“Out, Out” is the fourth installment in the Playroom series, and it may be set in the master bedroom. It seems like an ordinary end to an ordinary day when Rich and Carol retire for the night--until
Papito is a ten-page short play addressing parentification, specifically how a young man who grows up without a father assumes the partnership role with his mother and has difficulty establishing a healthy partnership with a significant other. The narrator, Zoe, is that significant other who is frustrated with her domineering mother-in-law and her husband who refuses to establish needed boundaries for his mom.
“Patres Familias” is the sixth installment in the Playroom series, and this one finds Rich just off of his back porch, stealing some time (and some beer) with his neighbor.
College students return to class after the pandemic to find love with a hint of betrayal that could end Alex and Savannah for good. Foreign exchange students find new friends at the drama club's spring musical audition. Can Toni lead this group through personal inhibitions and a lack of self-esteem with the magic of music? Working with Keith, Toni helps him learn to dance in his wheelchair igniting a mutual passion. The “People R Ready”—are YOU!!!
A full-length, poetic drama resurrects the love, lust, and retribution of the original Greek legend in modern surroundings. A stepmother's insatiable desire for her husband's son destroys a family. Set in a beach house with the sound of drumming waves and ghostly figures of fishwives in the background, this verse play brings the ancient story back to life.
Playroom is a series of comedies created by the author as a way to explore the short play and "one act" format, one setting (and one evening) at a time. An otherwise ordinary family, the characters of Hinton’s Playroom are thrust into extraordinary, supernatural, and preternatural circumstances.
A 45-minute introduction to various works of The Bard. Written to be performed by 2 or 4 actors within a single class period. ideal for ages 8 - 12. Includes excerpts from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, As You Like It, and one of the sonnets: number 18. Printable PDF available
Fight for Life is a low-rent Jerry-Springer-style talk show whose mantra is embodied by its two major chants: Fight for Life and Stage the Rage; its ratings are sliding and fast. Along comes Grace Truman, a guest whose story seems likely to reverse their declining numbers but she is not quite the guest that host, Burt Solomon, expected.
Prince Hedgehog is a dramatic adaptation of a delightful folk tale in which a Prince—in this case born a hedgehog because of his mother’s hasty words—is sent out to further his education. This is a transformation play with a twist.
A large cast play for High Schools with history interest, the story of Marco Polo's arduous journey through exotic lands back to his birthplace after decades in the service of Kublai Khan, Emperor of the Yuan dynasty, and the dangers and adventures that befell him and his companions as they braved deserts, oceans, and mountains to return to Venice.
Is Hamlet all that he pretends to be? Did he really see his father's ghost? Critics for years have argued about how to interpret Shakespeare's Hamlet. This one-act spoof by George Freek suggests some rather unusual answers. The dialogue comically mixes Shakespearean quotes and phrases with contemporary expressions.
A lilting poem for the stage, follows the passionate meeting of a man and woman who share neither language nor culture, yet fall in love. Through the rhythmic blending of language and song, the play combines poetry and both traditional and original melodies to illuminate this romantic union that ultimately overcomes geography and tradition.
A lighter & comedic version of "Space Oddity" by David Bowie, where Major Tom is not as prepared as he should be because he doesn't Read The Freakin' Manual (RTFM), as Ground Control nags him to do.
This one-person show was inspired by C.S. Lewis’ classic offering, The Screwtape Letters, and features the demon SCAPEGLOAT, as he instructs a mélange of demons in the finer points of how to bring a couple of humans, Christie and Charlie, into his hellish domains. A distinctly Christian point of view.
A one-act haunting drama. Pursued by disturbing dreams, Eileen visits her psychiatrist. The truth becomes increasingly elusive. She may or may not have been in an accident. An accident may or may not have happened. Perhaps even a murder? And who is the Ferryman who comes for Eileen? This play works well for high school competitions and community theater.
An Hilarious One Act for Two Characters by D. D. Delaney
Features scenes from Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Juliet in an unusual format — as ornaments brightening the lives of two high school custodians. A play within a play, offering a peek into the secret life of stage-struck custodians Rudy Mahoney and Flo Berry, who after school, pretend they are Shakespearean actors, passionately playing their scenes as they imagine real actors would do.
