ATG PLAYWRIGHTS 

Playwriting members of ATG are welcome to join the Playwrights Group for monthly meetings.  Check this page for upcoming public readings and other events related to ATG playwrights and their work.  For more information about the group, contact Mark Dunn at Montydunn (at) comcast.net 

Plays by ATG Playwrights Available for Production 

The following are listings by member playwrights of available plays for which they own the rights, along with description and contact information.  (Note that email addresses are differently formatted to reduce electronic trolling, and should be converted to standard format when used.) 

ROBERT F. BENJAMIN

contact: benjamin4 (at) cybermesa.com; 505-672-1544  

PARTED WATERS (Drama; run-time 1:40/ 3m (Hispanic) 1w) Commissioned play; world premiere is March 2009; seeking second production

"Crypto-Jews" are Hispanics whose ancestors converted to Catholicism during the Inquisition, but they retained vestiges of Judaism. In this contemporary drama set in New Mexico, three generations of Hispanics struggle with crypto-Judaism, assimilation and anti-Semitism. Unaware of his heritage, the charismatic Miguel (age 30) runs for public office, counter to his father’s advice, but encouraged by his whimsical grandfather. Political debate provokes him to unknowingly insult his family’s ancestry. His struggle to recover politically threatens to split his family as his anguish becomes despair.  

TIME ENOUGH (Full-length drama; run time 80 min.; 1m (60s); 1w (60s); 1 interior set ) Production history: 2 full stage productions at community theaters (June 2006, March 2008) and 4 touring productions.

Late-in-life romance. A conventional, recently widowed woman meets a whimsical codger at three in the morning. Courtship blossoms when she realizes who he is, but unresolved grief and dark secrets entangle the relationship, forcing each to make an excruciating decision.  

PHIL BOCK

contact: 890-0438 

EXPOSED (Two Act Drama/ 2M, 2F, one teen aged)

Jerry and Marge are camping in a muddy site in SW New Mexico when the campground is invaded by unseen violent persons. A young girl begs for help but Jerry is reluctant to use his gun. Act Two takes place in an Albuquerque hospital room where we learn the consequences of his action. [Ideally, Act One should be staged outdoors around a tent with Act Two moving into a theater, but both could be simply staged indoors  

AN OLD, OLD STORY (Drama in 11 scenes/ 6m, 3f; preferably Hispanic)

A retelling of the Electra story set in Central America in the 1990s. A reporter narrates the events leading to “Elena’s” revenge for the murder of her father (a General) and some unexpected consequences. Strong scenes for the five leads and for a group of young dissidents. (Suitable for NHCC.)  

LOVE IN THE BOSQUE (Musical for 1m, 2f adult voices; plus 3 teen aged singers. Optional chorus of young people.)

In the Bosque del Apache, Bob and Sandy Crane, “mates for life,” are about to migrate with their young son (Denny Crane) when Michiko, a Japanese Princess Crane appears. Bob saves her from a coyote and she tries to persuade him to fly off with her. Things are not as they seem; a trio of Predators provides humor (and ecological information); Eight songs plus optional choruses for young Ducks and Geese.  

YELLOW CAB (Multiple short scenes for 4m, 3f or more)

This true “memoir” of a night driver in Albuquerque requires little more than 4 chairs. It was successfully staged at the ADOBE Theater in 2008 and can be revived in whole or part with the same or different cast. Humor alternates with drama. Low royalties.  

JIM CADY

contact: Jim Cady (at) earthlink.net 

GLORIA (book for a musical: need composer, lyricist/ 3m, 3w, chorus)

Dustbowl Nebraska. A young woman, Gloria, flees a broken down farm after her evil stepparents try to kill her and strikes out on foot to fulfill her life long dream of putting flowers on the floats at the Pasadena Rose Parade. But misadventures and trusting the wrong people land her in Chicago. Broke and humiliated she takes a job at John Doublewoods toothpick factory where she meets her first love, Ralph, a budding artist. Their romance is just getting started when a unique situation catapults Gloria into the national spotlight. She becomes an American Hero and a very rich woman. Ralph is cast aside as well as others who gave her a hand up when she needed it. The evil stepparents arrive on the scene and demand their share of the profits. But by this time Gloria’s fans have turned against her; too many broken promises and too many broken products. She flees an angry mob that wants to string her up. Mr. Doublewood intervenes and takes her on a Dickensian tour of her broken empire. She comes to realize that it has been her greed and false generosity that are responsible for the cancellation of the Pasadena Rose Parade. But it’s too late to save the parade. Can Ralph save Gloria?

Needs Composer/Lyricist 

LOU CLARK

contact: freewriting (at) hotmail.com 

THE POLITICS OF HAIR

(One act comedy/ 1w)

Premiere Production – The Box Performance Space, Albuquerque, 2008

Staged Reading Performance – The Black Box Theatre, Las Cruces, 2008

Staged Reading Performance – University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, 2007

Workshop Production – Sol Arts Theater, Albuquerque, 2007

Workshop Production – OWS Festival/Emerging Artist Theater, New York City, 2007

Reading Performance (selections) - The Cell Theater, Albuquerque, 2007

Reading Performance – VSA N4th Art Center, Albuquerque, 2006

This is a solo play about identity in relation to hair, designed for one actor to create 13 different roles in approximately 50 minutes.  In the play, set in Seattle, Dani, is a thirty-something year old lesbian who goes through a major breakup.  Dani decides to go to Alaska to get over her ex-girlfriend but doesn’t want to bring a hair dryer.  She visits the Aria Salon in the trendy Capitol Hill neighborhood to see her longtime friend and hairdresser, Emmanuel.  Emmanuel is her Obi Wan Kenobi, her Yoda.  Together they make the transition from medium-length to short hair.  Dani’s soul is transformed, leading her to newfound happiness and acceptance of herself.

WONDERDOG

(Full length for elementary school audiences/ 4w, 2m)

Second Production – Pollyanna Theater at the Long Center, January 2009, Austin

Premiere – University of New Mexico Touring Outreach, 2004, Albuquerque

WONDERDOG is the story of a young girl, Katie, who is struggling to make her way in the world after the untimely death of her father.  Just when things look darkest for Katie she meets an unlikely new friend, a talking dog, Pug.  Katie and Pug share the bond of what it means to be different.  Through their friendship they support each other to be brave in the face of adversity and to find acceptance in a new home. 

WILLIAM DERRINGER

conctact: DerringerBak (at) aol.com 

APRON STRINGS (Full Length drama/ 7w 6m)

Seeking world premiere

When does a mother stop loving and caring for her children? Never!

It started in the old country many years ago with a romantic sixteen-year-old girl who allowed herself to get swept away by a handsome dashing dreamer. A man so in love with her and so afraid of losing her that he filled her mind with promises of riches in the new country. When they arrived here all he had to offer her was his love, one vegetable pushcart and a life of poverty. Did that discourage her? No! She took this reality and while she was carrying her first child she rolled up her sleeves and with persistence and determination worked side by side with her dashing dreamer to make a better life for her family. Her daughters, her CHICKS.  She was like so many other matriarchs coming to this country sturdy stock. You’ll find yourself captivated by Sarah and her Chicks. This play will wrap its arms around you. A play that women as well as men can relate to. It rekindles the love of the family. It fulfills our need to remember those who will always be in our hearts. Sarah is suddenly afraid that she doesn’t have much longer to help solve the problems of her daughter’s lives. To add to this is a gigantic problem of her own her upstairs border, Hyam, who was once the man that her family had arranged for her to marry, is now after all these years pursuing her with a passionate fervor. He’s obsessed with making her his wife. 

LOVE, IT’S AGELESS (Full length - ROMANTIC COMEDY/ 1w 1m)

Seeking world premiere

Hannah and Spencer two lonely seniors are seeking and needing a new quest of romance

to rekindle their long lost passions. They both have a need and a yearning to feel young at heart again. They meet at the vegetable and lettuce department of their favorite New York City supermarket and through a teasing and testing introduction, without their knowing it; they are both being blessed by this initial encounter. You ask yourself - Can a meeting at a supermarket bring back to two embittered needing hearts, passion, romance, and a new found curiosity that stirs them into the next level of their life? Follow along with them as they reach out to each other and both realize in a joyous way that life, love and passion, blossoms at any age.  

THROUGH ERNIE’S EYES (Full length comedy drama/ 9m 7w)

Seeking world premiere

A comedy drama based on the writings of Ernie Pyle during the depression. Ernie was traveling around the country interviewing common people for newspaper. He was showing how resilient the common man was and how they were surviving in the 30’s. The stories are very character driven, you will laugh, cry, be uplifted and see how strong they were. Ernie had a way with people, he knew how to listen and get the story out of people who did not know they were being interviewed. Yes this is fiction but there is a level of truth underneath, they were the beginning of the greatest generation that this county had.

DALE DUNN

contact: dwdunn (at) mindspring.com

BODY BURDEN (Full length drama/ 3w 3m)

World Premiere:  September 14 – October 7, 2007

Directed by Lou Clark

Adobe Theater, Albuquerque, NM

Kate Pendleton is on the road, going nowhere.  She has recently lost a baby, a husband and her job.  She ends up back at her childhood home in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where she is taken in by her divorced parents: Fran, a mother in denial, and Will, a father fighting bouts of inexplicable rage.  With the help of an old friend from the nearby pueblo of San Ildefonso, as well as the ghost of Robert Oppenheimer, and a time-traveling Girl Scout, Kate sets out to piece her life back together, uncovering the hazards of growing up in the birthplace of the atomic bomb. 

“A provocative and insightful script…” The Albuquerque Journal

“An emotionally charged story – delivers a chilling truth…” Local IQ, Albuquerque, NM

“A play that will haunt you long after the lights go out.  It deserves the widest possible audience.”  Linda Lopez-McAlister for KUNM/NPR Radio 89.9 FM, Albuquerque, NM 

CROCODILE LOVE (Full length drama/ 2w 4m)

Seeking world premiere

A young woman follows her husband to South Africa to visit him on the set of his latest film.  When she arrives, she discovers not only a country in the throes of overcoming Apartheid, but a husband who has been cheating on her with a young actress.  Desperate to find a way out, she learns ancient tribal rituals that teach her the art of magical transformation, leading her to newfound freedom and independence. 

MARK DUNN
contact: Montydunn (at) comcast.net 

OCTET  (A full length  “concert play” for three actors [2w 1m] and eight musicians)

Premiere with recorded music, 2000 by New Jersey Repertory Company, Long Branch, NJ; “acoustic” premiere by Community Theatre League, Williamsport, PA, 2004.

A non-traditional marriage of theatre and music, this dark comedy is woven through a classical music chamber concert with original integrated music by Merek Royce Press.  Octet tells the story of journalist Sally Cubbage and her ill-fated visit to a mental institution populated by men and women who speak and communicate only through their music.  A tale of art pitted against intellect, heart against head, and the language of words clashing with the pure language of music and emotion.  

THE ODD BOY  (Full length comedy/ 3w 3m)

Seeking world premiere

Multi-millionaire Theodore Grayson has died and left his theatre, the Grayson Playhouse, to his former houseboy Jeremy.  As the theatre’s new artistic director, the ostensibly naive and under-educated young man turns the current production Dawn in Her Eyes upon its head, sending the theatre’s Lunt and Fontaine aspirants, Mona and Reggie, into near-apoplexy.  And Jeremy isn’t stopping there; for the next production he wants to stage Harvey so that you actually see the rabbit. 

OH REVOIR, MIRABEAU (Full length black comedy/ 5w 3m) 

Nominated for Best New Play of the 1992-93 season by the Denver Drama Critics Circle.  Premiered at the Changing Scene Theatre, Denver, CO, 1993.

Mirabeau, Texas as remembered by Grace Dobbs, one of the few who made it out in one piece -- a very dark comedy about broken dreams, broken hearts, and the lengths to which people go to cope.  

        T.J. OR THE PUBLICK AND PRIVATE INTRIGUES OF THOMAS JEFFERSON AND HIS ILLUSTRIOUS CIRCLE  (Full length quasi-historical comedy/drama; 4w 7m)

            Seeking world premiere

A partially revisionist and occasionally irreverent historical "chamber epic."  Set in 1804, the play swirls among the doings and undoings of President Jefferson, his slave mistress Sally Hemings, Dolley and James Madison, explorers Lewis and Clark, and arch-rivals Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton.  Broadly scoped but intimate in presentation, the play captures the U.S. in its stumbling toddlerhood through the intricately interwoven lives of all of the above, culminating in the infamous duel between Burr and Hamilton. 

VAN CHOC STRAW  (Full length comedy/drama 4w 1m)

Seeking world premiere

Althea Witlin has one jigsaw puzzle among her large collection that she’s never worked.  It contains 5000 pieces and she has less than a day to finish it, because poor health has forced her to move in with her younger sister … without her puzzles.  A bittersweet comedy about tenuous family ties and the often stronger bonds of friendship that lattice the final years of our lives.