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 Award honorable mention for the text of the play as submitted by Hansell.
14 LADIES IN HATS. 90 minute series of character studies which explore the tension between expression and repression in the lives of contemporary American women and girls. Produced in 1988 at Project Artaud in San Francisco; subsequent portions produced throughout the U.S.; two published in MORE MONOLOGUES FOR WOMEN BY WOMEN (Heinemann).
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 California family as 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) de/reconstruction of the Euripides classic set in contemporary Los Angeles, 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. 30 minute stylized one-act in which Oth, Desdie and Iago find themselves (and each other) in a contemporary Brooklyn police house, where they talk over their personal/history. Nominated for a Pushcart Prize as published in OASIS 5.1 Jul.-Sep. 1996. 2 males, 1 female.
WE ARE ALL DICK 3. 50 minute male/female love/history dramatized (loosely) to the tune 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. 50 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 examine their cosmological position/s. 1 male, 1 female, 1 either.
GIVES A DICK. 100 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.
The above texts are available from <susan.hansell@gmail.com>.
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