EM Lewis
	Home News! Works-In-Progress Biography Plays Cool Stuff Links Contact		Plays Full-Length Plays HEADS 3 Men/1 Woman 90 minutes "...provocative and wonderfully threatening." -- Edward Albee "Best of 2007" -- LA Times A British Embassy worker, an American engineer, a network journalist and a freelance photographer are held captive in Iraq; as death draws close, each hostage must decide what he’ll do to survive. ________________________________ *2007 WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION -- The Blank Theater -- Hollywood, CA (directed by Darin Anthony) *Reading - 2007 Chicago Her-Rah! Theater Festival - Chicago, IL *Reading - 2007 Great Plains Theater Conference, Long Play Lab - Omaha, NE *Reading - 2007 Kingfisher Cafe Reading Series at the Academy Theater - Avondale Estates, GA *Semi-finalist - Beverly Hills Theatre Guild's Julie Harris Playwright Award Competition - Beverly Hills, CA *Semi-finalist - 2007 O’Neill Playwrights Conference – Waterford, CT *Winner/Residency - Coe College's 2007 "New Works for the Stage" Competition - Cedar Rapids, IA *Reading – NYU’s 2007 hotINK International Festival of New Plays (sponsored by Atlantic Theater) – New York, NY *Staged Reading - The Blank Theatre's 2007 "Living Room Series" -- Hollywood, CA *Reading - Boomerang Theater's 2006 "First Flight" reading series - New York, NY *Reading – 2006 ALAP New Works Lab at Pacific Resident Theatre – Venice, CA Reviews from the world premiere production at the Blank Theater in Hollywood, CA: THE BEST OF 2007 Top 10 List --Charles McNulty for LA Times "'Heads,' Blank Theatre Company. EM Lewis' beautifully acted hostage drama, set in war-torn Iraq, left out the political preaching but slowly opened up into a metaphor suggesting both the necessity and futility of hope." CRITICS CHOICE! --David Ng for LA Times "EM Lewis' new drama at the Blank Theatre Company, tells a story so topical that it feels as if the play was co-written by CNN..." GO! --Deborah Klugman for LA Weekly "...the question of who we are beneath our posturing lands with such force, it jangles the nerves long after the play has ended." CRITICS PICK! -- Gerri Garner for American Radio Network "Lewis' story is a sobering dose of reality, that is almost unbearable, it seems so real... tremendous chemistry between Gabriel and Nash, and Eckhouse and Broderick." Don Shirley for LA CityBeat "EM Lewis’s harrowing horror story... isn’t about Iraq – it’s about a descent into total vulnerability." Les Spindle for IN Magazine "EM Lewis’ hard-hitting new play sears with a disturbing sense of gritty realism..." Song of Extinction 5 Men/1 Woman 90 minutes Max, a musically gifted high school student, is falling off the edge of the world –- and his biology teacher is the only one who’s noticed. A play about the science of life and loss, the relationships between fathers and sons, Cambodian fields, Bolivian rainforests and grief. *WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION -- Moving Arts at [Inside] the Ford, through a special Winter Partnership Program with the Los Angeles County Arts Commission (November 7-December 14th, 2008!) *Reading - Atlantic Theater's Next Page Reading Series - New York, NY (June 2008) *Finalist - 2008 Sundance Institute Theater Lab *Finalist/Reading - HotCity Theater's 2008 Greenhouse Festival - St. Louis, MO (June 2008) *Reading – NYU’s 2008 hotINK International Festival of New Plays (sponsored by Atlantic Theater) – New York, NY *Staged Reading in the 2007 Living Room Series at the Blank - Los Angeles, CA *Reading at Moving Arts 2007 - Los Angeles, CA Infinite Black Suitcase 9 Men/6 Women 90 minutes Over the course of a single day in rural Oregon, fifteen people struggle with loss. *2007 WORLD PREMIERE at the Lillian Theatre, produced by TheSpyAnts - Hollywood, CA *Finalist – 2006 Hinton Battle Theatre Lab Diverse Voices Playwriting Contest – NY, NY *Semi-finalist – 2006 O’Neill Playwrights Conference – Waterford, CT *2005 Workshop Production at Moving Arts – Los Angeles, CA Reviews from the world premiere production at the Lillian Theater in Hollywood, CA, produced by TheSpyAnts: Julio Martinez, for Variety: "Scripter EM Lewis offers an endearing and insightful perusal into the lives of 16 rural Oregonians, dealing with the trauma of recent or impending death, during the course of a single day... Lewis gives evidence of being a significant talent to watch. 'Infinite Black Suitcase' certainly has the legs to move on to a more ambitious staging." Neal Weaver, for BackStage West: "...touchingly funny..." Keisha7, for LA Splash: "...a great balance of humanity and humor." Pat Taylor, for the Tolucan Times: "...a compellingly emotional journey!" Reading to Vegetables 4 Men/3 Women 85 minutes Rachel, a pre-med college student, takes a job as a research assistant on a psychological experiment. When someone is badly injured, the inquiry focuses on Rachel – and whether she is responsible for what went wrong. *Semi-finalist - 2007 Panowski Playwriting Contest, Northern Michigan University - Marquette, MI *Short Play Lab Reading - 2006 1st Annual Great Plains Theatre Conference – Omaha, NE *Reading in 2005 – Kokopelli Theatre Company – Anchorage, AK *Moving Arts' 2005 Staged Reading Series – Los Angeles, CA Catch 5 Men/4 Women A secret from John’s past threatens to destroy his carefully constructed life. A play about friendship, baseball and accounting, for nine players. *Reading – Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights "New Works Lab" at the Coop Theatre, Los Angeles, CA *In development -- stay tuned! One-Act Plays The Edge of Ross Island 2 Women/2 Men 15 minutes A cop in Portland, Oregon tries to talk a jumper down from the Ross Island Bridge. Later, she tries to figure out where her own life is going with the help of her cop partner, and her life partner. *Winner - 2007 UMBC IN10 Competition, University of Maryland, Baltimore County *The Bloody Unicorn Theatre Company’s 2006 Short Play Festival – Tucson, AZ Progeny 4 Men/2 Women 25 minutes The prospect of progeny looms its ugly head in this comic one-act. When a deep, dark secret comes to light, three brothers and their significant others question whether they want kids. New! The Incident Report 5 Players (any gender) 15 minutes In a small interview room, somewhere in a large airport, Aviation Safety Investigator Connor attempts to find out what part Lee and Petersen had in what happened on the flight into Phoenix. New! The Half-Wife Variations 2 Men/1 Woman 30 minutes One table. Two chairs. Three actors. And five variations on the subject of spousal inadequacy, both real and imagined... *Production – 2006 Last Frontier Theatre Conference – Valdez, AK *Reading – 2005 Last Frontier Theatre Conference, Play Lab – Valdez, AK Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday 2 Women/4 Men 60 minutes In one hour, Lynn is going to climb onto a Greyhound bus, leaving her home, her husband, her job and her family behind to become a commercial fisherman in Alaska; her family has decided that they’ll do anything to make her stay. A comedy about trying to explain why you have to go find yourself to people who don't want anything to change. *2008 Staged Reading in the Blank Theater's Living Room Series - Los Angeles, CA *2007 Ganymede Arts Fall Festival - Washington, DC *Moving Arts' 2004 Staged Reading Series – Los Angeles, CA *STAGEStheatre 2004 Reading Series – Fullerton, CA *Finalist, 2003 One-Act Play Contest, Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival – New Orleans, LA 10-Minute Plays The Last Four Things My Father Held Against Me 2M Frank isn't Catholic -- but when he wanders into Father Sebastian's confessional on a Saturday afternoon, there might just be something he needs to get off his chest. *Theater One's 2007 Slice of Life Play Festival - Middleboro, MA *1st Place, Fire Rose Productions’ 2004 10-Minute Play Festival – North Hollywood, CA *6th Annual ALAP Playreading Festival, 2004 – West Hollywood, CA Dress Black 1M/1W All Stan has to do is get his sister-in-law to his brother's funeral. But nothing is easy today. *2005 Ten by Ten in the Triangle – ArtsCenter – Carrboro, NC *“Just This Once” – Theatre of NOTE’s 2005 Late Night Play Festival – Hollywood, CA Reveille 2M In the wake of 9/11, Leonard's only son signs up for the military. He leaves this morning. *Pick of the Vine 2007 -- Little Fish Theater -- San Pedro, CA *The Car Plays at Moving Arts 2006 & 2007– Los Angeles, CA Review of Moving Arts production from Jose Ruiz www.reviewplays.com "...poignant, compelling and completely realistic in the conflict between a parent knowing the time has come for the child to leave the nest, and the child choosing a path totally against the parent's wishes." Bohemian. Like You. 2M/1W Don has known Richard and Melody forever -- but he didn't know they did this! *The Car Plays at Moving Arts 2006 & 2007 – Los Angeles, CA Six Bottles of Heineken After the Silverado 1M/1W Joe is Mary's first date since her husband died. They may need more beer... *Brown Couch Theatre Company’s 2006 4th Annual 10-Minute Play Festival – Chicago, IL *Semi-finalist – 2006 First Stage One-Act Play Contest – Los Angeles, CA *Finalist – 7th Annual New Play Contest 2006, Chameleon Theatre Circle – Lakeville, MN Lend Me a Mentor 1M/1W (or 2M) Morton wants a mentor -- and she's chosen her favorite writer, Barnhart. Unfortunately, he doesn't want to have anything to do with her. My most well-traveled play! From Hollywood, San Diego and Spokane to South Africa, Canada and Shanghai! *Missed Opportunity Productions' 2008 One-Act Play Festival -- Shanghai, China *Asphalt Jungle Shorts III (2007) by Flush Ink Productions -- Kitchener, Ontario, Canada *Bedtime Stories for Big Boys and Girls at the 2007 National Arts Festival -- South Africa *Play-Makers Spokane and Debut Promotions 2007 Play Readings at Auntie's Bookstore in the Liberty Cafe -- Spokane, WA *Finalist – Fire Rose Productions’ 2006 10-Minute Play Festival – North Hollywood, CA *North Park 2006 10-Minute Play Festival – San Diego, CA Cat Walk 1W/1M A woman hires a male escort -- to go hiking with her. *Moving Arts 2007 One-Act Play Festival -- Los Angeles, CA *Reading - Herring Run ArtsFest 2006 – Middleborough, MA American Family 1M/1W Jake and Anne are trying to make their final arrangements, but Jake's first wife is already buried there, and three's a crowd... *Semi-finalist – 2005 Eileen Heckart Drama for Seniors Competition, Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute at Ohio State University – Columbus, OH Ask Roberto! 1W/2M Helen calls her favorite cooking show host -- for marital advice. *From Shelterbelt with Love 2007, Shelterbelt Theatre -- Omaha, NE *Over Our Head Players’ 2006 Snowdance 10-Minute Comedy Festival – Racine, WI *Finalist - Fire Rose Productions’ 2005 10-Minute Play Festival – North Hollywood, CA Partners 2W/1M Terry invites her partner, Pete, home to meet her *partner*, Val. A cop's life is never easy... *2008 The Salon at the Celebration Theater - Los Angeles, CA *SLAMBoston 2008 10-Minute Play Festival at Another Country Productions - Boston, MA *1st Place Another Country Prod. SLAMBoston 2005 10-Min. Play Festival – Boston, MA And All the Roses Falling 2M Stephen wants every moment he can have with Dan. Even the fucked up end of things. *Another Country Productions’ SLAMBoston 2005 10-Minute Play Festival – Boston, MA This Isn’t About Love 1M/1W A lunch hour tryst turns serious when Erik brings up the "L" word. *The Motel Chronicles 2008 at Glendale Community College's Studio Theater - Glendale, CA *Sacred Fools’ 2005 “Triple Crown” Late Night Show – Hollywood, CA Behind the Green Room Door 2M/1W Robert, the director, knows that Helen, his wife and lead actress, has been dallying with Daniel, a supporting actor who finds himself completely out of his depth... *Sacred Fools’ 2005 “Triple Crown” Late Night Show – Hollywood, CA If We Kissed 2M One gay actor. One straight actor. One stage kiss that isn't going so well in rehearsal. And lots of questions about existentialism. *2008 The Salon at the Celebration Theater - Los Angeles, CA *2007 Summer Shorts at Theatre Limina - Minneapolis, MN *2007 Playfest at Stage Q - Madison, WI The Manuscript 1M/1W The next installment in the further adventures of Barnhart and Morton, who we first met in "Lend Me a Mentor." Morton has secured Barnhart's mentorship -- and this morning she arrives, bright and early, to see what he thought of her manuscript. Will the young writer's hopes be crushed? Tune in to find out! *New!! $2,000 OBO 1M/2W Arthur is trying to sell his mother's car to Carrie. Unfortunately, his mother refuses to get out from behind the steering wheel. New! Sing Me That Leonard Cohen Song Again 1M/1W Shelley needs money. Her brother Alex knows what she'd use it for. Being a new father is a lot more stressful when you know exactly how things can go wrong with people. *2008 15-Minute Play Festival -- American Globe Theater -- New York, NY *2008 1st Annual Longwood Ten-Minute Play Festival -- Longwood University's Underground Players -- Farmville, VA The fact is that the materials of the fiction writer are the humblest. Fiction is about everything human and we are made out of dust, and if you scorn getting yourself dusty, then you shouldn't try to write fiction. It's not a grand enough job for you. -Flannery O'Connor