The Official Website of
TEN-MINUTE PLAYS:
THE COMEDY COLLECTION
The Amazon #1 Best-Seller!
ABOUT THE PLAYS
Comedy is king in this hilarious new collection of ten-minute plays that are guaranteed to have audiences rolling in the aisles. From the sublimely funny to the ridiculously inane, this unique compilation from the puckish pen of multi-award winning playwright Andrew Biss runs the comedy gamut. Some of the plays have their roots in realism, while others willfully and wantonly upend theatrical customs and conventions. Some are playful and lighthearted, while others hew closer to the realm of dark comedy. But whatever their milieu, they all share one common goal: to entertain and amuse.
In Ten-Minute Plays: The Comedy Collection you'll find the critically acclaimed "The Craft" and the Heideman Award finalist "A Rebel Among the Wretched" along with thirteen other wry and uproarious comedy gems guaranteed to elicit laughter and levity.
With minimal staging requirements and a broad range of characters, these plays offer a wealth of production opportunities as well as providing an invaluable resource of scenes for acting class. And on top of all that, they're a jolly fun read to boot!
The selected plays included in the collection are:
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The Craft – Despite a mutual loathing of each other, two actors intrepidly act out their roles. But their inner dialogues reveal a far different narrative than the one being performed on stage.
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Kitchen Sink Drama – Her husband’s lurid confession leads Elaine to seek solace from her sister, Joy. What Joy doesn't realize is that she's about to make a shocking discovery of her own.
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The Skewed Picture – A staid couple make a startling discovery that could reshape their entire existence...or at least their living room.
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A Flawed Character – A playwright creates a character for his new play but soon realizes that this is one relationship that wasn’t meant to be. But what's a writer to do?
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An Honest Mistake – Madge is inured to the verbal abuse of her husband, Stan, but on this night, Stan’s not only about to be served his evening meal - but also his just deserts!
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Filler – Two characters come to realize that the scene they’re in is completely extraneous to the play. Can they maintain their sanity through several pages of what is little more than filler?
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A Slip of the Tongue – Miss Perkins is tired of the constant innuendos from her employer, Mr. Reams, but on this morning, Reams finds he's bitten off more than he can chew...or one of them has.
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The Curious Art of Critique – A tepid reaction to his work compels a director to find out what’s leaving the audience unmoved. One way or another, the evening seems destined to end in tears.
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Carbon-Based Life Form Seeks Similar – Leslie's decided to give love another try, but is it still out there, or do happy endings only exist in massage parlors?
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What's the Meta? – Two written parts waiting to be brought to life on stage navigate an existential crisis and discover the true and indisputable collaborative nature of theatre.
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An Embarrassing Odour – Pensioner Ethel is confronted by a burglar whose concerns lie only in seizing her valuables...that and the unpleasant smell in the room. What is that smell?
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A Rebel Among the Wretched – An award winning drama enthralls audiences night after night, but what happens when one of the characters resolves to leave the play to join...a musical?
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Cocktail Conversation – Two gay men sit at a bar discussing their past sexual conquests over a cocktail…and perhaps a drink.
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The Joneses – A zealous couple fight to be seen as doyens of the community, but is that really the smell of victory in the air...or did things just get a little too hot to handle?
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Tacked-On Ending – Was an actor’s performance to blame for the woeful show or was it the play's deus ex machina, which is not only highly implausible but also oddly familiar?
IN THE PRESS
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
From the Royal Court Theatre in London to the Playhouse Theatre in Tasmania, the works of award-winning playwright Andrew Biss have been performed across the globe, spanning four continents. His plays have won awards on both coasts of the U.S., critical acclaim in the U.K., and quickly became a perennial sight on Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway stages.
In London his plays have been performed at The Royal Court Theatre, Theatre503, Riverside Studios, The Union Theatre, The White Bear Theatre, The Brockley Jack Studio Theatre, Fractured Lines Theatre & Film at COG ARTSpace, and Ghost Dog Productions at The Horse & Stables.
In New York his plays have been produced at Theatre Row Studios, The Samuel French Off-Off-Broadway Festival, The Kraine Theater, The Red Room Theater, Times Square Arts Center, Manhattan Theatre Source, Mind The Gap Theatre, 3Graces Theatre Company, Emerging Artists Theatre, Curan Repertory Company, Pulse Ensemble Theatre, American Globe Theatre, The American Theater of Actors, and Chashama Theatres, among others.
His plays and monologues are published in numerous anthologies from trade publishers Bedford/St. Martin's, Smith & Kraus, Inc., Pioneer Drama Service, and Applause Theatre & Cinema Books.
Andrew is a graduate of the University of the Arts London, and a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, Inc.
For more information please visit his website at: andrewbiss.com