James Venhaus - Plays

Plays

Full Length Plays

*Broken Record*
Cast: 2M/1F - Running time: 90 minutes Expanded from the ten-minute play, Inside the Loop that was written for TheatreASAP in 2007, this new, full-length production tells the story of one couple ... in reverse. If you could go back and play your entire failed relationship over again, would you? Should you? Would it make a difference? Ben and Cynthia's relationship is replayed from its bitter end back to its sweet beginning. "Broken Record is funny, smart and beautifully realized. Its another winning collaboration from Venhaus and Overtime. Here's hoping there are plenty more when those came from." -Deborah Martin, San Antonio Express-News. Click here to read the full review.
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*Weird Sisters* - published by Playscripts, Inc.
Cast: 5M/4F - Running time: 90 minutes Weird Sisters is a retelling of Macbeth set in a modern day high school. Three social outcasts (the Weird Sisters) decide to stoke the ambitions of the star football player (Mac) and his über-popular girlfriend (Lydia) to see how far they will go to make sure Mac is the captain of the football team. Of course, every high school student is assigned to read Macbeth, so the characters quickly become aware that their lives have an eerie resemblance to Shakespeare’s classic play. But, for the three weird sisters, is it too late to stop the events they have set in motion, or will their plan take on a life of its own and result in tragedy.
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*The Happy Couple*
Cast: 3M/2F - Running time: 75-80 minutes A young lawyer and his wife return to the house that they rented while he attended law school. A lot has changed in ten years. Squatters now occupy the house and won't let the happy couple leave. By the time the sun comes up, no one's life will be the same. WINNER! 2010 ATAC Globe Award for "Best Original Script"
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One-Act Plays

Stocking Stuffers - published by Original Works Publishing
Cast: 3-8 M / 2-7 F - Running time: 55-70 minutes These five holiday-themed short plays have enjoyed dozens of productions in theaters around the country. Individually, these plays fit nicely into an evening of ten-minute plays; or, performed together they provide a complete evening of theater. They are funny, edgy, and a little bit melancholy. The perfect antidote to the typical sticky-sweet Christmas fare. This collection contains: The First Christmas, Santa’s Little Helper, Three Kings, Kringle-phobia and Happy Holidays from Anderson, Davis, Seton and Fenner
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The Temple of Dionysus - published by Playscripts, Inc.
Cast: 4M/1F - Running Time: 50-60 minutes Steve has lost it all: his wife, his job, his house, and everything he believed in. Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility, wants to make a comeback. Together they recreate the Dionysian religion for the new millennium. Rock bands, beer and babes. Will the world ever be the same?
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10-minute Plays

*Speak of the Devil*
Cast: 2M/1F Loosely based on Goethe's Faust, Speak of the Devil finds Mike making a deal with you-know-who when his love life goes south. Hell ain't what it used to be, and the deal takes an unexpected turn as Mike finds a way to give the Devil his due!
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White Room
Cast: 2M/3F Frank finds himself assigned to a bizarre new job in which he is unsure about what his task is, or how he got there. The other inhabitants of the “White Room” have their theories, and Frank is left to wonder if their individual realities are more plausible than the truth.
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*Concourse 'E'*
Cast: 2M/2F Matt and Jeff, two guys on a weekend trip to New Orleans that turns upside down when they come face to face with a mysterious theft, a failed romance, Voodoo, and a good stiff drink at the airport lounge of the New Orleans International Airport.
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*Three Kings* - published by Original Works Publishing
Cast: 2M/2F - Running Time: 10 minutes Two couples get together on Christmas Eve for a friendly game of poker. But, things get ugly when a player runs out of money and starts betting the Christmas presents.
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*Amy's Last Shift*
Cast: 1M/3F - Running Time: 10 minutes Amy gets a new job as a waitress at the "Double D Doughnut" shop. After a rough first shift, Rose and Paige show her the ropes and the owner, Ed, tells her what it takes to succeed in the world of crullers and cheesecake. It all seems like harmless fun, but where will it lead, and how far to does Amy have to go to make a sale?
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Kringle-phobia - published by Original Works Publishing
	Cast: 1M/1F,1 child, 3 evil Santas - Running Time: 10 minutes A man confronts his fear of Santa Claus. Manifestations of his fears tease, taunt and haunt him as he tries to work up the nerve to take his son to the mall to see Kris Kringle.
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Happy Holidays from Anderson, Davis, Seton and Fenner - published by Original Works Publishing
Cast: 1F - Running Time: 12-15 minutes This is a one-woman show about a receptionist at a law firm who is trying to get through the last ten minutes of her shift before the holidays. She gets calls from rude clients, her boss, her boyfriend, her mother and her best friend. Funny and heart-warming.
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*Santa's Little Helper* - published by Original Works Publishing
Cast: 1M/1F - Running Time: 10 minutes The play is set in the storeroom of an office during the annual Christmas party. During a brief romantic encounter a man and a woman come to discover more about each other and themselves than they bargained for.
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The First Christmas - published by Original Works Publishing
Cast: 1M/1F - Running Time: 10 minutes The play takes place in the living rooms of a recently divorced couple in their mid-30’s. As the couple begins decorating their respective Christmas trees we hear their versions of how their “first Christmas” apart from each other will be, their version of why the divorce took place, and a tender pang of regret.
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Plays for Youth

*Romeo and Juliet at Verona High* - published by Playscripts, Inc.
Cast: flexible 10-20 M/F - Running time: 30-40 minutes Billed as, "A modern take on a classic tale" Romeo and Juliet at Verona High updates Shakespeare's tragedy to a modern day high school. Romeo is the captain of the football team and Juliet is the president of the Chess Club. This half-hour play is ideal for elementary and/or middle schools with a flexible cast size (10-20) and minimal technical requirements. As an added bonus, the play has both a "comedy" and "tragedy" ending and at each performance the audience votes on which ending they would like to see.
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A Great Big Deal Over Nothing (or Much Ado About Nothing at Camp Messina)
Cast: 7M/7F Mistaken identities and romance run rampant at Camp Messina, where campers hope to have their secret crushes realized in time for the big dance. Clark likes Holly, but he's too shy to admit his feelings. Meanwhile, Ben and Bea hate each other, but their friends think they're meant to be together. Add a duo determined to cause trouble and an inept security guard, and this modern retelling of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing guarantees camp will never be the same.
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*The Top Hand of Lone Tree Ranch*
Cast: 1M/1F (young actors) and 3M/1F (adult actors) Paddy Pence lived with his grandfather on Lone Tree Ranch. Paddy was small for his age, even when he stood in his boots. Every time he entered the calf scramble contests, he was pushed aside by the bigger boys. Paddy entered the contests because he wanted a calf of his own. Then chance left a tiny black calf behind at Lone Tree Ranch and Paddy soon found himself living an untruth. This musical play for children presents an honest picture of a boy's efforts to do right, and a down-to-earth story of everyday life on a cattle ranch in Texas.
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