Thrilling introductions to the major theatrical works at the heart of my tremendously notable early-stage canon of groundbreaking plays.
Full Length Plays:
How to Love
90 minutes, 5 people (any gender) {a think tank of experts in the center of the Earth have one week to learn how to love or literally die trying. they seek their answer by any means necessary, including: a food fight! kissing! thinking! resting! poop jokes! sonnets! honesty! kidnapping! and more!}
Produced: Oct 28-Nov 20 2011, Performers Under Stress, SF CA
(Developed through a excerpt produced at San Francisco Theater Pub Feb 2010, and readings with No Nude Men Sept 2010 and Performers Under Stress Dec 2010. For more about How To Love, check out the blog of the 30-day marathon of writing the piece.)
Joe Ryan
90 minutes, 2 female, 3 male. {a San Francisco cop hunts his criminal prey in the city streets. inspired by “Dirty Harry,” greek myth, and the stars above. more info.}
Produced: Oct 7 2011, 8pm, SF Olympians Festival II: Heavenly Bodies at the Exit Theater, SF CA. Staged Reading.
One Act Plays:
Drinking Alone
10 minutes, between 1 and 20 people, any genders. {the thousand different facets of what it means to sip a beer all by your lonesome. does drinking in solitude mean drinking in good company, or not?}
Produced: August 2011, San Francisco Theater Pub, SF CA, as part of “Pint Sized Plays II.”
{Here’s an interview with me and other festival writers, and here’s an interview with festival directors, where you can read about how much directors love me, and here’s an interview with festival actors, where you can read about how much actors love me.}
The Water’s Always Deeper On The Other Side
10 minutes, 2 people, any genders, drag encouraged. {a mermaid and a sailor cross paths in the space between land and sea. what does it mean to be here or there, to be man or fish, and can anyone ever be truly satisfied with anything?}
Produced: August 2011, Pianofight, as part of “Roughin’ It” at Tomales Bay Oyster Company, Marshall CA.
Megan Cohen’s James Joyce’s Ulysses
30 minutes, 3 male, 1 female {a breathless half-hour adaptation of the 265,000-word modernist epic that is quite widely accepted to be the most important English-language novel of the last hundred years. more info.}
Produced: June 2011, San Francisco Theater Pub, SF CA.
A Three Little Dumplings Adventure
30 minutes, 1 female, 1 male, 3 either, 1 talking suitcase {a one act of pure. . . something.}
Produced: May 2003, Prosser Theatre, Stanford CA. October 2006, Robots Vs. Dinosaurs, NY NY. March 2011, Three Wise Monkeys, SF CA, as part of the “Bay One Acts Festival X.” Published: March 2011, “BOA X” Anthology.
{Here’s an interview with me about the piece, and production photos.}
What Separates Us
30 minutes, 2 female, 2 male {crime, heartbreak, and monkeys, in the aftermath of the “worst” or “best” costume party ever.}
Produced: November 2010, Pianofight as part of “Menage-a-Plot,” SF CA.
Birdy Darling And Fancy Darling On The Brink Of The Amazing And Unknown Future
25 min, 2 female {two sisters doggedly try to braid their incredibly long hair in this meditation on empty nests, safety nets, and predicting what comes next.}
Produced: Feb 2011, Flying Island Lab as part of “The Entangled Plays,” commissioned to accompany “The Nature of Entanglements” gallery exhibit at Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto CA. Staged reading.
Shorts and Ten Minute Plays:
Or So We Think
1 minute, 4 actors (any gender) {in this bittersweet 60-second firework, the ghost of Albert Einstein has an extremely urgent message for you about relativity}
Produced: December 2011, Playwrights Foundation as part of “The Second Annual One Minute Play Festival,” SF CA. Broadcast online by NewPlayTV.
It’s Good To Know That When All Else Fails And You Don’t Know What To Do, At Least You Have Some Options, So There Is A Decision To Be Made And You Don’t Have To Just Keep Doing What You Are Doing, Right? I Mean That’s Good, Right?
15 minutes, 2 female {two sisters talk about impossible decisions while the third has an abortion. a drama with jokes. not as precious as it sounds.}
Produced: June 2011, Woman’s Will as part of “Playfest,” SF CA. January 2009, Love Creek Productions, NY NY.
The Best Things In Life Are Money
10 minutes, 1 female, 1 male {commerce, magic, jokes, poetry, and a tiny bit of urination.}
Produced: August 2010, San Francisco Theatre Festival and San Francisco Theater Pub, SF CA.
Exactly 21 Different Dreamers Dreams In Just Under 10 Minutes
8 minutes, 3 people, any genders {a whirlwind tour through 21 unconscious minds, with stops at your funeral where your mom is crying and your dad is making unexpected whoopie, your supermarket where the checkout girl might or might not remember you, and the basement of your apartment that isn’t quite exactly like your actual apartment but feels like it is your apartment.}
Produced: April 2010, Pianofight as part of “Shortlived 3.0,” SF CA.
The Great Double-Check
15 minutes, 2 female, 1 male {two friends’ hunt for a missing wallet turns into an all-out screwball when a mysterious stranger reveals a secret that will change everyone’s future. oh my goodness what could it be?}
Produced: February 2010, Three Wise Monkeys as part of “Bay One Acts Festival IX,” SF CA. Published: February 2010, “BOA IX” Anthology.
Makeout
15 minutes, 2 people, any genders {a repugnant request leads to an explosive monologue on desire and exposure. also, it’s totally sad for part of it in the middle, but not the whole time, and will make your audience fall in love with each other.}
Produced: January 2012, Dublit as part of “Intima(see)” at Viracocha, SF CA. Staged reading. October 2009, Three Wise Monkeys as part of “Short Leaps,” SF CA. Staged reading.
Up To The Moment
10 minutes, 2 people, any genders {learn the truth about what acting means. all you need is two performers and a copy of the day’s New York Times. the play is different every single night that you do it, and it’s even funny to boot.}
Produced: April 2008, Pianofight as part of “Shortlived!,” SF CA.
Train Hard To Win Big
1 minute, 1 male 1 female {swapping spit takes on a new meaning as this team struggles to prepare for an absurdist sporting event}
Produced: December 2011, Playwrights Foundation as part of “The Second Annual One Minute Play Festival,” SF CA. Broadcast online by NewPlayTV.
Not Exactly Plays Exactly:
…And There’s Nothing You Can Do About It!
70 minutes, 4 people. {devised and rowdy. a group effort by me, Daniel Jackson, Eli Peterson, and Sarah Wilson.}
Produced: June 2005, Prosser Theatre, Stanford CA
Awfully Nice
10 minutes, 4 people {a short scenario of games that anyone can play.}
Produced: April 2009, Performers Under Stress, SF CA
Always love to share my work, if you’re interested in reading something (for production consideration or just for fun), please contact me via Email megan@megancohen.com or Twitter @WayBetterThanTV.
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