The String by Michael R. McGuire

A gang of criminals under the leadership of Polyxena have gathered at her bar in the lead up to an impending heist. A stranger named Mikey drinks at the bar and arouses the suspicions of the crooks. Brooklyn, the brash, foul-mouthed, and increasingly erratic technical expert attempts to seduce Mikey to determine if he’s an undercover cop, or simply some schmuck in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The third gang member, who goes by the moniker Soccer Mom, arrives with a very young new girlfriend in tow. When Brooklyn takes Mikey off to a hotel room, Soccer Mom convinces Polyxena to replace Brooklyn in the criminal string due to Brooklyn’s reckless behavior and substance abuse. Her new partner, Katie, it turns out, is a criminal, too, with the same skill set as Brooklyn.

Written by Michael R. McGuire
Directed by Sophia Menconi
Produced by A. J. Campbell, The Quarantine Players

CAST

Brooklyn………………………………………..KeeKee Funches
Polyxena…………………………………………………Judy Lewis
Mikey……………………………………Cameron Lee Conlan
Soccer Mom………………………………………….Lori Brooks
Katie……………………………………………….Mikayla Trimpey
Stage Direction…………………………Adam Frost-Venrick

About the Playwright: Michael R. McGuire

McGuire’s play “It Comes From Beyond!” was produced in NYC in 2012 by Horse Trade Theater. His play “Persephone Rules!” is published by Brooklyn Publishers. He was awarded a 2005 CT Artist Fellowship for his play “The New Girl.” His plays have been workshopped and produced at The Lark, Theater for the New City, Slant of Light Theater, Hygienic Theaterwerks, Valley Rep, and Heartland Theater as well as others.

https://newplayexchange.org/users/23698/michael-r-mcguire

See his books at https://www.lulu.com/search?adult_audience_rating=00&contributor=Michael+R.+McGuire&page=1&pageSize=10

About Quarantine Players

https://www.facebook.com/QuarantinePlayers

https://quarantineplayers.org/

https://www.instagram.com/quarantineplayers/channel/

Creating Theater from Scratch
When we started, there was no template for creating theater over the internet, which turned out to be perfect because we could remove all the obstacles that held us back.

At the time, we didn’t know what zoom was or how we could use it. Would people even know how to use it? How much would it cost? And what the heck is a virtual background?

We had so many questions, but we watched all of our productions canceled in those horrible first days of Spring 2020.

We didn’t have to create a “season” of plays; we could choose any plays we wanted to do. It gave us a kind of freedom to select the best work we can find without appeasing a particular audience. We choose the plays, cast the roles, then we find an audience.

A TRUMP CHRISTMAS CAROL

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Based loosely on the Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, a classic tale of redemption, love, and forgiveness. If that what you are looking for keep going. Our story is about truth.

It’s December 24th, 2020 The President of the United States, Donald J Trump is alone wandering around the oval office. His niece Mary Trump approaches him with a book deal as a way for him to tell the truth to the American people, score a huge payday (bigger than Obama’s). Over the course of the evening, the President is visited by a Rabbi, Michael Cohen, and three Ghost Writers. The Ghostwriters meet with Trump to see if he has found redemption and if they can, get the truth out of him.

This play uses explicit language: the F’bomb and references to sex. This is a work of fiction and fantasy.

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We are pretty sure Trump would never tell the truth no matter how big the book deal.

Directed by Doug Henderson

Written by A. J. Campbell

Our Actors

Ethan McAtee……Donald Trump

Jacqueline Jones …..The Publisher Scott Olson…..Bob Cratchet/First Ghost Writer/Fred Sr. Adam Ressa…Michael Cohen/Reporter Byron Allen….Rabbi/Second Ghost Writer Mikayla Trimpery….Third Ghost Writer/Reporter Kerry Peters…..Mary Trump Thank you to the Quarantine Players Adaptation of “Silent Night” sung by Kerri Peters,

Silent Night Adaptation

Lyrics by A. J. Campbell “Silent Night” music by Franz Xaver Gruber, lyrics by Joseph Mohr (1818) Song is in the Public Domain

“Jewish Stories” by Hank Kimmel

Enjoy our Chanukkah holiday show. All the episodes are avaialbe on our poadcast.

4 Short Stories about Jewish life at Christmas

Welcome to Our Holiday Show” starring Kerri Peters. A frazzled teacher emcee’s the opening of their school’s holiday show.

The Music Man’s Son Goes Yiddish” starring Shayne Gardner as Christine, Taifa Harris as Mayo, A.J. Campbell as the Rabbi

THE DAY SANTA IGNORED US” Starring Gayle Grimes as Mother, Ethan McAtee as Santa Barry, Adam Ressa as Son. A mother and son are shopping for a Hanukkah gift for the dad when they are insulted by a department store Santa who has just recognized them.

It’s Not Such A Wonderful Life” starring, Kenneth Boys as George, Gary Payne as Clarance, We return to the bridge where George and Clarance meet at the beginning point of A Wonderful life, to find a different sort of arrangement. It’s a story about life and sub-prime lending.

Thank You For Coming to Our Holiday Show” starring Kerri Peters, Our frazzled teacher returns after a devastatingly bad performance by the kids.

Hank Kimmel

Hank Kimmel (also known as Henry W. Kimmel) is an Atlanta-based playwright who is a founding member and serves as board president for Working Title Playwrights, an Atlanta-based theatre company dedicated to the development of playwrights and new plays. Hank also serves as the board president for the Alliance for Jewish Theatre (www.alljewishtheatre.org).

Hank has been a long-time member of the Dramatists Guild. Always aspiring to craft deeper and more meaningful work, Hank has written dozens of plays of various lengths, mostly addressing people’s obsession with status and money, including his own. Hank also works as a dramaturg.

New Play Exchange: https://newplayexchange.org/users/2311/hank-kimmel
Website: http://www.hankkimmel.com

About the Quarantine Players
When we started, there was no template for creating theater over the internet, which turned out to be perfect because we could remove all the obstacles that held us back.

At the time, we didn’t know what zoom was or how we could use it. Would people even know how to use it? How much would it cost? And what the heck is a virtual background? We had so many questions, but we watched all of our productions canceled in those horrible first days of Spring 2020.

We didn’t have to create a “season” of plays; we could choose any plays we wanted to do. It gave us a kind of freedom. We choose the plays, cast the roles, then we find an audience. We can create theater for a specific audience, for example, 25 -30-year-old parents in Des Moines, Iowa. We can do that.

Join us every week for a new play.

Website: QuarantinePlayers.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QuarantinePlayers/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/q_players

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quarantineplayers/

SETTLEMENTS by Seth Rozin

Scroll down for Video and Audio of this performance

When the resident theatre at a Jewish Community Center commissions a new play about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from a half-Jewish/half-Jordanian playwright, the Center finds itself pulled in several directions. The playwright was sent on a trip to Israel and came back with a story that only explored one side of the westbank conflict. The playwright’s narrative, told to them by a palestian family. Questioning the premise of the story and the balance of it becomes a point of conflict within the organization. One of the Center’s major donors, the Center’s Board President, the theatre’s Artistic Director and the playwright each fight for a different outcome, while the Center’s Executive Director tries to keep the institution from falling off its foundation. SETTLEMENTS examines conflicts inside the Jewish community, radicalization of young people’s thoughts on the Israeli-Palestian conflict and how existing Jewish instutions are coping with these new realities.

Related New

News Coverage

Howl Around Theater

An Interview With Former Theater J Artistic Director Ari Roth21 December 2014

Read the article

The Washington Post

In Theater J’s ‘Boged,’ an Israeli whistleblower is seen as toxic

Read the article

Peter Marks, Theater Critic

Artistic director Ari Roth is fired from Theater J

Read the Article

Genre: drama, political
Subject Matter Keywords: Jewish, Israel-Palestine, Israel, theatre, Politics, artist, art
Age Appropriateness: ages 18 and up
Narrative Attributes: Centers Female Characters

Directed by Leslie Ross

A.J. Campbell, Producer. Founder of the Quarantine Players

Meet the Cast


NOAH 44, (Timothy Lynch) Jewish; Artistic Director of the theatre
JUDITH 52, (Lori Muhlstein) Jewish, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Center that houses the theatre
YASMIN 28, (Tarnim Bybee) half-Jewish/half-Jordanian, playwright
MARION 65, (Barrie Alguire) Jewish, President of the Board of the Jewish Community Center
CAESAR: 76, (D. Scott Graham) Jewish, a retired opthalmologist-turned-major-philanthropist

Seth Rozin, the playwright

https://newplayexchange.org/users/226/seth-rozin
Representation, Susan Gurman, susan@gurmanagency.com

Seth is the author of numerous plays, including SETTLEMENTS, HUMAN RITES (produced at Phoenix Theatre, 2017; InterAct Theatre Company, 2018), THE THREE CHRISTS OF MANHATTAN (InterAct, 2015), TWO JEWS WALK INTO A WAR… (National New Play Network rolling world premieres at Florida Stage, Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey and New Jersey Rep, plus productions at Shadowlands Theater, Merrimack Rep, Unicorn Theatre, InterAct, Florida Studio Theatre, GEVA Theater, Barter Theater, Jewish Theatre of Grand Rapids and New Repertory Theatre; published by Playscripts.com), BLACK GOLD (NNPN rolling world premieres at InterAct, Phoenix Theatre, PROP Thr, Arts West Playhouse), REINVENTING EDEN (InterAct), MISSING LINK (InterAct, Civic Theatre of Schenectady), THE SPACE BETWEEN US (readings at Abington Theatre, Philadelphia Art Alliance) and MEN OF STONE (Theater Catalyst; published by Playscripts.com). He is also the composer, lyricist and book writer of A PASSING WIND a musical about history’s greatest “fartiste” that premiered at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts’ inaugural Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts in 2011. Seth is the winner of two playwriting fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the 2006 Smith Prize (awarded by the National New Play Network), a 2002 Commission from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture, and two Barrymore Award nominations for Outstanding New Play.Learn more



About the Quarantine Players

When we started, there was no template for creating theater over the internet, which turned out to be perfect because we could remove all the obstacles that held us back.

At the time, we didn’t know what zoom was or how we could use it. Would people even know how to use it? How much would it cost? And what the heck is a virtual background? We had so many questions, but we watched all of our productions canceled in those horrible first days of Spring 2020.

We didn’t have to create a “season” of plays; we could choose any plays we wanted to do. It gave us a kind of freedom. We choose the plays, cast the roles, then we find an audience. We can create theater for a specific audience, for example, 25 -30-year-old parents in Des Moines, Iowa. We can do that.

Join us every week for a new play.

Website: QuarantinePlayers.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QuarantinePlayers/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/q_players
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quarantineplayers/

A Virtual Play Reading of Settlements

by Seth Rozin

THE WASHINGTON SQUARES by A. J. Campbell

Rent for $9.99 /2 weeks:
https://qplayers.vhx.tv/products/the-washington-squares-a-political-game-show

The Washington Squares is a political game show parody where media, popular culture icons, and politicians lie or tell the truth. Reminiscent of a popular game show, this version is anything but basic.

Send us some love and support: https://cash.app/$QPlayers

Playwright A.J. Campbell

Playwright: A. J. Campbell Directed by Doug Henderson Performed by the Quarantine Players facebook.com/QuarantinePlayers

Available on our podcast: https://anchor.fm/qplayers “We Will Survive” Parody Lyrics by A.J Campbell & Judy Lewis Performed by Cameron Lee Conlan

No Politicos were harmed during the making of this episode

OUR POLITICO “CELEBRITY” IMPERSONATORS

Announcer………………………………………….Eric Verchot
Chris “Hardball” Matthews………………….Tori Clay
Senator Mitch McConnell……………………Doug Henderson
Rep. Nancy Pelosi…………………………Judy Lewis
Vp Mike Pence…………………………….D. Scott Grahm
VP Joe Biden……………………………..Scott Olson
President Trump…………………………..Ethan McAtee
Dr. Rachel Maddow…………………………Sarah Mackenzie Baron
Randy Rainbow…………………………….Cameron Lee Conlan
Claudia Conway……………………………Kitty Murphy
Rep. Katie Porter…………………………Gayle Grimes
Joy Reid…………………………………Keekee Funches
Stephen Miller……………………………Adam Ressa

The White Board of Truth and the Dry Erase Marker of Destiny played themselves All rights reserved

SPOOKY SATURDAY by Joshua Kahn

A body swapping psychological horror. A young, idealistic woman preparing to leave for college winds up trapped in the body of her bitter Grandfather. As they attempt to swap back, they learn some hard lessons about themselves, each other, and the young woman’s hopelessly clueless Dad (the Grandfather’s son).

Written by Joshua Kahn
Directed by Scott Olson
Produced by A. J. Campbell, Quarantine Players

Cast
Ian Moore as the Narrator
Andrea is played by Sara Lucchini
Dad/Son is Ahmad Maaty
Grandpa/Husband is played by D. Scott Graham

About the Quarantine Players
https://anchor.fm/qplayers
https://www.facebook.com/QuarantinePlayers

Quarantine Players are a group of directors, playwrights, actors, and technicians from all over the U.S. who have gathered to keep the ghost light on for you. We work to create weekly podcasts and video readings of new plays so you can get your theatre fix! Till we are back in our seat with you, we will leave the ghostlight on.

About the Playwright, Joshua Kahn

https://newplayexchange.org/users/36228/joshua-kahn
Joshua Kahn is a playwright and Grade-A goof currently based in San Diego, California. He was born and raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles and acted in a couple of commercials before the age of 7. This ruined his ego. After a few years of forced hiatus, Joshua began acting in local theatres and ultimately enrolled in NYU Tisch as an undergraduate Drama student. He ended up graduating with a BFA in Film/Television Production, because nothing makes sense anymore. He’s interned and written and directed and now lives in San Diego, where he is the co-founder of Wildly Successful Theatre Co.

Otherwise, he does the crossword puzzle every night and records an 80-year old joke from his Grandpa’s army-issued joke book every morning.