MARCUS STEINOUR* whose play AT LAND'S END has been published by Samuel French, Inc. in the anthology OFF-OFF-BROADWAY SHORT PLAY FESTIVAL, XXI SERIES, offers the following plays to local non-profit, profit, community and professional theaters and companies:

AT LAND'S END. One-act play that tells of a couple visiting a resort for their forty-fourth year. The wife must tell the husband that she will not be coming back next year.

No Set

One male, one female

TOMORROW WHEN THE TRAINS GO BY. A three-act play which depicts life on Railroad Street, Gettysburg, in the forties. Rich in nostalgia and poignant action, the drama has been showcased Off-Off-Broadway by Love Creek Productions. Directed by Bruce Taylor, the play was well received.

One simple set

Three males, three females

A TOUCH OF BOURBON. A two-act musical. Book and lyrics by Marcus Steinour. Music by Andrew Sussman. It tells the story of a former dancer who cannot settle into a retirement home without a last fling at bringing some life to the other retirees by taking them out on a lark to the Uptown Lounge. First produced as a "Work-in-Progress" in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, the work was favorably received. It serves as an excellent vehicle for mature actress.

One simple set

Cast of ten-four males, six females (Dancers, etc.) Multiple Roles

I LOVE YOU, VIRGINIA. Based on actual events in the lives of Jennie Wade, Jack Skelly, and Wesley Culp, this one-act drama tells through letters and narrative the romance between Jennie and Jack, and the part Wesley Culp played before and during the Battle of Gettysburg. This play has had four productions in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and has played in Minnesota and California.

No Set

Three males, two females, one child

LAUGHTER FROM THE PORCH. Three one-act comedies for an evening of fun. This series won popular response and warm reviews.

THE VIEW. Two old maids find it hard to resist spying on the "goings-on" down at the Brickyard.

No Set

One male, three females

PANTS ON FIRE**. Webster teases and torments Boyd into telling of his past affair with a lady, who begins to fit more and more the description of Webster's own wife.

No Set

Two males

THE QUADRUPLE LIFE OF JANIE McCOY**. The Preaching Lady has returned to her home town to have some fun with her "half" sister Celia's boyfriend. The problem is, Janie left three husbands behind without divorcing them.

No Set

Two males, two females

SCREAM IN THE NIGHT. A three act farcical mystery. This fast-paced spoof of old manor house mysteries is set in England and features some wacky "Upper Class" characters doing mysteriously funny things. Housekeeper and Butler add their own shadowy touches and keep clumsy, inept Inspector Wells scratching his head and smoking his "candy cigarettes" until first one culprit, then another is led off to the pokey. Just who "done" it remains for the view to decide.

Simple Set with no scenery changes

Three males, four females

NONE SHALL SLEEP. Three one-act "terror" plays designed to keep the viewer in suspense. CROCODILE is a dramatic fantasy that tells of a prisoner who at first resists but gradually succumbs to the evil surrounding him, sinking at last to the level of his cellmates. In this parable-like tale the crocodile represents evil. In the end all three are found to be crocodiles.

No Set

Three males, one female. Two guards either male or female.

COLOSSUS tells the old legend of Prometheus Bound, using a modern "savior" of his little country, who is overthrown by an evil dictator and tied to a stake to be executed. Like Prometheus, he dies fighting against tyranny and seeking solace in the thought that his pregnant wife (or mistress) is bearing what may prove to be the new "savior" for the country. Much like the Greek original, it ends as the vicious guards move in to club him to death.

No Set

Six males, two females

THE RED LINE is an eerie, suspenseful drama of a man who boards a subway car on the Red Line, only to find the most horrible actions committed by the most atrocious passengers. Before the ride ends the newcomer realizes he is on the never-ending subway ride to HELL.

Simple Set

Two males, two females

A LOVE DIVIDED. Conceived on the grand scale, this Civil Way "Love Story" is a collaboration with Chambersburg historian Virginia Stake. It tells, against the background of the John Brown meeting with Stephen Douglas in Chambersburg, the story of a young girl's obsession with a southern officer and her attempts to win him against the rivalry of her older, more mature cousin. The play ends with a near-tragic resolution at the Jenny Wade home during the famous Battle of Gettysburg. Produced in Chambersburg, PA in 1998, the play was a sell-out. Music by Andrew Sussman.

No Set

Six males, eight females, one child, soldiers, extras, etc. (Multiple Roles)

PHOENIX, THE BURNING OF CHAMBERSBURG. An historical drama relating the actual event of 1864 when Confederate General John McCauseland, under orders by General Jubal Early, first demanded ransom and then burned the little town of Chambersburg, PA. Presented as a dramatic story involving an officer who deserts the Confederate cause to join the sweetheart who lives in the town, the play give a full and accurate picture of the devastation inflicted, the heroic resistance of the people, and their final determination to rebuild the town rather than give way to despair. A production of this play will be a prominent part of the 135th celebration of the event this year (1999) by the town of Chambersburg. Plans have been made to produce this play annually so that it will become a tourist attraction in future years. Music by Andrew Sussman.

One Set with movable scenery

Eleven males, eight females,three children, soldiers, extras, etc. (Multiple Roles)

If interested in scheduling performances, commissioning works, or inviting submission of scripts, call the playwright Marcus Steinour at (717) 369-2827 or e-mail steinour @innernet.net

Copies of the Off-Off-Broadway Short Play Festival, Series XXI are available through Samuel French, Inc. 45 West 25th Street, New York, NY, 10010-2751 (212) 206-8990

*Member of the Dramatist Guild, Inc. 1-800-399-5248 **Also performed at the XXII Off-Off-Broadway Short Play Festival.

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