody/spoof, political, romantic comedy, satireKeyword: monologue, metoo, experimental, alternative narrative structure, feminist, dark comedy, alternative comedy80 minute character series that explores the tension between expression and repression in the lives of contemporary American women and girls, full-length.