playwrightsusanmiddaugh

 

Only Skin Deep

A young woman goes to see a dermatologist to have her tattoos removed. He advises her against it.

 1m, 1w; running time: about five minutes.

One Shoe Off, One Shoe On

This short play is like a slow dance between lovers – potentially romantic until their feet get in the way.
1m, 1f 

Taking the A Train

Four passengers and a conductor get trapped in the NYC subway following an accident. A homeless man, who considers the subway his home, doesn’t want to escape, but he is the only one who knows the way out.

 4m, 1w

A Senior Moment

This short play is about two middle-aged people who met on the Internet. They’re nervous about planning  their first date. The play also portrays some of the differences between our best and true selves and provides a few comic and touching moments.

Production requirements: two computers, two desks, an overhead screen with photos of their best selves, and personal props.
1 middle-aged man, 1 middle-aged woman; running time: about 5 minutes

Sisters

The play features two sisters, one of whom is physically handicapped.  The action takes place during a chess game, just before the younger sister departs for college. It is about the love, secrets, and resentments that these two sisters share, and the deep bond that they have with one another.

2w, offstage voice 1m, the living room

Backin' Up the Queen -- co-written with Brent Englar and Travis Bowles

 Victoria and Veronica are singers in a cover band that has temporarily lost one of its backup performers on the day of a concert in Asbury Park, NJ. Their contract calls for three singers and the producer is not flexible. They’re out of town in a fleabag motel without air conditioning and desperate for a replacement. Matthew, their manager, hears one of the housekeeping staff belt out a song and offers her the job. Victoria, the diva, balks and the fur starts to fly.  3w, 1m
Running time: approximately 20 minutes; Setting: room in a fleabag motel

Suite 510

A woman writer is working in her office late at night.  An Intruder knocks on her door and insists that she open the door.  This man proceeds to terrorize her and accuses her of killing his sister in a hit-and-run accident.
Two characters: 1M, 1F
Set requirements: a desk, a door, and a few simple office props

Perks

The middle-aged chef and maitre d’ at a high end steak house are enjoying what has become a perk, a late night meal on the house. Ed, the maitre d’, a long time employee, looks forward to becoming the new manager now that the owner has retired. Instead Rhoda, the owner’s 20-something daughter and a vegetarian, tells the men she is the new manager and their perk is about to disappear. Steak bones and tempers fly.
Setting: the kitchen of a high-end restaurant, a door , table and chairs
Props: steak bones, celery stalks, carrots, a cabbage, a chef’s apron and hat
2m, 1w

Table for Two

A middle-aged woman is having a hard time getting a table for one in a crowded restaurant on a Saturday night.  While she waits patiently in the queue, a series of couples behind her in line get a table before she does.  Frustrated, she resorts to drastic measures.
Eight characters: 4m, 4w. Setting: a podium

 

It's My Party!

Connie, a suburban woman, gets picked up for the first time for drug possession. Sharing a room with her at the jail intake center is a prostitute named Crystal. Each woman wants to get out on bail, but only one will. Except for their addiction and a fondness for the same pair of shoes, they appear to be very different. Will they find their common humanity?  
Cast of characters: 3w
Setting: 1 table and 2 chairs

Such Good Neighbors

An elderly couple are awakened in the middle of the night by their next-door neighbors who are having an argument.  The wife becomes intrigued, the husband wants to distract her from listening.  This 10-minute play has two characters: 1m, 1f and a simple set.

One Act Play Depot in Saskatchewan, Canada has published this play.