ABSTRACT

Short Plays with Great Roles for Women is an antidote to the traditional underrepresentation of women on stage, by offering twenty-two short plays that put women right at the centre of the action.

The push for more women’s roles has gathered force over the last few years, and this collection is part of that movement, with rich, intelligent roles for women of all ages and backgrounds. This anthology offers a vital slice of life, addressing relevant and diverse topics such as: a young, Islamic woman coming out to her religious mother; black women’s navigation of the natural hair movement; bullying in a small-town American school; social media addiction; and the trials and tribulations of family life. Plays from award-winning playwrights are supported by original production details and playwrights’ afterwords, forming a broad and comprehensive collection of complete texts that offer full character journeys.

Appealing to aspiring performers, playwrights, directors and students, Short Plays with Great Roles for Women is an essential resource for actor training, assessments, showcases, show-reels, short films and theatre performances.

chapter |2 pages

Introduction

part I|2 pages

Crossing bridges

chapter 1|8 pages

Two Sisters

chapter 2|7 pages

A Prince

chapter 3|6 pages

Do You Pray?

chapter 4|7 pages

Don’t Cross Bridges

part II|2 pages

‘Love is like quicksilver in the hand. Leave the fingers open and it stays. Clutch it, and it darts away’ (Dorothy Parker)

chapter 5|9 pages

Consolea

chapter 6|10 pages

Alive Day

chapter 7|11 pages

Love By Numbers

part III|2 pages

Isn’t she lovely, made of love …

chapter 8|8 pages

Of Things Unsaid

chapter 9|8 pages

Stopcock

part IV|2 pages

Aping the patriarchy

chapter 11|5 pages

Copycat

chapter 12|10 pages

Girlboss

part V|2 pages

To connect or dis-connect?

chapter 13|10 pages

Swipe

chapter 14|6 pages

Echoes Through the Dust

part VI|2 pages

Be yourself, everyone else is already taken

chapter 15|9 pages

Coconut Diaries

chapter 16|11 pages

Fox

chapter 17|7 pages

Soon in the 4ciable Future

chapter 18|11 pages

A Better Pronoun

part VII|2 pages

The class ceiling

chapter 19|11 pages

The Pillory

chapter 20|11 pages

Tussy

part VIII|2 pages

Siblings in mourning

chapter 21|8 pages

Come Die With Me

chapter 22|12 pages

Hurricane Blues