Non-Full-Length Plays
Don't judge. They're as long as they need to be.
Charon
Music by Scott Perkins, Words by Nat Cassidy
Commissioned by Washington National Opera/The John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center
A 20 minute opera about the weary boatman of the River Styx, and how his job changes after the world ends.
3M, 2W
Originally performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts alongside two other commissioned short operas in November 2012 with conductor Anne Manson and the following singers:
Charon (Bass): Soloman Howard
Business Man/Ensemble (Baritone): Norman Garrett
Man/Ensemble (Tenor): Yuri Gorodetski
Woman/Ensemble (Alto): Julia Mintzer
Spanish Woman/Ensemble (Soprano): María Eugenia Antúnez
Press
Music by Scott Perkins, Words by Nat Cassidy
Commissioned by Washington National Opera/The John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center
A 20 minute opera about the weary boatman of the River Styx, and how his job changes after the world ends.
3M, 2W
Originally performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts alongside two other commissioned short operas in November 2012 with conductor Anne Manson and the following singers:
Charon (Bass): Soloman Howard
Business Man/Ensemble (Baritone): Norman Garrett
Man/Ensemble (Tenor): Yuri Gorodetski
Woman/Ensemble (Alto): Julia Mintzer
Spanish Woman/Ensemble (Soprano): María Eugenia Antúnez
Press
- "Charon was the strongest [work of the evening]. Cassidy's libretto is spare and telling, and gave his partner repetitive and clear material for musical treatment. The piece works effectively because it establishes and maintains a single mood, intensifying to a dramatic conclusion."
- Philip Kennicott, The Washington Post
- “Perkins’ and Cassidy’s Charon was, as Monty Python might have put it, 'something completely different.' ... Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Charon was the free-flowing imagination of librettist Nat Cassidy ... Mr. Cassidy grabbed [Lord Dunsany's] idea and ran with it in his libretto, gradually revealing the growing horde of souls—by implication and suggestion—is actually the mass casualty of a human Armageddon. ... It’s a brief, intense setting for this quietly apocalyptic libretto that expands in a truly unsettling way the idea-kernel that Mr. Cassidy brilliantly extracted from Dunsany’s fictional speculation. ... Mr. Cassidy’s libretto is what any composer could want: a good, tight story; a compelling major character; a text loaded with rhythmic metrics, sing-able vowels; and the whole driven with choruses in a 'dies irae' funereal chant style, perfectly orchestrated by Mr. Perkins. The sum of its many parts provides a haunting atmosphere for the composer’s haunting music. ... In Charon, both the composer and librettist have an uncanny ability to [do] what a great composer like Verdi once did and what so many modern classical composers fail to do—make a visceral connection to their own times. And that’s what makes Charon a remarkable and welcome musical surprise."
- Terry Ponick, The Washington Times
- “Of the three presented, only one stood out and that was Charon. The libretto about the weary boatman ferrying newly deceased to Hades and the richly textured percussive music made the entire evening worth dashing from DC's Union Station.”
- Karen LaLonde Alenier, The Dressing
- “The best effort of the night [was] Charon, with music by Scott Perkins and libretto by Nat Cassidy. ... With its echoes of Sartre's Huis clos (‘L'enfer, c'est les autres’), juxtaposition of grim humor and hellscape, and the most evocative use of the limited instrumentation by a long shot, it was a work not without shortcomings but which I would gladly hear again and take the chance to study the score.”
- Charles T. Downey, Ion Arts
Joy Junction
The star of a public access religious children's show unveils his newest act to a horrified co-star. Based on a true story.
Runtime: 15 minutes
Cast: 3M, 2W
Originally produced as part of Nosedive Productions' Blood Brothers Present ... Raw Feed, an evening of short horror pieces, alongside Nat Cassidy's TALHOTBLOND, in October 2012 at the Brick Theatre. Joy Junction was directed by Pete Boisvert, with the following cast:
RONALD: Roger Nasser
MARTY: Collin McConnell
MARIGOLD: Stephanie Willing
ANNABELL: Judy Merrick
CHOOCH: Gareth Declan
Press:
The star of a public access religious children's show unveils his newest act to a horrified co-star. Based on a true story.
Runtime: 15 minutes
Cast: 3M, 2W
Originally produced as part of Nosedive Productions' Blood Brothers Present ... Raw Feed, an evening of short horror pieces, alongside Nat Cassidy's TALHOTBLOND, in October 2012 at the Brick Theatre. Joy Junction was directed by Pete Boisvert, with the following cast:
RONALD: Roger Nasser
MARTY: Collin McConnell
MARIGOLD: Stephanie Willing
ANNABELL: Judy Merrick
CHOOCH: Gareth Declan
Press:
- "Remarkably creepy ... Resonantly disturbing ... Nat Cassidy's Joy Junction is a highlight."
– Maria Micheles, nytheatre.com
- “The night’s most rewarding [pieces] come from the playwright Nat Cassidy, with the sung-notspoken-word TALHOTBLOND, and Joy Junction.”
– Adam McGovern, Tor.com
- “Cassidy's Joy Junction is amazingly creepy.”
– Byrne Harrison, StageBuzz
TALHOTBLOND
Music and lyrics by Nat Cassidy
A music/dance piece about an internet love triangle which goes drastically wrong as true identities are revealed and passions run wild. Based on a true story.
Runtime: 6 minutes
Cast: 2M, 2W, 1 Musician
To hear the song, head over to the Music section and click on the widget!
Originally produced as part of Nosedive Productions' Blood Brothers Present ... Raw Feed, an evening of short horror pieces, alongside Nat Cassidy's Joy Junction, in October 2012 at the Brick Theatre. TALHOTBLOND was directed by Patrick Shearer, with the following cast:
MOTHER: Judy Merrick
DAUGHTER: Stephanie Willing
LOVER: Gareth Declan
FRIEND: Collin McConnell
MUSICIAN: Nat Cassidy
Press:
Music and lyrics by Nat Cassidy
A music/dance piece about an internet love triangle which goes drastically wrong as true identities are revealed and passions run wild. Based on a true story.
Runtime: 6 minutes
Cast: 2M, 2W, 1 Musician
To hear the song, head over to the Music section and click on the widget!
Originally produced as part of Nosedive Productions' Blood Brothers Present ... Raw Feed, an evening of short horror pieces, alongside Nat Cassidy's Joy Junction, in October 2012 at the Brick Theatre. TALHOTBLOND was directed by Patrick Shearer, with the following cast:
MOTHER: Judy Merrick
DAUGHTER: Stephanie Willing
LOVER: Gareth Declan
FRIEND: Collin McConnell
MUSICIAN: Nat Cassidy
Press:
- "Smart and daring ... The creative team makes bold and surprising choices, such as Nat Cassidy’s TALHOTBLOND ... The poignancy of this piece is accented beautifully... Provides the instant gratification of horror and blood with clever commentary and character exploration."
– Bradley Troll, Theatre Is Easy
- “The night’s most rewarding [pieces] come from the playwright Nat Cassidy, with the sung-notspoken-word TALHOTBLOND, and Joy Junction.”
– Adam McGovern, Tor.com
- “The most striking piece of the evening is Nat Cassidy's TALHOTBLOND. [It] is haunting.”
– Byrne Harrison, StageBuzz
Generation
In the near future, a mass mutation is discovered in the next generation of soon-to-be-born children, and all expectant mothers are given a one-on-one debriefing of what they can expect if they choose to go through with their pregnancy.
Commissioned by Flux Theatre Ensemble
Available for purchase here.
Runtime: 10 minutes
Cast: 2W, 1M
Originally performed as part of Flux Theatre Ensemble's ForePlay staged reading series on April 2, 2012, at Dixon Place. The evening was directed by Matt Archambault, with the following cast:
DOCTOR: Maria Portman Kelly
WIFE: Kari Swenson Riley
HUSBAND: Chris Wight
In the near future, a mass mutation is discovered in the next generation of soon-to-be-born children, and all expectant mothers are given a one-on-one debriefing of what they can expect if they choose to go through with their pregnancy.
Commissioned by Flux Theatre Ensemble
Available for purchase here.
Runtime: 10 minutes
Cast: 2W, 1M
Originally performed as part of Flux Theatre Ensemble's ForePlay staged reading series on April 2, 2012, at Dixon Place. The evening was directed by Matt Archambault, with the following cast:
DOCTOR: Maria Portman Kelly
WIFE: Kari Swenson Riley
HUSBAND: Chris Wight
Roosterbrood
A bullied teen in the 1980s tries to find vengeance with a cassette tape, a Walkman, and a mysterious song called a "roosterbrood," which supposedly causes the listener to commit suicide.
Commissioned by Retro Productions
Runtime: 10 minutes
Cast: 2M
Originally performed as part of Retro Productions' 20th Century Salon at The Penny Farthing on September 22, 2012. It was directed by John Hurley with the following cast:
JOE: Douglas B. Giorgis
SAM: Joe Mathers
A bullied teen in the 1980s tries to find vengeance with a cassette tape, a Walkman, and a mysterious song called a "roosterbrood," which supposedly causes the listener to commit suicide.
Commissioned by Retro Productions
Runtime: 10 minutes
Cast: 2M
Originally performed as part of Retro Productions' 20th Century Salon at The Penny Farthing on September 22, 2012. It was directed by John Hurley with the following cast:
JOE: Douglas B. Giorgis
SAM: Joe Mathers
A Fruiting Body
A dramatized tone poem of shifting narrators which tells the story of a mysterious fungus that skyrockets to fame and the scientist who tries to understand its purpose.
Commissioned by Adaptive Arts
Runtime: 10 minutes
Cast: Flexible
Originally performed as part of Adaptive Arts' Fourth Annual New Works Night at Jimmy's 43 on December 9, 2012. It was directed by Marielle Duke with the following cast:
Alex Engquist
Gabby Sherba
Ashely Bloom
Lauren Ferebee
Christina Kosyla
Matt Brown
Stefan Dezil
A dramatized tone poem of shifting narrators which tells the story of a mysterious fungus that skyrockets to fame and the scientist who tries to understand its purpose.
Commissioned by Adaptive Arts
Runtime: 10 minutes
Cast: Flexible
Originally performed as part of Adaptive Arts' Fourth Annual New Works Night at Jimmy's 43 on December 9, 2012. It was directed by Marielle Duke with the following cast:
Alex Engquist
Gabby Sherba
Ashely Bloom
Lauren Ferebee
Christina Kosyla
Matt Brown
Stefan Dezil
Oh, and numerous short film scripts. We'll post 'em in the Film section soon, we promise!
