Artesia
Eileen Songbird Taylor shop–owner and spiritual leader for her people, barely maintains her small store for the tiny Acoma Pueblo reservation. She finds support and friendship with her two young romantically entangled assistants Jesse and Lanea as well as her mentor Yellowfeather, a craftsman in buffalo dung carvings, which he hopes to sell to white tourists. His fascination with dung as a craft material is fostered by the small herd of buffalo kept in a corral outside. Tom, a past Spirit guide who confronted hypoglycemia and lost, meanders about the store keeping the secret of the most holy of tribal relics, the lost necklace, worn only by those with the true "calling".
Eileen’s faith is tested when Peter Diaz, a wealthy acquaintance offers financial salvation with an offer to bring the "rez" into the 21st. century and the world of American Indian gaming. Meanwhile, the politically powerful Navajo reservation demands access to the only wealth her people claim, her artesian wells. The fear of the larger reservation is punctuated when a "gang" of young Navajo men becomes openly hostile and threatens Jesse, Eileen’s choice to take her place as "holy one" for her people.
To further complicate her life is the arrival of an extremely carsick Jan Jones, a white, "wanna-be" novelist who chooses this setting as her next project. As Spirit Guide, or the "Holy One" for her people, Eileen must choose between the world’s modern ways or preserving holy customs and traditions for future generations.
Borrowed Plumage
Award winning entry — Texas Educational Theatre Association Playwriting Contest
A poignant and disturbing one act drama. Single exterior set. Cast of six: 3 male and 3 female.
Sarah and Ned had been content and happy with their life on a southern farm until the sexual molestation of their daughter Mary. The parents, in their deep affection for their only child and in an effort to help her, attempt to act like nothing happened. They avoid the subject and keep the family secrets from friends and neighbors.
Until recently, Mary had been engaged to young Joe. The relationship was broken up by Ned because of his severe dislike of Joe and because of his daughter's traumatic experience. Unable to stay away, Joe sneaks onto the farm. Mary spills out a story of her attack…but she accuses her father of being the perpetrator and her mother being the accomplice!
Produced by the American Theatre Arts Project at the "Province Town Playhouse", New York
Players Press - "Doctor Crawford has spun together a convoluted collection of emotions and characters. A powerful dramatic entertainment."
Harvest
A Texas High Plains Trilogy
Consists of three one–act plays, "Barren Fields", "Squaring", and "End of the Row".
Each play can stand alone as a complete work or be presented together.
A special "stream–lined" edition was prepared for the New York production. This edition is available by contacting Dr. Crawford at: dwrightcrawford@gmail.com.
Each play is written in "real" time without breaks in the action.
Although the characters age between each play, the time is set in the present to avoid focusing on the historic period and to suggest that this story happens somewhere everyday. The passage of years is merely for reference.
Barren Fields
Cast of 3: 2 male, 1 female
After several years of crop failure, twenty five year old high plains cotton farmer Rick Childress meets another disaster of nature by caving in to Toni's pleadings to sell the farm. His wife for five years, Toni finds it harder and harder to find the strength to live the farmer's life. She has labored to fulfill her husband's expectations, but the reality of this life has ground away all the hopes and dreams she had at graduation from college. A glimmer of hope presents itself when Rick agrees to sell after flooding shatters his hopes for this year's crop.
But now, the morning after shows the promise of sunshine and Rick realizes he can't abandon the land and the life that is his heritage and legacy. To leave the farm would be to turn his back on his family, his home, and everything that defines who his is. What the two young people are left with is a choice neither wants to make. Rick sees the affect of the farm on his wife, yet his eternal optimism hopes for another crop that will clear their indebtedness and finally give his wife a life more comfortable than she's had to date. Toni, an outsider to his long relationship to the land, is more desperate to escape the constant doubt, toil, and stress of this type of life. The question they face together is larger than life on the farm, but life without each other.
Players Press - "Powerful, authentic drama by a popular Texas playwright that will challenge and move audiences everywhere!"
Squaring
Cast of 3: 2 male, 1 female
Now in his mid–forties, Rick Childress has become a legend in his farming community as a crusty loner with a seemingly bottomless knowledge of cotton and the land. His farm is the epitome of success and his sole purpose now is to give his total attention to her. Resolute, determined–to–a–fault, proud, and a self–made hermit, Rick's only companion in life is Rafael, a periodic hired hand. This is the life he's made peace with until the new County extension agent arrives for a visit in the guise of Aggy Taylor, a transplant from the Kansas wheat fields.
She is as forward and extroverted as he is reclusive and the legendary stories of the neighboring farmers about the hermit farmer intrigue her. Her presence and her curiosity act as fingernails on a chalkboard to Rick who seeks the fastest and most expedient method to rid the farm of her. His quandary is magnified when she discovers his personal collection of writings, poetry he has composed in an effort to deal with the ghosts of his past. Through his anger and resentment about her intrusion, much less his distaste for county extension agents, he discovers she, too, has a painful past life on a farm. His interest piqued, he must decide if there is enough room for anyone else to share his love of the farm.
End of the Row
Cast of 3: 2 male, 1 female
Rick Childress, pushing seventy, faces his most daunting decision that will affect the farm and his future. His daughter, Maggie, expecting the farmer's first grandchild, wants him to retire and sell the farm before his love for the land kills him. After several sudden developments there are buyers for the farm, putting pressure on the old man to sell. Adding to this, Maggie discovers Rick’s health is not good, which increases her desire to get rid of the farm and have him move in with her. In the midst of this ever–developing problem, Rick receives a visitor to his rural Texas farm. Toni Childress, his first wife, enters the picture. Unheard from in forty years, she appears, anxious to dispel ancient ghosts. She has sought out Rick to join her on a journey through their past. His problems unknown to her, Toni becomes a harbor in a storm. She helps Rick through the difficult ordeal of deciding what a man must do when he has outlived his dreams.
Winner of 2005 Texas Educational Theater Associational Playwriting Contest
Produced at the Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Octoberfest, New York
Produced by the Alchemy Theatre Company of Manhattan, Beckett Theatre, Theatre Row, New York
Selected and printed in "New Playwrights: the Best Plays of 2008"
Critic’s Choice
Night Cries
Award winning entry — Texas Educational Theatre Association Playwriting Contest
A one-act drama, single interior/exterior set. Cast of 3: 1 male, 2 female
Gene Buchanan, a successful first novelist, sits out in the sweltering Galveston night, tormented by a sophomore-slump writer's block... and a deeper problem we cannot guess at. A haunting cry echoes thinly through the night, troubling him and driving his wife Eleanor to distraction in her upstairs bedroom. The arrival of the talkative but sensible housekeeper Mrs. O'Lunney exposes the deeper problem: the couple is unable to deal with the death of their infant son.
Eleanor in particular is particularly unwilling to deal with it, and Gene is torn between his own grief and his frustration at being unable to console and help her move on. Her emotional paralysis is bringing both their lives to a screeching halt. Then the haunting cry in the night turns out to be the wail of an abandoned baby. At first Eleanor hysterically refuses to have anything to do with it, or even admit it into the house, in spite of all Gene's urging, but the staunch Mrs. O'Lunney will have none of that. The innocent child becomes the catalyst of their final confrontation, pitting Gene's love and grief against Eleanor's inability to acknowledge her own loss.
Produced by the American Theatre Arts Project at the "Province Town Playhouse", New York
Players Press - "Doctor Crawford has spun together a convoluted collection of emotions and characters. A powerful dramatic entertainment."
Tangled Garden
A full length psychological drama
Single exterior set. Cast of eight: 5 male, 3 female
Galveston, 1912. Nicholas is the only surviving son of August Sonntheneil, an old Civil War veteran. Nicholas is reluctant to enter the family's sea freight and cargo business. He is also an alcoholic recluse. In addition of feeling guilty over the death of his mother, he must also deal with the fact that August loved Nicholas' deceased brother, David, far more than the surviving son.
As August begins a rapid mental decline, daughter Virginia returns home to tie up all loose ends and assume the position as leader of the family. Although resenting her presence for a time, Nicholas soon realizes where his strengths lie and how to deal with his failures and weaknesses. He delves into his pain and resentment and discovers a new found maturity and an ability to accept responsibilities. He also finds a way to reconcile with his father.
Players Press - "A magnificent and powerful theatrical treat."
Texas Playwriting Competition finalist, sponsored by Stages, Houston, TX
Fairytale Theatre
These scripts were created to be produced in ten to fifteen minutes using either of two methods: Full Scale Production or Fairy Tale Theatre Technique: an exciting twenty year old time-tested technique: one that focuses on the audience’s imagination, allows freedom to the actor, and is easy on the budget. For further instruction on the two types of performances, download the Fairytale Method in PDF format.
Volume 1 - Traditional Tales
A fun-packed trio of old standards that have been favorites of children of all ages for generations.
The Ugly Duckling
The journey of a young swan is chronicled as it searches for a place to belong, discovering self-worth. (12+ mixed characters)
Goldilocks and the three bears
An ageless tale of what happens when a little girl doesn’t follow mother’s heeding and becomes lost in the woods. (1 male, 2 female, 3 mixed characters)
Rumplestiltskin
Greediness places the Miller’s Daughter on a collision course with a strange, magical hermit when she must rely on this funny little man to spin hay into gold.(2 male, 1 female, 3 mixed characters)
Volume 2 - Something Borrowed, Something New
Try to remember this trio of old fairy tales chocked full of laughter, action, and life lessons. Maybe a favorite of your grandparents, they remain excellent vehicles for the Fairy Tale Theatre.
Childe Roland
A true tale of adventure and bravery, the youngest child of King Arthur must summon courage and discipline to travel to a far away magical kingdom and confront an ancient nemesis, the Dark Knight, in order to win the freedom of his older sister and brothers. (5 male, 1 female, 6 mixed characters)
The Goose Girl
This epic tale of fantasy and charm spins a winsome tale about a good and righteous young princess on her way to marry a handsome prince in a neighboring land, thus providing financial protection for her own failing country. All seems well until her evil maidservant bullies her into submission and takes her place. It’s not any human to the rescue but her trusted, magical talking horse. (2 male, 3 female, 10+ mixed characters)
The Little Farmer
The funny, cantankerous and lazy Little Farmer embarks on a mission to become wealthy at the expense of his family and friends but discovers telling falsehoods and taking what’s not his, leads to unhappiness, embarrassment, and a life of anguish and toil. (2 male, 2 female, 8+ mixed characters)
Volume 3 - Tales Rediscovered
This quattro of tales introduces you to stories you’ve not likely read before. Rich in humor, sated with action and adventure, plus a healthy dose of memorable characters, one tale comes from African folk lore, one from ancient Russia, and two are original, created solely for the Fairy Tale Theatre.
The feast, or how the turtle cracked his shell
When the Lion King throws a party to celebrate the harvest, Dukufruoko, the turtle, dreams and schemes his way to the banquet table where he claims all the food, leaving the rest of the animals with nothing to eat. Having ruined everyone’s fun, Duku can’t get a ride home…and he can’t walk. The Lion King’s castle is high in the sky. He learns a hard lesson about greediness and friendship. (10+ mixed characters.)
The magical horse
It’s not that Ivan is disobedient, he’s just so forgetful. But when his father needs him the most, Ivan discovers he has the commitment and discipline to obey his father’s instruction, which wins him a wonderful magic horse. Once in the saddle, Ivan becomes a hero, rescuing a beautiful young princess kidnapped by an evil highwayman. (3 male, 4 female, 4+ mixed characters)
King Laylo and the elven home stone
All is not well in Olar Forest. The elven home stone, the national symbol of Olar, has been stolen and King Laylo, with his sidekicks Runfer and Triplot, journeys through desert and forest to retrieve the valuable relic and return it to its rightful place. Equipped with only his powerful elven staff, Laylo and his friends confront danger after danger before a climactic confrontation with the Grunge King. (1 male, 7+ mixed characters)
Miri and the dragon
Miri’s imagination and sense of play continually keep her looking for believable excuses when she doesn’t do her chores. Her excuses become full-scale stories and are harmless enough until she is believed to have slain a dragon and the king makes her a hero and the focus of a royal celebration. The only unhappy party to this glorious event…the dragon! (1 male, 3 female, 5+ mixed characters))
Scenebooks
Moments
Sixteen original and highly compelling duet scenes, for men and women.
Excellent for professional auditions, classroom scene study, workshops, acting laboratories or production These scenes were created, selected and developed to provide a complete moment of dramatic action with a strong emphasis on character relations.
Each scene is prefaced by a brief synopses of the play with scene and character descriptions to help the performer prepare the scene for presentation. The scenes also minimize trappings and maximize acting they can be presented simply and easily.
Players Press - "A magnificent and powerful theatrical treat."
Timeless
32 fresh, fascinating, monologues for male female performers taken from Dr. Crawford’s award–winning and critically acclaimed plays. Exciting and original choices to revitalize the class or casting experience for actors, teachers, directors and producers alike, tired of seeing the same material again and again and again.
Every scene is provided with a play overview and a brief introduction, setting the piece in context. There is a broad range of selections for male and female performers, a further selection suitable for each, and instructions for tailoring any of the works for the actor’s personality and gender as well as connecting pieces to increase the performance time. In addition, there is valuable and sensible advice on how to use this book to prepare for you audition as a whole, not just to read your scene.
Gallery
27 engrossing audition monologues for male or female performers. Fresh and original choices to revitalize the casting experience for actors, directors and producers alike, jaded by the same repeated selections at call after call.
Every scene is provided with a brief and memorable introduction, setting the piece in context, and tailoring the work to the individual and gender of the performer. They rely on no props or frappings but can be readily presented in any performing environment.