The action grips you from the first second and clutches at you with humor, shock, and woe from the depth of the soul. . .You can’t help but tingle with excitement at the outright beauty of a play so well constructed.

— “All That Remains,” MidWeek Honolulu (pictured above)

PLAYS & SCREENPLAYS

Fire in a Dark House

In 1917, as America goes to war, two star-crossed young lovers try desperately to escape the rigid expectations of their families and political turmoil in their community. Rose, an aspiring writer, falls for James, who shares her passion for literature — but the two are forbidden to meet, let alone marry. James is the son of Simon Lick, a newspaper publisher and political powerhouse who is suspected of waging clandestine campaigns of rumor, innuendo, and violence against prominent local immigrants — including Rosa’s own father. Drawing inspiration from true and tragic events, Fire explores issues that still resonate powerfully today: immigration, women's rights, propaganda, nationalism, and patriotism. Co-written by Mona Z. Smith and Traci Mariano, Fire in a Dark House draws on historical research into hate crimes committed against immigrants during WWI, fueled by inflammatory propaganda endorsed by the U.S. President and Congress.

Historical. Tense romantic drama. Immigration. Feminism. Family. Multigenerational.

Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission

7 actors: 3 f / 4 m

Click HERE for a script & synopsis at New Play Exchange (NPX).

Becoming Something / Canada Lee Project

Hailed by the New York Times as the greatest Black actor of his day, Canada Lee has been virtually erased from history. A pioneering artist and activist, Lee was branded a Communist by his friend Ed Sullivan and a traitor by the FBI and Congress. Blacklisted by the entertainment industry, Lee died penniless in Greenwich Village at age 45. Several projects inspired by the life and times of Canada Lee are in development.

For Theatre: Becoming Something (drama) and the Canada Lee Project (multimedia) are works for the stage that draw on Mona Z. Smith’s social biography of Lee (see BOOKS). 

For TV/Film: Smith and writer/director Traci Mariano have co-written the pilot for a limited series called Canada Lee, commissioned by Slowly I Turned Productions.

Historical. Political. Fierce humor. Heartbreaking. Civil rights. Social justice. Harlem.

Running time: 2 acts, 100 minutes

7 actors: 3 f / 4 m

Click HERE to request more info about Becoming Something / Canada Lee.

Borderlands

In the not-too-distant future, two border guards in a barren wasteland pass a long night's watch by spinning a tale set in the “halcyon days” of their civil war. This story plays out before our eyes. Two young women -- bold Jelena and her shy admirer, Hika -- will soon be on opposite sides of a war fueled by religious and ethnic hatred. The two meet a pair of soldiers in a bar celebrating one last night of freedom before they deploy. This meeting ends unexpectedly in violence. The two women must separate and flee. Jelena assumes the identity of a male soldier to escape, and she ends up fighting for the brutal regime. Hika struggles to maintain her identity and sanity as a refugee and a prisoner. When the two women are reunited at last, the cost of their survival is devastatingly clear.
Co-written by Mona Z. Smith and Traci Mariano, Borderlands is informed by research and interviews with women refugees displaced by wars around the globe.

Political. Women. War. Refugees. Timely. Intense. Psychological. Futuristic. Thriller.

Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission

8 actors: 2 f / 6 m (flexible)

Click HERE for a script & synopsis at New Play Exchange (NPX).

All That Remains

In October 1969, a young Japanese American man travels to a forest in France to see where his father was killed in action under mysterious circumstances 25 earlier, during World War II. In this eerie forest, he encounters a group of men who all say they served with his father. When the young traveler demands to know the truth about his father’s death, time flows backward as the ghost-warriors tell a story of loyalty and betrayal, friendship and rivalry, courage and trauma, ghosts and demons, love and revenge.

All That Remains is inspired by the ghost-warrior plays of Japan’s traditional Noh theatre (14th-15th centuries). A work of fiction, this play draws on the very real and harrowing experiences of troops in the 100th Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team – celebrated but segregated units of Japanese Americans from Hawaii and the Mainland U.S. who fought with distinction in some of the bloodiest battles of WWII.

Historical. War. WWII. Experimental. Ensemble. Movement. Dark humor. Civil rights.

Running time: 90 minutes (no intermission)

8 actors: 8 m (Japanese American, Hawai'ian, Asian American)

Click HERE for a script & synopsis at New Play Exchange (NPX).

Mystifying Dick / Satisfying Jane / Playing House

This trilogy of related one-acts is inspired by the Fun With Dick and Jane books used in countless classrooms across the U.S. from 1930-1973 — to teach children how to read, and how to relate to each other and their parents. (“See Dick go! Stop, Jane. Run, Sally, run!”) In these darkly humorous plays, Dick and Jane and Sally are all grown up and exploring the murky areas between love and friendship, loyalty and betrayal. Meanwhile, Mother and Father muddle their way through their strange new life as empty nesters.

Feisty humor. Romantic relationships. Sexy satire. Intimate. Surprising. Experimental.

Running time: 25-30 minutes each

5 actors: 3 f, 2 m (for all 3 performed together)

Click HERE to request more info about these plays. . .

The Native Son Project

This interactive, meta-theatrical event is inspired by Richard Wright's groundbreaking novel Native Son and his play of the same name which premiered on Broadway in 1941, directed by Orson Welles. 

In The Native Son Project, a modern-day theater company invites an audience of civic leaders and VIPs to the dress rehearsal of their production of Native Son. The gala event erupts in conflict when several attendees publicly question whether the theater should be producing this play given that a local Black man is, at that very moment, on trial for committing controversial crime remarkably similar to the one at the center of Native Son. This project invites audiences to join in the debate. The Native Son Project was commissioned by Paramount Hudson Valley Arts (PHVA) and developed with local actors and audiences at the Paramount Theater in Peekskill, NY.

Political. Interactive. Experimental. Civil rights. Civic discourse. Feisty. Surprising.

Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission

6 actors: 3f, 3m

Click HERE to request more info about The Native Son Project. . .

Theater for Young Audiences & Families

Introducing children to the magic of live theater

Northern Lights

It's Christmas Eve and Lena, 14, is trying to buy a gift for her new guardian, Aunt Carmen. But what is she supposed to get for a woman she barely knows, in a town she just moved to? As all of the stores begin to close, Lena sees one last shopwindow still glowing. When she steps through the door of Manny’s Book & Paper store, Lena takes us on magical journey of storytelling and self-discovery. Northern Lights is a new winter holiday play celebrating the power of art, kindness, friendship, and imagination to warm the heart and light the way home.

Appealing to audiences of all ages, Northern Lights is Inspired by a handful of wintry fairy tales created a century ago by Hans Christian Andersen ("Snow Queen," "Little Mermaid"). Co-written by Mona Z. Smith and writer/director Traci Mariano during the Covid-19 pandemic, Northern Lights acknowledges the loss and grief so many of us feel at the holidays, but also our ability to find hope, strength, resilience, and grace.

Northern Lights can also be performed LIVE as a contemporary radio play with sound effects created right on stage, in front of the audience.

Heartwarming. Magical. Holiday play. Multigenerational. Ensemble. Storytelling.

Running time: 65 minutes (no intermission)

4-7 actors: Every actor plays multiple roles

Click HERE for a script & synopsis at New Play Exchange (NPX).

Comedy of Errors / Tempest / Sword in the Stone / Envy

These athletic, fast-paced, and funny stage adaptations of fairy tales, literary classics, and Shakespearean comedies were created for young audiences and multigenerational family audiences. Each play runs just under 60 minutes — a perfect fit for school-time shows as well as public programs at libraries and other community venues. Envy retells three classic stories linked by the theme of jealousy — "Snow White" and "Cinderella" by the Brothers Grimm, and A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare.  

These plays support English Language Arts (ELA) curricula, Common Core benchmarks, and New York State ELA and theater/arts learning standards for kindergarten through Grade 5. All were originally commissioned, produced, and toured by the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (New York).

Click HERE to request more info about these TYA plays . . .

Agent for Mona Z. Smith: Susan Schulman, CEO, Susan Schulman Literary Agency, NYC