HOW WE MADE THE MOON

How We Made the Moon posterSci-Fi Comedy/Drama
Full length two-act
7-9 males, 4 female
(11-13 actors possible)

SYNOPSIS

A revisionist sci-fi tale of Earth’s moon, and two hearts, breaking to pieces.

1958 – The moon is revealed to be in danger of self-destructing and destroying Earth in the process. The U.S. and U.S.S.R. secretly join forces for “Project Moon 2,” to build a moon-shaped space station to replace the unstable satellite. American astronaut Iven “Kinch” Kincheloe and Russian scientist Tatyana Kuznetsova meet, fall in love, and ultimate separate when she leaves to live on Moon 2 without him.

2020 – The project is declassified and the current residents of Moon 2 travel to Earth. Kinch, now in his 90s, having lived for decades with guilt and anger over his actions, recounts the tale of saving Earth (in flashback) to a mysterious visitor.

SETTING

A rural home in the year 2020, a space station and research facility in 1958, all as imagined by 1950s science fiction films.

NOTES

All the characters in How We Made the Moon, with the exception of Col. Justine Blankenship and Gwen Edwards, are based on real people involved in some facet of the Space Race of the 50s, 60s and 70s. As this is a revisionist tale, I’ve used their names and certain aspects of their true histories while taking many, many liberties with their lives, including the years they were active in their respective programs. My goal was to find astronauts, cosmonauts, scientists and others who trained or desired to go into space, but never actually made the trip, and give them their dream of achieving space travel. Gwen Edwards was an actress with whom I worked on projects during my time at the Playwrights Lab at Hollins University, including the very first reading of this script in 2016. The character is actually based on botanist Siri Von Reis, but after Gwen passed away from cancer, I wanted to honor her by including her in the script. Now whenever How We Made the Moon is produced, Gwen will be back on stage, and in the stars, where she belongs.

As far as Project Moon 2, obviously the science doesn’t add up. But the charm of 1950s and 60s science fiction films is the conviction with which the participants treat the impossible, and I hope I’ve captured that with this script.

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GILLIGAN VARIATIONS

THE GILLIGAN VARIATIONS- Price $12.99A collection of ten plays inspired by a certain deserted island.<div class="wp_cart_button_wrapper"><form method="post" class="wp-cart-button-form" action="" style="display:inline" onsubmit="return ReadForm(this, true);" ><input type="hidden" id="_wpnonce" name="_wpnonce" value="ad4b90883c" /><input type="hidden" name="_wp_http_referer" value="/category/plays/adult-plays/" /><input type="submit" class="wspsc_add_cart_submit" name="wspsc_add_cart_submit" value="Add to Cart" /><input type="hidden" name="wspsc_product" value=""The" /><input type="hidden" name="price" value="12.99" /><input type="hidden" name="shipping" value="2.00" /><input type="hidden" name="addcart" value="1" /><input type="hidden" name="cartLink" value="http://www.playstoorder.com/category/plays/adult-plays/" /><input type="hidden" name="product_tmp" value=""The" /><input type="hidden" name="item_number" value="" /><input type="hidden" name="hash_one" value="9c04f77259f83f4fbf8f40c3725b9ff1" /><input type="hidden" name="hash_two" value="832e14a090d17749148ca229a0e71fcd" /></form></div>
THE GILLIGAN VARIATIONS- Price $12.99
A collection of ten plays inspired by a certain deserted island.
[wp_cart_button name="The Gilligan Variations" price="12.99" shipping="2.00"]
Ten playwrights were given a task: write a short play inspired by the Gilligan’s Island opening theme song. Far from slavish adaptations featuring soon-to-be castaways on a three-hour tour, the resulting plays were filled with murder, existential crisis, gender-bending role reversal, absurdism and magic. These are THE GILLIGAN VARIATIONS.

The Island by Sean Abley
Gillian’s Isle by Liesl Ehmke
Jump Ship by Lydia Stewart
Lilli’s Lost at Sea by Jessica Burton
Sonia and Nancy by Caitlin McCommis
Search / Rescue by Kimberly Patterson
Five Steps to Murder Your Spouse by Meghan Reimers
Evacuate by Megan Wheelock
The Shadow of Gilligan’s Island by Sean Michael McCord
The Isle by Kyle Philip Jackola

 

CAMP KILLSPREE

camp-killspree-cover-720
Comedy
60 minutes
11-15 males

A gay slasher parody live on stage!

1970: Deep in the forest at the Hard Log Men’s Resort a terrible murder takes place: The resort’s owner catches his lover in the arms of another man and cuts them to bits with a chainsaw. 1984: Twenty years later (you’re right, it doesn’t add up), Hard Log has been renovated into Camp Community, a summer camp for gay teenagers. As soon as the group of hot male counselors arrive to open the camp, the clothes come off, the sex and pot smoking begin… and so do the murders by a mysterious masked killer. Sexy and hilarious, CAMP KILLSPREE is the perfect late-night gay horror sex comedy for ballsy queer theater companies.

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REEFER MADNESS

Comedy
Full length two-act
6 females, 8 males
(11-30 actors possible: 5-10 females, 6-22 males)

Bill, Mary, Gwen, and Jimmy are all swell kids. They listen to their parents, do well in school, and help out around the community — that is, until they get caught up in the marijuana subculture. With “Mary Jane” filling their lungs, these kids resort to theft, prostitution, and murder to satisfy their cravings, which leads to suicide and death sentences. Is one puff really too much? A hilarious send-up of the 1936 exploitation film, now a cult classic. Click here to read a sample or order a copy!

BITCHES

Comedy
Full length two-act
12 males
(12-24 actors possible)

Bitches is a unique comedy in that all the roles are women … all played by men

As she enters her senior year, Sindee Sandstone rules Susan B. Anthony High School. So when newcomer Angelatina Vindechi takes her place on the cheerleading squad, relegating the queen bee to dreaded “alternate” status, Sindee vows revenge. Driven by her overbearing mother, Charlene, Sindee coerces her fellow cheerleader Carmelle into killing Angelatina. Local talk show host, Paula DeMarcato, catches wind of the scandal and descends upon Tubbville to cover the story with tragic (and by tragic, we mean hilarious) results.

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ATTACK OF THE KILLER B’s

Comedy
Long, one-act 60 minutes
5 females, 8 males, 4 either
15+ cast, more or less with doubling, very gender flexible

While visiting their mother’s grave in the cemetery, Glen and Barbara are attacked by the dead risen from the grave to feast upon the living. Glen is killed, but that doesn’t stop him from coming back as a zombie to rescue his sister and flee Night of the Living Dead come to life. From Reefer Madness to Glen or Glenda, from Friday the 13th to Nightmare on Elm Street, from Attack of the 50 Foot Woman to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Barbara and Glen battle their way from one B-movie menace to the next. Will they survive?
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ELEVATOR GAMES

Comedy
10 minutes
1 male, 1 female, 1 either, gender flexible cast

Three people enter an elevator. The elevator stops between floors. One passenger, his/her name a mystery, takes this opportunity to hilarously torture the other passenger with a bizarre guessing game. Tensions rise as the elevator refuses to. Will everyone make it out alive? This is a perfect 10-minute one-act for festivals or competitions.Click to read a sample or order a copy!

DOUBLE TROUBLE ON THE PRAIRIE

Comedy
Short, 45-50 minutes
4 males, 4 females, more with less doubling

The identical twins Timothy and Jimothy Scrubb aren’t the smartest brothers in Virginia City – in fact they won the ‘Dumbest Twins in the Montana Territory’ contest. But when Victor Horrible (that’s ‘Horr-EE-blay’) swoops into town and begins killing off the shareholders of the Opera House in a plot to replace it with a new development, The Scrubb Brothers must use their collective smarts to save the theater and Miss Mary Sarah Sue Laura’s reputation! Click to read a sample or order a copy!

RISE OF THE HOUSE OF USHER

Murder Mystery Comedy
Short, 50 minutes
4-5 males, 4 females

Edgar Allan Poe’s famous short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” gets turned upside down in this sequel … of sorts! Far from the Gothic mood of the original story, this is a broad comedy-mystery with a little bit of the macabre thrown in for fun. Some characters from the original story, as well as a few new ones, are now trapped in a different mansion. They’ve been called together on this dark and stormy night by a mysterious host for a reading by Poe. The guests are unknown to each other, yet there must be a connection because one by one they disappear. It’s all deliciously spooky as lightning flashes, pendulums, and poisoned tea raise the play’s tension and dark humor. Actors are encouraged to break character and the fourth wall, as well as add physical bits if inspired to do so. The characters are aware that they are in a play, and can engage the audience socially when appropriate. Click to read a sample or order a copy!

FILLING EMPTY SPACE

Drama
45 minutes
11 cast, either male or female
(extras possible)

Eleven people find themselves in a room with no visible exit – no windows, no door. They have no memory of how they got there. The lights flash. One of them disappears. Why? As their numbers grow smaller, one occupant of the room rallies the group around the concept of “faith.” But faith in what? Questions mount as the numbers dwindle. Finally, a door opens. But is the end of the journey for the remaining occupants of the room…or the beginning? Click to read a sample or order a copy!