SYNOPSES OF PLAYS BY SUSAN HANSELL
AMERICAN ROSE. 90 minute, ensemble-cast play follows the lives of five diverse American women during the WWII period (juxtaposed with additional roles iconic of a variety of historically accurate individuals in the events of that period), who enter war production workplaces and war situations during the 1940s. Commissioned by Sightlines Theatre Company and produced in 1997 at the Ohio Theatre in New York City. 1998 Jane Chambers Playwriting Award honorable mention for the text of the play by Hansell.
14 LADIES IN HATS. 75 minute series of character monologues exploring the tension between expression and repression in the lives of contemporary American women and girls. Produced in 1988 at Centerspace Studio Theatre in Project Artaud, San Francisco; subsequent portions produced throughout the U.S.; two ("Don't" and "Affair on the Air") published in MORE MONOLOGUES FOR WOMEN BY WOMEN (Heinemann); one ("Drop it") recorded live as performed by the author at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and available from the Poetry Center of San Francisico State University.
LITTLE KINGS. 60 minute tragicomedy of a contemporary American family, five members of which exist as quasi-versions of characters from KING LEAR via Hansell's original deconstructed satire that sends-up 400 years of human civilization and family history. 2 female, 2 males, 1 of either. Published in OASIS 10.1 Jan.-Mar. 2002.
MARY MARY. 20 minute romp through the life-history of a suburban Californian family, shrunk through the snapshot scope of three Christmases, each in different decades. 2 male/3 female. Published in INFLATABLE MAGAZINE Winter 1999, and in SPOT LITERARY MAGAZINE 2.1 Fall 2007.
MY MEDEA. 90 minute, ensemble-cast (including a chorus which chants contemporary slang, in verse) tale that tells a deconstructed reconstruction of the Euripides classic set in contemporary Los Angeles and featuring an exploration of current events related to class, race, gender and the worship of celebrity. Published in THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT PLAYS 1996-97 (Applause). Premiered March 4-19 2005 at the Players Theatre, CSULB.
ROLLOVER OTHELLO. 25 minute stylized one-act in which Oth, Desdie and I. find themselves (and each other) in a contemporary Brooklyn police house, where they "talk" (over their personal history/ies.) Nominated for a Pushcart Prize as published in OASIS 5.1 Jul.-Sep. 1996. 2 males, 1 female.
WE ARE ALL DICK 3. 45-to-60 minute two-character male/female love/history comedy/drama spun from an idea of RICHARD THE THIRD as backdropped by the contemporary events and entertainments of our American world. Published originally in OASIS 11.3 Oct.-Dec. 2003. 1 male, 1 female.
IT MEANS DICK. 45-to-60 minute sequel and second act to WE ARE ALL DICK 3, with one additional Human added to the mix of the First Two (above), as the (subsequent) Three continue to examine their cosmological position/s. 1 male, 1 female, 1 either.
THE STORY OF SOME GUY NAMED DICK. 90-to-120 minute two-act play comprised of the two one-acts WE ARE ALL DICK 3 and IT MEANS DICK. 1 male, 1 female, 1 either.
WAITING FOR TWO. A new full length play in 72 scenes, currently in-progress.
Most of the above texts are available from <susan.hansell@gmail.com>.
website photo by a. paul cartier