“I’m not here for you. Just like Lana wasn’t put on this earth for you. We are our own people. We aren’t here to belong to you, to love you, to be your punching bag, or to forgive you.”

Retiree Jack and Lisa, a woman in her 30’s, meet in a park and, over a series of weeks, bond through their mutual love of literature. Lisa has recently escaped an abusive relationship, and although she teaches literature, she can’t bring herself to read anything but trashy romance novels. Jack becomes a friend and confidant until his own dark past is revealed. Lana, pregnant, visits the same park over a series of weeks, 30 years in the past. Through her conversations with her unborn child, she fights to save her troubled marriage.

Approximate Run Time: 90 minutes
Casting Breakdown:
Jack, 60+, Charming, outgoing. Well read. Manipulative and controlling, but very skilled at it, and his
manipulations are not necessarily obvious.
Lana, 20s, pregnant, Well read. A dreamer and a romantic, LANA is soft around the edges.
Lisa, 30s. Extremely well read. Bright, witty and quick, but often guarded and slow to trust.

Genre: Drama
Set Requirements: Park bench

Production History:
Unproduced.

A Book by its Cover is available by request (use contact form below) or at   The New Play Exchange

A socially awkward college senior finds a kindred spirit while taking the questionable advice of a tenured professor. A newly minted resident playwright sweats her latest production while her devoted husband tries to keep her sane. A frazzled new mother and her last remaining single friend envy each other’s lives. A mismatched pair of medieval monks try to find peace or a good conversation, depending on who you ask. This ensemble comedy  follows the interwoven tales of family, friends and lovers trying to survive the absurdities and indignities of academia, art and adulthood through banter and baked goods. After all, in this unpredictable world, we all need someone to share cake with, even when we want to shove it in their face.

(9 Actors – 5 women, 4 men)

CYNTHIA NEWTON, a playwright, late 20s
TOM, her husband, late 20s
LOIS, Cynthia’s mother and an English Professor, late 50s
RON, Cynthia’s father, late 50s
IZZY, a college student
GABE, a college student
JAKE, a college student
JENNIE, Director of PR at the University, 30s
JULIE, a mother and a Theatre Professor, 30s
JAN, an Interviewer (Voice over only), 20s
BROTHER TIMOTHY, a monk (played by same actor as RON)
BROTHER PHILIP, a monk (played by same actor as GABE)

CAKE was first Produced by Theatre Unleashed in the fall of 2015 at the Belfry Stage in North Hollywood, under the direction of Lisa K. Wyatt.

Script available by request (use contact form below) or at The New Play Exchange

“…but inside you tell yourself, it’s still possible. I didn’t pack up the U-Haul and move back home; I’m still here, so something is still possible…”

Narrated by a gargoyle atop one of the historic buildings, Hollywood & Vine fatefully intertwines the lives of the colorful characters who inhabit the famous corner. Having come to the nominal “heart of the entertainment capital of the world” to pursue their dreams, the characters soon discover that Hollywood is not all that it is promised to be – but then, sometimes, it is.

Approximate Run Time: 50 minutes
Casting Breakdown: 5M 6F 3Any
Genre: Drama, Magical Realism

Production History:
Unproduced

 

Written & Performed by Wendy Gough Soroka.

How long can you walk the line between genius and insanity?

Lovers. Poets. Zannis. Dukes. Madmen.

Enter the world of Isabella Andreini, greatest actress of the commedia dell’Arte.  Finding herself performing alone on a stage, Isabella is challenged to improvise a new scenario – the story of her life.  Isabella uses her unparalleled craft to tell her story and delve into the madness that fuels her art.

The Divine Madness of Isabella was first performed in 2005 and 2008 at the WriteAct Repertory in Hollywood under the direction of John Achorn. In 2012, in a co-production with Theatre Unleashed and Mad Magpie, Isabella was restaged by Jeff Soroka for the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

This script is not available for licensing at this time.