Pardon My Invasion, Plays and Players Theater, Philadelphia, PA photos Kyle Cassidy
FULL LENGTH PLAYS
PARDON MY INVASION
4W, 2M
In this eccentric, unpredictable comedy Rita Lourdes, a single mother and writer of pulp fiction, is swigging her way through writer's block when her 13-year-old daughter Penny bursts in her office to alert her mother that "something really weird" is happening inside her. It soon becomes clear that an AWOL soldier, Private Malcolm Jack from Iraq, has taken refuge in Penny's body. He not only won't leave, but is holding Penny hostage and won't allow Rita to speak to her. Although Penny's hormonally-charged and changing body holds alien surprises for Jack, it ultimately fails to scare him away; the trauma of the war and what he did there freaks him out much more than living inside a pubescent girl. Rita tries every trick she can think of to get Private Jack to vacate her daughter, to no avail. Even the intervention of Private Jack's imaginary bullying sergeant and Rita's pulp character, the enticing bombshell Honey Babe, can't move the shell-shocked and well-trained soldier. It takes someone who has experienced the war firsthand to convince him to leave the girl in peace and return to Iraq to complete his mission.
PARDON MY INVASION
4W, 2M
In this eccentric, unpredictable comedy Rita Lourdes, a single mother and writer of pulp fiction, is swigging her way through writer's block when her 13-year-old daughter Penny bursts in her office to alert her mother that "something really weird" is happening inside her. It soon becomes clear that an AWOL soldier, Private Malcolm Jack from Iraq, has taken refuge in Penny's body. He not only won't leave, but is holding Penny hostage and won't allow Rita to speak to her. Although Penny's hormonally-charged and changing body holds alien surprises for Jack, it ultimately fails to scare him away; the trauma of the war and what he did there freaks him out much more than living inside a pubescent girl. Rita tries every trick she can think of to get Private Jack to vacate her daughter, to no avail. Even the intervention of Private Jack's imaginary bullying sergeant and Rita's pulp character, the enticing bombshell Honey Babe, can't move the shell-shocked and well-trained soldier. It takes someone who has experienced the war firsthand to convince him to leave the girl in peace and return to Iraq to complete his mission.
REACHING BEATRICE
4 W, 4 M - 14 characters
Reaching Beatrice is a dark comedy that re-imagines Dante’s Inferno as a hospital elevator. In this claustrophobic nightmare Danny, a love-struck young man, travels to a hospital in a strange city to meet Beatrice, a woman he first encountered online. He enters an elevator to go to their rendezvous point, but finds that getting to his destination is not as simple as an elevator ride. Virgil, the elevator operator acts as his guide through the many levels of the hospital and Gerald, Danny’s father, guides him through his anger and fear of illness and death. Danny becomes lost in a deserted section of the hospital, with no means of escape. He discovers he’s not alone when he’s greeted from the shadows by Lindy, a teenager hiding from her doctors and the truth of her failing health. She challenges Danny to make a decision that could save her. His decision will determine whether it’s possible for him to reach Beatrice.
NIGHTSHIFTING - a musical
4 W, 4 M - 13 characters
Told in the form of a music-fueled comic hallucination, Nightshifting is an investigation into loss, sibling relationships and what it takes to find the courage to live without our loved ones. Overworked and sleep-deprived hospital intern Dr. Quinn stumbles through the non-stop chaos of a hospital emergency department when his twin sister Jean unexpectedly shows up. It is the anniversary of her death and she needs her brother’s help. On her journey towards the Afterlife she became stuck in the first stage of her transformation and can’t move forward to her final destination. Jean is certain she left something behind in the living world and without its return she’ll remain trapped unless her brother is willing to find the missing clue. Quinn's intention to become a physician is rooted in his connection to his sister and he finds that the longer he’s in medical school the less prepared he is to be a doctor. Reality and fantasy become blurred as Quinn embarks on a mission into the past that he once shared with his sister. Ready or not, he discovers more than the cherished memories of their life together and it changes his outlook about who he is and why he is still here.
The DAISY CHAIN REACTION
3 W, 3 M
Daisy, a teenage human and Bette, a Neo-Neanderthal housekeeper devise a plan to alter the course of human evolution. The plan goes awry and Daisy winds up in a catatonic state with a nanochip buried in her brain while Bette is taken by government officers to be cryogenically frozen or "iced". Despite the failed mission the two revolutionaries have an unintended effect on humanity's future.
SHORT PLAYS
THE STORMY HANKY
2W, 2M
Farina, a sophisticated woman accustomed to getting her way, is having a terrible time getting a simple cup of coffee at her favorite café, The Stormy Hanky. Her friend, Latrina, who has just been shopping, joins her at her table and they discuss the recent peculiar behavior of the city’s citizens. They are baffled by their actions until Farina’s son, Gasheart, appears declaring a mob is out to kill him. Gasheart has illegally travelled in his father’s Universal Defibrillator and when he returned he unwittingly changed the world beyond recognition. What is a mother to do with such a son?
THE CRAVING
1W, 1M
Iris is pregnant and her husband Denny is extremely attentive to her needs, but Denny is not the man that Iris used to know. Something unexpected and life changing happened on the baseball field and poor Iris doesn’t recognize her husband anymore. She must take drastic action to try and get back the man she loves.
THE FROGG PRINCE
1W, 2M, 1M or W
Part fairy tale, part horror story, The Frogg Prince tells the story of Frogg and Princess. Princess, Frogg’s sex slave zombie, used to be a beautiful young girl with adoring parents and a promising life ahead of her. But that was before she caught the attention of the powerful Frogg, who wanted her for himself alone and with one kiss Princess lost her freedom. For years she submitted to Frogg’s whims and demands, wanting to die, but without the power to end her life. But in her dreams Frogg has no control over her thoughts or actions and it’s in a dream that she attempts to set herself free.
LITTLE WORLD
2W
Catherine the Great is in a small café that keeps getting smaller. That’s bad enough, but the waitress is rude and the food questionable. She is there against her will waiting to be born into her next life. But she adores the life she had as the greatest ruler of Russia and doesn’t want to start over again as someone else. She’ll go to great lengths to maintain her identity.
Copyright Joy Cutler 2016 All Rights Reserved
4 W, 4 M - 14 characters
Reaching Beatrice is a dark comedy that re-imagines Dante’s Inferno as a hospital elevator. In this claustrophobic nightmare Danny, a love-struck young man, travels to a hospital in a strange city to meet Beatrice, a woman he first encountered online. He enters an elevator to go to their rendezvous point, but finds that getting to his destination is not as simple as an elevator ride. Virgil, the elevator operator acts as his guide through the many levels of the hospital and Gerald, Danny’s father, guides him through his anger and fear of illness and death. Danny becomes lost in a deserted section of the hospital, with no means of escape. He discovers he’s not alone when he’s greeted from the shadows by Lindy, a teenager hiding from her doctors and the truth of her failing health. She challenges Danny to make a decision that could save her. His decision will determine whether it’s possible for him to reach Beatrice.
NIGHTSHIFTING - a musical
4 W, 4 M - 13 characters
Told in the form of a music-fueled comic hallucination, Nightshifting is an investigation into loss, sibling relationships and what it takes to find the courage to live without our loved ones. Overworked and sleep-deprived hospital intern Dr. Quinn stumbles through the non-stop chaos of a hospital emergency department when his twin sister Jean unexpectedly shows up. It is the anniversary of her death and she needs her brother’s help. On her journey towards the Afterlife she became stuck in the first stage of her transformation and can’t move forward to her final destination. Jean is certain she left something behind in the living world and without its return she’ll remain trapped unless her brother is willing to find the missing clue. Quinn's intention to become a physician is rooted in his connection to his sister and he finds that the longer he’s in medical school the less prepared he is to be a doctor. Reality and fantasy become blurred as Quinn embarks on a mission into the past that he once shared with his sister. Ready or not, he discovers more than the cherished memories of their life together and it changes his outlook about who he is and why he is still here.
The DAISY CHAIN REACTION
3 W, 3 M
Daisy, a teenage human and Bette, a Neo-Neanderthal housekeeper devise a plan to alter the course of human evolution. The plan goes awry and Daisy winds up in a catatonic state with a nanochip buried in her brain while Bette is taken by government officers to be cryogenically frozen or "iced". Despite the failed mission the two revolutionaries have an unintended effect on humanity's future.
SHORT PLAYS
THE STORMY HANKY
2W, 2M
Farina, a sophisticated woman accustomed to getting her way, is having a terrible time getting a simple cup of coffee at her favorite café, The Stormy Hanky. Her friend, Latrina, who has just been shopping, joins her at her table and they discuss the recent peculiar behavior of the city’s citizens. They are baffled by their actions until Farina’s son, Gasheart, appears declaring a mob is out to kill him. Gasheart has illegally travelled in his father’s Universal Defibrillator and when he returned he unwittingly changed the world beyond recognition. What is a mother to do with such a son?
THE CRAVING
1W, 1M
Iris is pregnant and her husband Denny is extremely attentive to her needs, but Denny is not the man that Iris used to know. Something unexpected and life changing happened on the baseball field and poor Iris doesn’t recognize her husband anymore. She must take drastic action to try and get back the man she loves.
THE FROGG PRINCE
1W, 2M, 1M or W
Part fairy tale, part horror story, The Frogg Prince tells the story of Frogg and Princess. Princess, Frogg’s sex slave zombie, used to be a beautiful young girl with adoring parents and a promising life ahead of her. But that was before she caught the attention of the powerful Frogg, who wanted her for himself alone and with one kiss Princess lost her freedom. For years she submitted to Frogg’s whims and demands, wanting to die, but without the power to end her life. But in her dreams Frogg has no control over her thoughts or actions and it’s in a dream that she attempts to set herself free.
LITTLE WORLD
2W
Catherine the Great is in a small café that keeps getting smaller. That’s bad enough, but the waitress is rude and the food questionable. She is there against her will waiting to be born into her next life. But she adores the life she had as the greatest ruler of Russia and doesn’t want to start over again as someone else. She’ll go to great lengths to maintain her identity.
Copyright Joy Cutler 2016 All Rights Reserved