Today's the second day of my show Blalock's Discharge, in which I play a woman who fought in the Civil War. It's a fun, strong role I've really enjoyed working in; unfortunately, finding good scripts with strong roles for actresses can be difficult.
Just this week I read a request from a director for a list of play suggestions in preparation for next year's National Women's Month. The criteria she gave was that the cast would be small (between one and four people) and female/woman driven. Two suggestions immediately came to mind: Trifles by Susan Glaspell and Overtones by Alice Gerstenberg. Both are short one-acts rather than full-length productions.
Trifles is a five person play, two of whom are women. A county attorney, local sheriff, and neighbor investigate the scene of a grisly murder, accompanied by the wives of the sheriff and neighbor. The three men appear at intermittent times during the show, but the main drama is on the two women as they gradually piece together the true crime. It was originally performed at the Wharf Theater in Provincetown, MA in 1916. The full play script can be read over at the University of Virginia and on Project Gutenberg.
Overtones is a four person play, all of whom are women. Harriet is married to a wealthy man but inside, her inner self Hetty longs for an artist she once loved but turned down. That man went on to marry Margaret, who pretends to be well off even while inside Maggie is well aware of how close she and her husband are to losing everything. These four women (the outward facades and interior souls) grapple over a scene fraught with double meanings, unrequited desires, and cool calculation. It's a great showcase for strong female leads; I directed it as a student project in college. You can read the full script here.
For a longer production there's Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley. This two act show involves six characters: four women and two men. Three sisters and their cousin are forced to revisit their past when the youngest of them is accused of a crime. I got to work this show earlier this year: it's got lots of great character moments for the four women, who each have different motivations and goals to achieve. There was a movie adaptation made in the 1980s (which I have not seen).
Then there's Doubt by John Patrick Shanley (3 women, 1 man), in which two nuns must try to determine whether a priest has sexually abused a student at a Catholic school in the 1960s. This show was made into a movie starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams in 2008 (I think you can watch it on Amazon). I had the opportunity to perform as Sister James a few years ago, and the experience taught me a lot.
Another four person show (3 women, 1 man) is Three Tall Women by Edward Albee; as a tall woman myself, I've been dying for someone to produce it. This two-act drama focuses on an older woman on her death bed: as the play progresses she drifts forward and backward in time, remembering the vagaries her life and coming to terms with her decisions.
I got to serve as stage manager for a fun show called Black Pearl Sings by Frank Higgins in January. It's a two person show set in the 1930s, in which a woman working for the Library of Congress works with a black prisoner to record folk songs. Their growing friendship (and cultural clashes) showcase a lot of good character moments and actual history, plus a surprising amount of humor. Best of all, neither character really gets to "win," and there's no real villain to strive against; it's a true slice-of-life of two strong, vibrant women who each learn from the other.
That's all the female-driven plays I came up with for a quick email. Do you have any suggestions?
