A History by
A brief and partial history of the absurd judicial world as it is absurdly 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 cast, WWII American homefront + 8 moreGenre: adventure, docudrama/historic, drama, experimental, movement/physical, period, politicalKeyword: ensemble cast, WWII American homefront, 20th century American women's history, All female cast by female playwrights, passes the Bechdel Test, female 40 something lead, POC leads, 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: comedy, dark comedy + 9 more·Keyword: environmental issues, POC leads + 8 moreGenre: comedy, dark comedy, experimental, fantasy, immersive, movement/physical, pageant, parody/spoof, political, satire, science fictionKeyword: environmental issues, POC leads, climate change, gender/race/ethnicity fluid, futuristic, history send-up, female leads, passes Bechdel test, myth revisioning, feministA hilarious and poignant depiction of post-environmental collapse 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: passes Bechdel test, 365 Women A Year Playwriting Project + 8 moreGenre: docudrama/historic, drama, experimental, movement/physical, political, tragedy, verseKeyword: passes Bechdel test, 365 Women A Year Playwriting Project, World War II, experimental story structure, female 40 something lead, Holocaust, All female cast by female playwrights, female 50 something lead, female 60 something lead, 20th century women's historyMarking 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 + 8 moreGenre: biography, docudrama/historic, drama, experimental, movement/physical, political, tragedyKeyword: World War II, women's history, historiography, female 40 something lead, passes Bechdel test, 365 Women A Year Playwriting Project, Holocaust, female 50 something lead, experimental story structure, 20th century women's historyEvery 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: rom-com alternative, experimental story telling + 8 moreGenre: comedy, experimental, movement/physical, parody/spoof, political, romantic comedy, satireKeyword: rom-com alternative, experimental story telling, myth creation, myth critique, feminist critique, dark comedy, Alternate history, environmental issues, futuristic, climate changeTen minutes in the Garden of Eden... Redux. 10 minutes.
Little Kings by Susan Hansell
·Cast:5Genre: adaptation, dark comedy + 7 more·Keyword: Shakespeare-spin, original language + 8 moreGenre: adaptation, dark comedy, experimental, farce, movement/physical, parody/spoof, political, satire, tragedyKeyword: Shakespeare-spin, original language, non-traditional gender roles, passes Bechdel test, feminist critique of traditional literary canon, environmental issues, family dynamics, dysfunctional family, dark comedy, One-ActFive 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, with a 45-minute one-act run time.Mary Mary by Susan Hansell
·Cast:5Genre: dark comedy, drama + 6 more·Keyword: christmas, anti-christmas + 8 moreGenre: dark comedy, drama, experimental, farce, holiday, parody/spoof, satire, tragedyKeyword: christmas, anti-christmas, family dynamics, anti-family dynamics, family dysfunction, dark comedy, short one-act, experimental structure, political, 1970s AmericaA holiday speed-play presented in three vivid snapshot flash-acts. Each act is set in the same family home at Christmas Dinner; each dinner takes place in a different, consecutive decade; each character is compelled to repeat family roles; thus, an epiphany of insight is experienced by the audience. 15 minutes.My Medea by Susan Hansell
·Cast:10–14Genre: adaptation, dark comedy + 7 more·Keyword: Greek spin, set in Los Angeles + 7 moreGenre: adaptation, dark comedy, drama, experimental, pageant, political, satire, tragedy, verseKeyword: Greek spin, set in Los Angeles, original adaptation, experimental story telling, original verse language, gender race class history, 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-spin, feminist adaptation + 8 moreGenre: adaptation, dark comedy, drama, experimental, farce, parody/spoof, political, satire, tragedyKeyword: Shakespeare-spin, feminist adaptation, BIPOC male lead, female lead, original language, experimental story structure, some X-rated language, feminist critique of traditional literary canon, explicit language, class race and gender politicsContemporary 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 short and riveting stand-alone tragicomedy that achieves a satiric and emotional wallop. Some X-rated language. 20 minutes.The CAFO Cafe by Susan Hansell
·Cast:2–4Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 7 more·Keyword: environmental, female leads + 8 moreGenre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental, farce, movement/physical, parody/spoof, political, satireKeyword: environmental, female leads, POC leads, animal rights, a political social satire, media critique, work critique, experimental, pharmaceutical industry, food industryA powerful absurdist comedy about how 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, rom-com send-up + 7 moreGenre: dark comedy, experimental, farce, movement/physical, parody/spoof, political, romantic comedy, satire, tragedyKeyword: modular structure, rom-com send-up, dark comedy, environmental issues, climate issues, story of a life, story of a relationship, Rom-Com, 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, original language + 7 moreGenre: adaptation, dark comedy, drama, experimental, farce, movement/physical, parody/spoof, political, romantic comedy, satire, tragedyKeyword: feminist spin on Shakespeare, original language, experimental structure, original adaptation, dark comedy, rom-com alternative, fun lead roles for women, fun lead roles for men, 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 the current news and entertainment "factories." WE ARE ALL DICK 3 is a stand-alone compressed comedy-drama of historical male/female relationships composed as a classic 60 minute one-act.Who Will Winess for the Witness by Susan Hansell
Recommendations: 2··Cast:4Genre: adventure, docudrama/historic + 5 more·Keyword: 20th century women's history, Holocaust + 7 moreGenre: adventure, docudrama/historic, drama, experimental, movement/physical, period, politicalKeyword: 20th century women's history, Holocaust, experimental story telling, lyrical theatricality, female 40 something lead, female 50 something lead, women's history, 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: monologues for women, metoo + 7 moreGenre: dark comedy, drama, experimental, farce, movement/physical, parody/spoof, political, romantic comedy, satireKeyword: monologues for women, metoo, experimental story telling, alternative narrative structure, feminist view of childhood, feminist view of relationships, dark comedy, alternative comedy, feminist view of adult industries80 minute character series that explores the tension between expression and repression in the lives of contemporary American women and girls, full-length.