Bill Savage

Bill Savage is an accomplished writer and playwright, known for creative storytelling in both the United States and the United Kingdom. His portfolio includes a range of several compelling plays. At the 2025 Free-Play Festival at Potrero Stage in San Francisco, he produced, directed and appeared in his full-length play, "Daddy's Girl." He produced and directed his play "Leave it to the Angels" for the 2025 Scranton (Pa.) Fringe Festival in his hometown. He has produced and appeared in several staged presentations of his works in Philadelphia, under the auspices of Dramatists Guild, and his works have also been presented at Open Stage and Theatre Harrisburg in Harrisburg, Pa. He is a regular contributor to festivals in Mount Gretna and Harrisburg, Pa., and his works have been published in...

Bill Savage is an accomplished writer and playwright, known for creative storytelling in both the United States and the United Kingdom. His portfolio includes a range of several compelling plays. At the 2025 Free-Play Festival at Potrero Stage in San Francisco, he produced, directed and appeared in his full-length play, "Daddy's Girl." He produced and directed his play "Leave it to the Angels" for the 2025 Scranton (Pa.) Fringe Festival in his hometown. He has produced and appeared in several staged presentations of his works in Philadelphia, under the auspices of Dramatists Guild, and his works have also been presented at Open Stage and Theatre Harrisburg in Harrisburg, Pa. He is a regular contributor to festivals in Mount Gretna and Harrisburg, Pa., and his works have been published in anthologies including "A Book of Plays" (Sunbury Press) and "Hello Godot, Volume 10." (Som). His play "Men of the Empire" was part of Fractured Time Productions "Around the Globe in Eighty Plays" in London in 2020 at the Globe Theatre.

Scripts

Daddy's Girl

by Bill Savage

Synopsis

Larry Rodney is in Chicago for a convention, and he happens to engage in a conversation with a bartender about the great tragedy of his life: his three-decade separation from his only child, a daughter he last saw when she was a toddler. In flashbacks, he recalls the pain of the separation from his only daughter. After he leaves the bar, he goes to a park across the street, where images of his past involving the...

Larry Rodney is in Chicago for a convention, and he happens to engage in a conversation with a bartender about the great tragedy of his life: his three-decade separation from his only child, a daughter he last saw when she was a toddler. In flashbacks, he recalls the pain of the separation from his only daughter. After he leaves the bar, he goes to a park across the street, where images of his past involving the daughter he hasn't seen in about three decades return to him. The bartender finds him and they ponder the quirks of life and parenthood.The next day, Regan, his now-thirtysomething daughter, a semi-invalid due to events that have happened in her life, talks to her own young daughter and she also experiences flashbacks about her deceased mother and the father she barely remembers. But prodded by the teenager, a faint memory returns to light the woman's life.

Down to the 'Fifty-Four'

by Bill Savage

Synopsis

(NOTE: This play has been expanded from previous versions and is now full-length!)
It's 1978, and two Columbia University students are getting ready for a Saturday night. But one of them, who considers himself a bit of an outcast, has a rather unusual plan; he's going to try to get into the world's most exclusive nightclub and disco, Studio 54. He then, literally on the other side of the street, meets a girl who...

(NOTE: This play has been expanded from previous versions and is now full-length!)
It's 1978, and two Columbia University students are getting ready for a Saturday night. But one of them, who considers himself a bit of an outcast, has a rather unusual plan; he's going to try to get into the world's most exclusive nightclub and disco, Studio 54. He then, literally on the other side of the street, meets a girl who turns his world around just a bit. (NOTE: This play has been expanded from previous versions and is now full-length!)

Leave it to the Angels

by Bill Savage

Synopsis

A quirky, noir-type comedy about two departed sisters who come back to their hometown from the afterlife as teenagers in 1985 to take care of some minor unfinished business, and end up involved in some activities that might be a little bit out of their areas of expertise. But they use their infinite ingenuity to tackle the problem.

A quirky, noir-type comedy about two departed sisters who come back to their hometown from the afterlife as teenagers in 1985 to take care of some minor unfinished business, and end up involved in some activities that might be a little bit out of their areas of expertise. But they use their infinite ingenuity to tackle the problem.

Music in the House

by Bill Savage

Synopsis

Gracie Pearson is a young woman living in a small town in Virginia in the 1930s. She graduated
from high school but has had to stay home to help her mother, Lillian, while her
father, a truck driver, is away most of the time. Gracie and Lillian discuss Gracie’s
dreams of becoming a singer.

Gracie Pearson is a young woman living in a small town in Virginia in the 1930s. She graduated
from high school but has had to stay home to help her mother, Lillian, while her
father, a truck driver, is away most of the time. Gracie and Lillian discuss Gracie’s
dreams of becoming a singer.

Driving in the Dark

by Bill Savage

Synopsis

A young reporter is sent to a prison in West Virginia to interview a man who was involved in a fatal road-rage incident. When she hears his story, she is amazed at how a moment or two of anger led to the destruction of three lives. But afterwords, as she leaves the prison, she ponders how just about anybody can be involved in such a tragedy, and wonders what it is that keeps most of us from acting as this man...

A young reporter is sent to a prison in West Virginia to interview a man who was involved in a fatal road-rage incident. When she hears his story, she is amazed at how a moment or two of anger led to the destruction of three lives. But afterwords, as she leaves the prison, she ponders how just about anybody can be involved in such a tragedy, and wonders what it is that keeps most of us from acting as this man did.

The Burgers Were Bigger

by Bill Savage

Synopsis

Two older gentlemen reminisce in this 10-minute play about all the things that "used to be" in their city, while also lamenting how something as simple as lunch also doesn't seem what it once was. A younger waitress, who has heard their reflections more than once, also chimes in. It's the kind of conversation one could hear just about anywhere people gather to talk about the past.

Two older gentlemen reminisce in this 10-minute play about all the things that "used to be" in their city, while also lamenting how something as simple as lunch also doesn't seem what it once was. A younger waitress, who has heard their reflections more than once, also chimes in. It's the kind of conversation one could hear just about anywhere people gather to talk about the past.

Hot-Shot and Speedball

by Bill Savage

Synopsis

In a small Midwestern town in the late 1930s, a young white pitcher heads to the other side of town to check out another pitcher, a Black fellow his same age. They both have the kind of fastball that should take them right to the Major Leagues, but, of course, they both know that, given the times they live in, that dream is only possible for one of them.

In a small Midwestern town in the late 1930s, a young white pitcher heads to the other side of town to check out another pitcher, a Black fellow his same age. They both have the kind of fastball that should take them right to the Major Leagues, but, of course, they both know that, given the times they live in, that dream is only possible for one of them.

Waiting for the Day

by Bill Savage

Synopsis

The latest tragedy in a family stricken by tragedies hits a young man especially hard in 1938, but a few years later, now a World War II veteran, he meets a mother and her daughter, with whom he shares both dread and hope.

The latest tragedy in a family stricken by tragedies hits a young man especially hard in 1938, but a few years later, now a World War II veteran, he meets a mother and her daughter, with whom he shares both dread and hope.

On Our Way to the Fair

by Bill Savage

Synopsis

Two acts of this play take place in 1939, and one in 1964. All revolve, indirectly, around the New York World's Fairs of those years. It is a story of intra-family relationships, dreams shattered by the force of history, and of the aspirations of second-generation immigrants in America. The main theme involves the continuity of generations and of youth across decades. Many of the issues these characters face are...

Two acts of this play take place in 1939, and one in 1964. All revolve, indirectly, around the New York World's Fairs of those years. It is a story of intra-family relationships, dreams shattered by the force of history, and of the aspirations of second-generation immigrants in America. The main theme involves the continuity of generations and of youth across decades. Many of the issues these characters face are still being faced by young people from immigrant families in America today.

Men of the Empire

by Bill Savage

Synopsis

This play takes place before and after the Battle of the Somme during World War I, in 1916. It is less a static piece than it is a revue of sorts, featuring a framing device in the present day. After a short prologue in present-day London, the first of two main scenes takes place in a trench the night before the main battle. Two young railway workers-turned-soldiers, one from Newfoundland and the other from...

This play takes place before and after the Battle of the Somme during World War I, in 1916. It is less a static piece than it is a revue of sorts, featuring a framing device in the present day. After a short prologue in present-day London, the first of two main scenes takes place in a trench the night before the main battle. Two young railway workers-turned-soldiers, one from Newfoundland and the other from Britain, discover their common backgrounds, and talk about their commitment to the cause, though they are from diverse parts of the British Empire. One of them is a poet, and he marvels at the ability of his generation to find art and poetry amid the slaughter. The next day, we are taken to a field hospital, where wounded veterans of the battle discuss the carnage. A nurse, in a soliloquy, laments the carnage and what it has done to her and her generation. The fate of the officers from the night before is implied, and the wounded men proclaim that they have done their part for the empire. An epilogue in modern-day Newfoundland provides a brief interaction between the generations.

Walkin' the Walk

by Bill Savage

Synopsis

Two middle-aged (or thereabouts) women out for their daily walk of a few miles get a little incensed by the actions of one of their fellow walkers. Hilarity ensues.

Two middle-aged (or thereabouts) women out for their daily walk of a few miles get a little incensed by the actions of one of their fellow walkers. Hilarity ensues.

Say He Was a Soldier

by Bill Savage

Synopsis

Shortly after the Civil War, a young veteran of the war finds no place for him in post-war society, specifically because of his sexuality. He wanders into a town where he encounters a former officer. The two have never spoken before, but they are familiar with each other, and specifically, are united by their admiration for a former superior who died in the war. They discuss the past and the future, and in the...

Shortly after the Civil War, a young veteran of the war finds no place for him in post-war society, specifically because of his sexuality. He wanders into a town where he encounters a former officer. The two have never spoken before, but they are familiar with each other, and specifically, are united by their admiration for a former superior who died in the war. They discuss the past and the future, and in the end, while they realize they cannot change the world, despite a final tragedy of sorts, each achieves a measure of peace.

Brownie

by Bill Savage

Synopsis

A 40-something British Army veteran returns to the front in World War I and is injured at the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917. He laments about the futility of this latest "great" war.

A 40-something British Army veteran returns to the front in World War I and is injured at the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917. He laments about the futility of this latest "great" war.

Mom, I smoke!

by Bill Savage

Synopsis

In a series of vignettes, we see not only the choices and the effects of those choices made by a man (who appears only in prologue and epilogue), but also the genesis of society's view on cigarette smoking between the 1960s and 2010s. In most of the vignettes, this character is referred to either in the third person, or cast members break the fourth wall to address "him" directly.

In a series of vignettes, we see not only the choices and the effects of those choices made by a man (who appears only in prologue and epilogue), but also the genesis of society's view on cigarette smoking between the 1960s and 2010s. In most of the vignettes, this character is referred to either in the third person, or cast members break the fourth wall to address "him" directly.

No Tavern for Young Men

by Bill Savage

Synopsis

On Halloween night, 1980, twenty-something Joey Peters encounters three young trick-or-treaters outside the Wander Inn, a dive bar he and his friends now regularly frequent. The trick-or-treaters are wondering about a drunk who may or may not be alive in a parked car. Joey informs them that the drunk is one of his former fellow trick-or-treaters, and shares his memory of being their age, as well as suggesting...

On Halloween night, 1980, twenty-something Joey Peters encounters three young trick-or-treaters outside the Wander Inn, a dive bar he and his friends now regularly frequent. The trick-or-treaters are wondering about a drunk who may or may not be alive in a parked car. Joey informs them that the drunk is one of his former fellow trick-or-treaters, and shares his memory of being their age, as well as suggesting that they not end up like he and his friends did.

Four Guys Going to the Game or Face-off on 7th Street

by Bill Savage

Synopsis

The present. Prior to a National Hockey League game between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins in Washington, D.C., four men wait in line to enter the arena. In alternating dialog, they seem to reflect certain stereotypes of men one might find in the city, but once they begin interacting with each other, the stereotypes become less certain.

The present. Prior to a National Hockey League game between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins in Washington, D.C., four men wait in line to enter the arena. In alternating dialog, they seem to reflect certain stereotypes of men one might find in the city, but once they begin interacting with each other, the stereotypes become less certain.

Nowhere For Us to Hide

by Bill Savage

Synopsis

A church shooting, and a man tries in vain to save one of the victims, before apparently helping to stop the carnage, leading to the shooter being killed. Afterwards, in a prison, a corrections officer and another man observe a Death Row prisoner who apparently re-lives his crime in his mind every day; could they be the same man, the same fifteen minutes of slaughter of innocents in a house of worship?

A church shooting, and a man tries in vain to save one of the victims, before apparently helping to stop the carnage, leading to the shooter being killed. Afterwards, in a prison, a corrections officer and another man observe a Death Row prisoner who apparently re-lives his crime in his mind every day; could they be the same man, the same fifteen minutes of slaughter of innocents in a house of worship?