David-Matthew Barnes

After meeting in a local bar and drinking together, Justin brings Misty back to his apartment and lets her pass out on his couch. When morning comes, the two realize how much they actually need each other.

In this gritty and urban drama, two homeless teenagers meet while seeking refuge in the basement of an abandoned building. What begins as a friendship sadly evolves into a mutual suicide pact.

Infatuated with Harmony, a young woman he meets in a fast food restaurant, Gilbert is determined to win her heart before she sleeps with her unfaithful boyfriend, Jeff. Featured in The Best Men's Stage Monologues.

A horrendous storm looms overs a rundown truck stop diner in Grand Island, Nebraska, bringing together ten people who start to reveal damaging secrets as the night goes on.

Bird Call is a dive of bar. It's a place that has seen better days, populated by lonely patrons who are overlooked by the world around them. Claiming to be new in town, young Chelidon arrives at Bird Call only to confess her real reason for being there: to teach modern-day cowboy Joe a lesson he'll never forget.

Unable to attend their high school dance together, Austin and Harley decide to skip Homecoming and seek refuge in an abandoned boxcar. There, they dream of escaping the ultra conservative small town they live in, hoping to discover a place where they can exist and love without fear. 'Boxcar' was adapted into the award-winning Dutch film 'Wagon.'

Winner of the Carrie McCray Memorial Literary Award for Best Stage Play. Best friends since childhood, Judy and Olivia decide to return to a quaint seaside town that they once visited on family vacations during their early teen years. Reminded of love's lost, choices made, and the fading of their youth, Judy and Olivia reaffirm their friendship. 'Bracelets and Boyfriends' is a play about two women who must look back before they can move forward. This script was adapted into an award-winning film, directed by Nadia Ramoutar.

In this 30-minute stage play, five Southern women who have known each other since childhood reunite in the ballroom of an upscale hotel to plan a wedding. Over the course of the evening, the women realize they are anything but friends.

Two lonely people who share a mutual love for classic films form an unexpected bond while sitting in an otherwise empty movie theater.

In this poignant stage play, a former movie star named Victoria is suffering from the beginning stages of Alzheimer's. Struggling to maintain her independence, Victoria resists a friendship with her equally stubborn housekeeper and must face the sudden arrival of her estranged daughter. Featuring roles for three women, Clean explores the importance of family, friendship, and forgiveness.

Young newlywed Sahara Mobley struggles with being married as a new sense of reality sets in. This short play consists of six scenes and features roles for two women and two men.

Moments after rejecting a marriage proposal, a woman is tempted by a somewhat obnoxious stranger she meets at a sidewalk café in Greece.

In this faith-based stage play, four young women come-of-age at an all-girl Catholic boarding school. Rachel wants to become a nun and devote her life to God. Naomi has been expelled from numerous schools and Our Lady of Grace is her last chance. Mara is obsessed with two things: old movie stars and herself. Alisha, the only African-American student in the school, struggles to fit in. Having known her fair share of heartache, Sister Josephine is an unconventional nun who becomes a mentor to Rachel, Naomi, Mara, and Alisha. Performed by many youth ministries and church groups around the country, this comedic play for young people features roles for 6 women and 2 young men.

Fed up with her job as the host of a live-action children's show at Jurassic Park, Deena reaches her breaking point when her ex-boyfriend, Jeremiah, is hired to be her new co-host. Meanwhile, her co-stars, a classically trained actor and an eternal optimist, are reconsidering their career choices. This comedic short play features roles for 2 women and 2 men. This script contains adult language and subject matter.

After their relationship is discovered by their classmates at school, Alberto and Justin are being separated by their parents and the school’s administration. In the morning, Alberto is being sent to a military school in Utah. Realizing the chance to say good bye is now, they meet in the night.

When seventy-year-old New York native Stella discovers that her grandson has been diagnosed with AIDS, she turns to her best friend Madeline for comfort and strength.

Set in the employee break room of an American company, three female co-workers experience considerable personal and professional changes over the span of a year. Amy, an ambitious temp who will do whatever it takes to get promoted, chooses to have an abortion after discovering she's pregnant with the child of her married boss. Lovelorn and lonely Claudia is told she'll never be able to have children of her own. Young bride Nicole is pregnant with her first child but realizes she's not in love with her successful husband. This dramatic play explores a variation of themes from motherhood to sexism to sisterhood. Featured in The Best Women's Stage Monologues, this play features roles for three women.

In 1965, a young college student named Anthony befriends a classmate out of sympathy because she's struggling to fit in at their school. In an attempt to deny his homosexuality, Anthony spends a night with Wendy, causing her to become frighteningly obsessed with him. After Anthony reveals to Wendy that he's transferring to another school in the morning, Wendy reaches her breaking point. Featured in The Best Women's Stage Monologues, this dramatic short play features roles for one woman and one man.

On a late Thursday night in Chicago, two seemingly different women meet in a laundromat, only to realize they are co-workers at a successful advertising firm. Mary, a white woman, is the founding president. Tameka, a black woman, works in the mail room and has come up with a lucrative marketing campaign. This dramatic short play features roles for 2 women.

Kimberly Isleton has come home to her family's farm in rural Georgia to attend her father's funeral. Now a successful businesswoman, Kimberly has never recovered from the heartbreak she suffered twenty years ago when she was forbidden to no longer see Carlos Esperanza, her first love. Clashing with her strong-willed older sister, Beatrice, over past sibling rivalries and the future of the farm, Kimberly seeks comfort in Carlos when he suddenly reappears in her life. This dramatic stage play features roles for three women and three men.

This Latin-flavored coming-of-age stage drama explores the lives of several young people as they struggle with personal and religious beliefs, peer pressure, family relationships, and the overwhelming power of love and friendship. Featured in The Best Women's Stage Monologues, this critically-acclaimed play features roles for 8 women and 8 men. 'Frozen Stars' was adapted into a feature film.

Days after his estranged father dies of AIDS, a young man named Cooper is determined to carry out his father’s final wishes with the help of Shelley, his supportive girlfriend. This dramatic short play features roles for one man and one woman.

Hayden and Persephone Caulwell have been married for twenty-two years. Constantly referred to as “the perfect couple,” they have found themselves hiding the discord in their marriage from their family and friends. After a dinner party, they engage in a volatile confrontation and years of affairs, secrets, and emotions begin to surface. Realizing their marriage has ended, husband and wife lash out at each other until the dining room – and their lives – are left in shards. This one-act play was inspired equally by the short story 'Bliss' by Katherine Mansfield and the Greek myth of Persephone.

A modern-day adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House. Margaret has convinced everyone, including herself, that her relationship with Anthony is perfect. But when Margaret's childhood friend - a fun-loving flight attendant named Bridgette - comes to town for a quick visit, Margaret confesses that for the first time in two years she ate lunch alone, a moment that prompts the sudden realization that her life and her relationship are more damaged than she wants to admit. The script was an official selection for the Chicago Director's Festival.

Sixteen-year-old Cathy is haunted by images of the Watts Riots, an event she watched from her bedroom window two years ago. Her boyfriend Dawson feels responsible for Cathy’s happiness while trying to understand the bizarre behavior of her wealthy parents as his own family struggles with poverty. Set in 1967, this dramatic short play for teenagers features roles for one woman and one man. The script was developed in workshop at the Southampton Writers Conference in New York.

When star student Johnny Ramirez is selected to be the math tutor for the always-misunderstood Alex Wilde, the two young men discover love for the first time in this charming one-act play for teens. The script was an official selection for the DC Queer Theatre Festival in Washington, D.C. and received the Slam Boston Award for Best Play.

Moments after her husband of 24 years leaps to his death from a 12 story building, a woman comes face-to-face with a man who claims to have been her husband's lover of five years. On the rooftop, sorrow, regret, and anger culminate in a second tragedy in this chilling short play. This script was featured in the collection 105 Five-Minute Plays for Study and Performance.

While attending their senior prom, Spencer and Camden seek a quiet moment together, away from the crowd and away from their dates. Sitting on a bench outside of the ballroom, the two young men reveal why the night has been such a miserable experience - because they really just want to dance with each other. This short play features roles for two young men. Both characters are teenagers. This script was featured in The Best 10-Minute Plays.

Having been burned by bad relationships in the past, Janessa Martin battles over her decision to give her new boyfriend, Colby Varner, a key to her apartment. As past issues begin to surface for both, Janessa and Colby are forced to address the fact they don't fully trust each other and why. This short play features roles for one woman and one man. The script was an official selection for The Makor Theatre 10-Minute Play Festival in New York.

Moments before she's supposed to make a keynote speech to a sold-out crowd, a successful author makes the decision to stop writing and walk away from her career forever. This dramatic short play features roles for two women.

At a bus stop on a street in Chicago, high school students Ana and Mario emotionally confront the hidden grief he feels over the death of his mother and her recent suicide attempt. The script was an official selection for the Mid-America Dramatists Lab.

Shortly after the start of the Gulf War, a young American traveler is being questioned at an embassy before he’s allowed to board a plane back to the United States because of a brief relationship he had with a man from East Germany. This dramatic short play features roles for two men and requires a simple set to produce.

"Pensacola' explores the lives of four Southern women. Trudy has been a single mother since her husband went to work one day and never came home. Since then, she has tried to find a cure for her loneliness while working as a cocktail waitress at The Tide Pool. Charlotte is married and has two daughters of her own. Recently, Charlotte suspects that her husband has been unfaithful and that their marriage is falling apart. Marie, a recent high school graduate, is having a difficult time deciding on the right career for herself and ponders over going to secretary school, competing for the title of Miss Florida, or becoming the U.S. Ambassador to Cuba. Always armed with the best gossip in town, Trudy's best friend Berniece decides to end her affair with a younger man when a life-altering tragedy hits home. 'Pensacola' is a powerful and heart-warming celebration of family, love and strength.

At the Junior Prom, a sly misfit named Judy convinces Conner and Taylor, the newly elected Prom King and Queen, that she's poisoned the punch after they've each drank a glass, inspired by Maman Brigitte, the Loa of the Dead in Voodoo. Even though they fear their lives are nearing an end, Conner and Taylor refuse to repent for all the wrong they've done in their lives, especially for the horrific way they've treated Judy. This comedic short play for teenagers features roles for two young women and one young man and requires a simple set to produce.

Inspired by Alix Smith's photograph States of Union #3, this short play is about two women who - as mothers and partners - realize how important geography is in America.

The year is 1965. Rita has been suddenly widowed as her husband, John, has been killed in Vietnam. Since his death, Rita has been ostracized by John's family simply because Rita is white and her husband was black. Loneliness has left Rita emotionally crippled and suffering from a deep depression. When John's older sister, Marla, shows up unexpectedly on Christmas Eve brandishing a rum cake, the two women finally come to terms with their shared grief and sorrow. Through their tears and conversation, they come to the realization they will always be family, despite the color of their skin. This short dramatic play features roles for two women. Featured in The Best Women's Monologues.

Erica's relationship of ten years has ended without her knowing how or why. Lloyd's girlfriend has slept with all of his friends and two of his relatives. When Erica loses her parking ticket in the underground garage Lloyd is the new customer service manager of, their shattered lives and bruised hearts collide. This offbeat short play features roles for one woman and one man. Both characters are in their early 30's.

Moments after she’s almost sexually assaulted by a classmate, high school student Vanessa Martin seeks solitude at the local swimming pool despite the late hour. There, a swim class instructor and fellow high school student named Zane Armstrong encourages Vanessa to face her fear of drowning but not before first sharing a scar and secrets of his own. 'Shallow End' was named a Top 15 finalist for the Billy Roche International Short Play Award.

Featured in The Best Men's Stage Monologues and The Best Women's Stage Monologues. Questioning how happy she is with her life and marriage, suburban housewife Claudia Veramonte shares a flirtatious but meaningful conversation with Tito Benavides, the beautiful young man who cleans her swimming pool. This short play features roles for one woman and one man.

This award-winning stage play explores the lives of Venita, Maggie, and Sarah who live in a rundown apartment building in an unnamed American city. Venita is an African-American woman who has been ostracized from her family for marrying a white man named George. Maggie endures a loveless marriage and within ten years gives birth to five children. Sarah desires a life of picture-perfect glamour and excitement and has married her high school sweetheart Jimmy. After a few brushes with reality, Sarah becomes dismayed with her predictable life and slips into a crippling depression. Over the course of 34 years, Venita, Maggie, and Sarah confront social and political issues as they fight to assert their identities and protect their friendship.

On a rainy night, two male co-workers, Marco and Christopher, are drawn together out of loneliness. Marco is married to a woman whom he does not love. Christopher is suffering from a broken heart after another failed relationship. In the course of one night, the two men emotionally confront the expectations of a new relationship, the pressure of conforming to society, the traditional roles expected of men, and the powerful and consuming feelings of love. This bittersweet love story features roles for two men. Featured in The Best Men's Stage Monologues.

In this suburban satire, a group of rival suburban soccer moms take their sideline snacks way too seriously. This comedic short play features roles for 5 women and requires a simple set to produce.

Winner of the Elly Award for Best Original Script. This riveting teen drama takes place on a rainy Friday night in Chicago in 1997. Escaping a near date-rape situation, sixteen-year-old Tabitha stumbles into a coffee shop where she meets Williams, a young man who is dying of AIDS and has been abandoned by all of those he has known and loved. As a result of their chance meeting, Tabitha and Williams question their beliefs in God, themselves, and the world around them. Both young lives are deeply affect by a waitress named Milvia, who has a story and a dream of her own.

On impulse, Sharon Parker had fled her life in America for a getaway to Madrid, Spain. Hoping to come to terms with a broken heart, Sharon is captivated by the still lingering legacy of film star Ava Gardner. In a hotel lobby, she meets a few fellow lost souls.

Jennifer Hawkins, an investigative journalist, is convinced television news reporter Marco Visconti murdered international film star Cristina Lucero in order to boost his failing career by being the first to break the story. Determine to get a taped confession, Jennifer accepts the help of undercover FBI agent Brooke Emerson to prove that Marco is Cristina's killer. Written in the style of film noir, this riveting stage play features roles for 3 women and 2 men.