Brian wins Lin Wright Award from AATE

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I was incredibly honored to win the Lin Wright Award from American Alliance for Theater and Education this past summer which honors those in the field who establish special programs, developed experimental work, made a distinctive educational contribution or provided meritorious service thus furthering theatre and drama for young people. The American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE) is one of the most prominent organizations nationally who connect and inspire a growing collective of theatre artists, educators, and scholars committed to transforming young people and communities through the theatre arts.

My parents and I at the AATE Awards Ceremony

This award honored my work as a playwright for young audiences, my work at the Omaha Theater Company, and the establishment and leadership with my Pride Players teen theater group. A humongous thank you to my friend Kati Koerner who nominated me for this award and gathered all the materials necessary for the process. It was such a treat to share the moment with my partner Michael, my graduate school friends Kati and Lynne, and my parents who came to D.C. for the awards ceremony.

Holiday Time Around the World

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An audience interactive play introducing audience members to holiday stories from Germany, Israel, Africa, Mexico, China and Russia

 

Production History
2011 Main-stage professional production Omaha Theater Company, 2007 Touring production CATS Theater in Arlington Texas, 2005 & 2006  Main-Stage professional production Omaha Theater Company, 2002-2004 Black Box Main Stage professional production Omaha Theater Company

Cast Size:  for a minimum of 2 actors (1m/1f), a 4 person version is available, could be adapted for a large youth production

Click here to read a scene sample from Holiday Time Around the World

Go to the contact page for a full perusal copy, to inquire about expanding it for a large youth or entire school production, or to inquire about royalties

If You Give a Cat a Cupcake

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Laura gives her new Cat a cupcake. The Cat is so excited and happy, but he then asks for sprinkles. Laura gives him sprinkles, but the Cat makes a huge mess. Cleaning up the mess will get him wet, so Laura gives him a bathing suit….which leads to crazy adventures to the beach, the gym, a mountain, a lake, and a museum..

Production History
2010 Omaha Theater Company Main-stage Production; 2010-2011 National Tour

Cast Size: 3-8 actors (1m/1f/1e)

Click here for If You Give a Cat a Cupcake scene sample

Click here to view the one minute promotion video from the Omaha Theater Company National Tour.

Go to the contact page to request  a full perusal copy or to inquire about royalties.

Julie of the Wolves

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World premiere stage adaptation of the Newberry Award winning book about a 13 year old Inupiat Eskimo girl who gets lost on the Alaskan tundra and must befriend a wolf pack for survival. Production is a heavily movement based show.

Production History
2000 Omaha Theater Company (Professional production on Mainstage)

Cast Size: 6 actors (3m/3f)

For a scene sample of Julie of the Wolves click here

Many Disguises of Robin Hood, The

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Robin Hood uses many disguises to continually trick the Sherrif of Nottingham, his daughter Luciana, and Prince John. Robin Hood eventually needs HER merry band of outlaws and her childhood friend, the brave Maid Marian, to save her from the gallows.

Production History
2009 Omaha Theater Company Youth Production; 2003 Omaha Theater Company (Youth production) 2002 Papillion La Vista Arts Network Youth production

Cast Size: 8-30 actors (6f/2m)

For a scene sample of The Many Disguises of Robin Hood click here

Go to the contact page for a full perusal copy or to inquire about royalties

Miss Bindergarten Welcomes You To Kindergarten

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Adaptation of 3 popular picture books by Joseph Slate about a Border Collie Kindergarten Teacher and her 26 animal students

Production History
2009 Omaha Theater Company national tour; 2007 Omaha Theater Company Mainstage Production

Cast Size: for a minimum of 6 actors (3m/3f)

For a scene sample of Miss Bindergarten Welcomes You To Kindergarten click here

NEBRASKALAND! The New Nebraska History Theme Park

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A TIE play where audience is put in role to help planners decide which famous Nebraskans to honor first in the theme park. (can be adapted for other state histories)

Production History
1999-present Omaha Theater Company (school tour)

Cast Size: for 3 actors (2f/1m)

For a scene sample of NEBRASKALAND! The New Nebraska History Theme Park click here

PRIDE PLAYERS featured performance at AATE!

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Pride Players (recently honored by the Omaha Arts and Entertainment Awards for best production for young audiences) was selected to be a special event performance at the national American Alliance for Theater and Education Conference this August in Lexington, KY.  Eight alums (Nik, Colleen, Brandi Lynne, Dan, Amanda, Maggie, Annah, and Steph) are joining Amanda and I to present at the end of the Dramatic Change pre-conference to kick off the conference.

Pride Players, The Best of

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A collection of skits, parodies, scenes and monologues exploring created by teens exploring the challenges and successes of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or straight allied teens

Production History
1999-present Omaha Theater Company (Teen productions)

Awards/Reviews
2006 National Education Association’s Human and Civil Rights Award Winner; 2011 Heartland Pride Parade Grand Marshalls; 2011 Omaha Arts and Entertainment Awards winner for best performance for young audiences; 2012 American Alliance for Theater and Education Featured Conference Performance;

Cast Size: 10-30 actors (6f/4m)

For a scene sample of The Best of Pride Players click here

Go to the contact page to receive a perusal script or to inquire about royalties (no royalties are charged if young actors are performing these skits for free.  Otherwise royalties go towards the Tracy Iwersen Pride Player college scholarship fund)

Sacagawea: Discovering History

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Jane is a 14 year old who is dragged along on a family road trip following the route of the Corps of Discovery led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. History comes to life for her though when the family reaches Ft. Mandan, South Dakota, where Sacagawea, a 16 year old Shoshoni Native American, joined the 1804 expedition.

Production History
2003 Omaha Theater Company professional Black Box production and local tour; 2002 Omaha Theater Company Black Box professional production

Cast Size: for 3 actors (1f/2m)

For a scene sample of Sacagawea: Discovering History click here

Sherlock Holmes and the First Baker Street Irregular

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Adaptation of two classic Sherlock Holmes short stories: The League of Red Headed Gentlemen and The Adventure of the Blue Carbunkle told through the frame of how Sherlock Holmes first started working with Wiggins and the Baker Street Irregular street kids.

Production History:
November 2015 Omaha Theater Company (professional mainstage production)

Cast Size: For a minimum of 12 actors (7m/5f) can easily be expanded to 20+

Sherlock and the First Baker St Irregular Scene Sample

For a full perusal script contact the playwright

Sherlock Holmes and the First Baker Street Irregular Opens Fall 2015

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When reading plays for the 2014-15 season at the Omaha Theater Company, the artistic director Matt Guttschick was looking for an adventurous story for upper elementary school students and middle school students that would appeal to boys and girls. He was interested in producing a play about Sherlock Holmes for this slot, but was struggling to find an adaptation that had a strong young protagonist. Being a HUGE mystery fan, I immediately said that Sherlock Holmes used street kids in London as a spy network to help with some of his cases. If one of those kids told the story of Sherlock Holmes, it would solve the challenge of how to engage young audiences into these classic stories.
So that began one of the most fun research periods I have had in preparing a new play. How cool is it that I got to reread so many original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as part of my job? I took copious notes about the characters, the appearances by the Baker Street Irregulars, and which cases might be a good fit for our stage. We did a few script development sessions with the company in the fall of 2014. I even taught a drama class on Sherlock Holmes in the winter of 2015 to explore these stories and some of the early pages with upper elementary drama students.
This adaptation includes the mysteries of The Blue Carbuncle and The Red Headed League and moments from A Study in Scarlet and the Sign of Four. I am very excited about this new adaptation. We open in November of 2015!

Spoiled Princess, The: A Grimms Fairy Tale

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A beautiful, but pampered princess publicly humiliates all of her suitors, including a kind young prince. Then the princess is given a gift of a minstrel from an anonymous prince, she dismisses the minstrel and sends him to sing to the pigs. However, the minstrel eventually tricks the princess into kissing him. When her father catches them, the princess is forced to marry this poor minstrel. When she must work in the kitchen for the kind young prince whom she rejected earlier, her humiliation is complete. The humbled princess, though, still has one more surprise in store for her.

Production History
2007 Summer Camp Youth Production, Papillion NE

Cast Size: for a minimum of 4 actors (2f/2m)

For a scene sample of The Spoiled Princess: A Grimms Fairy Tale click here

Stronger Than Strong: American Tall Tale Heroines

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Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett from Omaha Theater Company Afterschool Drama final performance

An 1880’s medicine show sells its strength elixir by entertaining the crowd with tales of strong women who drank the elixir including Slue Foot Sue (the cowgirl); Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett (the Tennessee frontier gal) and Annie Christmas (New Orleans Keelboater).

Production History
2006 Papillion Arts Camp (youth production), 2011 Omaha Theater Company (youth production)

Cast Size: 12-40+ actors (a professional cast of 6-8 actors draft is being developed)

Click here to read a scene sample from Stronger Than Strong: American Tall Tale Heroines

This play was recently published by Dramatic Publishing. Go to Dramatic Publishing for a perusal copy and for royalty information.

Super Adventures of Nutrition Man and Dr. Exercise, The

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The Super Adventures of Nutrition Man & Dr. Exercise begins with the invited audience getting to see Nutrition Man’s top secret hideaway.  Unfortunately, the Super Sickly Slug has also infiltrated the secret lair.  When the villain eventually removes the memory of  Nutrition Man and his partner Dr. Exercise, the audience has to help the superheroes remember the importance of healthy choices before its too late!

Awards

2010 American Alliance for Theater Education (AATE) Unpublished Play Reading Winner

Production History
2008-current Professional Touring Production Omaha Theater Company (touring into the schools for 60 performances a year), 2010 Imagination Stage professional production

Cast Size:  for a minimum of 3 actors (2m/1f or 2f/1m) with doubling  can be easily expanded to 10

Click here to read a scene sample from the Super Adventures of Nutrition Man and Dr. Exercise

Go to the contact page for a full perusal copy or to inquire about royalties

Tall Tale Heroes of Americana Show

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A turn of the century medicine show troupe of players performs three patriotic tall tale hero stories: Paul Bunyan, John Henry, and Sally Fink.

Production History
2002 Omaha Theater Company (Mainstage professional production)

Cast Size: for a minimum of 5 actors (2f/3m)

For a scene sample of Tall Tale Heroes of Americana Show click here

The Grocer’s Goblin and The Little Mermaid

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A puppetry production for young audiences brings two Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales to life.  When a student rents a room in a grocery store, the protective goblin spies on him. The goblin is introduced to art and stories for the first time when the Little Mermaid story bursts to life with shadow puppetry as the student reads the story.

Production History
2014 Omaha Theater Company mainstage production

Cast Size: 8-20plus actors

Click here to read a scene sample from Grocer’s Goblin & Little Mermaid for web

Go to the contact page for a full perusal copy or to inquire about royalties.