Robin Rice

Award-winning, Off-Broadway produced drama based on actual events. Despite strict Victorian society, Alice Austen becomes the first woman photo-journalist and lives with her lover, another woman. Born into an upper middle-class family on Staten Island, NY, Alice is plunged into poverty during the Great Depression. The true story of the editor who discovers Alice's photographs, rescues her from the poorhouse and brings her work to the attention of the public is told in a parallel, interwoven thread.

An ecological fable for young people. Homeland is quickly becoming inhospital to life. Wolves, caribou, moose and other native animals have left for cooler lands. Plants are dying off. The sky is streaked with a poisonous vapor. Fish are dying. The glacier is melting. A wolf (who misses her family), a rabbit (who yearns for a mate), and a crow (who can't find anything non-toxic to eat) attempt to reverse climate change. Laughs, tears, and ultimately hope. (See also the audiodrama version - same title - somewhat longer.)

In this ecological fable we view climate change from a different, non-human perspective. A glacier observes what is happening in a far northern valley as a wolf returns to Homeland after years away to find that her pack has left. Almost all living creatures have left, though jackrabbits have relocated there from the desert and a lone crow remains. With the help of the one remaining indigenous plant they try to understand and reverse the devastation that is occurring.

A story about secrets that can both immobilize and set us free. Agnes is haunted by something she did as a child. She has managed to bury this secret, even from herself. Her lover, Maddie, needs to finish her novel, but is hampered by a fear of her own. When Agnes' reality-challenged, gender-fluid sibling Bell appears, the stakes mount and Agnes' panic is triggered. Bell is suspended between life and death and needs to know Agnes' secret to move forward. Maddie and Agnes travel together into the depths of a cave to find closure to Maddie's fear and to unearth Agnes' secret shame.

One night four women approach the George Washington Bridge planning to drastically change or put an end to four unhappy lives. The bridge itself, as seen through Martha (elderly, homeless) has infrastructure problems which are worse when people act unkindly or through anger. The women clash; they use advanced imaginations to protect themselves; they bond despite their differences. Finally, music wraps up and reverses goals. Hope rises with the sun.

Women of different ages and ethnicities tell defiant, joyous, sad, sweet and universal stories about their breasts. For 2 to 16 actors. Mix and match for a partial or whole evening. (Published by Next Stage Press. https://next-stage-press.myshopify.com/collections/all/robin-rice)

A cloud has come over the world. People have to stay in their homes for an undetermined length of time. Secrets emerge; struggles are met; facts unravel; fear spars with strength. Sparrows, cockroaches, plants and people carry on while death roams the city.

An often-humorous look at a life that could have been squashed but instead rises strong and confident. Young Edna Mae yearns to be a visual artist, but a nagging body obsession deflects her focus. Middle-aged Edna Mae finds life in a stodgy town and marriage to an unsympathetic husband have blocked her creativity. She has struggled to maintain her artistic edge, but colors have literally drained from her life to the point where all she sees is sepia. At a Starbucks in San Diego, Edna Mae decides to not return to her midwest, apple-pie home, but rather seize the day. In this 90-minute story, we finally see elderly Edna Mae -- almost homeless, but happy as a clam doing what she loves with self-confidence enough to share with a young, homeless girl - the granddaughter she never met. (Also available in an Italian translation.)

A girl is so moved by the aftermath of the Valdez oil spill in her native Alaska, she dedicates her life to saving the environment. Years pass and she seems to have no impact so she gives up, switching her dedication to a young man. She refuses to listen to warnings from an ecologically focused wolf who sees signs of impending disaster. Drilling begins in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge, and Mother Nature lowers the boom. Human life is destroyed except for our heroine, her clueless, tv-addicted husband, and her unborn child. At last, she listens to the wolf and makes a huge sacrifice to save the future of mankind.

A wild and crazy romp with a very dramatic underbelly. Harmony is a violinist, but she is also pregnant. The story unfolds in her mind during her drugged state as she gives birth. She wakes (in her dream) to find she has an over-dependent daughter and her small town has literally turned into a frightening and over-bearing circus including an immoral conductor, a lover, a militaristic teacher, and a type-A community leader. Breaking away and choosing motherhood or musicianship for herself is Harmony's challenge. In the end she is strong enough to choose both.

The White Cliff Kinfolk live in the hills of New Jersey, hidden from civilization, peaceful, united with the land. They are a tightly knit family of decendents of escaped slaves, escaped convicts, social misfits. Disease has them headed toward extinction. A young man discovers them and decides to "rescue" them, which would mean exposing their whereabouts to the world. His plan is complicated by growing love for the White Cliff young woman who is destined to become the leader of the Kinfolk. (based on the Ramapo Mountain people).

Maia, a woman in ancient Greece, has been the creator of the famous sculptures attributed to her husband, Anonymous, since their marriage. Her two friends are also outstanding in fields totally dominated by men, but have kept it secret. Maia arranges to get her husband out of the way before he wrecks a sculpture of The Discobolous, which Odysseus expects to receive the next day for his birthday. Kyamites, the Greek god of beans, comes to earth to fool around. At first he's attracted to the nude statue of The Discobolous, but Maia manages to distract him by introducing him to Anonymous. The two men are smitten, and get out of Maia's way so she can finish the sculpture for Odysseus. The women reveal their secrets to each other. At the birthday party, Maia speaks her own truth and speaks up for women, Zeus strikes her dead. Her spirit rises (in true Greek drama fashion) to urge women everywhere to stand strong and to predict that a big change is coming.

A Maine Coon Cat tells a tale of love, loss and new beginnings. Torn from his Dear One in Vermont, he adjusts with great difficulty to being relocated in New York City. As Dear One's health goes downhill, her sister in NYC finds her life unwravelling. An angry cat doesn't help. Neither does a clueless doorman. Love and acceptance are found in unexpected places. Note: this is not a children's play.

A fable for tomorrow with movement, music, and a heck of a big story. Six people struggle to create a new and better world after Earth has been devastated. Spirit Children watch as the struggle fails. Nobody will listen to Lola and the Spirit Children, who insist that love must be a part of any new world. They insist on relying on power, precision, and rules -- nothing from the past. The result is estrangement to separate planets in outer space. Lola is empowered by the Spirit Children (and a bit of John Donne); finds love in her belly and finally gets through to the others before another Big Bang brings an end to it all.

Based on true history. In 1831 rural Pennsylvania, a doctor is murdered. Who did it? His wife, a pioneer in education for women, whom he is forcing to abandon her school in Philadelphia? A magical, sexy, itinerant Cuban who claims to rub shoulders with the rich and famous? Or did Dr. Chapman take his own life? The Cuban is ultimately hanged and the wife goes free... but the truth is up for grabs. Based on the best-selling novel "The Murder of Dr. Chapman" by Linda Wolfe, the story contains many parallels to life today.

Margie is so traumatized from people making fun of her large size that she wants to die. Her breasts are startled into manifesting. They call on breasts on other women all over the world to come and tell stories that will give Margie comfort and the will to live. The breasts come. Their stories are sometimes helpful, but sometimes not. In the end, Margie helps another woman with her body problem and finds the courage within herself to go on. (Based largely on interviews.)

Marjory Stoneman Douglas (the woman the Parkland high school is named for) is credited with saving the Florida Everglades from extinction. This drama tells the story of her life up to her early 20s when she moved to Florida. What influences caused her to grown into a woman of grit, focus, determination and an abiding love of nature? The story follows Marjory from 1885 to 1998, through her parents' divorce, her mother's deteriorating mental state, years at Wellesley College, efforts to find her missing father, dead-end jobs and a disastrous marriage -- often utilizing magical realism to pave the path.

Inspired by Jean Genet's THE MAIDS. An all-male version of PLAY NICE! Not your standard abused-children play by any means. Three siblings must figure out how to escape from the dreadful cycle their dragon of a mother has created. The plan of the youngest, the best at "pretend," prevails. Imagination becomes their key weapon. A homeless poet is brought into the siblings' plan for victory.

In 1911, Edward Clark Potter has an opportunity to create the most important sculpture of his life. In his New York back yard sits a gigantic block of marble. Inside the stone is the sculpture that will emerge once he begins carving, but also inside the stone are thoughts buzzing in his head: detractors, public opinion, a competitor, even George Washington and a "wabbit" who hates his ideas. His wife encourages him to make what is in his heart, but it's a struggle. Finally he allows the spirit in the stone to emerge. It is triumphant! It is the first of the NY City Library lions! (A true story filled out with a lot of imagination and movement.)

Award-winning story of haves and have-nots, anchored by the true story of Lola and Pale Male, redtail hawks with a nest on a posh, Upper East Side apartment in New York City. A sensitive doorman and his diabetic sister champion the hawks. A social-climbing doorman and many of the residents who live there want to get rid of the hawks. In a magical bit of fervent wishing, a songbird becomes a young woman and points the way forward for the sensitive doorman and his sister.

Off-Broadway produced. Inspired by Jean Genet's THE MAIDS. Not your standard abused-children play by any means. Three siblings must figure out how to escape from the dreadful cycle their dragon of a mother has created. The plan of the youngest, the best at "pretend," prevails. Imagination becomes their key weapon. A homeless girl (a poet) is brought into the siblings' plan for victory. (Note: there is an all-male version titled MORSELS THREE.)

New York-produced drama. A father leaves his wife, twin children and their grandmother to pursue his birdwatching obsession. The family moves away, but determined to reunite with him, the daughter constructs an elaborate tree house to attract him. When that doesn't work, she kidnaps the grandmother and installs her in the tree. Grandmother is not well; the twin brother is a huge problem; gym-teacher mother is clueless. Birds, an unlikely transformation and good old human nature combine for a very real solution.

Amélie Matisse, wife of painter Henri, joins four other women trying to recapture their own lives in 1909 Paris. They model for the ground-breaking painting "Dance 1," after Amélie manages to set Henri's creativity in motion by redirecting his considerable sexual energy. The women's ability to soar is literally realized.

Five contemporary women find themselves bound in varying degrees to what happened to Eastern European Jews during World War II. Four of the women, all New Yorkers, are second- and third-generation descendants of survivors of the Holocaust. A fifth is a survivor herself. She wants to forget. She didn't tell her daughter and she refuses to tell her granddaughter even the smallest detail of what happened to her. But the granddaughter needs to know. She feels incomplete, unanchored. She is experiencing increasing loss of self. In desperation she reaches out to strangers. One evening, the strangers come together to help her. Humor and fellowship, stories and memories take the woman to a place where metaphorical suitcases can be opened, revealing close-held secrets. The grandmother reclaims her life and the younger women, to varying degrees, will find reconciliation with a past that has haunted them. (Published by Next Stage Press. https://next-stage-press.myshopify.com/collections/all/robin-rice)

Today's struggles aren't that different from the 1950s and '60s for a young girl pursuing her dream to be a visual artist. With the aid of her mentor, Wonder Woman, Suki jumps time, escaping the smothering '50s and her conservative New England town, landing at a college where her dreams can be fulfilled. Except, civil rights activism and a majorly sexy guy distract her. No, I won't have sex. No, I will focus. Good luck. Despite Wonder Woman's warnings, Suki finds herself quitting college and getting married. After an aborted stint in the Peace Corps, she finds herself in a rural town in a rundown house with a baby, no money and a jealous husband who loves her but values his antique car above all else. Suki sneaks. She lies. She goes from emotional and open to closed and super organized in order to stay on top of things as her husband's mental stability spins out of control. She does everything she can to keep painting. Eventually, he cracks and attacks her physically. She leaves in order to save herself and her baby daughter even though she knows this will in all probability cause him to kill himself. She returns to her hometown to rest, absorb what was good that she turned aside before, and to begin again. The townspeople have been invading her thoughts all along, but also watching out for her. (Based on true stories.) (Note: To avoid confusion - early recommendations below were written for early drafts of the play.)

A look at the contrast between experiencing life through the lens of a device and experiencing it the old-fashioned way - in person. Molly and her teenage daughter, Flora, live in the story "Molly and the Peaceful Llamas" by Hans Christian Andersen. Molly hid in the story when real life broke her heart. Flora rebels. She doesn't want to be a two-dimensional story character, but live in the real world and have adventures. Urged on by a New York native (who happens to be a frog) Flora escapes and heads for New York City in the company of a dangerous troll. Two goats on a nearby farm risk their lives to rescue her. Meanwhile Molly, frantic to find her daughter, is tempted by sensual pleasures to remember the past and go rescue Flora in the real world. The troll turns viscious when Flora won't submit to him. She escapes to the top level of the G.W. Bridge. The others arrive just as it looks like the troll will have his way with Flora. In a battle royale, aided by her mother and friends, Flora rejects an easy out, risks her life and defeats the troll. The sun rises over the city of her dreams, mother and daughter are reunited, and the world is Flora's oyster!

L.A. produced. Inspired by Sartre's NO EXIT and Dante's INFERNO. An absurdist but very real look at love and mortality. A young woman is trapped in a runaway subway car rushing to an unknown destination. A cobweb covered ancient knits in the corner. A one-legged homeless woman and a music-addicted punk turn the space into a cycle of attraction, hope and despair.

Long ago in Australia a male bowerbird builds a gorgeous bower to attract a female bowerbird. She is unimpressed until he points out that his bower, unlike the others, is decorated with blue items. What's blue? She hasn't a clue. Turns out that he has a mutation that enables him to see colors - fascinating, and also evolutionary magic! Ah, nature. Ah, love. He does the flip-wing mating dance and the deal is sealed. (10-minutes in production)

A young woman needs an emergency appendectomy, but the nearest hospital isn't exactly standard. From the nun at reception to the walking, talking, advice-giving statue of St. Anthony beside her bed -- everyone is urging Allie to grow up. This requires deciding to break away from her controlling mother, and Allie doesn't make decisions. When first her mother shows up, then her girlfriend lover -- all hell breaks loose. A wacky, big-hearted comedy about a real issue. (Approx. 1 hour long.)

In the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, a young member of the Basarwa, an ancient African tribe, draws icons in the sand to protect the people, the land, and their way of life. A power-hungry oil prospector from Texas shows up with intent to ravage the land. A rap contest will determine who wins. Nature fights on the side of the native. Guess who wins. (If movement is included, then more actors play Sun, Moon, Wind, etc.)

Callista has won beauty pageants all of her life. But now she's far from a spring chicken and the Ms. Senior America Pageant judges gave her only a participation trophy. She is in a city park in a snowstorm, feeling her world has ended. There in the park is Pidgie, a pigeon. Because of the storm, nobody has fed the birds for days. Before Callista can strip off all her clothes and freeze to death, Pidgie convinces her to take up a more authentic identity than "beauty queen," to stand up for bird rights, and also get them some darned food!

Autumn, 2021. Three blocks along Broadway on the Upper West Side of New York City. A woman falls, but is too proud to accept help. She hobbles toward home, unable to shake a young person who is strangely friendly. Is the woman a famous actress from the past? Has the kid be severely mistreated? Movies, wildlife in the city park, and basic loneliness -- an unexpected bond is formed. (Part of a collection with many playwrights: WALKING PLAYS.)

An elderly man has entirely lost his short-term memory and his wife knows it. She hasn't, however, told him that she has virtually no long-term memory left. She even forgot the day they met. She collects salt and pepper shakers from places they visit as memory aids. There are a lot of salt and pepper shakers! They are crowding out everything else and annoying the heck out of him. Her secret is revealed and they band together to keep their marriage strong. He comes up with a new memory aid for both of them. Funny, sweet and poignant. (15+ minutes in performance)

Two homeless lovers sleep on the street in a refrigerator carton. It's their anniversary, but instead of celebrating, one sits by a city pond morosely, silently fishing. There are no fish. There aren't even cattails. A year ago chemicals were dumped in the pond to make it sparkly, sanitized and visually appealing. This invasion of the people's space (their space) by the clean police merits action. The silence between the lovers is broken as they take up the fight for right.

Two teens, lifelong friends, have decided to have sex. They walk to his car (really his mother's car) during lunch break at school to "do it." He has the car all spruced up for the occasion, but something reminds her of her strict, abusive, dead father. She has second thoughts. He behaves in an unaccustomed, threatening manner. Although they don't have sex, a new distance opens that shatters the old bond of friendship. (plays in 10 minutes or less) (published by Drama Notebook: https://www.dramanotebook.com/plays-for-kids/bitter-cherries/)

Based on a true story. The 20-25 minute play travels with Dominican nuns Sister Jane Mooney, Sister Mary McGee, and Sister Whilhelmina Heintz as they deface a nuclear missle silo and face a judge for sentencing. (Published by Next Stage Press in WHEN SILENCE IS NOT GOLDEN. https://next-stage-press.myshopify.com/collections/coming-soon/robin-ri…)

Midnight. The big city. An intrepid reporter needs a scoop to keep their job. The reporter spots a home invasion in progress and follows what happens, getting an unexpected story in the end. (The reporter is a pigeon, the home invader a mouse and the resident a cat - which only serves to heighten the tension!)

In Vermont, a free-spirited young Caucasian woman and an accomodating young African-American man are deeply in love. They are due to get married in an hour, but she is afraid their beautiful relationship will be harmed by outside pressures.

In 1885, sculptor Frederic Remington visits the Arizona Territory and sends a hard-drinking, old cowboy to find a horse for a model. Gabby offers his own horse, Betty, who is neither pretty nor young. Neither she nor Gabby measures up to Remington's vision of the Romantic West. When Gabby disowns her, Betty kicks up a fuss and manages to settle the dispute between the men. Remington retains his illusion of the Wild Wild West as a picturesque place. (He will return east and create his famous bucking bronco sculpture.) (10-15 minutes in production)

Pandas are notoriously not interested in sex. In the not too distant future, a woman scientist is determined to fertilize the last living female panda bear, but an old boyfriend shows up and tries to lure her away to a life of love, meatloaf and relative leisure. He's very sexy. The scientist is torn. The fertilizing drug she developed, BUDFUD129ZK, may save pandas from extinction, but it has only a 50 per cent success rate. If it fails, the female panda will die. Decisions! Big decisions!

Jennifer and Colby, two city women, have been having an affair. Colby has something important to tell Colby, so they're at a hideaway in the country for the weekend. Colby's announcement isn't what Jennifer expected -- it's that she's pregnant by her husband and they have to end their affair. Although she loves Jen, Colby isn't brave enough to buck the rules of society.

Candy, 14, wants big breasts. A sidewalk Mrs. Santa, selling Christmas trees, agrees that Candy is "flat as a pancake" and offers to grant her wish (since Santa didn't come through last year when Candy wrote to him). Mrs. Santa promises to grant Candy's wish, and offers advice on other sexual matters too. (Mature subject matter. This is definitely NOT a play for children.)

Chief is a Golden Retriever, the beloved best friend of Girl of Devotion, his young owner. He longs to be with her, and she longs for him. Those were the best of times. Their life together was cut short when he ran across a busy street to fight with a Boxer. He doesn't like to admit it, but although he finds stupidity in much of human life, this act that tore them apart was his fault.

Ten monologues either delivered by an animal or about an animal. Comic, tragic, sweet, frightening and sexy. Characters range from a starving crow, to an aroused nun, to a determined wolf, to a conflicted mother and more.

A woman finds real life too difficult. She yearns to join the circle of dancers in a Matisse painting. Is this a good idea? I mean -- really? The dancers don't agree, but finally welcome her to their circle.

Blake and Comfort have been shut in for 34 days. It's not going well for Blake. With the aid of the angel of death, Comfort lures Blake into believing they aren't eating sardines and saltines and drinking water, but in the elegant ballroom of the Titanic drinking champagne and dancing.

A young person is so grief-stricken over the death of a loved one that they cannot move. Darby is literally trying to sit still and disappear. A crusty mailcarrier delivers the will to live. (Harks back to 9/11, but really about how any death can immobilize those left behind.) (about 20 minutes in performance)

Yogi Berri, 31, is very depressed. He thinks he's gotten too old to play well anymore. Yolanda, the Oracle of the Yankess, appears in the Yankee locker room to buck Yogi up. She is endlessly positive, but he's a tough case. Finally, she discovers that all he needs is eyeglasses -- and a push from Shakespeare.

A lyrical play with movement, but not words. On a small planet, a young person's daily ritual is watering a plant. They bring each other joy. When a sprout appears by the plant, the young person's world is turned upside down. Room for music, dance, sound and light effects.

A lonely goatherder and a lonely troll. The troll is out to get retribution from slights from the three Billy Goats Gruff. The goatherder will have none of it. An unexpected alliance is formed. Love blossoms.

Two middle-aged, midwestern women take a trip to San Diego. It's the first time they've gone anywhere outside of their small, rural town. The excitement, the adventure, the wild ways, Starbucks! Sally convinces her friend they should convince their husbands to move to San Diego! But -- second thoughts. Oh darn. Golly gosh. Maybe not.

An elderly woman is trying with all her might to escape from the memory of her (dead) husband. She tries to move forward (physically and mentally), but the memory of him keeps literally blocking her way. Finally, she finds the strength to kill the memory. (Her thoughts are spoken by herself at a young age. A monologue except for one sentence. The man's role is non-speaking.) (Approx. 15 minutes.)

A woman has engaged in insider trading. Knowing that the authorities are closing in, she heads down the coast from Seattle to Mexico in a Chevy van. It turns out that the van knows what she's doing and is determined to save her life, though not in the way she planned. She decides to turn back before reaching the Mexican border.

Somewhat in the future. A woman has been shut in, working at an Amazon phone bank. She is anonymous, underpaid, overworked. Life is passing her by. A cockroach appears. He's man-sized, and very sexy. (Climate change has benefitted cockroaches.) She's tempted, but when she discovers that female roaches can have babies without sex with males (parthenogenisis) she realizes how narrow her life has become and leaves Amazon to adventure into the world.

Everyone hates Pollock because of a nasty, superior attitude. Pollock is alienated to the extent that he/she/they feel like a species of one. Pollock has decided to jump off a cliff. During the fall, a memory of music, which Pollock has repressed, buoys him/her/them up. The fall ends not on rocks but in a pond. Pollock feels, finally, at home.

In the wee hours following a New Years Eve party, amid crumpled napkins and leftover cake, the flame on a forgotten candle still flickers. Not far away, an ice cube is on the table top beside the dregs of a tipped over drink. They fall in love - the fire and the ice. Their passion is overwhelming, but we know what will happen if they come together. True love never had such a desperate situation.

An elementary school teacher and her class in New York City witnessed the the towers falling on 9/11 through the classroom windows. She is so traumatized she doesn't think she can return to school. She can't face answering the questions the children will have for her. The statue of historic NY statesman Peter Stuyvesant (a hero of hers) gives her the strength to return. History comes alive. (approximately 40 minutes in performance). (Published by Next Stage Press in WHEN SILENCE IS NOT GOLDEN. https://next-stage-press.myshopify.com/collections/coming-soon/robin-ri…)

A Russian woman is terribly upset because she can't be despondent. (Good Russians are despondent, you know.) She had a happy dream last night and actually laughed. Her loving husband is patient, but he too is disappointed that she can't be appropriately Russian. A cheerful travel agent appears with a solution. When they aggressively dispense with the highly annoying travel agent, things look much better (or worse - which is better). (ten minutes in production)

An elderly woman with aphasia and a 13-year-old girl on the spectrum are neighbors in an apartment building. The girl is at a crisis in her life. No one is friends with her and her mother doesn't understand. When the elderly woman climbs the stairs to the girl's floor to beg her to stop walking back and forth at night and keeping the woman awake, she finds the girl drinking whiskey, about to jump off the balcony and put an end to her isolation. The unlikely pair bond and a new and life-saving friendship blooms.

A true story (with dramatic license). In 1937 dictator Rafael Trujillo notices that the citizens of the Dominican Republic don't adulate him. He decides that if he owns a baseball team that wins the championship they will love him. Despite hating black people, he recruits Satchel Paige and his team (this is before the major baseball leagues were integrated) and flies them to the Dominican Republic for a playoff game. Paige and his teammate are greeted by a baseball field surrounded by armed guards. If they don't win the game for Trujillo they won't make it back to the United States alive. (about 30 minutes in performance)

In a future world, turkeys rule and humans are raised for -- well, you know what. On this day, when Turkey Lurkey has his sights set on slaughter, two humans rebel, setting off The Revolution. Humans battle turkeys! Who will be on the table for future feasts?

A teenager is auditioning for a school play, hoping having a part in a play will make their parents notice them. They are not in the least confident, but trying hard. They're auditioning for one of the bears in "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," but identify with Goldilocks. The audition is a disaster, but they come to new self-awareness and confidence.

In "Hold On, Kid" a young person wants a soldier to trade the soldier's gun for a homemade kite.
In "Hold On, Anna" two men are hunting. One, engaged to the other's sister, finds out that hunting is part of their lifestyle.
In "Hold On, My Love," a very short play, an elderly couple pledges to hold tight to a shared memory and moment forever.

Taylor is extremely uptight, but dying to bust out and enjoy life. Jagger enjoys life to the fullest, including many not-so-lily-white activities. At a party on Christmas Eve, Jagger tries to help Taylor out of their conservative little shell by pulling them into exaggerated Pretend. It works.

Twelve-year-old Honey lives on the tropical island of Tortola. Her mother has told her they must move to New York City. The flight leaves in the morning. Honey is distraught. Her friends (a pelican, a hen, a rooster, a school of minnows, a tropical vine) try to help her become something other than herself so she can hide from mother and stay on her beloved island. In the end, Honey realizes it's best to remain herself -- and that she will be herself even in New York City. A large-cast, one-act play with music for children. (Note: Sheet music for one of three songs is provided. More on request.)

Creation vs Evolution. What gets credit for life? A scientist and an artist (in outer outer space) compete for bragging rights. The scientist watches evolution happen through a powerful magnifying glass as the artist creates. A glorious Earth emerges -- and humans -- but how did it happen?

Two elderly women find love in a retirement home. Inspired by Arlo Guthrie's "City of New Orleans" and trains.

In this very updated version of "Beowulf," Bully sits grandly on the chair on the Lincoln Memorial. (Lincoln has been disposed of.) Bully is unspeakably wealthy and vain - the ruler of all for life! Average American waits on Bully hand and foot. South of the border, noble Joséowulf comes to the rescue, gathering troops along the way. There is much blank verse, a huge clash, a massive battle. Good is victorious. (30 min. max.)

A bull and cow have a new baby bull, but she wants to be a gourmet chef, not settle down and be a mother. He wants to have MORE babies - a nice big herd of his own. When a sexy French frog (seeking the meaning of life as French frogs do) hops into the meadow (contemplating suicide as French frogs do), all of their problems are solved because - voila! - she adores the baby bull and wants to be its nanny.

An African elephant has been catured for a zoo, but escapes in transit and finds herself in the Gobi Desert where an anti-immigrant Mongolian camel wants the elephant to go home! A mash up of protest play, Christmas play, climate change and immigrant controversy. When the elephant offers water to the thirsty camel, we will see who is the bigger animal.

Sir David Attenborough is in an Australian forest searching for a Bowerbird bower. He discovers two - AND the two males who have built the bowers to attract a female. Luigi's bower is big - very, very big. Darryl's is small, but decorated beautifully. Mary arrives -- a virgin, innocent, pretty and very desirable. She can't decide. Competition grows until the males perform a dance-off to win her heart. Mary is disgusted by their antics. She chooses neither one. Luigi and Darryl are bereft. Sir David encourages the males: Another female will be along.

Mandy or Randy is a young teenager with an attitude. "I am so attractive and so good that nothing creepy or icky could possibly happen to me!" But fibbing to oneself doesn't cleanse a guilty conscience, and flesh-eating bacteria may have a field day.

In 1914 England, sisters Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell try to write and paint in the same small room. Who knew creating was such a disruptive act!

Three members of the Occupy movement in New York City rehearse a play that will hopefully get people going to work on Wall Street to understand the needs of the majority of Americans. A NYC policewoman joins their ranks, but the rehearsal touches on sensitive issues and everything falls apart as police make a midnight raid on the Occupy tent city. Or does it? (Published by Next Stage Press in WHEN SILENCE IS NOT GOLDEN. https://next-stage-press.myshopify.com/collections/coming-soon/robin-ri…)

A C.E.O. who is wound so tight they can barely breathe visits a zoo, A small penguin there opens a world of what-could-be. The C.E.O. struggles mightily against it, but in the end breathes deeply, inhaling a new, free life.

A man is bereft when his alcoholic (and apparently very unpleasant) wife dies in a swamp on a North Carolina barrier island. He makes a life-size doll and dresses her in his wife's clothes to keep him company. Their daughter isn't at all sad to see her mother go. She's catching a bus out of town in half an hour, but she has no shoes. She needs the shoes on the doll. She finally convinces her father to toss the dummy in the ocean - but the mother's body isn't ready to leave.

Two young musicians from Ohio travel to New York City to make it big. Busking in a subway train they run into a small problem. They are alone with the conductor - who is a zombie. Molly loves her life more than music and escapes, but Moe loves music more than anything. He stays to entertain the music-loving conductor. Uh oh. (approximately 20 minutes)

It's the future, but not all that far off. Evolution is going backwards. The human species is devolving. 21st-Century technology doesn't work. A computer repair shop is now a dead technology recycling center. A woman who works there is dying to write a play, but she has nothing to write with or on. In comes a person with an old laptop, dying to get email. Can the laptop be fixed so the play can be written on it? As the drama unfolds, the humans gradually become more apelike. In the end, using a dusty typewriter, the play begins to be written - proving the Infinite Monkey Theorem may be closer to happening than we realize.

Monologue. Any gender. A crow is an inner voice. Or your worst fear. Or your imagination working overtime. Beautiful, seductive, articulate, poetic and very hungry, even for human flesh. (7-10 minutes long)

Political wackiness ensues when Farmer Brown (who bears a strong resemblance to a recent President) wants patriotic young Tom Turkey to serve - or, rather, wants to serve Tom for Thanksgiving. Mom Turkey and Martha Stewart take sides. It all turns out fine for the turkeys.

An atheistic Yankee and a religious southern lady were on a cruise ship that sank. They find themselves on a very small rock in the middle of the ocean and the tide is rising rapidly. He can't swim. She won't go in the water. He counts on his brain to save them. She counts on prayer. Something seems to be working. What is it?

A high-powered woman C.E.O. engaged in insider trading has taken her husband and son to hide in a cabin in a Vermont forest. Her conscience appears, filthy and disgusting, demanding the woman come clean. More than financial shenanigans are involved. The woman has been having a secret affair with her girlfriend for most of her life. One step leads to another. In the process of trying to ignore her conscience, she hasn't realized that the worst sin she committed was being responsible for her friend's suicide.

A young woman is trapped in time. In 1949 at age 14 she visited NYC to see her grandparents on Staten Island, but they didn't meet the ferry. She has been travelling back and forth on the ferry ever since, hoping that the next time it docks they'll be there. An 18-year-old on the spectrum is also on the ferry, and also reaching the end of his/her/their rope. The two form a bond and hope springs anew for both.

Drama. 2M/F. Est. 6 min.
In darkness, from beginning to end. Two lights express new friendship, courtship, and loss through movement and changes in color.

Comedy/drama. A Jewish woman from the old country is unhappy that her son is marrying a Christian woman with two children. Will she loosen her grip and open her arms? Will the young woman reach out? Will they finally share a cup of tea? Will it be hot or iced? All ends well - thank goodness.

A personnel manager at a hotel chain must hire a new housekeeper asap, but doesn't like immigrants. The manager doesn't get the last word.

Drama with frightening comedy. One night in a bar, three dispicable men hatch a plan to get rid of women. Guaranteed to offend pretty much everyone.

Present day. On an outcropping of rock in the middle of an ocean, the Greek god Poseidon is amusing himself by causing big storms and capsizing ships. Brooke, a climate activist, spots him from a ship and swims to the rock to make him stop. He's adamant about pursuing his main entertainment, but the oceans have grown too warm for him to be pleasantly refreshed. Also, he's grown angrier and angrier at the trash being thrown in waterways. He's especially angry and heartbroken over baby sea lions getting their heads caught in plastic six-pack rings and dying when they grow but the rings don't. Brooke promises to devote her activism to getting rid of plastics in the water, and offers to teach him tiddlywinks to amuse himself. He is thrilled.

A lonely woman with a vivid imagination is at a corporate holiday party. She is shy, lonely, and doesn't know most of the people. She is about to leave when a friend from their small department in the company urges her to stay. The shy woman is suddenly captivated by what she calls the manifestatation of an essence across the room. The friend pooh poos this, but wants badly to be close so she tries hard and actually manages to see the essence also. It turns out to be a woman, eating a strawberry, more sexily and slowly than you can imagine. But together they imagine it. Their realities blend and they leave holding hands.

An elderly couple is on their way to celebrate their anniversary at Niagara Falls. They stop at a streetfront Urgent Care facility to use the restroom. Unfortunately, the sweet scent of doughnuts wafts in from the Dunkin Donuts next door, threatening to send the husband (who is dangerously addicted to sugar) into a downward spiral. The officious receptionist discovers that the wife has a toenail fungus and insists that she see the doctor immediately. The wife must watch the husband (the doughnuts, remember?), but he's not allowed in the examination room with her. Can true love win out over addiction? (about 20 minutes in performance)

Lou has been isolated for 45 days. Lou must be a difficult person because nobody has checked up on them. Lou has reached the end of their lonely rope and is about to put a gun to their head, but a cockroach intervenes.

Boris, a sort of dashing prince (who happens to be a rabbit) in a kingdom that is sort of Russian must find a mate by sundown. In an airport he meets Lucy Lou, a blonde and flexible gymnast who is dying to live anywhere but her hometown of Miami. Her squeaky voice hurts Boris' sensitive ears, but ah ha! here comes a disgusting-looking troll with the voice of an angel. A love triangle with a surprising ending.