Sam Affoumado
New York, NY
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Plays

THE PANIC DEFENSE
by Sam Affoumado

How do you get away with murder? Try the Panic Defense.

Four human beings from different corners of America were living their lives when they were brutally killed in cold blood. Their gender identities were the catalyst to four senseless, hate-filled murders depriving each of them of their future.

Loosely based on four real murder cases, The Panic Defense, a full-length, one act, docudrama, examines the tragic realities of growing transphobia and homophobia in America. “Gay panic defense” strategies are used to malign the victims and blame them for their own demise, thereby lessening the criminal sentences for their perpetrators. When brought before a court of law, the question remains: Is there justice for all?

Cast:
TRAVIS: A southern gay man with an acerbic wit. A chef at a Dominican Restaurant. In a relationship with Romeo. Age: 30s-40s MIKE: A kind-hearted, divorced parent. Trying to battle alcohol addiction. A Truck driver. Bisexual. (Caucasian) Age: 30s-40s MAXINE: A Transgender woman who aspires to become a certified cosmetologist.(African American) Age: 20s BENNY: An effeminate, bullied, special needs student. He has just begun to express a new gender identity. (African-American, Mixed Race or Latinx) Age: 15 FEMALE: PROSECUTOR/TEACHERS A,B (Caucasian) Age: 30s-40s MALE 1: PROSECUTOR/JAMES (PERPETRATOR) (African-American) Age: 30s-40s MALE 2: ROMEO/CATCALLER (PERPETRATOR) Handsome and in the closet (Latinx) Age: 30s-40s MALE 3: TOMMY/JEFF/DANIEL (PERPETRATORS) (Caucasian) Age: 20s
DUMMIES
by Sam Affoumado

Attempting to avoid the draft and the inevitable tour of duty in Viet Nam, a reluctant, newly appointed teacher, struggles to keep his first classroom assignment as he grapples with his disruptive group of “special needs” students under the watchful eye of the administration.

Cast:
ANGEL VEGA: Special Education Student. Intelligent. Educationally challenged and capable of being extremely volatile. Latino. Age 15. ROSETTA GREEN: Special Education Student. Learning Disabled, hyperactive, gregarious with a sense of fair play. African-American. Age 15. JOHN LUCCi: Special Education teacher. New to the teaching profession. He is animated with a sense of humor. Caucasian. Age 22. MRS. FRITZ: The school Guidance Counselor. A seasoned educator who maintains the status quo. Caucasian. Age: 50s. MR. GOLUB: The school principal. Conservative. He runs his school effectively and is proud of its top-ranking in the district. Caucasian. Age: 40s. BRIAN MCBRIDE: Special Education Student. Slow-learner Heavy-set, docile, fearful and spoiled. Caucasian. Age 15. WILLIAM WONG: Special Education Student. High functioning, artistic, verbal. He has Autistic qualities. On occasion, he blurts out. Chinese-American. Age 15.
HEL'S KITCHEN
by Sam Affoumado

 Hel’s Kitchen, set in The Bronx of 1961, is a watershed weekend in the life of a young woman. Helen, the eighteen-year-old, sewer-mouthed fat girl, along with her friends Vinny (the stud), Stanley (the brain) and Fern, a student of beauty culture, are not quite prepared to leave their teenage years behind them. They discover that their relationships to one another must be re-defined in order for them to survive as a group and emerge as individuals. Helen has always used her clique to insulate herself from life but now that everyone seems to be going their separate ways, she recognizes that she has been standing still while the rest of the world has been passing her by. 

Cast:
Helen Hoffer: A heavy-set Bronx girl. Tough, yet innocent with mouth like a sewer. Age 18. Stanley: A night school college student. Hel's best friend. A misfit who gets by with his wit. Age 19. Vinny: Attractive greaser. Hel's good friend. He’s a “doer”, not a “talker.” Dating Fern. Works part-time in a candy store. Age 20. Fern: Senior at Yvonne Dodge Vocational School of Beauty Culture. Wants to be a hairdresser. Vinny's new girlfriend. Age 18. Sadie Hoffer: Hel's mom. The best mom in the neighborhood. Age: 50's. Larry Hoffer: Hel's oldest brother. Boorish. Drives a cab and lives at home. Engaged to Bonnie. Age 30. Michael Hoffer: Hel's brother. A zookeeper. Sensitive with a sense of humor. He is a self-sufficient individualist who rejects the family norms. He lives in Manhattan. Late 20's. Bonnie: Larry's fiancée. A well-traveled Bronx Princess. She's been to Manhattan several times. Late 20's.