Playing On Air: Short Audio Plays

When runaway snow tubes send a dad and his grown daughter flying off a cliff, they're left hanging on for dear life -- and testing the limits of a punchline. This winning comedy, recipient of the 2020 James Stevenson Prize for Short Comedic Plays, cheerfully prods family bonds between parents and their grown children. Written by Mallory Jane Weiss and directed by Tony nominee Moritz von Stuelpnage...

"A gorgeous high note...a Jewish screwball romance… uproarious and beautifully cast, with tone-perfect direction by Colette Robert."  — The New York Times  It's 1933, and a young Jewish immigrant has returned to his Polish hometown in search of a wife. On a snowy afternoon, he sets his sights on Chava, a savvy, sarcastic shopgirl in a local hat store.   Directed by Colette Robert ( STEW, Behind th...

"I felt I really had given birth ... rebirth ... to Napoleon." "So wait. Am I Napoleon? Or do I need to look for a job?"   Everyday life is a battlefield for single mother Evelyn and her adult son Corey, who has ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder). But underneath their sparring over Minecraft and job applications, a game-changing crisis is bubbling. Directed by Golden Globe winner Marsha Mason ("Grac...

Nobody comes to the campus health clinic looking for love. But as he waits for the nurse to call him in, Robby (Vandit Bhatt) finds himself drawn to Angie (Nitya Vidyasagar), a disenchanted writer with problems of her own. Can two strangers find unexpected poetry in each other? And do they even want to?  SKIN by Naveen Bahar Choudhury ( My Name is Yusuf , Ma-Yi Writers Lab) features Bhatt ("Quanti...

In the wake of the 1989 Romanian Revolution, a dictator's beloved pet must answer for the crimes of his owner. What's the cost of staying loyal to the hand that feeds you — especially if that hand belongs to a tyrant?  Jesse Eisenberg ( Zombieland, Happy Talk, PoA's The Blizzard) and Golden Globe winner Ed Asner ( Elf, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," PoA's New York Story ) open the 2021 Winter Mini-S...

Throughout February, Playing on Air returns with four episodes from our back catalog starting Sunday, February 7th.

The year is 2030. On the snowy outskirts of DC, an underground musician (Tony winner Julie White) and her pragmatic teenage daughter (Erin Wilhelmi) battle the forces, seen and unseen, that threaten their survival.     Directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt (Colt Coeur, PoA's 52nd to Bowery…), Bird is a world-premiere recording and, in partnership with the Axe-Houghton Foundation, a Wordsmith Duo comm...

THIRD GRADE continues Playing on Air's yearlong celebration of MacArthur 'Genius Grant' winner Dominique Morisseau ( The Detroit Project, Pipeline, Ain't Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations ). Elementary school teacher Kai is dedicated to helping her students thrive. But when one of her third-graders is brutally bullied, Kai must unexpectedly go to battle with the boy's father over h...

Ah, the holiday season! The wine is flowing. In-laws are gossiping in the kitchen. And the Thompson family is indulging in their most bizarre Thanksgiving ritual: the Turkey Trot. Mischievous and tender, THE THOMPSONS by Andrew Massey (EST's Youngblood) is a comedy about the wacky families we love, break, and remake.   Arin Arbus (TFANA, Broadway's Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune) directs...

After his hit Nudity Rider, OBIE winner Hamish Linklater returns for another helping of irresistible comedy: the world-premiere commission THANKSGIVING FOR ONE. Marjorie Mumms (Jean Smart) would rather not be eating her holiday turkey alone at the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. She can't get a decent gin & tonic, her daughter is spending Thanksgiving in another state, and her crazed waiter has cast her...

At a laundromat in Istanbul, a chatty seamstress (Carol Kane) and a guarded, young academic (Melis Aker) discover that they're linked, and haunted, by the myth of the same man.   Written by, starring, and featuring original music by Melis Aker (Kilroys List, Ars Nova Play Group), SCRAPS AND THINGS also marks the PoA return of legendary Oscar nominee Carol Kane ( The Princess Bride , "Unbreakable K...

On a sweltering afternoon in 1864, two Civil War widows meet in a graveyard. Mirabelle is trying to paint a pineapple; Annaleigh needs to make sure that her husband hasn't turned into a vampire. Together, the women begin to imagine the futures that might await them beyond corsets, lockets, and bullets.    HOW TO BE A WIDOW by Emmy nominee Tori Keenan-Zelt (Kilroys List, Bay Area Playwrights Festiv...

JEZELLE THE GAZELLE continues Playing on Air's yearlong celebration of MacArthur 'Genius Grant' winner Dominique Morisseau ( The Detroit Project, Pipeline, Ain't Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations ).   Jezelle is ready to prove that she's the best runner on her block: young, fierce, and definitely faster than any boy. But is she fast enough to outrun grief and claim her greatness? S...

"Back when I was a kid my mother took me to see a fortune teller for my 12th birthday… She said that when I am in my 20's I will reach two paths.  Two paths J. And I don't know which one to pick."  In the parking lot behind a Houston strip club, a young dancer considers a proposal from an octogenarian billionaire. Before the world devours her story, she has to choose it.  Written and directed by O...

In the middle of the desert, two vultures find their lunch interrupted by a man of faith. Now, they have a bone to pick with Saint Francis of Assisi.  Full of miracul ous and mischievous wit, ST. FRANCIS PREACHES TO THE BIRDS by David Ives ( Venus in Fur , PoA's The Blizzard) features Carson Elrod ( Peter and the Starcatcher, PoA's Evening at Anaheim ), Julie Halston ( Tootsie, PoA's Relative Stra...

Tony winner Tonya Pinkins ( Jelly's Last Jam , "Fear the Walking Dead," PoA's Poof! ), Tony nominee Condola Rashad ( Saint Joan , "Billions"), and Melanie Nicholls-King ("The Wire," "Little Fires Everywhere") star in Cassandra Medley's CELL. When a jaded supervisor at an immigrant detention center finds jobs there for her sister and niece, family tensions erupt into a battle over home and homeland...

"This doesn't seem like your kind of place -      Why? I dunno. You don't look like you eat a lot of crappy deli meat." Through a haze of gin, mediocre roast beef, and horrible apartment parties, a grieving New Yorker finds herself drawn to a quirky, flirtatious friend-of-a-friend. Hurtling through time, ANNIVERSARY by Rachel Bonds (PoA's Winter Games, Goodnight Nobody ) follows a journey back to...

Never underestimate the persistence of a Mets fan. In HAPPY by Alan Zweibel ("SNL," 700 Sundays with Billy Crystal ), a baseball fan shows up at the home of his childhood hero, George "Happy" Halliday. Has the stranger come to pay his respects or to throw a curveball? A comedy for anyone who's ever wished for an extra inning, HAPPY stars Frankie Faison ("The Wire") and Scott Adsit ("30 Rock," PoA'...

Hi Playing on Air listeners! We hope you're all safe and well. If you're willing to give us around 10 minutes of your time, we'd like to get to know you a bit better; it'll help us to program episodes of Playing on Air that you'll love.  Go to playingonair.org/survey to fill out our listener survey. And, as a thank-you, you'll be treated to a message from a very special guest. 

Jay, Bonita, and Row have gathered on the rooftop to burn the sage and drink the sacred Gatorade. To pray to the goddess Nike, and the ghosts of Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe. To summon victory for their beloved champion: Serena Williams, the Greatest Of All Time.  Directed by Whitney White ( What to Send Up When It Goes Down, Our Dear Dead Drug Lord) and featuring original music by Jeremy Lloy...

John Lithgow ("The Crown," "3rd Rock from the Sun," Hillary and Clinton ) and Tony nominee Steven Boyer ( Hand to God , PoA's An Upset) star in Emily Chadick Weiss's IF YOU WIN. On the eve of a local election, candidate Hal Wheelwright (Lithgow) receives an unexpected offer from his opponent's son (Boyer). Is this an act of political sabotage or a blessing in disguise? After the play, director Gio...

One summer morning, in a cool and dusty bar, two strangers seek refuge from the past. RJ is a single father, on a break from his only son's wedding. The mysterious Sonja is patient and sympathetic, but may have her own priorities. Two strangers meeting is an old story, but the possibility of a true connection always feels new. Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei (" My Cousin Vinny ," Broadway's The...

Playing on Air is proud to present the winner of our 2019 James Stevenson Prize: Jason Gray Platt's HUMAN RESOURCES. Tech start-up Diddly has a problem: their staff is whiter than a Coldplay concert in Vermont. Fortunately, Human Resources has a plan to "improve" Diddly's corporate culture — at least in theory. A biting satire about virtue signaling and elephant milk, HUMAN RESOURCES features Tony...

CLEAN SLATE by Rajiv Joseph ( Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Guards at the Taj) is Part Two of a thriller that begins with last week's episode, Doug Wright's FAKE NEWS. Special Agents Angie Mallinson and Vince Lazar just want to assure you that nothing horrible has happened at the KLWP News Hour. You may have heard rumors about a band of Kabuki-masked killers. You may have heard whispers about a...

Content Warning: Violence Anchors Bob Tunley and Fran Mercer are the iconic voices behind radio's KLWP News Hour — but today, they've become the story. As bizarre and menacing soundbites interrupt their live broadcast, the studio crew begins to fear that they're under attack.  Mark Brokaw (Broadway's How I Learned to Drive, Cinderella) directs Obie winner Eisa Davis ( Passing Strange, PoA's Gun Sh...