Play Synopsis

Copyright ©Illustration: David Brinley

What I Meant Was By: Craig Lucas

A Ten Minute One Act Play in which a family of four from Baltimore Maryland recall a time around the table in 1968. The son Fritzie introduces the audience to the moment which his father J. Fred, his mother Helen, and his Maternal Grandmother Nana, say exactly what they want to each other. This moment has already happened and not the way the audience will see it. Their futures have been set, but in retrospect they wish to express their true feelings towards each other in hopes of redemption.

Purgatory By: William Butler Yeats

A father and son are traveling peddlers and they pass an old burned down estate. The Old man had once lived in the house and committed a terrible crime. He relives the memory both through the retelling to his son and through the presence of the ghosts that haunt him.

Wasp By: Steve Martin

A family of four in a "fifties' home live out their lives in a traditional W.A.S.P. setting. Dad does not understand his family even though Mom and Son look to him for answers and affection. Instead Mom speaks to a voice from another dimension and Son speaks to a spaceman. Sis seeks attention from anyone and will eventually find it in the wrong place. The family struggles through these absurd situations in hopes they can express their passions to each other.

Our concept for these one acts is to span 50 years starting in the setting of What I Meant Was in 1968, updating Purgatory to 1986, and finishing with the modern setting of Wasp in 2008. Each of these years mark a major moment in American History, and comment on tradition elements of the American family.