Milton Smith’s Short Play List

1.  The Gold Cycle  (A short play in three parts reflecting the fact that gold never seems to bring the fulfillment everyone expects, but instead a curse on those who own it.)

      Part One: (four men) Captain, Chief Mate, 2^nd Mate, a Scout on a circa 1600’s Spanish ship

      Part Two: (four men + others) Prospector #1, Prospector #2, Bar Keeper, First On Looker, and other bar patrons in a California saloon circa 1850’s

      Part Three: (two men, one woman) Samuel B. Mills & Charles in a Las Vegas coffee shop.

Charles and his wife in living room Midtown, Ohio.

2.  In A Mom’s Moccasins (New perspectives gained by spending time in another one’s shoes or moccasins as the case may be.   The audience gets to share the

   view from a patient’s bed in a nursing home.)

      (Five women, two men and a tape recorded voice)

Mrs. Doris Johnson, Shift Nurse, Doris’s recorded voice, male Patient Assistant, David Johnson, Mrs. Marsha Davis,Mavis, & Marvella

3.  Musical Chairs (No matter how big the business or how modern the technology the most important asset a company has, is its people.

 (Three men, two women and tape recorded voice)

             Brewer Industries employee’s: Bill Brewer, Tony, Miss Francis, Ephron Whipplemyster, HR Receptionist’s Voice, Mrs. Jane Goodmanner

4.  Shopping Anyone?  (Men and women sometimes take for granted each other’s learned experience.  Some things in life are not always as simple as they would seem. Take shopping for instance.

 (Two men,one boy, two women)  Barbara Johnson, Brad Johnson, Store Clerk/Cashier, Woman Shopper, her son, Nathan

5.  Who’s Spying On Whom?  (Popular spy movies intrigue audiences. This short play is a spoof on the spy industry and takes a look at the fact that a spy could end up spying on their own boss,if he has something to hide.)

     (Two men, two women& tape recorded voice) Tish Pond, tape recorded voice, David Dupree, Suzy“Q”, and James

6. Only in America   (America is a land of opportunity and entrepreneurship. A wise person, who is not afraid  of taking risks and believes in empowering people by helping them embrace theirown abilities may discover the American dream himself.)

       (Five men,four women)  Sam, Young Man, Hal Humphrey, Concert Business Manager, his woman Co-Manager, Two Coeds, Molly, Jack Farmer

7.  Bike Writer   (People frequent bars seeking like-minded people with whom they can relate.  Why not have a bar for writers where understanding; special non-alcoholic,

mind-sharpening drinks; and friendly competition, provide something to write about.)

     (Three men, one woman)  
Big “B”, Harley Dee, Lewis, and Marvella

8.  The News Room   (The news business has become a business of “making the news”. Things get complicated when the news director finds himself, in the news.)

     (Four men, one recorded male voice, two woman)  Mr. Chapman, un-named caller, Steve,  Sally,Camera Man with no speaking parts, Police Desk Sergeant, Mary-Jayne Chapman     

9.  It Ain’t All That Bad (With enough hype, even baloney sounds like a special treat.)   
 (A monologue about government healthcare, one man, speaking to imaginary audience.)

10.  Will Work for Food   (Street corner pan-handlers can evoke emotion from passing drivers of either sympathy or anger. Are they poor men or con-men? You be the judge.)

        (A monologue, one male driver talking to himself)

11.  The Traffic Stop  (A single woman’s unplanned traffic stop for a safety violation may lead to more than getting her car’s lights fixed.)

        (One woman, one man)  Woman Driver, State Trooper

12.  Tax Time  (Even“little” people in a big city have to pay their taxes. Janitor, Joe Brown has asimple life, but a big problem. It is tax time and he has never filled out a form

     1040, whatever that is.)

(Two men, one woman)  Joe E. Brown, Mr.Middleman, Miss Money Tree

13.   Adventure Around the Corner   (Getting old is not for sissies. Modern life brings changes and challenges for older citizens. Henry Jones hopes to meet some of those challenges by making use of new technology, at least new to him.)

       (two men, two women)  Henry Jones, Ann Jones, Mable,Slick Rick

14.  Party of Four  (For some of us it takes a while to realize that not everyone thinks like we do. There are different personalities in our world. Put four of these different personalities together and you are bound to have a party.)

        (five women, three men)  Sandy Sanguine, Phil Phlegmatic, Melvin Melancholic,Charlotte Choleric have come for a business lunch at a local restaurant. A Head Hostess, and assistant hostess, Cindy greet them. They

        are served by a handsome waiter and Wanda.

15.   Visit to theHomebound  (Being blind may not always be a handicap. In this case blindness is a benefit, only the audience can fully appreciate.)

        (One woman, five men, two recorded male voices) Grandmother Wright,Criminal-on-the run, (Swat-Team) Commander, and two SWATT members, Grandson,

     radio announcer, radio preacher

16.  Sea Legs (Handling life on a cruise ship is a big change for a farm boy who is more familiar with riding horses and calling hogs to dinner. With the help of a female steward and a fellow farm gal, he finds his sea legs.)

     (Two men, two women)  Homer Hillman, Bernice, male Food Service Employee, Tammy-Sue

17.  Safe Shelter (Having good neighbors is a valuable asset, as grumpy neighbor discovers for himself after a storm.)

 (Three men, one woman, one recorded voice)  Herb, Harriet, Walt, Salesman, Radio Announcer

18.  Home Sweet Home   (Most people mean well and can be trusted, but sometimes circumstances remind us that we need to trust our own intuition first.)

        (oneman, four women)  Mr. (Phil) Smith, Housekeeper, Home Care Nurse, Mrs.(John) Smith, Mrs. Smith (Phil Smith’s mother)

19.  Thanksgiving Without Batteries   (Marketing ploys often make us feel like we cannot live without the latest technological devices. They insist that our lives would be bankrupt with out them. Grandpa shows by example that a fulfilled life is not dependent on gadgets run by expensive batteries.)

        (Three men, two women)  Jan (Mother), Brad Dad),Brian, Brianna, and Grandpa

20.  Queen Bee   (The day of door to door salesmen is on the endangered species list and for good reason because of families with Royal Matriarchs.)

       (7 men, 2 women, 2 boys and 2 girls) Sales manager, Susan, a secretary, 3 salesmen, 2para medics, Ma, Pa, Alvin, Bennie, Allison, and Bonnie

21.  Rest in Peace (A playwright wants to have the final word. His reluctant family goes along because “There’s no business, like show business.”)

        (6 men, 3 women, Quartet, and a few extras with no speaking parts) Playwright, his Older

         Daughter, Minister, Funeral Director, Lady Assistant, Two male funeral attendants, Playwright’s Son, Playwright’s Younger Daughter, Acting/singing quartet, extra funeral attendees

22.  A Cowboy’s First Day on the Job   (A cowboy shares the reality of cowboy life in an honest and entertaining manner.)

        This is a monologue with one male cowboy actor.

23.  How to Hunt Buffalo   (A veteran Indian buffalo hunter shares the tricks of the trade of this highly esteemed and once necessary chore, as if it could be revived today.)

        This is a monologue with one male Indian actor.

In New York on this day in 1973, the first cell phone call was made by the inventor, Martin Cooper. Write something about the invention, the inventor or set around cell phones. Write from the perspective of the cell phone. Write something all on a cell phone.