PLAYS IN PROGRESS

PLAYS by Meredith Bean McMath

The Die is Cast: The Cast Must Die

By Meredith Bean McMath

Two-Act Comedy. The Darnell's Theatre Company of 1826 is just trying to make a living. Trouble is, the actors keep dying.

Based on McMath's manuscript, Phoebe, The Die is Cast follows one bizarre evening in the life of an early American theatre troupe. Phoebe Whitestone, the quiet costumer and daughter of the troupe's famous diva - will discover the truth: the actors' dresser, VanHellon, is killing off anyone who performs Shakespeare badly. But she won't be able to prove it. Worse yet, the fellow she's fallen in love with, a set carpenter by the name of Walter Pike, is about to be sent in as Romeo... and Walter is no actor.

Set: The play takes place behind the scenes as Darnell's tries to produce "Select Sceenes from Romeo & Juliet," so the stage is actually reversed, i.e., the upstage wall holds a curtain through which the audience is found.

Minimal set: 1 1/2 hours long. 7 men; 8 women.