c/o Elaine Devlin
Elaine Devlin Literary Inc., Plus Entertainment
20 W. 23rd St., 3rd Fl.
New York, NY 10010
(212) 206-8160 x20
Email:
newdramatists@newdramatists.org
- LEMKIN’S HOUSE
- THE BEAUTY INSIDE
- SILENCE OF GOD
- ARTHUR’S WAR
- MARY AND MYRA
- EYES OF THE HEART
- THREE CONTINENTS
- THE PRICE OF MADNESS
- ALL DRESSED UP AND NOWHERE TO GO
- VENUS IN THE BIRDBATH
- CUT TO: THE DEAL
- THE AWAKENING
- THE G WORD
- LESSONS OF MY FATHER
- STORKS
- PHOTOGRAPHS FROM S-21
- THE RUSSIAN DOLL
- WHITE TRASH
- ACCEPTING APPLAUSE
- CONVERTING
- THE SUN ALWAYS ROSE
- THE FLOATING BOX: A Story in Chinatown
- EYES OF THE HEART
- ALTAR EGO
- PRODIGAL SON
- PRISCILLA’S STORY
LEMKIN’S HOUSE
Full-length Drama 3M, 2W
Unit Set
In the afterlife, a guilty and disgruntled Raphael Lemkin, the
Polish-American lawyer who invented the word genocide and criminalized it
after his parents died in the Holocaust, hopes to shut out the world and
fix up his house. Instead, he is bombarded by people bursting into his
home with complaints of more recent genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia, and
his fighting spirit returns when he meets those who follow in his
footsteps in an attempt to stop genocide.
THE BEAUTY INSIDE
Full-length Drama 3W, 1M
Flexible Set
Middle East meets West when a young Turkish-American lawyer, Devrim,
defends Yalova, the victim of an attempted honor killing. Devrim and
Yalova travel together towards their destiny and discover the true meaning
of Devrim's name: "Revolution."
Thurber Playwright-in-Residence, New Works Lab (2002-03); OSU Theatre,
Columbus, Ohio (2003); and HotINK2 Play Reading Festival, New York
University (2003).
SILENCE OF GOD
Full-length Drama 3M(2 Asian), 1W
Flexible Set
Sarah Holtzman, an American journalist, scores the interview of her career
with Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot. Inspired by a close and early contact
with a poet Heng Chhay, a survivor of the Khmer Rouge atrocities, she
became a journalist to answer the question of why evil flourishes in the
world. Fictional characters have been placed in a fact-based story.
Contemporary American Theater Festival new play commission, 2002 (World
Premiere). Reading at Magic Theater, CA (2003).
ARTHUR’S WAR
Drama for Young Adults, 60 Minutes 4 M, 2W
No Set
Based on the King Arthur legend. An ensemble piece that recreates the
war-torn Dark Ages through physicality, language, and music. Merlin races
against time to become a messenger of peace, transforming Arthur from a
violent and insecure boy to a true hero who can enlighten his world.
2002 New Play Commission from Theatreworks/USA, NYC.
MARY AND MYRA
Full-length Drama 2W (Ages 44 and 56)
Unit Set
Based on fact. In 1875, Mary Todd Lincoln was sent to an insane asylum by
her only living son, Robert Todd Lincoln. Her friend, Myra Bradwell,
America’s first woman lawyer, came to her aid. A two-woman, one-set play.
"MARY AND MYRA takes the audience hostage, a kind of séance, a
spellbinding recreation of lives that come toward us like torches lighting
the future." –Ethan Fischer, The Shepherdstown Chronicle
"MARY AND MYRA needs no special treatment to be a major theater piece.
The writing is so exact that it is hard to imagine actors failing when
reading the script. The success is in a tight script with every line on
target."--Grave Cavalieri, The Morgan Messenger
"But playwright Catherine Filloux hangs plenty of flesh on the thin
bones of the public record. To her credit, she renders Mary Todd a
creature of contradiction, at once petulant and impossible, demanding and
clear-eyed, unable to contain the sharp tongue that so offends her
thin-skinned eldest child. Myra Bradwell is equally complex."—Dolores
Whiskeyman, Curtain Up
"Another American icon, Mary Todd Lincoln, is brought to roaring life
in Miss Filloux¹s MARY AND MYRA. A talky, well-made play about one woman
damned by her reputation who is saved by a woman who was damned into
obscurity."--Jayne M. Blanchard, The Washington Times
World Premiere, Contemporary American Theater Festival, WV (2000). Todd
Mountain Theatre Project (2002). Readings at HB Playwrights Foundation,
(1999); The Jungle Theater, MN (1999); People’s Light and Theatre Company,
PA (1999)
EYES OF THE HEART
Full-length Drama 2M (All Asian), 4W (3 Asian)
Flexible Set
“After being subjected to visions of horror under the Khmer Rouge, a
group of Cambodian refugees have gone blind and medicine can’t explain
why.” –The New Yorker
Drama about one such blind woman, Thida San, who has come to Long Beach,
California to live with her brother Kim. Kim tries to draw Thida out from
her pain, but a traditional arranged marriage for Thida's niece, Seri,
triggers the memory of Thida's own daughter's forced marriage in Cambodia.
Thida, her family, and an American eye doctor travel together on the
journey towards healing, as the lines between East and West blur. Despite
horrific experiences, the human spirit survives because of family,
culture, religion, and friendship. Kim encourages his sister Thida to see
that she has to be involved in the world to go on.
2002 Bay Area Playwrights Festival, 1999 Roger L. Stevens Award, The
Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays, and the O’Neill’s 1996 Eric
Kocher Playwrights Award. Readings at Immigrant’s Theatre Project (2003),
Women’s Project, NYC (1998); Playwrights Theater of New Jersey (1999).
THREE CONTINENTS
Three-act Drama 2M, 3W (1 12 year-old girl)
Flexible Set
Surreal odyssey about a young woman retracing her roots to North Africa,
France, and the United States.
A young woman, Liliane, wonders if her parents expected family roots to be
so long, elastic, and faithful as to link three continents. Her father has
designed a mysterious perfume boat. In her rootlessness, Liliane blindly
traces a piece of seaweed to the cape of a Virgin Statue on a mountaintop
in French-Algeria. There she witnesses a magical breathing ritual, which
unlocks her family’s mystery.
Readings at HB Playwrights Foundation (2000); InterAct Theatre Company,
Philadelphia, PA (1998); New Georges, NYC (1997).
THE PRICE OF MADNESS
Full-length Drama 2M, 3W
Unit Set
The character of Aloise is based on a Swiss "outsider artist" born in
1886, who spent most of her life in an asylum, and whose work was
exhibited by Jean Dubuffet. The play is set in the present when a young
artist, Henri, who has had success in the roller-coaster art scene, finds
himself blocked and turns for inspiration to his out-there, schizophrenic
aunt. Her drawings inspire, challenge, and tempt him with thoughts of
selling her work as his own.
"The Price of Madness is my kind of play. Should be yours too if you
ever ponder the nature of art vis-à-vis mediocrity, sanity vs. insanity,
or how commercialism can kill inspiration. . . A lot goes on in this
layered, lyrical piece. . . The dialogue crackles with ideas.”-Village
Voice
INTAR/Emerging Artists, NYC (1996); Alleyway Theatre, Buffalo, NY
(1992); Readings at Manhattan Class Company, NYC (1993); The Hippodrome
State Theatre, Gainesville, FL (1993); Women’s Project, NYC (1991).
Published by Playscripts, Inc.
ALL DRESSED UP AND NOWHERE TO
GO
Full-length Comedy 4M, 2W
Unit Set
A quirky comedy about a group of Amish and a group of transvestites
stranded at a motel during a blizzard. Jacky, a stressed out businessman
who cross-dresses on weekends, hopes to relax with his friend Barbie only
to discover he’s never been closer to home.
"Takes place roughly where Witness meets La Cage aux Folles. . . A
playwright who can put transvestites and the Amish on stage together, and
instead of making us laugh at them, makes us respect the humanity they
have in common." –Baltimore Sun
Playwrights Theatre of Baltimore, MD (1994); Readings at The American
Place, NYC (1995), Women’s Project, NYC (1994), and the Drama League, NYC
(1992). Published by Playscripts, Inc.
VENUS IN THE BIRDBATH
Full-length Comedy 2M, 4W
Unit Set
A darkly comic ménage drawn to a woman who can’t get out of bed.
"Scores a decisive hit and introduces a delightful new playwright. The
play explores what happens when life becomes kitsch and the only voices in
our heads are someone else’s.”--The Buffalo News
"Venus is a controversial, contemporary comedy. The writing is witty,
the comedy fast and furious, the satire pointed and sometimes vicious . .
. a sparkling evening of entertainment.”--The Tribune
"Not to be missed. It’s sharp, intimate and extremely witty. The
characters are rich and fully developed. . . This is one of those rare
comedies that will actually make you laugh.”--National Public Radio, WBFO
Alleyway Theatre, Buffalo, NY (1990); reading at Seattle Public Theatre
(1992). Published by Playscripts, Inc.
CUT TO: THE DEAL
Three-act Drama 2M, 5W
Flexible Set
In the world of TV, selling your story and your baby are dangerously
similar. A surreal retelling of the Faust legend. The play’s distracted
Mephistopheles, a literary agent called Granny Babstock, seduces a young
surrogate mother, Adrienne, into selling her life story for cash. Granny
controls the play’s story from her TV soundstage, while Adrienne betrays
the childless couple whose baby she carries, confronts her agent’s lesser
goblins, and her soul—who has parachuted into hell to save her.
"Fantasy and reality are in perfect mix. . . Gives you an exciting evening
of theatre.”--Brooklyn Spectator
"Offers unique insight into the needs and passions that fuel human
behavior.”--The Phoenix
Theater X, Milwaukee (2002); Brooklyn Playworks (1988).
THE AWAKENING
Based on the novel by Kate Chopin
Full-length Drama 4M, 4W
Flexible Set
Chopin’s novel The Awakening was considered scandalous when published in
1899. This stage adaptation stays true to the essence of Chopin’s novel,
enhancing the Creole flavor with details from Chopin’s short stories. The
young wife and mother, Edna Pontellier, provides a lead classical role for
an actress.
Readings at the International Center for Women Playwrights/New Plays
Network, Buffalo, NY (1994); New Dance Group Studio Play Reading Series,
NYC (1992). Published by Playscripts, Inc.
THE G WORD
A Short Play, 15 Minutes 2M
Unit Set
Suffering from P.T.S.D., the general who commanded the U.N. peacekeeping
mission in Rwanda stumbles into a subway car only to be confronted by its
ghostly occupant, Raphael Lemkin, the Polish lawyer who invented the word
genocide and is traveling in limbo on a death train. Lemkin convinces the
General not to kill himself, but to honor the memory of the courageous
people who still haunt him.
"The Subway Plays,” HB Playwrights Foundation & Theatre, NYC (2003);
Published by Smith and Kraus
LESSONS OF MY FATHER
Short Drama, 15 Minutes 1M, 2W
Flexible Set
How can you go on breathing when the man who taught you how is gone?
HB Playwrights Foundation, "The Funeral Plays" NYC (2000); published by
Smith & Kraus and Playscripts, Inc.
STORKS
Short Drama, 15 Minutes 1M, 2W
Flexible Set
A grandmother and granddaughter, ¬ in between countries and languages at
JFK, ¬ try to say goodbye.
HB Playwrights Foundation, "The Airport Plays," NYC (1999); Immigrants
Theatre Project (1999). Published by Smith & Kraus.
PHOTOGRAPHS FROM S-21
Short Drama, 15 Minutes 1M, 1W (Both Asian)
Flexible Set
Two candid photographs come to life in an exhibit at the Museum of Modern
Art: a young Cambodian woman and man captured on film by the Khmer Rouge
right their blindfolds were removed.
"One highlight is Catherine Filloux's Photographs From S-21. Two
real-life photos...come to life in a surreal exposé of a nation's soul."
--East (Magazine), Singapore
"Photographs of S-21, by French-American playwright Catherine Filloux,
subtly challenges the audience to question its own role as consumers, and
curators, of tragedy." –Flash Review Dispatch, 1-28: “No Cutting In the
Killing Fields and Other Climes with Asian Women Directors,” By Maura
Nguyen Donohue
Translation from French:
"Catherine Filloux’s very beautiful, and touching play, Photographs
From S-21...The text is reduced to its essential truths and to a constant
questioning: "why"? The great power of Catherine Filloux's text is to say
so much with so few words, in so little time."--Jacques Bekaert, Gavorche
Produced around the United States and the world. Winner of the 1999
Nausicaa Franco-American Contest, Paris/Chicago (2000); Finalist for the
1999 Heideman Award at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Published by Smith &
Kraus and Playscripts, Inc.
THE RUSSIAN DOLL
Short Drama 1M, 1W (Girl)
Flexible Set
Dostoyevsky meets the nineties. Adapted from the chapter "Rebellion" in
The Brothers Karamazov, Ivan, the statistician, is haunted by the ghosts
of children, including JonBenét Ramsey.
Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab and The Culture’s Project’s
Brothers Karamazov at the Salon, NYC (1998).
WHITE TRASH
10-minute One Act 2 Actors (M or W)
Flexible Set
Based on a true story. At a wildlife refuge, a seagull is poisoned to save
its endangered cousin, the piping plover. Two birds played by men or
women. No age requirements.
Women’s Project, NYC (1997); reading at Yale Cabaret, New Haven, CT
(1997). Finalist for the 1997 Heideman Award, Actors Theatre of
Louisville, KY. Published by Playscripts, Inc.
ACCEPTING APPLAUSE
10-minute One Act 2M, 1W
Flexible Set
Backstage at a film festival, a beleaguered program director juggles a
crazed teen film star and a needy critic.
Women’s Project, NYC (1996).
CONVERTING
10-minute One Act 2M
Flexible Set
Two aging men compete for their youth, but their hearts struggle simply to
beat and ease loneliness.
Women’s Project, NYC (1995); readings at New Georges, NYC (1997); Dixon
Place, NYC (1995).
THE SUN ALWAYS ROSE
10-minute One Act 1M, 2W (1 Asian, 1 Girl)
Flexible Set
The end of storytelling as we know it.
New Georges "Watch This Space: A New Georges Anthology" (1999).
THE FLOATING BOX: A Story
in Chinatown
Libretto for Chamber Opera (Composer Jason Kao Hwang) 1M, 2W (All
Asian)
Flexible Set
THE FLOATING BOX charts the journey of an immigrant family over
continents, languages, and generations. A young Chinese-American woman,
Eva/Yee-Wa, must find new language and voice to transcend her parents’
secret worlds and the shattering of her family. The story is inspired by
oral histories taken in New York’s Chinatown.
"So even Westerners unfamiliar with the instrument [the erhu] can
appreciate the full measure of the personal tragedy when Father, finding
his sound no longer good, pitches the instrument into the sea: thus the
floating box. Mr. Hwang’s opera, with a libretto by Catherine Filloux, is
based on oral histories of Chinatown."—James R. Oestreich, New York Times
"But while personal experience is a powerful influence, Filloux and
Hwang’s personal histories were only a part of a complex tapestry of
elements behind their intriguing new opera, THE FLOATING BOX.” —Sarah
Murray, Opera Now
The Asia Society, NYC (2001). New World Records CD (2004).
EYES OF THE HEART
Screenplay
Adaptation of Play
National Playwrights Conference
(1996); O’Neill’s Eric Kocher Playwrights Award (1996) and The Fifth Night
at the Nyorican Poets Café, NYC (1997). Lifetime Television (2000).
ALTAR EGO
Screenplay
Comedy
Based on the novel Vestments by Alfred Alcorn. An empty, apathetic man
dons priest’s vestments in hopes of inheriting his aunt’s fortune. The
clothes change the man. As he lives his life incognito, he is taken over
by strange feelings of compassion and love.
PRODIGAL SON
Screenplay
Based on a true story, the drama of a family’s search for their missing
son.
Optioned by Justine Bateman at Twentieth Century Fox (1988).
PRISCILLA’S STORY
Screenplay
Based on a true story about a Nigerian Ibo nurse caught between two
cultures: the U.S. and Nigeria.
Malvina Douglas Productions.