PUBLISHED PLAYS
When Jack Met Jill
Dramedy, Comedy
Suggested casting: 2F, 2M, 4 any (4-20+ actors)
Length: 25-35 minutes
THE STORY: You never know what moments will be pivotal. An existential crisis, or a change in your soda-drinking habits. An unfathomable loss, or a moment of uncertainty about whether you’re looking at a possum or not. For Jack and Jill, it’s all of the above, as moments across time (and sometimes, between realities) converge into a poignant collage rendering of their relationship.
Heart of Snow
Dramedy, Comedy
Suggested casting: 5F, 5M, 5 any (8-26 actors)
Length: 80-90 minutes
THE STORY: All around Lake Hayward, it’s snowing, so over the course of one extraordinary winter, the people in this New England small town turn to each other for warmth. They might find love, friendship, or even just advice on how to make a really good snow fort. But where will they be when spring comes? A series of surprising scenes converges into a playful, and ultimately uplifting dramedy.
100 THINGS I NEVER SAID TO YOU
THE STORY: Julie has died. There is a school assembly and the students say things they never said to her.
and
100 LOVE LETTERS I NEVER SENT
ISBN: 9780573710339
THE STORY: Sister play to 100 Things I Never Told You. This is a play about various ways to love that I hope is literally for everyone.
The Wooden Heart
Comedic Drama
5f, 3-4m.
THE STORY: Mitch wants to be a carpenter. Heather wants to be a woodcarver. The wolf wants to be an intellectual. Ruby wants to escape the wolf. The woodcutter wants to escape the narrator. A fable-inspired play about love and wood and finding your purpose.
CLOWN BAR 2
ISBN: 978-0573710025
Dark Comedy
3f, 6m
THE STORY: In this follow up to Szymkowicz's long-running comedy hit, the clowns return to the scene of the crime. A year has gone by since the events of Clown Bar, and Happy, the new clown crime boss, is missing. Foul play is suspected, so two cops from the "beige life" are enlisted to go deep undercover and solve the mystery.
“The antics never stop.”
— Eat More Vegas
“An absurd and fabulous play that takes "clowning" to a whole new level. The physical comedy of the play will undoubtedly keep audiences laughing while witty and quick dialogue will allow for an engaging play. A show made for all.”
— New Play Exchange Community
“Fun the minute you enter the performance space.”
— Eat More Vegas
Stockholm Syndrome
ISBN: 978-0881459555
Comedy
6f, 6m
Single Set
THE STORY: STOCKHOLM SYNDROME: OR, REMEMBER THE TIME JIMMY'S ALL AMERICAN BEEFSTEAK PLACE WAS TAKEN OVER BY THAT GROUP OF RADICALS? That mouthful of a title is set, appropriately, at Jimmy's All American Beefsteak Restaurant — a fictional chain (the kind you love to hate) — whose employees and patrons suddenly find themselves in the midst of a hostage crisis … and a love story.
“An outrageous farce of violence and lasciviousness!”
— The New Orleans Advocate
“STOCKHOLM SYNDROME is a hilarious and captivating show, in the best way possible.”
— Gambit Weekly
“In all its absurdity … an entirely new genre of theater — the interactive terrorist musical comedy … You’ll get a hearty kick out of STOCKHOLM SYNDROME.”
— The Times-Picayune
“But for all the talk about immersion, maybe the most important piece for an audience member to feel immersed in is thematic. And that’s what I enjoyed most about the show. At the heart of STOCKHOLM SYNDROME is a group of characters who look at their lives at some point in the show and realize they’re not totally happy with how things are going. Worse yet, they don’t even understand how their lives got to this level of disappointment. A server who sings about the dissatisfaction of every day being exactly the same as the last. A diner who doesn’t have her needs fulfilled by her husband. A manager whose dedication and loyalty frequently lead to letdowns and heartbreak. A woman who wants a man with more ambition. And a man who just wants a woman to go home and hold hands with. This story is full of realizations of life-gone-astray, and that’s a realization most of us can relate to at at least one point or another.”
— Very Local
The Parking Lot
ISBN: 978-0881459043
Drama
1m, 1f - 2 total
Minimal Set Requirements
THE STORY: A couple decides their fate in a parking lot. A play meant to be performed outside by two actors quarantined together (1M, 1F) who can play a couple. It takes place in a parking lot and people watch from the safety of their cars.
The Book Store
ISBN: 978-1-68069-924-1
Comedic drama
3 W, 3 M, (6-28 actors possible: 3-16 W, 3-17 M)
Flexible Set
THE STORY: The future of a whimsical, almost magical bookstore is uncertain after the owner dies and leaves the shop to her niece Rachel. Rachel has a job in New York City that doesn't pay her enough and a fiancé that won't stop calling. She doesn't have the time or patience to run a bookstore, so when real estate magnate Max Brewer offers her more money than she can imagine to turn the store into an apartment complex, her choice seems like a no-brainer. But as the shop works its magic on her and she gets to know the eccentric employees and clientele, she starts to wonder: Can you really put a price on a beloved community bookstore?
The Night Children
Comedic Drama
10 Any (10-58 actors possible: 6-31 W, 4-35 M)
Keep the sets and set changes simple. Bare Bones.
THE STORY: Dara died in a car accident and West is still mourning her. April climbs through his window. One day in the lives of the Day Children and the Night Children as they navigate death and love.
Old Fashioned Cold Fusion
Dramedy
2-14 actors
Flexible Set
THE STORY: Nine short plays about the pleasures (and sometimes hazards) of falling in love. From a sheriff and a criminal on opposite sides of the law in the Wild West, to a couple of pirates vying over a cache of buried treasure, to longtime acquaintances who decide to test whether a New York Times quiz can really make two people fall head over heels, sparks ignite in surprising and hilarious fashion in this inventive, witty collection.
Mercy
ISBN: 978-0-5737-0782-7
Drama
3m, 1f - 4 total
Flexible Set
THE STORY: Orville is trying to get on with his life after his wife was killed in a car accident. His father is mostly taking care of his still unnamed infant daughter while his boss at work is aggressively trying to comfort him. Everything changes when he sees the man responsible for his wife's death. Is someone in this much pain capable of forgiveness?
"'Mercy' has a significant story that brings to light important issues of our times that include the devastating problems caused by drunk drivers, the trials of single parenting, and the value of family support.”
— Broadway World
“Tautly constructed.”
— Asbury Park Press
“This is a strong work, dealing with a realistic situation and creating true-to-life characters performed by a talented cast.”
— Theatre Is Easy
“A Poignant New Play Excellently Presented"
— Broadway World
Kodachrome
ISBN: 978-0-5737-0808-4
Dramatic Comedy
2m, 3f - 5 total (doubling, up to 16 actors)
Flexible Set
THE STORY: Welcome to Colchester, a small town where everybody knows each other and the pace of life allows the pursuit of love to take up as much space as it needs. Our tour guide is Suzanne, the town photographer, who lets us peek into her neighbors’ lives to catch glimpses of romance in all its stages of development. A play about love, nostalgia, the seasons and how we learn to say goodbye.
One Act Version also available. CLICK HERE.
"It's tender and poignant and awkward and funny all at the same time - you know, just like life.”
— Broadway World
“'Kodachrome' is somewhere between an ensemble love story, a mischievous comedy and a supernatural dream.”
— Willamette Week
“This breezy new play by Adam Szymkowicz, receiving its world premiere production at Portland Center Stage under the direction of Rose Riordan, is warm and cheerful but clear-eyed about the impermanence of love.”
— The Oregonian
“Overall, I highly recommend KODACHROME. You'll leave Colchester with a newfound determination to stop putting off whatever it is you've been putting off and, in the words of Harold Hill, "make today worth remembering.”
— Broadway World
“The play intermixes moments of gut-wrenching sadness with lighthearted humor, all while forcing the audience to pause and confront each emotion with the click of a shutter.”
— The Portland Mercury
“This is a beautiful play–understated, tricky, often humorous, and universal. It’s a story about ordinary people going about their lives.”
— Judy Nedry
Rare Birds
ISBN: 978-0-8222-3756-3
Comedy
4m, 2f - 6 total
Flexible Set
THE STORY: Sixteen-year-old Evan Wills is an avid bird watcher who wears colorful songbird shirts to school despite the constant antagonism it brings him. Evan’s mother just wants Evan to be normal, and happy—and normal—and get along with her new boyfriend. While Evan summons the courage to talk to Jenny Monroe (whose locker is next to his), troubled bully Dylan has something darker in mind. After some stupid choices and unexpected results, Evan learns that the worst thing you can do in high school is admit you love something.
"RARE BIRDS proves that talent and skill can make an ‘issue’ piece a compelling work of art…What’s rare is Szymkowicz’s gift for naturalistic dialogue…After a sequence of smoothly escalating episodes of conflict and cruelty, gentle good humor mingles with nail-biting anxiety in the climactic sequence. We’re left shivering with angst, yet aware of the possibility that goodness can sometimes triumph…It’s a winner from start to finish.”
— BlogCritics.org
“RARE BIRDS may be about teenage bullying, but this play is anything but childish…[it] plumbs the depths of how cruel teenagers can be…RARE BIRDS is a story the world needs to hear.”
— Charged.fm
“[RARE BIRDS] is well written, with dark comedy, intense drama, and an intriguing plot arc. It sheds a harsh light on cyber-bullying…The main characters…are complex and believable, with deep inner lives…[RARE BIRDS] shares an important message through a heartfelt story that takes the audience on a memorable emotional journey.”
— Theatre Is Easy
Incendiary
ISBN: 978-0-8814-5726-1
Comedy
3m, 4f (doubling, up to 15 actors) - 7 total
Minimal Set Requirements
THE STORY: Elise is a pyromaniac fire chief who falls in love with Jake, the detective investigating her fires. Carrie, Elise’s therapist, is trying to get her to stop lighting fires and Carrie’s husband, Gary, is leading the life of a somewhat ineffective corporate spy.
"Firefighting and fire starting get the noir-camp treatment in Adam Szymkowicz’s INCENDIARY, which tackles the whimsical dilemma of star-crossed lovers in the arsonist and arson-investigator fields … this nutty love triangle of boy, girl and inferno is charmingly original and genuinely suspenseful."
— Time Out Chicago
"Hilariously ornate in the best world-weary, film-noir fashion."
—Chicago Theater Beat
Marian, or The True Tale of Robin Hood
ISBN: 978-0-5737-0657-8
Adventure, Adaptations (Literature), Period
Ensemble cast, Non-Traditional casting, Cross gender casting, Reduced casting (Doubling Possible), Expandable casting, Multicultural casting
Flexible Set
THE STORY: A gender-bending, patriarchy-smashing, hilarious new take on the classic tale. Robin Hood is (and has always been) Maid Marian in disguise, and leads a motley group of Merry Men (few of whom are actually men) against the greedy Prince John. As the poor get poorer and the rich get richer, who will stand for the vulnerable if not Robin? What is the cost of revealing your true self in a time of trouble? Modern concerns and romantic entanglements clash on the battlefield and on the ramparts of Nottingham Castle. A play about selfishness and selflessness and love deferred and the fight. Always the fight. The fight must go on.
Teen Version also available. CLICK HERE.
"a sheer comic delight. This gender-bending, myth-rending gallivant through Sherwood Forest and Prince John’s keep boasts the funniest and most appealing band of Merry Men you’re likely to meet in Manhattan.”
— Blogcritics
“a sweet farce.”
— Timeout New York
“the show thrives on its own playfulness and silly energy while still tying everything up at the end. Marian manages to present something important without taking itself too seriously – and that makes it all the more resonant. It doesn’t need to overstate anything. This is feminism in action (in all its beautiful, heroic glory).”
— Theatre Is Easy
“95 minutes of first-class writing, acting, and directing.”
— Show Showdown
“Adam Szymkowicz creates a rollicking, gender-bending romp that unveils the large and small ways leaders can inspire internal revolutions in those around them.”
— New York Theatre Review
Hearts Like Fists
ISBN: 978-0-8222-2896-7
Comedy
2m, 5f (doubling) - 7 total
Flexible Set
THE STORY: Dr X is sneaking into people's apartments late at night and injecting lovers with a serum that stops their hearts. Lisa joins the Crimefighters, a group of crimefighting women, to stop him. Peter, a heart doctor, is trying to create an artificial heart that can be mass produced so no one will fear to sleep with their lovers again.
Critic's Pick: "hysterical... Hurting for a laugh? These Crimefighters should save the day."
— New York Times
"A fun, twisted exploration of what it means when someone Hulk-smashes your heart on the ground into a million pieces... It's goofy. It's absurd. But it hits hard where it counts–right in the ticker."
—The Village Voice
"It's hard to imagine a better night at the theater.... Like the best comic books, the story has a bright, action-packed surface with deeper complexities at work beneath. 'Hearts Like Fists' delivers an enviable double blow: humorous and profound at once, it demonstrates that the boundaries of what can be done with speculative storytelling onstage are limitless, and always have the capacity to astonish."
— i09
Clown Bar
ISBN: 978-0-5737-0269-3
Dark Comedy
7m, 3f - 10 total
THE STORY: Long ago Happy left the Clown Bar and the organized clown crime world to work for the good guys. Now his junkie brother Timmy has been murdered and Happy returns to his old life to ask a few questions. But can he go home again without getting sucked into the seedy clown underbelly of vice and violence? Can he survive the gun toting clowns who used to be his friends or Blinky, the lady clown he left behind.
Critic's Pick; "Adam Szymkowicz's script is unabashedly silly but also shrewd, paying homage to film noir and pulp novels."
— New York Times
"Mr. Szymkowicz has created a new world out old parts, breeding a brand new species of creative animal. He is, in fact, making his own rules–and the pleasure of obeying them is all ours."
—New York Theatre
"Clown Bar does detective story spoofs one better by employing every single familiar crime-movie trope–brooding hero, crazy crime boss, conflicted gun moll, hooker with a heart of gold–and making them all... well, clowns. It's weird how well this works: playwright Adam Szymkowicz has combined two inherently ridiculous forms of entertainment and created a perfect storm of ridiculousness."
— Theater Is Easy
Pretty Theft
ISBN: 978-0-573-69721-0
Drama3m, 4f - 7 total
THE STORY: Pretty Theft is a play about ballerinas, boxes and the dangers of beauty. After losing her father, Allegra falls under the wing of bad girl Suzy, only to find an unexpected friendship with Joe, an autistic savant. When things take a violent turn, Allegra and Suzy escape cross country and befriend Marco, a mysterious thief who claims he cannot be caught.
“Disturbing but touching...Mr. Szymkowicz writes quirky plays about contemporary topics like online dating and gender roles, but there always seems to be something — a knife, a rope, a dead body — in an unexpected place. In Pretty Theft, the undercurrent of danger goes beyond quirkiness; it’s more subtle and ultimately more horrifying. The play takes place in a terrifying world where reckless people get hurt, and so do more or less innocent bystanders.”
—The New York Times
“Szymkowicz has not only taken the notion of theft and flipped it on its head — he’s taken a story about human beings at their worst and shown how we can claw our way back from the brink by finding the good within ourselves.”
—The Villager
“Adam Szymkowicz has written a play full of interesting people…The dialogue and humor in this play are excellent…It runs a lean, intermission-less 90 minutes and is very satisfying…This would be good theater for young women not only to see but also to perform.”
—NYTheatre.com
Nerve
ISBN: 978-0-8222-2199-9
Dark ComedyFull Length1 m, 1 w - 2 totalInterior
THE STORY: NERVE is a dark comedy about falling into a relationship on the first date. Elliot has never had an online date before…at least not one that showed up. Susan has had far too many but would prefer not to discuss them. When they meet in a bar one night, all their personality flaws are revealed, along with a puppet, some modern dance and a desperation that may or may not be love.
"…sweet, sexy, neurotic friendly."
—NY Times
"…frequently laugh-out-loud funny, and in the end a neat little demonstration, if you needed one, of how much better live theatre can be than TV or movies when it comes to convincingly recreating human relationships in all their delicious complexity."
—Gothamist
"With NERVE, playwright Adam Szymkowicz ventures into the minefield that is online dating and emerges with a wickedly entertaining and darkly comic romance. Cyber-dating may be rife with tales of nightmarish encounters with neurotics and sociopaths, Szymkowicz seems to say, but don't sociopaths deserve love, too? Anyone who sees NERVE will be inclined to say yes."
—OffOffOnline.com
Food For Fish
ISBN: 978-0-8222-2198-2
ComedyFull Length2 m, 4 w (doubling) - 6 total
Flexible Set
THE STORY: Bobbie drops the pages from his novel into the Hudson River. They tell the story of three sisters: Sylvia, a reporter, Barbara, an agoraphobe (played by a man in drag), and Alice, a scientist with a plan to isolate and eliminate the gene for love. The three sisters are going to have to bury their father—when they get around to it. His coffin has been sitting in the living room for a year now, and he's starting to smell. Meanwhile, Bobbie goes out each night kissing strangers, and Sylvia goes out each night looking for Bobbie. A story of unrequited love, missed connections and a novel in a bottle.
"…fabulously weird and weirdly fabulous…the reconsidered stereotypes and unexpected observations keep coming."
—NY Times
"…a smart, well-done play…Catch it before it's gone…"
—NYTheatre.com
Deflowering Waldo
ISBN: 978-0-8222-2136-4
ComedyFull Length2 m, 4 w - 6 totalFlexible Set
THE STORY: Waldo is having a bad day. He's afraid of crowds, spiders, skyscrapers, flowers, brown soap and sex. His father won't stop being Scottish. His therapist wants to seduce him. His ex-girlfriend could spontaneously combust at any moment.
And the new woman in his life seems to want something else completely. Will he manage to find true love—or at least mow the lawn?
7 Ways to Say I Love You
Comedy / Drama
Short Plays
5m, 8f – 2 either (3-15 actors possible: 2-10 f, 1-7 m)
Set Minimal
THE STORY: This collection of funny, sweet, silly, poignant and stylistically diverse short plays from New York favorite Adam Szymkowicz has something for everyone. From the awkwardness of asking out a pizza store clerk (Ambience Pizza), to a campy infidelity revenge comedy (Film Noir), to the couple destined to be together no matter the obstacles (John and April), this collection explores heart, grief, pain, and humor as the plays dance around the eternal human theme of love.
The Adventures of Super Margaret
Comedy
A Play for Youth5f , 16m either (8-30 actors possible: 5-27 f, 3-25 m)
Unit Set
THE STORY: Super Margaret is having a hard day. She has too much Geometry homework, and the prom queen and king have been kidnapped. If she doesn't rescue them from the Nefarious Evil Genius, who will? Certainly not her wanna be sidekick, Louis who won't stop following her and narrating her life. Certainly not Super Lee who is busy enough at Central High. It's hard to be both super powered and super smart.
The Why Overheard
ISBN: 978-1-934962-80-0
Full Length2 m, 4 w (doubling) - 6 total
THE STORY: An office comedy. Karen, the boss, hasn't been heard from for a while. In her absence, Nigel and Annie are waging an escalating office war. Alan and Sid are battling for Jessica's affections and building a glass ceiling. Sam is falling in love. Donald, the former office manager is loading a gun and plotting revenge. Karen is thinking of taking her dog and leaving forever. But first, she's going to sing a hobo song.
"... genuinely funny... It's a decent play that pushes against its own boundaries... weird but likable vision."
— New York Times
"... this highly praised young playwright continues to be someone to watch.... engaging, silly fun with a satisfyingly intelligent underpinning. Some of Szymkowicz's humor is low and some of it is slyly sophisticated, but all of it comes from well-observed human truths."
– Theatermania
"The Why Overhead entertains because of some fine and funny lines... in bursts of inspired dialogue and in soaring, silly monologues that are near-poetic comic riffs."
– Backstage
