Tom Jacobson
he/him/his
Los Angeles, CA
Off Broadway: The Twentieth-Century Way, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre and The Theatre @ Boston Court (PEN Award for Drama).
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Biography

Off Broadway:  The Twentieth-Century Way, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre and The Theatre @ Boston Court (PEN Award for Drama).  Los Angeles: The Orange Grove and Tar at Playwrights Arena, the award-winning Bunbury, Tainted Blood, Ouroboros and The Friendly Hour at The Road Theatre Company, Making Paradise:  The West Hollywood Musical at Cornerstone Theater Company, Cyberqueer at Celebration Theatre, Sperm and The Chinese Massacre (Annotated) at Circle X, House of the Rising Son at Ensemble Studio Theatre-LA, The Devil's Wife at Skylight Theatre, Diet of Worms at Chalk Repertory, Walking to Buchenwald at Open Fist, Plunge at Son of Semele Ensemble and Mexican Day and Captain of the Bible Quiz Team at Rogue Machine Theatre Company.  Film:  Prairie Sonata (based on The Friendly Hour).  Opera: Hopscotch, commissioned by The Industry.

Agent Information

Victoria Morris

Lexikat Artists

(818) 314-6767

vtmorris1111@gmail.com

Plays

The Beloved Disciple
by Tom Jacobson

Christopher Marlowe, sixteenth-century author of Doctor Faustus, was murdered at the age of 29.  This tragicomedy speculates that his death was tied to his scandalous play about the relationship between Jesus and the disciple John.  Pick of the Week and nominated for an L.A. Weekly Award.

Cast:
ACTOR, 29, nondescript, with a high or balding forehead, thoughtful and introverted until he bursts into life playing other roles that include: Thomas Kyd, 35, a repressed playwright Judas Iscariot, 29, a persuasive manager with a hump Constable Dingleberry, 45, a simpleton with authority Queen Elizabeth, 60, imperious and brilliant KIT MARLOWE, 29, a charismatic playwright plagued with cynicism and a hot temper; also plays: Jesus Christ, 33, a gentle revolutionary HENRY WRIOTHESLEY (HARRY), 19, the rich and beautiful Earl of Southampton; also plays: John, 19, a disciple of Jesus
Bunbury
by Tom Jacobson

When he discovers he is only a fictitious character in The Importance of Being Earnest, Bunbury joins forces with Rosaline, Romeo’s never-seen obsession from Romeo and Juliet.  Together, they win back their loves and change the world by changing classic literature. Winner of a Ticketholder Award and Garland Award for Best New Play, Critic’s Choice in the Los Angeles Times.

Cast:
CAST OF CHARACTERS (3 women, 5 men) BUNBURY, 20s HARTLEY, 20s ROSALINE, 20s JACK, 20s ALGERNON, 20s ROMEO, 20s JULIET, mid teens FRIAR LAWRENCE, 50s LADY BRACKNELL, 50s CECILY CARDEW, 20s GWENDOLEN FAIRFAX, 20s LAWYER, 50s MASHA, 30s OLGA, 30s IRENA, 20s ALLAN, late teens BLANCHE, late teens JIM, 20 GEORGE, 46 MARTHA, 52 VLADIMIR, 20s ESTRAGON, 20s OLD ALGERNON, 96 OLD CECILY, 94 All roles except BUNBURY may be doubled as follows: ROSALINE/GWENDOLEN/MASHA FRIAR LAWRENCE/LAWYER/GEORGE/ OLD ALGERNON JACK/ESTRAGON HARTLEY/ROMEO/VLADIMIR ALGERNON /ALLAN/JIM LADY BRACKNELL/OLGA/MARTHA/OLD CECILY CECILY/BLANCHE/JULIET/IRENA
Captain of the Bible Quiz Team
by Tom Jacobson

A Lutheran minister fresh out of seminary returns home to rural Minnesota for Christmas and finds an epiphany.

Cast:
LANDRY, any age, any gender
Clytemnestra
by Tom Jacobson

Adapted from Menander, this play tells the Electra story from the point of view of Clytemnestra, a brilliant woman with a biting wit.  The funniest Greek tragedy you've ever seen!  Part of The Vesuvius Prophecies trilogy.

Cast:
CAST OF CHARACTERS (2 women, 3 men) CLYTEMNESTRA, 50s, queen of Mycenae SLAVE WOMAN, 30s-40s, played by a man, also plays PAEDAGOGUS, 50s-60s, tutor CHRYSOTHEMIS, 20s, daughter of CLYTEMNESTRA ORESTES, 20s, son of CLYTEMNESTRA ELECTRA, 20s, daughter of CLYTEMNESTRA AEGISTHUS, 40s-50s, husband of CLYTEMNESTRA
Crevasse
by Tom Jacobson

In 1938 Leni Riefenstahl went to Hollywood to find American distribution for her award-winning film, Olympia.  Only one studio head would meet with her:  Walt Disney.  An astonishing true story of betrayal, Nazi propaganda and cartoons.

Cast:
ERNST JAEGER, 42, film critic and publicist, also plays: DR. JOSEPH GOEBBELS, 41, Minister of Propaganda WALT DISNEY, 37, filmmaker LOTTE JAEGER, 33, fashion designer, also plays: LENI RIEFENSTAHL, 36, filmmaker LORELEI, 30s, FBI agent
Cyberqueer
by Tom Jacobson

A lonely college professor finds sex, danger and romance on the Internet in this comedy the Los Angeles Times called “dazzling” and the L.A. Weekly called “menacingly funny.” A Critic’s Choice in Drama-Logue.

Cast:
CAST OF CHARACTERS Eight actors are required--Most roles are doubled In Real Life: NELSON, 30s, a linguistics and anthropology professor RALPH, a beautiful man PEZ, a scruffy man MARK, late 20s, a handsome man REBECCA, 30s, an attractive woman DOUG, 30s, a well-built man WALLY, late 20s, a graduate student in 19th-century American lit AARON, early 20s, an undergraduate In Cyberqueer: WICCA, 30s, a lesbian Super User (played by REBECCA) THOR, late 20s, Nelson's handsome alter ego (played by MARK) TRANZETTA, 30s, a pre-op transexual (played by REBECCA) FRODO, 20s, a naive kid (played by AARON) DIANA, 30s, an aggressive British bisexual (played by REBECCA) GREYHOUND, 20s, a hip kid (played by WALLY) DARKHORSE, 30s, a beautiful and sexy man (played by RALPH) IRONSTUD, 20s-30s, a masked leatherman (played by DOUG) BUSTER, 20s-30s, from the street (played by PEZ) UNDERAGE THOR, 17 (played by AARON) FEMALE DARKHORSE, 30s (played by REBECCA) ROCKER, 20s-30s, a musician (played by PEZ) VARIOUS VOICES
Deus Ex Machina
by Tom Jacobson

Archeologists discover an unknown Greek play and other secrets in the ruins of Pompeii that threaten to set in motion a modern apocalypse.  Part of The Vesuvius Prophecies trilogy.

Cast:
ADAM RUBY, 40s-50s, American eschatologist, also plays: QUINTUS, 40s-50s, Roman ghost SARAH RUBY, 20s, ADAM'S daughter, archeologist, also plays: EOS, 20s, Roman ghost LEEANNE AUERBACH, 40s-50s, ADAM'S wife, archeologist, also plays: DAPHNE, 40s-50s, Roman ghost GOKHAN SEKBAN, 20s, Greek/Turkish theatre director, SARAH'S boyfriend, also plays: JOSHUA, 20s, ADAM'S son FELIX VARRO, 30s-40s, American folklorist
The Devil's Wife
by Tom Jacobson

A handsome, wealthy landowner who woos three sisters isn’t what he seems.  But neither are they.  A harrowing comedy that goes to hell.

Cast:
BONITA RAMIREZ, the oldest daughter, beautiful DULCE RAMIREZ, the middle daughter, pretty SOFIA RAMIREZ, the youngest daughter NICOLAS MASTEMA, an attorney, also plays: RATEL, an elderly servant
Eat the Runt
by Tom Jacobson (as Avery Crozier)

A nightmare applicant seduces and terrorizes his/her interviewers in this genderless comedy featuring apocryphal saints, bizarre racial conflict, and cheese from human breast milk.  A straight, gay, lesbian or bisexual play, depending entirely on how it's cast.  How far would you go to get a job?  Not this far.  Number 5 on Top Ten List of Off-Broadway Plays – New York Newsday 2001       

 

Cast:
MERRITT, an interviewee CHRIS, a grantwriter JEAN, a human resources coordinator ROYCE, a director of development HOLLIS, a curator of modern art SIDNEY, a trustee PINKY, a museum director NEW MERRITT, an interviewee In the original production of Eat the Runt at Mefisto Theatre in New York, eight actors of a variety of ethnicities and genders each memorized all eight roles, and the audience cast the play each night. As this proved to be an effective way to explore the play’s themes (with more than 40,000 possible variations), this version of the script incorporates the audience participation element. Doubling (if desired to reduce the cast to five) may be as follows: ROYCE/SIDNEY and PINKY/JEAN/HOLLIS.
The Friendly Hour
by Tom Jacobson

Based on the actual minutes of a women’s club formed in rural South Dakota in 1934, this poignant comedy charts 70 years of personal and national history, from skinning skunks and julebukking in the 30s to restoring native prairie in the new millennium.  Winner of an LA Weekly Award.

Cast:
CAST OF CHARACTERS (Five actors) DORCAS BRIGGLE, a farm wife, Swedish descent, ages 12 to 94 WAVA JAMTGAARD, Dorcas' unmarried sister, ages 23 to 81 EFFIE VOSS, a farm wife, Norwegian descent, ages 23 to 95 OPAL ZWEIFEL, a farm wife and beautician, German descent, ages 42 to 77 ISABELLE HAGEN, a farm wife, recent Swedish immigrant, ages 24 to 90, also plays: LUCILLE OSTENSEN, Opal's cousin, ages 26 to 57 IRENE DESPLINTER, a horsewoman from Montana, ages 30 to 65 EDNA PATTON, a Home Service Advisor from Oklahoma, 32 ELVERA NORMAN, collects things, ages 56 to 67 ALICE BJERS, Elvera's cousin, 65 BARB NORLING, a librarian, 28 HAZEL LARSON, a quilter and adventurous cook, 75 All roles should be played by actresses close to the ages of the characters at the beginning of the play. Ageing should be indicated through acting, costume and possibly hairstyle, but not through make-up.
House of the Rising Son
by Tom Jacobson

When Trent brings Felix home to New Orleans to meet his father and homophobic grandfather, the family’s demons come slithering into the light.  Watchful ghosts, sinister hustlers, and a myriad of parasites lead Felix on a Southern Gothic journey to St. Louis Cemetery No. 1.  Named Best New Play of 2011 by the Los Angeles Times and nominated for a GLAAD Award and winner of two LADCC Awards.

Cast:
CAST OF CHARACTERS (Four actors) DR. TRENT VARRO, 30s-40s, a parasitologist, also plays: MAUREEN, organizer of a literary festival FELIX MARTIN, 20s-30s, a fundraiser and folklorist, also plays: TOD, a desperate soul GARRETT VARRO, 50s-60s, a restoration architect, also plays: LENDELL, a psychic tour guide BOWEN VARRO, 70s-80s, a poet, also plays: ROBERT, a gay tour guide
The Lock of the Five Keys
by Tom Jacobson

An American professor pursuing a lost letter by E.M. Forster disappears in India, provoking a manhunt across three millennia in a play within a play within a play within a play within a play.

Cast:
SUNIL GUPTA, 20s-30s, dark, Indian tour guide, also plays: VIKRAM RATHORE, barber MAHARAJA, petty despot KAMAL KIRTANE, eunuch singer and painter MAHISHISURA, buffalo demon GARUDA, winged messenger HINDU WIFE MUSLIM WIFE CHRISTIAN WIFE BUDDHIST WIFE JAIN WIFE BROTHER, elderly DANTE PARDO, 30s-40s, light, American, also plays: WEBSTER NELSON, academic EDWARD MORGAN FORSTER, novelist HASNAIN KHIMJI, archer AKBAR, Mughal emperor AMIT, Hindu ascetic BRAHMA, supreme god DURGA, goddess WARRIOR
Los York
by Tom Jacobson

UCLA or NYU?  Seduction and betrayal or self-sacrificing love?  Otis is stuck between two coasts and his two gay uncles, in the middle of an America living in terror.  Choosing a grad school was never this hard.

Cast:
CAST OF CHARACTERS (Three actors) OTIS, 20s, recent college graduate, originally from Oklahoma WAKE, 30s-40s, an art conservator, originally from Long Island, also plays: NAKED MAN WAITER SLOAN THOM DR. MORLEY MAN IN PARK DEAN, 30s-40s, a painter and arts administrator, originally from Oklahoma, also plays: PARNELL MAN IN PARK TOURIST IRISH PRIEST PAIGE THE PENGUIN LADY PROFESSOR RUSSELL
The Maroon Hoax
by Tom Jacobson

Recovering from a mysterious attack in 1849 Baltimore, a delirious writer recounts an outrageous tale of love and betrayal in which a young slave liberates a circus bear and dancing orangutan, with terrifying results.

Cast:
DR. TARR, 40s, African-American, veiled or masked, also plays: EKENE, 20s, house slave ED, 40, madman, Caucasian, also plays: ED, 19, overeducated REYNOLDS, 20s, ringmaster and animal trainer, Cockney SHELTON, 30s, owner of a riverboat line GIGANTO, orangutan ELMIRA, 38, wealthy widow, Caucasian, also plays: ELMIRA, 17, impetuous YONA, white bear
Mexican Day
by Tom Jacobson

In 1948 Hisaye Yamamoto puts her job at the Los Angeles Tribune on the line when she joins forces with Bayard Rustin to desegregate Bimini Baths.  Part of the trilogy The Ballad of Bimini Baths. Critic’s Choice in the Los Angeles Times.

Cast:
HISAYE YAMAMOTO, 26, a journalist, also plays: YASUNARI, a bath house attendant AJ MUSTE, a civil rights leader JJ WARRICK, a bath house owner BAYARD RUSTIN, 36, a civil rights activist, also plays: NATRICK, a bath house attendant JJ WARRICK, a bath house owner YASUNARI, a bath house attendant EVERETT MAXWELL, 64, an art curator and screenwriter, also plays: CARLYLE, a bath house patron TRUDY, a Southern matron OFFICER OLSON, a policemen JJ WARRICK, a bath house owner ZENOBIO REMEDIOS, 44, a bath house attendant, also plays: SANTOS, a bath house attendant ALMENA DAVIS, a newspaper editor
Mrs. Christmas
by Tom Jacobson

A solo musical tribute to a very unconventional mother with eight new Christmas carols.

Cast:
SINGER, a woman of a certain age ACCOMPANIST, male or female, a generation younger than SINGER
Plunge
by Tom Jacobson

In 1916 an art historian takes the confession of a priest who drowned a boy.  But who is really committed the capital crime?  Part of the trilogy The Ballad of Bimini Baths.  Nominated for a Stage Raw Award.

Cast:
REYNOLDS, 40s, a priest, also plays: NATRICK, an attendant WILLIAM BOWEN, an attorney ENERNOCIO REMEDIOS, 60s, a laborer SANTOS, an attendant YASUNARI, an attendant ZENOBIO REMEDIOS, 13 FRANK MOODY, 30s, a traveling salesman, English MAXWELL, 30s, a curator, also plays: YOUNG MAXWELL, 12 VICTOR LAMAR, 13, Bohemian VACLAV LAMAR, 30s, Bohemian ZENOBIO REMEDIOS, 13
Tar
by Tom Jacobson

In 1939 on the night Count Basie is the first black performer at the Palomar Ballroom, Zenobio and Amen are stuck at work cleaning up Donald, who almost died in the La Brea Tar Pits.  You haven’t lived till you’ve made a white man white again.  Part of the trilogy, The Ballad of Bimini Baths.

Cast:
ZENOBIO REMEDIOS, 36, a bathing attendant AMEN HEADLEY, 20s-30s, a bathing attendant DONALD WALTER, 30s-50s, an unemployed secretary
The Orange Grove
by Tom Jacobson

A small Lutheran choir in its death-throes provides the backdrop for this Chekhovian warning of the impending doom of mainline Protestantism in America.  Laughter through tears with nice lemon bars. Critic’s Choice in the Los Angeles Times.

Cast:
PETER TURNER, 30s-40s, an organist LARRY YOSHITOSHI, 30s, a software expert (sings bass) LOTTIE BERMAN, 30s-40s, the church office manager (sings soprano) YOLANDA OLAFSON, 20s, an aspiring opera singer (sings soprano) VERONICA RICHARDS, 40s-60s, a nurse (sings alto) GUSTAFINA LIEDTKE, 90s, a widow (sings alto) PASTOR, 40s-60s, a genial tenor SIMON CARPENTER, 20s-40s, a homeless tenor NORBERT BRANMOE, 50s-60s, the congregational president (sings bass)
Ouroboros
by Tom Jacobson

Two American couples get caught in a chronological palindrome on a trip to Italy.  Stigmata, alchemy, adultery and St. Catherine of Siena’s severed head plague a nun and a minister in this circular love story that is a comedy if performed forward and a tragedy if performed backward.  Winner of Best New Play and Production of the Year LA Weekly Awards.

Cast:
TOR, 30-35, handsome, blond, dresses and whistles well MARGARET, 40-45, attractive, blonde, repressed, dresses practically PHILIP, 40-45, nice-looking, dark-haired, polite, gentle CATHERINE, 40-45, dark-haired, very pretty, very emotional ITALIANS, 30-40, several roles to be played by one dark, handsome, bearded actor, including: MILANESE POLICEMAN VENETIAN POLICEMAN SIENESE MAN MAN OF SORROWS DOMINICAN MONK MAN IN A TOWEL PRIEST BOOKSELLER TOUR GUIDE SIGNOR DONNOLA
Pishtaco
by Tom Jacobson (as Avery Crozier)

A honeymoon in Peru is plagued with ghosts and monsters, including the fat-stealing Pishtaco.  Tourists from England, Australia and the US get far too involved with their attractive tour guide and pay the price of cultural imperialism in this nightmare comedy.

Cast:
MOCHE, a Peruvian tour guide AUBREY, an American botanist TERLE, a British artist, naturalized American CARSON, an Australian web designer OTHERS, played by one actor PERUVIAN DOORKEEPER MASKED PISHTACO POLICE OFFICER LOCAL GUIDE VENDOR PILOT PACHA MAMA SERVER KALLAWAYA
The Rosy Fingers of Dawn
by Tom Jacobson

Not even the eruption of Mount Vesuvius can stop an inventive and theatrical Roman family from putting on their production of a lost Greek classic, Menander's Clytemnestra.  The show must go on!  Part of The Vesuvius Prophecies trilogy.

Cast:
DAPHNE TERENTII, Roman matron QUINTUS TERENTIUS VARRO, Roman aristocrat and former soldier, DAPHNE'S husband EOS TERENTIA, teenage daughter of DAPHNE and QUINTUS MENANDER TERENTIUS VARRO, older brother of EOS BRITTANICUS, handsome and charismatic slave owned by DAPHNE and QUINTUS
The Secret Wives of Uncle Ho
by Tom Jacobson

An American journalist uses an interview  with Ho Chi Minh as cover for a secret mission to retrieve a captured pilot with a secret mission of his own.

Cast:
PRIVAL CHOUTEAU, 20s-40s, African-American pilot, also plays: AMADOU BABACAR, 20s-40s, Senegalese sailor POTEAU, 20s-40s, a Paris night club guest GENDARME, 20s-40s, a Paris policeman CABBIE, 20s-40s, French CABBIE, 20s-40s, Cockney PAUL ROBESON, 36, American singer, actor, activist PILOT, 20s, American LONG, 20s, Vietnamese soldier, butch and beautiful, also plays: PHAN BÔI CHÂU, 40s-60s, Vietnamese scholar and revolutionary MADAME MESMER, 20s, a hypnotist ANH, 20s, Vietnamese student TANG TUYET MINH, 20s, Chinese woman NGUYEN THI MINH KHAI, Vietnamese revolutionary ROSA LOSEBY, 30s, British DARYA, 20s, Russian woman NONG THI XUAN, 20s, Vietnamese nurse VO NGUYEN GIAP, 34, Commander of the Viet Minh NATE WIDOWSKI, 20s-30s, American journalist, also plays: PERE MALCHIEN, 20s-30s, French priest LEO POLDES, 20s, founder of Club du Faubourg EUGÉNE DELACROIX, 20s-30s, French painter AGENT, 20s-30s, French AGENT, 20s-30s, British SERGEI EISENSTEIN, 36, Russian filmmaker HO CHI MINH, 70s, President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, also plays: NGUYEN TAT THANH, 18, student BA, 22, sailor NGUYEN AI QUOC, 30, patriot LY THUY, 37, Chinese merchant SONG MAN CHO, 41, Chinese journalist LINOV, 44, Vietnamese lecturer
Sepia
by Tom Jacobson

In 1936 the Italian Fascist government destroyed more than 1000 "offensive" photographic negatives taken by the renowned Wilhelm von Gloeden in Taormina in the late 19th century.  But the interrogation of one of the boys in the photographs--now an old man--reveals an even more heartbreaking history.

Cast:
CESARE ACROSSO, 41, Podesta of Taormina, handsome, clean-shaven, also plays: WILHELM VON GLOEDEN, 41, photographer, bearded FRANCESCO MAFFIOTTI, 43, Italian Fascist official, also plays: SEBASTIAN MELMOTH, 43, English poet PANCRAZIO BUCIUNI, 57, Sicilian photographer, wears mustache and glasses, also plays: PANCRAZIO BUCIUNI, 18, model, dark and beautiful
Sperm
by Tom Jacobson (adapted from Cachalot by Jacques Miroir)

Pulled from the stomach of a whale, an American whaler is bleached blind and becomes a modern Tiresias in the court of Louis XVI.   He seduces Marie Antoinette and sets the king on a path to destroy France and ultimately humankind.  A tragicomedy in rhymed couplets.  Critic’s Choice in the Los Angeles Times.

Cast:
CAST OF CHARACTERS (Seven Actors) RICHARD, 20s, an American whaler LOUIS XVI, 30s, King of France MARIE ANTOINETTE, 30s, Queen of France DUC DE COIGNY, 20s-40s, First Equerry of Versailles, a nobleman SISTER LOUISE, 50s-70s, aunt of Louis, a Carmelite nun BARMAID FRENCH AND ENGLISH SEAMEN, AMERICAN WHALERS, ACIDS, SERVANTS Doubling may be as follows: SISTER LOUISE/BARMAID, FRENCH SEAMAN/AMERICAN WHALER/ACID/SERVANT, ENGLISH SEAMAN/AMERICAN WHALER/ACID/SERVANT.
Sweeter Than Pussy
by Tom Jacobson

The Odyssey re-created in the sauna of a Koreatown gym.

Cast:
ONI, an artist, also plays: KYLE, a publicist SPLASH, a personal trainer DUNCAN, an administrative assistant, also plays: HAINES, a market researcher BYRUM, a security guard PRESTON, a Korean-American factory owner, also plays: BRAD, a lawyer, Chinese-American PARK, desperate to lose weight SUNOOK, dentally hygienic ULISES, a maintenance worker, also plays: JAVIER, a gangbanger GUZMARO, an angry young man HOMELESS MAN, a storyteller, strangely attractive
Tainted Blood
by Tom Jacobson

Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, and Arthur Conan Doyle use logic and religion to fend off a seductive vampire in this fang-in-cheek comedy/thriller.  Pick of the Week in the LA Weekly, and winner of seven Valley Theatre League Awards.

Cast:
OSCAR WILDE, 24, an attractive professor of aesthetics TY, 18, an angelic cockney groom PROF. DVAPARA, 29, a handsome Indian mesmerist FLORENCE BALCOMBE, 20, Oscar's beautiful fiancee OCTAVIA BALCOMBE, 55, Florence's stolid aunt MISS CAMILLA QUIMBY, 22, Oscar's lusty housemaid BRAM STOKER, 31, a tall, red-headed acting manager ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE, 19, an intellectual medical student
The Twentieth-Century Way
by Tom Jacobson

The true story of two actors who hired themselves out to the Long Beach Police Department in 1914 to entrap "social vagrants" in public restrooms.  Thirty-one men were arrested, and the ensuing scandal led to an ordinance against "oral sodomy" in California. Nominated for five Ovation Awards, a GLAAD Award and four LA Drama Critics Circle Awards, winner of Outstanding Production of a Play (New York International Fringe Festival), a 2010 Agnes Moorehead Award (Top Ten Live Performances, Gay City News) and the PEN Center West Award for Drama.

Cast:
WARREN BROWN
The Village Virus
by Tom Jacobson

Two siblings and their spouses spar over the family farm outside the town that 100 years earlier was the inspiration for Sinclair Lewis’ novel Main Street.  The fictitious past predicts the actual present until the novel and real life converge hilariously.

Cast:
GUTHRIE, 25-65, film librarian, SLOAN’s sibling, also plays: WIM, president of the Sinclair Lewis Association (in Sauk Centre) CLARE DESPLINTER, Belgian-American librarian (in Sauk Centre) CAROL KENNICOTT, young matron (in Gopher Prairie) MONRO, 25-65, graphic designer and college professor, GUTHRIE’s spouse, also plays: ASTOR ULRICHSON, retired high school teacher (Sauk Centre) NOVELIST (Sauk Centre) MRS BOGART, older matron (Gopher Prairie) MRS. LEONARD WARREN, matron (Gopher Prairie) ETHEL VILLETS, librarian (Gopher Prairie) RAYMIE WUTHERSPOON, clerk (Gopher Prairie) WILL KENNICOTT, young doctor (Gopher Prairie) SLOAN, 25-65, wildlife refuge manager, GUTHRIE’s sibling, also plays: CLARENCE ANDERSON, elderly Norwegian-American minister (Sauk Centre) PLAYWRIGHT (Sauk Centre) HARRY, a desk clerk and novelist (Sauk Centre) SAM CLARK, merchant (Gopher Prairie) MRS JACKSON ELDER, matron (Gopher Prairie) VIDA SHERWIN, school teacher (Gopher Prairie) MILES BJORNSTAM, Swedish handy-man (Gopher Prairie) FIDDI, 25-65, project manager, SLOAN’s spouse, also plays: SIGGIE, produce clerk (Sauk Centre) DR. SKLAR, doctor (Sauk Centre) POET (Sauk Centre) JUANITA HAYDOCK, young matron (Gopher Prairie) MRS LUKE DAWSON, wealthy matron (Gopher Prairie) BEA SORENSON, Swedish maid (Gopher Prairie) ERIK VALBORG, tailor (Gopher Prairie)
Walking to Buchenwald
by Tom Jacobson

When Schiller and Arjay take Schiller’s parents to Europe, both couples learn what it means to be American in a world that no longer admires the U.S.  Guinea pigs playing cricket, dead bodies that talk, and an unexpected trip to a concentration camp lead to a shocking yet poignant conclusion.  Nominated for a Stage Raw Award.

Cast:
SCHILLER, 30s-40s, director of strategic planning for a natural history museum ARJAY, 30s-40s, a painter and graphic designer MILDRED, 70s, retired elementary school teacher, Schiller’s mother ROGER, 70s, retired theatre professor, Schiller’s father OTHERS (played by one actor) MUSEUM GUIDE (London) HOST (Bath) VISITOR (Cornwall) SERVER (Paris) STUDENT (Berlin) NUDE (Berlin) MINNESOTAN (Weimar) SCHLITZEN (Weimar) BUS DRIVER (Buchenwald)
The White Plague
by Tom Jacobson

When White Nose Syndrome spreads beyond the bat population and kills everyone with any Neanderthal genes, Shakespeare becomes a dead language. How could the first act of a play written in 2015 predict a worldwide pandemic? Will the shocking second act come true as well?*

Cast:
JESS, a mammalogist SHEL, a religious studies professor TRACY, a grad student