House, Divided
 La Tempestad
 The Ballad of John Wesley Reed
 Girl Science
 The Allure of Oriental Wisdom
 Memorial Day (formerly Varia)
 Pride of the Lion
 The Dostoyevsky Man


 Monica for Chanukah
 Angie and Arnie Sanguine
 Edward and Ellie Supine
 The Lion Eats His Lunch
 The Lion in His Lair
 The Lion Leaves His Mark
 Prayers


 But Who's Counting?
 Emma Goldman Imagines the Millenium


 Just Before the War Between the Plates
 I Can Handle That


 Talking  with Lee Blessing

...with Tom Coash
...with Mary Fengar Gail
...with Richard Kalinowsky
...with Jamie Pachino
...with David Rambo
...with Jason Sherman
...with Naomi Wallace
...with Tom Gibbons
...with Dick Goldberg

Just Before the War Between the Plates is a 6 character play, all of the characters being cutlery. This play can be performed by either kids or adults. It has been performed by 5th graders, high school kids, and in adult short play festivals.

This play is available for purchase from www.Playscripts.com. For information about performance rights, please visit www.Playscripts.com.

Synopsis:

There's class conflict in the kitchen, as the forks, spoons, and knives argue over who's the greatest of utensils. The steel knife is looking for action, the grapefruit spoon longs for another function, and the sterling fork keeps touting its lofty lineage. Beneath the clash of cutlery lies a sensitive allegory about personal and sexual identity.

Characters:

STEEL KNIFE - A 9 inch Sabatier Forged Steel Standard kitchen knife.
LASER KNIFE - A 8 inch poly-steel serrated Laser brand knife.
TEASPOON - From the Stainless set. Modest. Everyday.
GRAPEFRUIT SPOON - A short, very shiny, stainless steel grapefruit spoon.
STERLING FORK - An elegant heirloom now in regular use; a silver fox.
STAINLESS FORK - From the same set as Teaspoon.

Playing time:

10 minutes, not a moment more.

Production History:

Just Before the War Between the Plates was selected for performance by Nantucket Theatrical Productions as part of the Nantucket Short Play Contest and Festival, and was performed during the summer of 1999 numerous times. According to Jim Patrick in the Nantucket Short Play Festival contest results letter, "Just Before the War Between the Plates is sheer fun!" In addition, Just Before the War Between the Plates was performed by Mr. Wood's 7th grade class from the Thomas Mifflin School, East Falls, Philadelphia, PA, as part of the Wilma in School program at the Wilma Theatre.

"Just Before the War Between the Plates is sheer fun!"
    - Jim Patrick, Nantucket Theatrical Productions

Sample Scene:

Oh, sure. Serrated. Like that means anything.

You think having an onyx handle... like that increases...

You bet it does. Looks, baby. Style. That's why I'm in the hardwood house and you're hanging by your edge off the side of the fridge.

Watch her next time. Get your head out of your knothole and take a look. Who does tomatoes? Bread? Delicate work? Who does she reach for for finesse work?

Wussy work. Who slices meat?

I could do meat, believe me.

Like hell you could. Rip. Tear. Rip. Ever see surgery tools? Straight edged. Honed. Me.

I've seen surgery. They use alloy micro saws. Blades are high school biology. Edges are high technology.

Technology? What about lineage? Listen to these names. Sabatier. Henkles. Wusthoff. You think brides want Laser knives? You think gourmet chefs ask Santa for serrated?

For information about performance rights contact www.Playscripts.com