Craig Houk

Craig Houk

Samples of all of my works are available here and on my website at CraigHouk.com. For Persual Copies of any of my plays, please contact me directly. To purchase or license BRUTE FARCE, SYD or COLD RAIN, please visit NextStagePress.com.

BIO
Craig Houk is an award-winning DC based Playwright and proud Dramatists Guild Member. He is also a Producer, Actor & Director. Houk’s plays include...
Samples of all of my works are available here and on my website at CraigHouk.com. For Persual Copies of any of my plays, please contact me directly. To purchase or license BRUTE FARCE, SYD or COLD RAIN, please visit NextStagePress.com.

BIO
Craig Houk is an award-winning DC based Playwright and proud Dramatists Guild Member. He is also a Producer, Actor & Director. Houk’s plays include COLD RAIN (published by Next Stage Press, winner “Best Drama” and “Best of Festival” at Capital Fringe 2018), SYD (published by Next Stage Press), BRUTE FARCE (published by Next Stage Press, 2021 The Loom New Works Festival Finalist, 2022 Dominion Stage Playwrighting Competition Full Length Winner), LOST IN PLACE ANTHOLOGY (2022 Dominion Stage Playwrighting Competition One-Act Honorable Mention), RADIATOR (2020 Dominion Stage Playwrighting Competition One-Act Honorable Mention). His newest works include THE RELUCTANT HEN, HERB CLEARY MEANT NO HARM and COOLER. LOST IN PLACE: RHONDA & DANIELLE has been included in Smith & Kraus’s “The Best Ten-Minute Plays 2022”. BRUTE FARCE will have two monologues included in Smith & Kraus’s “Outstanding Women's Monologues” and “Outstanding Men’s Monologues” 2023.

Plays

  • BRUTE FARCE (Next Stage Press) by Craig Houk
    Cast: 
    7
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, farce
    ​Four vengeful, narcissistic actors, with the assistance of a brutish stage manager and a cynical stagehand, abduct and hold captive a theater critic notorious for shutting down productions and ending careers through his malicious reviews. To confound matters, they intend to carry their plan out during a performance of a show they’re all currently appearing in. Less than an hour before the curtain is due to...
    ​Four vengeful, narcissistic actors, with the assistance of a brutish stage manager and a cynical stagehand, abduct and hold captive a theater critic notorious for shutting down productions and ending careers through his malicious reviews. To confound matters, they intend to carry their plan out during a performance of a show they’re all currently appearing in. Less than an hour before the curtain is due to rise, their scheme begins to quickly unravel as we discover that none of the conspirators are familiar with the actual plan or its designed outcome. Brute Farce is a satirical commentary on the perpetually symbiotic, oftentimes dysfunctional, and occasionally turbulent relationship between actors and reviewers.
  • SYD (Next Stage Press) by Craig Houk
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama + 1 more
    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama, tragedy
    On the evening of Sunday, June 24th, 1973, thirty-two men perished in a fire at The Upstairs Lounge, a sanctuary bar for working-class homosexual men in New Orleans. On that same evening, several blocks north, nearly a dozen women, including a gifted young nursing student, Sydney (Syd) Trahan, were taken into custody and charged with lewd and lascivious conduct for dancing together at Brady’s, a notorious...
    On the evening of Sunday, June 24th, 1973, thirty-two men perished in a fire at The Upstairs Lounge, a sanctuary bar for working-class homosexual men in New Orleans. On that same evening, several blocks north, nearly a dozen women, including a gifted young nursing student, Sydney (Syd) Trahan, were taken into custody and charged with lewd and lascivious conduct for dancing together at Brady’s, a notorious lesbian bar in the French Quarter. Hopeful that the deadly fire and the controversy surrounding its multiple victims might overshadow Syd’s arrest, Bud, a reputable blacksmith, and Helen, a God-fearing woman, do everything in their power to curtail the impact of their daughter’s transgression on their seemingly near perfect lives.
  • COLD RAIN (Next Stage Press) by Craig Houk
    Cast: 
    9
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, mystery/thriller, tragedy
    Carly Weekes and her sisters, Lolly and Shirley, are witches. Determined to find Carly a mate, the three cast a circle to summon a popular recording artist from Colorado. However, Shirley casts what appears to be a dubious and deadly spell. Worried that Carly and her new family might now be cursed, Lolly endeavors to reverse the hex, but fails, resulting in her expulsion to an alternate world. Years later, the...
    Carly Weekes and her sisters, Lolly and Shirley, are witches. Determined to find Carly a mate, the three cast a circle to summon a popular recording artist from Colorado. However, Shirley casts what appears to be a dubious and deadly spell. Worried that Carly and her new family might now be cursed, Lolly endeavors to reverse the hex, but fails, resulting in her expulsion to an alternate world. Years later, the Pacheco twins mysteriously drown. The case goes cold, but many believe Carly’s oldest son, Johnny, is responsible. Cold Rain is an account of a family bound by black magic, a dark and comical tale of ill-conceived machinations, misdirected resentment, and repressed desire.
  • LOST IN PLACE ANTHOLOGY by Craig Houk
    Cast: 
    10
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, tragedy
    LOST IN PLACE is an anthology of five short intersecting plays, many of which can stand alone, but are intended to be performed as a group.

    BARBARA & JODY: A few weeks into a world-wide pandemic, Barbara is called into a police station to provide a witness statement. Jody, the detective assigned to the case, has a special request.

    HANK & TEDDY: Early into a world-wide...
    LOST IN PLACE is an anthology of five short intersecting plays, many of which can stand alone, but are intended to be performed as a group.

    BARBARA & JODY: A few weeks into a world-wide pandemic, Barbara is called into a police station to provide a witness statement. Jody, the detective assigned to the case, has a special request.

    HANK & TEDDY: Early into a world-wide pandemic, good-natured Teddy, from across the road, checks in on his surly neighbor, Hank. A delicate exchange results in a bad decision.

    MARLENE & GINNY: Early into a world-wide pandemic, Marlene and her mother-in-law, Ginny, decide to get fancy and make martinis. Their fun, however, is interrupted by that damn lesbian from next door, who's hell-bent on stealing their rutabagas. Seems Dwayne, Marlene's infant child, has slept through the whole ruckus.

    TRINA & ADELE: A year or so into a world-wide pandemic, Adele pays Trina a visit to follow up on a commitment she made.

    RHONDA & DANIELLE: ​Two or more years into a world-wide pandemic, next door neighbors, Rhonda and Danielle, gossip with one another while dealing with the loss of their significant others. ​
  • RADIATOR by Craig Houk
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Lou Brunazzi & André Cooper live across the hall from each other in the basement of a shabby apartment building in the Bronx. On the landing between their units stands a noisy radiator, which is connected to a deteriorating boiler. Determined to stop the whistling, hissing & banging that’s keeping him awake at night, André endeavors to turn the radiator off, but is cut short by Lou who is determined to...
    Lou Brunazzi & André Cooper live across the hall from each other in the basement of a shabby apartment building in the Bronx. On the landing between their units stands a noisy radiator, which is connected to a deteriorating boiler. Determined to stop the whistling, hissing & banging that’s keeping him awake at night, André endeavors to turn the radiator off, but is cut short by Lou who is determined to keep it running at all costs. What begins as a battlefield between two headstrong men slowly evolves into a makeshift sitting room where the pair begin to form a unique and lasting bond.
  • COOLER by Craig Houk
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Three-time Oscar winner, Jack Dunn, returns to Connecticut after being gone for nearly four years in McGrath, Alaska. His closest friend, Wade Henry, also an award-winning actor, has something Jack wants. After a long evening of drinking and poker with their pals, Jack and Wade, both eager to cement their legacies, face off one last time. Or so it seems.
  • THE RELUCTANT HEN by Craig Houk
    Cast: 
    7
    ·
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller + 1 more
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller, tragedy
    With life comes death. Pete, a working-class schmuck, and his beautician wife, Peggy Lynn, struggle to conceive. Will they risk everything to have a child?
  • HERB CLEARY MEANT NO HARM by Craig Houk
    Cast: 
    9–12
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, farce, satire
    Cleary’s Delicatessen has been the most popular dining destination in Clarksville, Tennessee for nearly fifty years. Nowadays the business practically runs itself. It’s best-selling item? Grandma Cleary’s potato salad. Three generations of Cleary men have reaped the rewards of its success. And now young Herb Cleary will be the next to take the reins. One minor problem, however. Herb ain’t right in the head.
  • TETHERED by Craig Houk
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama, political
    Genre: drama, political
    On the eve of his confirmation to SCOTUS, Edwin Spratt and his wife, Abigail, sit down for an intimate dinner that quickly turns contentious. Edwin has been accused of sexual assault. He can prove his innocence, but it would require revealing a secret that would anger his supporters and put his career and reputation at stake.