Ashleigh Ann Gardner

Rural Missouri, 1994. Over the past thirty years, Sasha (they/them) has been stalked by an unnamable entity that moves and appears differently each time it is seen. Despite attempting to shield themself from the being, Sasha has been unable to escape its harassment and sits at a small kitchen table on a Friday night, recording their suicide note in a last ditch effort to convince others that the entity is real. The Not is an unsettling hour and a half during which the roots and effects of trauma, abuse, neglect, and self doubt are examined through the lens of psychological and paranormal horror. Drama. (1 non-binary)

FULL LENGTH: After intense heat triggers massive reactor explosions across the United States, a former nurse spends five years alone in a nuclear fallout shelter. Her only friend is Dom, a computer system with human emotions who wishes to be granted a body. After a series of tests, Alex and Dom plateau in their experiments and hope dwindles. But when Seth, a former robotics scientist and friend of Alex, finds the bunker, Alex and Dom plot together to further their experiment. But the prospect of humanity outside the bunker is both enticing and terrifying, and Alex finds herself faced with the decision to leave and rejoin human society...or stay with Dom and push forward toward an uncertain future. (Drama. 1w, 2m)

SHORT: A woman engaging in an affair weighs the consequences of her actions, examining the reasons for her infidelity and her feelings toward both her partner and her lover.

SHORT: Two men at an undisclosed facility in Texas discuss the ethics of keeping things in cages. Accepted and included in the 2018 #theatreactionimmigration Protest Plays Project. (10 minute. Drama. 2m)

SHORT: A wife who has hired a private investigator accuses her husband of infidelity. She has the photos to prove it. But his reasons are possibly justified. (Drama. Ten-minute. 1m , 1w)

SHORT: After another alcohol-fueled romp in St. Louis, Ray is locked up for a drunk-and-disorderly and is again bailed out by Leo, his best friend. As Ray sits in Leo’s unheated car on the freeway, he considers the destruction he’s repeatedly caused and if he’s worth the trouble. (Drama. Ten-minute. 2m.)

ONE ACT: In GHOST, a strange coincidence of fate brings neurotic postal courier Lyle to the apartment of Petra - an emotionally unavailable woman who ghosted him after their spontaneous tryst at a wedding. Lyle stays to demand an apology from Petra, using every avenue available to him, including a male model named Sebastian. Soon, the tables turn, dignity is lost, and Lyle and Petra find themselves wondering if two impossibly flawed people might actually be good together. (Designed to be performed as a double bill with FUNERAL PARTY.) (One act. Comedy. 1w, 2m.)

ONE ACT: FUNERAL PARTY, a drama about regret and revelations, finds Gwen and Trip sneaking into a crematorium to mourn the death of their best friend, Clay. Clay’s sudden suicide has Trip reeling with guilt but has left Gwen detached and distracted. They turn to a list they’ve compiled to keep them on track: drinks, Vietnamese food, dancing, coffee. When Gwen becomes reluctant to proceed with the evening’s planned events, a dark secret about her relationship with Clay is brought to light. (Designed to be performed as a double bill with GHOST.) (Drama. One act. 1f, 2m.)

SHORT: A couple tries to convince their drunk friend to go home. (10 minute. Comedy. 1w, 2m.)

SHORT/MONOLOGUE: A man attending the funeral of his murdered teenage sister tries to understand the sense behind western funeral practices while also coming to grips with her death. (Drama. Ten-minute monologue play, 1w voice, 1m identifying or trans.)

SHORT: A couple has a conversation about the privilege of perpetrators of harassment and sexual assault over coffee. (Drama. 1w, 1m.) (Written as part of 365 plays/365 days project.)

SHORT: Political upheaval threatens the existence of a vast majority of the nation’s population, not to mention the citizens of other countries. A daughter attempts to have a conversation with her mother about recent atrocities she has witnessed and been victim to. (Drama. Ten-minute. 2w)

SHORT: Coworkers awkwardly flirt and then awkwardly set up their first date. (10-minute. Comedy. 2 gender neutral.)

SHORT: Two barely-friends find out that their friendship isn’t as solid as they thought it was. (Comedy. Ten-minute. 2w, though both roles can be played by gender-neutral or trans/non-binary performers.)

SHORT: KAREN and HANNAH argue over whether or not HANNAH should go over to Jerry’s house after he states that he and HANNAH will “Netflix and chill”, a concept HANNAH takes very literally. KAREN attempts, to no avail, to convince HANNAH of Jerry’s intentions. (Comedy. Ten-minute. 2f.)

COMING SOON: After descending into an afterlife for outcast female spirits, a young woman is called to participate in a horrifying ancient ritual involving blind submission to a higher power. A story of new mythology, an examination of shame-thought, and an original language. (2F; 12 M-F transitioning, or F-identifying; 1 M. Full length. Drama/tragedy.)

A satire and celebration of the 20-somethings of today, 20-NOTHING features twenty vignette scenes that snapshot the lives of millennials. The scenes featured in this excerpt examine public embarrassment, body shaming, self-image, relationships, marriage, death, spirituality, depression, and mental illness.

Written in collaboration with Michael Knight, Keith Charles Traver, Krista Delong, Dorothy Christopher, and Debra Christopher, 20-NOTHING premiered at the 2014 Orlando International Fringe Festival. "Even though I have little patience for YOLO, Pinterest, or passive-aggressive Facebook posts IRL, I found a lot more in this show that I identified with than I expected to. And judging by the hysterical response provoked from the opening performance audience, I won't be the only older person to enjoy it. If this show is any indication, maybe there's something more to these 20-somethings than they've been given credit for, at least as far as sketh comedy is concerned." - Seth Kubersky, The Orlando Weekly