WORKS
Scripts are available to be sampled on the New Play Exchange. Or email my agent, Elaine Devlin. Or email me using the contact form
The Lifespan of a Fact
Full Length. 2M/1F. With David Murrell and Gordon Farrell. Essayist John D'Agata has written the perfect narrative about the suicide of a young boy in Las Vegas. But when fact-checker Jim Fingal starts unraveling the tapestry, editor in chief Emily Penrose may have to deal with the end of her magazine. Based on the book by John D'Agata and Jim Fingal. Winner, 2019 John Gassner Playwriting Award from the Outer Critics Circle. Coming Soon from Dramatists Play Service.
"a terrifically engaging Broadway drama" "A New York Times Critics Choice." - Jesse Green, NYTimes
"Terrifically funny dialog." "The debate at the heart of this play transcends comedy and demands serious attention." - Marilyn Stasio, Variety
"constructed with elegance and precision on all fronts ....The Lifespan of a Fact gives you the satisfying rush of a good mystery or a crossword puzzle." "...the people around me cheered." - Sara Holdren, NY Magazine and Vulture
"Truly Scintillating," "invigoratingly taut, "The exchanges have the vigorous back-and-forth zing of a sweaty squash match, not to mention a stinging relevance to so much of what's been happening for years now in American social, cultural and political discourse. It's hard to imagine this pithy play ever being more timely or more ideally cast, and the dynamic of the three actors is thrilling to watch." "in the poignant closing moments of the play, all the arguments about journalistic integrity and what's permissible in literary nonfiction are suddenly eclipsed by the more powerful force of human tragedy — a truth that demands to be respected." David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
"Whatever happened to the smart, well-wrought stage comedies of yesteryear? They’re not dead yet—in fact, a new one just opened on Broadway." "admirably compact ...rib-bustingly funny... Messrs. Kareken, Murrell and Farrell skillfully modulate into a darker key as Jim and his colleagues grapple with what it means for journalists to make stuff up in a fact-challenged world." "Prediction: The three-person cast, short running time (90 minutes, no intermission) and simple scenic demands of “The Lifespan of a Fact” will make it the hottest regional-theater hit since 'Venus in Fur.'" - Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal
Full Length. 2M/1F. With David Murrell and Gordon Farrell. Essayist John D'Agata has written the perfect narrative about the suicide of a young boy in Las Vegas. But when fact-checker Jim Fingal starts unraveling the tapestry, editor in chief Emily Penrose may have to deal with the end of her magazine. Based on the book by John D'Agata and Jim Fingal. Winner, 2019 John Gassner Playwriting Award from the Outer Critics Circle. Coming Soon from Dramatists Play Service.
"a terrifically engaging Broadway drama" "A New York Times Critics Choice." - Jesse Green, NYTimes
"Terrifically funny dialog." "The debate at the heart of this play transcends comedy and demands serious attention." - Marilyn Stasio, Variety
"constructed with elegance and precision on all fronts ....The Lifespan of a Fact gives you the satisfying rush of a good mystery or a crossword puzzle." "...the people around me cheered." - Sara Holdren, NY Magazine and Vulture
"Truly Scintillating," "invigoratingly taut, "The exchanges have the vigorous back-and-forth zing of a sweaty squash match, not to mention a stinging relevance to so much of what's been happening for years now in American social, cultural and political discourse. It's hard to imagine this pithy play ever being more timely or more ideally cast, and the dynamic of the three actors is thrilling to watch." "in the poignant closing moments of the play, all the arguments about journalistic integrity and what's permissible in literary nonfiction are suddenly eclipsed by the more powerful force of human tragedy — a truth that demands to be respected." David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
"Whatever happened to the smart, well-wrought stage comedies of yesteryear? They’re not dead yet—in fact, a new one just opened on Broadway." "admirably compact ...rib-bustingly funny... Messrs. Kareken, Murrell and Farrell skillfully modulate into a darker key as Jim and his colleagues grapple with what it means for journalists to make stuff up in a fact-challenged world." "Prediction: The three-person cast, short running time (90 minutes, no intermission) and simple scenic demands of “The Lifespan of a Fact” will make it the hottest regional-theater hit since 'Venus in Fur.'" - Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal
80 Cards
10 minutes. 1 Character.
A play on a deck of cards. No rehearsal necessary, only a stack of cards, a couple rubber bands - and a deep existential fear of death and the nature of identity. The easiest monolog to perform in history. Instant 10 minute play - just add actor. (2000)
Just added: see the great Bob LaVelle perform the play in its entirety. Click on Bob's name.
10 minutes. 1 Character.
A play on a deck of cards. No rehearsal necessary, only a stack of cards, a couple rubber bands - and a deep existential fear of death and the nature of identity. The easiest monolog to perform in history. Instant 10 minute play - just add actor. (2000)
Just added: see the great Bob LaVelle perform the play in its entirety. Click on Bob's name.
The Red Wool
Full Length. 2M/2F/1E(unuch). Farce/satire/comedy/politics. Public sex, castration, illiteracy, bad poetry — if you think Trumpian America is bad, wait until you see 9th century BCE Assyria. Selardi, the upwardly mobile slave girl, recruits the palace scribe to overthrow the bloody King Ashurnasirpal II while his Queen, the lusty Melissa plots her own vengeance. All narrated by the jazzy (and strangely baritone) Eunuch. (2018)
Full Length. 2M/2F/1E(unuch). Farce/satire/comedy/politics. Public sex, castration, illiteracy, bad poetry — if you think Trumpian America is bad, wait until you see 9th century BCE Assyria. Selardi, the upwardly mobile slave girl, recruits the palace scribe to overthrow the bloody King Ashurnasirpal II while his Queen, the lusty Melissa plots her own vengeance. All narrated by the jazzy (and strangely baritone) Eunuch. (2018)
Big Train
10 Minutes. 4 characters. Comedy.
Somewhere dry and distant, a young particle physicist must do battle with the forces of darkness in order to lose the blues and confirm the grand unified field theory. (1994)
10 Minutes. 4 characters. Comedy.
Somewhere dry and distant, a young particle physicist must do battle with the forces of darkness in order to lose the blues and confirm the grand unified field theory. (1994)
Duck, Rabbit, Duck
Full Length. 3 Characters. Absurdist Comedy.
Two workers don't understand why they exist or what they hell they're doing, but they're going to make something of themselves. Meanwhile, this guy Horst seems to like kicking the shit out of them every time they stop. (1998)
Full Length. 3 Characters. Absurdist Comedy.
Two workers don't understand why they exist or what they hell they're doing, but they're going to make something of themselves. Meanwhile, this guy Horst seems to like kicking the shit out of them every time they stop. (1998)
Farblondjet
Full Length. 3M/2F. Comedy/Romance.
A dying Catskill resort, and an almost-tenured scientist collides headfirst with religion and his hedonistic father. (2001)
Full Length. 3M/2F. Comedy/Romance.
A dying Catskill resort, and an almost-tenured scientist collides headfirst with religion and his hedonistic father. (2001)
The Bradleys
Full Length. 3M/2F. Comedy.
Babs Bradley tries to grow up totally normal, and totally not be a skank, but still be cool, and like not a dork or anything like her brother Butch, a greaseball stoner space case like her other brother, Buddy. But Mom and Pops Bradley make it so hard sometimes. And they're gross. Based on the comic series by Peter Bagge. For mature teens and kids who don't mind mildly salty and inappropriate language.(2001)
Full Length. 3M/2F. Comedy.
Babs Bradley tries to grow up totally normal, and totally not be a skank, but still be cool, and like not a dork or anything like her brother Butch, a greaseball stoner space case like her other brother, Buddy. But Mom and Pops Bradley make it so hard sometimes. And they're gross. Based on the comic series by Peter Bagge. For mature teens and kids who don't mind mildly salty and inappropriate language.(2001)
THESE!
Screenplay.
Written with David Murrell, it's about haunted breast implants, buxom zombies, and other deeply important issues facing our modern world.(2008)
Screenplay.
Written with David Murrell, it's about haunted breast implants, buxom zombies, and other deeply important issues facing our modern world.(2008)
Rochester Nights
One Act.2M/2F. Comedy.
Last year's hot actress decides to go home to get her shit together. Unfortunately, her old boyfriend is married and so is she. Not that convention has ever stopped her before. (2000)
One Act.2M/2F. Comedy.
Last year's hot actress decides to go home to get her shit together. Unfortunately, her old boyfriend is married and so is she. Not that convention has ever stopped her before. (2000)
The Sweet Sweet Motherhood
Full Length. 1M/1F. An ethically shaky molecular biologist must stop a student from bringing their thought experiment into the real world when she decides to inseminate one of her eggs with chimpanzee sperm. With Lee Silver. (2004)
Full Length. 1M/1F. An ethically shaky molecular biologist must stop a student from bringing their thought experiment into the real world when she decides to inseminate one of her eggs with chimpanzee sperm. With Lee Silver. (2004)