by catherine
wells
Catherine Wells also writes music for women's trios. Download a free sample.
NOW AVAILABLE: PRODIGAL - a musical
In the late 1920s, a dissatisfied young man takes his inheritance and leaves
Tucson,
Arizona, for the fast times and jazz music in Chicago.
Most of the plays below are available in electronic format. E-mail me at the address below to request a
reading copy and specify hard copy or electronic version. (Please specify the type and level of your
word-processing software.)
AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE
a one-act play
one man, two women
An elderly widow is reluctant to leave her house in a deteriorating
neighborhood.
When a homeless young woman takes refuge on her porch during a thunderstorm,
the
widow finds a new way for herself and her house to serve the Lord.
Approx. running time: 30 minutes
JUDAS AND MAGGIE
a one-act play for Lent
one man, one woman
One a thief, one a prostitute, both transformed by the love of the
Savior. For Mary called Magdalene--Maggie--finding an old flame among the
Master's disciples is a pleasant surprise. But for Judas it is cause for
embarrassment, self-defense, and finally jealousy. Love accepted and love
feared are the difference between them.
Approx. running time: 20 min.
"SEE WITH WHAT LARGE LETTERS"
a one-act play for Good Friday, or other holy days
one man
Frustrated by an empty ink pot, the Apostle Paul paces and fumes, rants
and reflects as he writes to the churches in Galatia of the dangerous theology
being suggested to them: that they can only be Christians if they have first
come under the Law. His own conversion, the potency of the Gospel, and the
completeness of Christ's sacrifice are all subjects of this monologue as he
waits impatiently for ink to finish his letter.
Approx. running time: 15 min.
WOMAN AT THE WELL
a one-act play
one man, one woman, one singer
The haunting strains of a folk hymn provide the atmosphere for this
1930's setting of the New Testament story. Living in a small rural town, Jenny
finally has what she thought she wanted, the respectable young storekeeper,
Levi. But on this parched summer day both are so thirsty, so dry, the thing
they truly need is at the well.
Approx. running time: 25 min.
THE OFFICE OF SACRIFICE
a one-act play
two men, one woman
At the gate just outside the Temple courtyard in Jerusalem, a pigeon
seller named Aaron tries to sell his birds to a stranger from Nazareth. Beneath
their lighthearted banter lie deeper issues concerning the nature of sacrifice
and how Aaron, like others before and since, has tried to adapt God's plan to
his own purpose.
Approx. running time: 20 min.
A HOUSE FOR MY NAME
a one-act play
two men, one woman
King David has a dream: to build a house for the Lord. But Nathan the
Prophet has a contrary vision: David is forbidden to build the Lord's Temple.
Instead, God will build a house for David; and a Son of David will build for
the Lord, not only a house, but an eternal kingdom.
Approx. running time: 20 min.
NICODEMUS
a play in two acts for Christians who don't really want to be born
again
five men, four women, opt. parts for five men and one boy
Nicodemus came to Jesus by night to ask about eternal life. Jesus told
him he must be "born again." The meaning is so clear to us--why
didn't Nicodemus understand?
Here is a very human Nicodemus: a man afraid of advancing age, trying to
shuttle between two sons with opposing lifestyles, and offend neither family,
friends nor conscience. "Naomi," he cries to his wife, "must you
always contradict me?" She replies, "I don't have to. You contradict
yourself."
Caught in the very real conflict between comfort and conviction,
Nicodemus does what we are all capable of doing: the ridiculous, the
ineffectual, the pretentious--and eventually, the sublime.
Approx. running time: 90 min.
PRISONERS
a play in two acts
two men
"Who's on first?"
"With all the philosophical questions a man can ponder," storms
Smith, "your only question is about a baseball game!"
But poor Dimwood can't think of anything else when it's his turn to begin
a scene. And, locked in their prison cell, there is nothing to do but play
scene after scene.
Condemned to death for crimes against the New Regine, the two men await
execution at an uncertain time. So they pass the hours in playlets, one man
with a secret he's dying to share, the other with a secret he wishes he could
forget ...
Approx. running time: 100 min.
THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE
four one-act readings for Advent
These reader's theater pieces feature the
forebears of Christ in various familial relationships: husband and wife, parent
and child, in-laws, brothers. As they strugle to contend with quarrelsome and
sometimes dangerous relatives we see them as human beings with human faults and
frustrations; and we see in them the overbearing love and forgiveness which
made them truly forerunners of the Christ.
Approx. running time: 20 min. each
Download a sample play for use in worship. (All
materials are covered by copyright.)
Text file: Joseph and his wife Mary from "Those
Who Have Gone Before."
For an electronic reading copy of any of the above plays,
e-mail your request to: catherine-
wells@sff.net.
All plays are covered by copyright. Royalty payment is required for any
for-profit performances. Not-for-profit groups may produced these plays without
royalty, but credit must be given to the author in all printed materials.