Spaghetti Western
Synopsis
Olivia Forte’s discovery that she has inherited a worthless plot of land in El Paso, Texas, where her mother demands she bury her father’s ashes, forces her to confront the abomination that is the Texas-Mexico border. As mom continues to slow-walk the sale of the family’s decrepit Philadelphia pizzeria, Olivia encounters barriers, physical and psychological, to fulfilling dad’s American Dream to “Go West.”
The New Normal Trilogy
Synopsis
The New Normal Trilogy is set in a Hoboken, New Jersey, dining spot that has three different proprietors over the course of 15 years following the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
This fast-paced, 90-minute play takes place in real time as the neighborhood transitions, with new owners and new customers.
The all-night diner in 2001, Lou's 24/7, becomes the Oasis Cafe in 2009, following the country's economic collapse and the election of President Barack Obama. The business changes owners once again in 2016 when it transitions to a hipster coffe shop in the now-gentrifying neighborhood. Through all the changes, however, one constant remains: fear of "the other."
Shelter
Synopsis
Jo Jo is searching for a safe home for her three children, away from their father and the unforgivng street life they have too often known. But those she turns to for help are the least equipped or inclined to lend a hand. Shelter, inspired by a true story, shows how desperation can send a young vulnerable mother down a dark path to perverted salvation.
Grind
City
Synopsis
Grind City is set in a hipster coffee shop in Hoboken, N.J., in 2016. Dexter is excited about the new venture and is especially jazzed by his state-of-the-art brewing equipment. But at the moment Dexter flings wide the door to prosperity, Adira arrives with a proposition that threatens to profoundly alter the character of the neighborhood, Dexter's fortunes, and his progressive sensibilities.
Cent'Anni
Synopsis
Elderberry Senior Living Center is preparing to celebrate the 100th birthday of a beloved resident during a dedication ceremony for its new residential wing. The local newspaper is covering the event, but the reporter assigned to the story is not having a good day. Neither is the centenarian birthday girl, who would much rather spend her time listening to her favorite opera, Wagner's Tristan and Isolde. Meanwhile, the center's unyielding communications director is determined to put on a show for the press.
There will be spectacle, but not the kind she expects.
The Waiting Room
Synopsis
Two women, one young, with an early-stage cancer and one old, with a late-stage cancer, navigate fear and uncertainty in their own way while waiting for radiation treatments in an oncology center.
The Nature
of Stars
Synopsis
The proprietor of a bookstore that specializes in poetry has been priced out of the neighborhood and must now close her doors. As a handyman fumbles his way through a final maintenance task, a young customer provides an unforeseen opportunity for the despondent woman to make peace with her misfortune and share the redemptive power of poetry.
Madonna's Stash
Synopsis
It is 2025 and Congress has codified a national abortion ban as three first-cousins gather at the South Philadelphia rowhome of a recently deceased great aunt. While they comb through her possessions determined to find hidden wealth, the disturbing payoff is more relevatory than any of them could have imagined.
Ten-minute Plays
On the Road to Tikrit
An American soldier fighting in Iraq suddenly finds himself in a no man’s land. Confused and searching for his lost friend, he reflects on the mysterious terrain between life and death.
On the Road to Tikrit
An American soldier fighting in Iraq suddenly finds himself in a no man’s land. Confused and searching for his lost friend, he reflects on the mysterious terrain between life and death.
The Invisible Cosmo
It's so easy to disappear in a world that refuses to see.
Our Man in China
An adjunct English teacher in Beijing, China, answers a tech company's online employment ad for a "communications expert." He is hired on the spot but soon learns the "sky-is-the-limit" offer comes with serious ethical challenges.
Screenplays
Bella Vista
Based on a true story, Bella Vista is a World War II-era drama set in the unlikely location of Missoula, Montana. Before America entered the war, Axis-power ships docked at U.S. ports were impounded by the government and their crews sent to internment camps across the country. Among them were 1,100 seamen aboard an Italian luxury cruise ship awaiting passage home through the Panama Canal. These men spent the duration of the war imprisoned at Fort Missoula, where they created their own Italian village within the confines of the camp. Bella Vista, based on this little-known historic event, raises questions that continue to resonate today: Who is a real American? What is the price of blind loyalty? What happens when a government oversteps its authority in the name of homeland security?