Tag Archives: 2 act comedy

Sassafras Cannon – Civil-war black comedy play

civil-war black comedy play

SASSAFRAS CANNON – CIVIL-WAR  BLACK COMEDY PLAY

Sassafras Cannon is a civil-war black comedy play highlighting and satirizing the follies of human nature, at its base. Featuring a set of characters ranging from the offbeat Bloodworth family, holding the reigns to a chocolate manufacturing corporation like the world has never seen, a lampooning version of President Jefferson Davis, a butler who seems a bit, well, evil, and even down to investors from overseas, all whom make their appearances, the show exaggerates America’s time-tested fascination with all characters wild and strange, all while twisting history into it’s own new version, all in a style reminiscing to the days of vaudeville shows and the Ziegfeld Follies.

Did you know that cocaine, now considered a drug, was in the original mix of Coca-Cola?
Did you know that Jefferson Davis is rumored to have been fleeing from the Union at the time of his capture in his wife’s clothing?

These are all facts and rumors that the play uses to perpetuate it’s story and satire, combined with intentional historical inaccuracies and rumors. Attendance at the production is recommended for those with both a sense of humor and a grasp of history.

Review from The Charlotte Observer:

The play, like many of my other script ideas, simply came to me one day out of the blue,” Starnes said. “I wanted to do a comedy on some sort of Willy Wonka-esque character and his especially eclectic family set during the Civil War, which would appeal to young adults and adults.

“Many of the details in the show were inspired by real-life facts found during my prewriting research. However, the play is not a documentary or historically accurate, following my motto that people – when attending an event such as a play – are seeking to be entertained rather than taught.”

Audiences are advised to bring a sense of humor, and parental guidance is suggested.

In Starnes’ play, there is no “fourth wall” between the audience and the storyline. The playwright said attendees “become part of the storyline” in the Museum of the Waxhaws’ auditorium.

Read about playwright Timothy Starnes.  Other plays (Tune in – TV comedy) by Timothy. 

Author: Timothy Starnes

Genre: Civil-war black comedy play

Type: Two-act play

Cast: Cast of 10-12 M 1-4F  (Housestaff can be played by either sex)

Ages of the actors: Adult

Suitable for: Parental guidance advised

Length: One and a half hours long

Set: A desk in the middle of the performance
space is necessary, desk chair included. Other
furniture is entirely optional.

Level of difficulty: 7/10 – dark comedic characters 

Read a Sample of the Script





Cost is $6 for this well staged digital stage play

Contact Off The Wall Plays with any queries about Sassafras Cannon

Copyright © September 2015 Timothy Starnes and Off The Wall Play Publishers

Like this play? Other historical plays and dark comedies:

A house divided – four act civil war drama
Lies you can’t make up – drama script about JFK
Wilson – one act dulogue – a dark comedy
Death’s no laughing matter – two act black comedy

DEDICATIONS:

For Ryan Fay, who is going on to do the great things everyone was expecting. If it wasn’t for him, this script would have been complete 6 versions ago.

For Beth Killion, whose amount of effort put into the costumes must have bailed out the entire craft industry. Homeschoolers and old ladies rejoice.

For Anna Claire, who listened to my weekly arguments with Ryan Fay in the car, citing that we sounded like an old married couple. Accurate.

For Hoke Pittman, who has been keeping my leading male characters rightfully sassy since 2013.

For Jasper Boykin, the original black butler.

For Lucas King, who made sure that the houseboy humor couldn’t be any bawdy or funnier.

For Katherine Pierce, whose realistic onstage wine-drinking couldn’t have come from no previous real life experience.

For Noah Tepper, the original Victorian emo. His hair color changes were part of those script versions.

For Carlos Vargas, whose constant mention of his male Cinderella adaptation never ceases to silence a room.

For Kevin Brennan, who has flashed more people than even the biggest career flashers, wearing his Jefferson Davis dress.

For Jessica Boyles, who died more times than anyone can count, in the show.

For Shawn Jones, the scariest investor in the ensemble.

For Camarin Chargualaf, who said “inherited chocolate empire” correctly on both running nights.

For Savannah Jillani, who maintains to look better in my clothes than I do.

For Tommie Wall and Sandra Glenn, who supported the project all the way to the stage, hiding some of it from the arts council along the way.

Don’t say you’re Harry – a two act farce script

farce script

DON’T SAY YOU’RE HARRY – A TWO ACT FARCE SCRIPT

In this two act, full length farce script, Snake and Harry, two professional diamond thieves gatecrash the funeral of Miss Amelia Devonport, who was the late owner of the fabulous Devonport diamonds.  Snake and Harry plan to impersonate relatives of the late Miss Devonport in order to get information on the diamonds and where they could be hidden in the old Devonport mansion. Then they plan to steal the famous stones.

Unbeknownst to Snake and Harry, two cops, Capt. Theunis van Staden and his young partner, John Smith have also gatecrashed the same funeral, and are, um, also posing as relatives. The two policemen received an ‘anonymous tip’ earlier in the week that led them to believe that two thieves, masquerading as relatives of the deceased, would crash the funeral and steal the diamonds.  Their task: to find the location of the famous stones, and use them as bait to trap the diamond thieves into revealing themselves.

It all gets rather complicated when each one of them decides to call himself ‘John Smith’ in this hilarious farce script.

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Elgin Theatre Guild, ON, Canada – 2020

The author will allow workshopping of this script.

Claire Linda Demmer is a small festival award winning playwright, whose plays have sold internationally.  A one act version of the same script ,  ‘A cut above the rest,’ has been published previously.

Author: Claire Linda Demmer

Genre: Comedy, farce

Type: Full length two act play

Length: 90 minutes

Actors: 5M (males, men) ,  3 F (females, women),  maid and guests.(2-4)

Ages of actors: Late twenties (20s) up to late seventies (70s)

Set:  Lounge with a coffin on a dais, with a set of stairs upstage right and a door leading the the kitchen on the lower level stage right, and another door leading to the parlour upstage left.  The front door is downstage left. Various chairs are set around the room for the funeral.

Level of difficulty: 8/10 timing of the farce.

Read a Sample of the script

pay now shakespeare

Cost is $9.00 for this produced digital script. Just Click Shakespeare!

Contact Off The Wall Plays with any queries about Don’t say you’re Harry

Copyright  July 2012 Claire Demmer Off The Wall Plays

Jack Masterson and the Case of Absurdity – a two act teen farce

 

SCRIPTS ABOUT CRIME

JACK MASTERSON AND THE CASE OF ABSURDITY – A TWO ACT TEEN FARCE

In this two act farce, Jack Masterson has just started a private detective agency with his friend Lisa and they are awaiting their first case when Miss Lovely walks through their door in need of assistance.  It seems that a priceless family heirloom of Miss Lovely’s has gone missing and she needs Jack to find it for her.  Jack gladly accepts the case and starts by checking out the scene of the crime and questions Miss Lovely’s maid, Yvette and her obnoxious neighbor Sandra Moody.

Jack comes to the conclusion that his old nemesis, Professor D. Veous must have some information on the whereabouts of the missing heirloom.  While Jack goes off to question the Professor at his headquarters underneath the local Happy Hamburger Hut, Lisa goes down to Club Shady to question some of the local thugs about the theft.  While there she runs into Jack’s biggest rival Detective O’Malley who decides to help her out questioning the criminal element.  What heirloom could possibly worth so much trouble?  With three different endings it could be anything!!!

Author: Michael Maxwell

Characters: 18 (12F/6M)

Genre: Comedy, Two act Farce, TWO ACT TEEN FARCE

Type: Full Length Stage Play in 2 acts

Length: 90 Minutes

Suitable for: Any ages

Ages of Actors: Teen and Up

This show was produced and performed at Theatre 29 in Twentynine Palms, California in 2001 and was presented as a Summer Youth Play.  It was also nominated for Best Original Writing in 2002 by the Desert Theatre League of Palm Springs.

FURTHER PRODUCTION HISTORY

Maranatha Baptist University-Music and Drama Camp, WI, USA -2017
Towson High School, MD, USA – 2017
Tallulah Falls School, GA, USA – 2019
Carrollwood Players, FL, USA – 2019
White Oaks Secondary School, ON, Canada – 2021
St Columba College, SA, Australia – 2022

Michael Maxwell has been writing plays for the past 10 years and has written 13 plays and  had 11 of them produced both domestically on the community theater level and internationally at schools for English language programs. He has also written close to 60 “Saturday Night Live” style skits for a live sketch comedy show that performs in the Inland Empire.  His show “Like Clockwork” won the Desert Theater League of Palm Springs’ Best Original Writing Award in 2001.

View a Sample of the Script

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Cost is $10.50 for this digital play script. Just click Shakespeare!

Contact off The Wall Plays with any queries relating to Jack Masterson

Copyright October 2011 Off The Wall Play Publishers