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 American Blues Theater (Chicago), The Gaslight Theater/The St. Louis Actors' Studio (St. Louis), The Harold Clurman (NYC), The Ohio (NYC), Project Artaud (San Francisco), The San Francisco MOMA, The Shattered Glass Project (Seattle), The Tank (NYC), The Tempe Center for the Performing Arts (Phoenix), among other venues, and include My Medea (The Best...
Susan Hansell's plays have been presented at The American Blues Theater (Chicago), The Gaslight Theater/The St. Louis Actors' Studio (St. Louis), The Harold Clurman (NYC), The Ohio (NYC), Project Artaud (San Francisco), The San Francisco MOMA, The Shattered Glass Project (Seattle), The Tank (NYC), The Tempe Center for the Performing Arts (Phoenix), among other venues, and include My Medea (The Best American Short Plays series) and 14 Ladies in Hats (Heinemann’s More Monologues for Women by Women). She is a member of The Dramatists Guild of America.
Plays
American Rose by Susan Hansell
·Cast:8–12Genre: adventure, docudrama/historic + 5 more·Keyword: ensemble cast, WWII American homefront + 6 moreGenre: adventure, docudrama/historic, drama, experimental, movement/physical, period, politicalKeyword: ensemble cast, WWII American homefront, 20th century history of women, All female cast by female playwrights, music from the 1940s, women's history, feminist history, American historyAn 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. 75 minutes.An Education by Susan Hansell
·Cast:1Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 9 more·Keyword: physical theatre, absurdist comedy + 7 moreGenre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental, farce, immersive, movement/physical, pantomime, parody/spoof, political, satireKeyword: physical theatre, absurdist comedy, critique of violence, critique of gun culture, critique of war culture, gun control, gun violence, absurd gun violence, Theatre of CrueltyOne magician-mime-teacher-scientist character provides a brief history of human weaponry. 10 minutes.An Ocean of Bees by Susan Hansell
·Cast:4Genre: adventure, comedy + 12 more·Keyword: climate change, human myth making + 8 moreGenre: adventure, comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental, fable/folktale, fantasy, farce, immersive, movement/physical, parody/spoof, political, satire, tragedyKeyword: climate change, human myth making, future hope, future dystopia, female and BIPOC leads, a human reckoning, alternative history, environmental issues, feminist historiography, physical and immersive elementsAn Ocean of Bees presents a humorously poignant and absurd near-future wherein four souls try to grasp what traits we humans need, and which we need to jettison, for survival. 2-acts, 90 minutes. Diverse cast.At Dawn with the Rain and the Stars by Susan Hansell
·Cast:4–12Genre: adventure, docudrama/historic + 6 more·Keyword: Gerda Taro, Simone Weil + 8 moreGenre: adventure, docudrama/historic, drama, experimental, movement/physical, political, tragedy, verseKeyword: Gerda Taro, Simone Weil, Edith Stein, Charlotte Delbo, 365 Women A Year Playwriting Project, women in World War II, experimental narrative structure, Holocaust, All female cast by female playwright, devised finaleFour female actors create multiple roles in a lyrical story of intellectuals, artists, and ordinary women from the 20th Century. The play begins with the fictionalized portrayals of four true-to-life individuals from Europe in the 1930’s. These four characters evolve into a factually-based group of Partisan resisters arrested on the eve of the Paris deportations. The actors then step outside the characters they...Four female actors create multiple roles in a lyrical story of intellectuals, artists, and ordinary women from the 20th Century. The play begins with the fictionalized portrayals of four true-to-life individuals from Europe in the 1930’s. These four characters evolve into a factually-based group of Partisan resisters arrested on the eve of the Paris deportations. The actors then step outside the characters they have created to explore why such stories remain relevant.
Every Concentrated Fragment by Susan Hansell
·Cast:4Genre: biography, docudrama/historic + 5 more·Keyword: Convoy 31000, Charlotte Delbo + 7 moreGenre: biography, docudrama/historic, drama, experimental, movement/physical, political, tragedyKeyword: Convoy 31000, Charlotte Delbo, 365 Women A Year Playwriting Project, Holocaust, experimental, 20th century history of women, Partisan resistance, women in world war two, WWIIA lyrical exploration of the friendship bonds and the life-outcomes of four factually-based French women Partisans (Charlotte Delbo and her colleagues of Convoy 31000) from Nazi-era Europe as they confront the meaning of their arrests on the eve of the Paris deportations during WWII. 45 minutes.In the Beginning... by Susan Hansell
·Cast:2Genre: comedy, experimental + 5 more·Keyword: myth creation, relationship creation + 7 moreGenre: comedy, experimental, farce, movement/physical, parody/spoof, romantic comedy, satireKeyword: myth creation, relationship creation, mythology, feminist critique, dark comedy, Alternate history, environment, climate change, experimentalTen minutes in the Garden of Eden... Redux.
Letters to Jeff Bezos by Susan Hansell
·Cast:1Genre: dark comedy, drama + 3 more·Keyword: virtual friendly, woman's monologue + 8 moreGenre: dark comedy, drama, political, satire, zoomKeyword: virtual friendly, woman's monologue, one character, zoom friendly, the 1%, the 99%, The environment, tech, life's big questions, monologue playA letter writer addresses her thoughts to Jeff Bezos.
10 mins.
Zoom friendly.Little Kings by Susan Hansell
·Cast:5Genre: adaptation, dark comedy + 9 more·Keyword: Shakespeare Spin, feminist critique of traditional literary canon + 5 moreGenre: adaptation, dark comedy, drama, experimental, farce, movement/physical, parody/spoof, political, satire, tragedy, verseKeyword: Shakespeare Spin, feminist critique of traditional literary canon, environmental crisis, family dynamics, dysfunctional family, female leads, mature female leadFive family members exist as fractured-fairy-tale-versions of the characters from KING LEAR via an originally conceived satire that sends-up 400 years of human family dysfunction. A thought-provoking tour de force. Original contemporary verse. 50 minutes.MaryMary by Susan Hansell
·Cast:5Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 6 more·Keyword: Christmas holiday, dark holiday + 5 moreGenre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental, farce, holiday, parody/spoof, satireKeyword: Christmas holiday, dark holiday, Alternative Holiday, female lead, mature female lead, holiday dark comedy, dysfunctional holidaysA 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. The whole portrays a family’s relationships as they are set-down, rebelled against, and re-created through generations.My Medea by Susan Hansell
·Cast:10–14Genre: adaptation, dark comedy + 10 more·Keyword: gender and race politics, 20th century history + 4 moreGenre: adaptation, dark comedy, drama, experimental, farce, movement/physical, pageant, parody/spoof, political, satire, tragedy, verseKeyword: gender and race politics, 20th century history, feminist critique of traditional literary canon, pop culture skewering, contemporary verse, greek spinAn 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. 75 minutes.Rollover Othello by Susan Hansell
·Cast:3Genre: adaptation, dark comedy + 7 more·Keyword: Shakespeare Spin, Shakespeare adaptation + 5 moreGenre: adaptation, dark comedy, drama, experimental, farce, parody/spoof, satire, tragedy, verseKeyword: Shakespeare Spin, Shakespeare adaptation, BIPOC lead, female lead, feminist critique of traditional literary canon, contemporary verse, class race and gender politicsContemporary versions of Oth, Desdie and I. find themselves (and each other) in a contemporary Brooklyn police house, where they "talk" over their various consummations and conflicts. A riveting stand-alone tragicomedy that achieves an emotional wallop. 15 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, workplace issues, media critiqueAn absurdist comedy about who we are and what we eat. 10 minutes.
Waiting for a Table at the Garden of Eden by Susan Hansell
·Cast:2Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 8 more·Keyword: alternative romantic comedy, climate change + 4 moreGenre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental, farce, movement/physical, parody/spoof, romantic comedy, satire, tragedyKeyword: alternative romantic comedy, climate change, story of a relationship, 'til death do us part, feminist critique of traditional literary canon, female leadA touching critique of romantic culture with a witty and episodic structure. The full-length play requires two skilled performers who, as mirror-hall versions of Adam and Eve set in the present, take aim at the canonical rom-com. 80 minutes.We Are All Dick 3 by Susan Hansell
·Cast:2Genre: adaptation, dark comedy + 8 more·Keyword: Shakespeare Spin, Shakespeare adaptation + 6 moreGenre: adaptation, dark comedy, drama, experimental, farce, movement/physical, parody/spoof, romantic comedy, satire, verseKeyword: Shakespeare Spin, Shakespeare adaptation, 9/11, Richard the Third adaptation, Richard the Third spin, feminist critique of traditional literary canon, female lead, contemporary verseTwo actors present a love/history mash-up of a re-imagined version of RICHARD THE THIRD 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 relationships. 50 minutes.Who Will Witness for the Witness by Susan Hansell
Recommendations: 2··Cast:4Genre: adventure, dark comedy + 5 more·Keyword: 365 Women A Year Playwriting Project, 20th century history of women + 8 moreGenre: adventure, dark comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, experimental, movement/physical, tragedyKeyword: 365 Women A Year Playwriting Project, 20th century history of women, women in world war two, Marthe Cohn, Simone Weil, Gerda Taro, Edith Stein, women's history month, Jews and WWII, HolocaustWho Will Witness for the Witness is a lyrical play exploring the lives and the life-outcomes of four factually-based women (Gerda Taro, Simone Weil, Edith Stein, Marthe Cohn) from Nazi-era Europe, as they ponder truth, life, fact, death, and existence. 30 minutes.14 Ladies in Hats by Susan Hansell
·Cast:1–7Genre: dark comedy, drama + 5 more·Keyword: monologue play, metoo + 3 moreGenre: dark comedy, drama, experimental, farce, movement/physical, parody/spoof, satireKeyword: monologue play, metoo, female lead, females leads, alternative narrative structure80 minute character series that explores the tension between expression and repression in the lives of contemporary American women and girls, full-length.