Stage Fright, Or... "LAUGH?" I Thought I'd DIE!
- Full Length Play, Mystery/Thriller, Dramatic Comedy, 1980s, Contemporary, 1940s / WWII, New Millennium/21st Century, 1930s, 1990s, 1950s, 1960s
- 16M, 7F, 1M or F
- ISBN: 9780874407952
For almost a century an evil presence has haunted the Orpheus Theatre, awaiting the fulfillment of a chilling prophecy.
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Description
- Full Length Play
- Mystery/Thriller, Dramatic Comedy
- 105 minutes
- Time Period: 1980s, Contemporary, 1940s / WWII, New Millennium/21st Century, 1930s, 1990s, 1950s, 1960s
- Target Audience: Pre-Teen (Age 11 - 13), Teen (Age 14 - 18), Adult, Senior
- Set Requirements: Interior Set, Bare Stage/Simple Set, Opportunity for Spectacle
- Cautions: No Special Cautions
- Performance Group:
- Dinner Theatre, Community Theatre, High School/Secondary, Professional Theatre, Shoestring Budget, Blackbox / Second Stage /Fringe Groups, College Theatre / Student, Senior Theatre
A tale told in four vignettes, the theatre-venue itself becomes a character itself in this alternately terrifying, hilarious and always intriguing journey across the decades that allows the audience to experience the history of a haunted playhouse... from the inside.
For almost a century an evil presence has haunted the Orpheus Theatre, awaiting the fulfillment of a chilling prophecy. A blood-stained Ouija board and a cryptic rhyme are the only keys that will unlock a terrifying truth. As generation after generation encounters the legend of the Orpheus and the dark power that lurks within it, piece after piece of the sinister puzzle falls into place and the dark prophecy draws nearer to fulfillment. Can anyone stop it?
Written with two endings -- one scary, one comedic -- giving producers and directors complete control over the kind of experience they want to give their audience.
For almost a century an evil presence has haunted the Orpheus Theatre, awaiting the fulfillment of a chilling prophecy. A blood-stained Ouija board and a cryptic rhyme are the only keys that will unlock a terrifying truth. As generation after generation encounters the legend of the Orpheus and the dark power that lurks within it, piece after piece of the sinister puzzle falls into place and the dark prophecy draws nearer to fulfillment. Can anyone stop it?
Written with two endings -- one scary, one comedic -- giving producers and directors complete control over the kind of experience they want to give their audience.
Characters
- Casting: 16M, 7F, 1M or F
- Casting Attributes: Reduced casting (Doubling Possible), Ensemble cast, Flexible casting, Room for Extras, Parts for Senior Actors, Expandable casting, Strong Role for Leading Woman (Star Vehicle), Multicultural casting, Strong Role for Leading Man (Star Vehicle), Roles for Children
- Casting Notes: Minimum cast size requires only 5 Male and 2 Female with doubling/trebling.
The child role of Charlotte is optional. She need not appear onstage, her lines can be handled by voice only whether live or recorded.
Cast is expandable up to 24 individual speaking roles. Additional walk-ons, or extra roles (no lines) can be created by populating scenes 1, 2, and 3 with stage, radio or movie crew working in the background.
Several of the male roles including (but not limited to) Ian, the production accountant and the P.A. in Act 2, Sc 1, could be gender-flipped easily.
While two of the scenes take place in the first half of the 20th Century in what would be stereotypically White-predominant scenarios, the Author encourages open-ethnicity casting wherever possible.
EVELYN V.O. - Female, heard first as voice over. We will meet her in Act 1, Scene 2.
SANDRA - Female. 20s-30s. A stage actress.
VOICE ON PHONE - Male. An evil demonic voice heard as voice-over.
GERALD - Male. 30s-40s. A theatrical director, witty, affected, arrogant, irritable, condescending.
PHIL - Male. Any age 20+. Long suffering theatre technician whose voice is heard from off stage.
JIM - Male. Late teens to 20s. Stage hand.
CORWIN HAYGOOD - Male. Late 20s to early 30s. Slick, rich-voiced radio announcer from the "Golden Age" of radio must have a similar height and build to the ACTOR in Act 2, Scene 1.
PRESTO - Male. 40s to 50s+. A stage and slight-of-hand magician, the "Amazing Kreskin" of his day.
ROGER - Male. 30+. A buisnessman enjoying a night "on the town."
EVELYN - Female. Over 30. A well-to-do, gregarious, bubbly woman, whose light airy humour masks a dark secret.
CIGARETTE GIRL - 20+. A sexy presenter and assistant on Corwin's radio broadcast.
CHARLOTTE V.O. - The ghostly voice of a little girl. (Appearance optional, she may appear as well if desired.)
P.A. - Male. 20+. A flamboyant effeminate and amusingly bitchy film production assistant whose job it is to coordinate the extras on a movie shoot.
IAN - Male. 30+. Production Accountant responsible for keeping production costs on target.
JIMMY - Male. 20+. A Theatre technician who is on set to help out and observe.
SET DRESSER - Female. Any age. Cranky, militant anti-smoker.
ACTOR - Male. 70+. In great shape, may appear younger. This is CORWIN HAYWOOD as an old man, so height and general physique should be similar.
WRANGLER - Male or Female. Any age.
TERRY - Male. 30+. Motion picture director, a nice guy under a lot of pressure.
SCRIPT GIRL - Female. 20+. Sweet and sincere, able to cry convincingly.
JENNA - Female. 30+. A mature, savvy real estate agent.
THOMAS FOX - 60+. The grown son of JIM the stagehand from Act 1, Scene 1. A man on a mission he knows makes him appear crazed.
MARTIN - Male. 30+. Jenna's male friend.
MERLIN BLACK - AKA "The Juggler". Male. A sleight of hand Magician.
Available Material
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Stage Fright, Or... "LAUGH?" I Thought I'd DIE! Script
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A tale told in four vignettes, the theatre-venue itself becomes a character itself in this alternately terrifying, hilarious and always intriguing journey across the decades that allows the audience to experience the history of a haunted playhouse... from the inside. |
$24.95 |
