The Plays
Full-Length
The Back-Porch Gang
Residents at The Bluebonnet Village Retirement Community struggle with loneliness, boredom, and purpose. To pass the time, they wave at cars to see if they can get a wave back. This harmless activity takes a surprising turn with the appearance of a police officer and a quirky stranger. Suddenly the residents are forced to face the past and its impact on the present. Secrets are revealed as they navigate a treacherous maze of guilt and missed opportunity. The play is a heartfelt comic take on relationships seniors have with family, friends, and lovers. It examines the visceral need to be noticed and acknowledged.
Cast size: 4W, 2M.
A great opportunity for older actors.
Recommendations
"This endearing script features a lovable and zany cast of characters you can't help but root for. Each character has a distinct backstory and unique quirks with well-defined relationships to each other. The commentary on life at senior living facilities is rife with comedy, but the waving game they play also speaks to the invisibility of the elderly in our society. The play entertainingly twists and turns beyond the initial set-up, creating a heartwarming story of love lost and found again."
Catherine Randazzo, Associate Artist/Literary Manager
Florida Studio Theatre, Sarasota, Florida
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"Ben Scranton’s concept of senior citizens who wave at passing cars in hopes of getting a wave back speaks to the visceral human need to be noticed. The play explores the themes of love, forgiveness, and renewal. Night after performance night, this superbly written comedy garnered nonstop laughs from the audience, who seemed immediately drawn to each finely etched character. Scranton is a master storyteller and his funny, heartwarming play deserves to be seen."
- Jade Esteban Estrada, Artistic Director
Overtime Theater, San Antonio, Texas
"Very dear and lovely."
Marsha Mason
Academy Award nominated Actress. Writer and Director
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Selected scenes read by professional actors Rachel Burttram and Brendan Powers.
Charlotte's Revival
The full-length version is in development. It will be available soon.
The critically-acclaimed one-act version is available.
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Late one night the owner of a revival movie house is confronted by a troubled and grief-stricken loner with a tragic past. Through a series of fictional movie references, and an emotionally shattering story, she reveals some surprising episodes from their complicated past. His memory is tested as he struggles to do the right thing.
Cast size: 2W, 3M (one is a teenager)
One-Act
Blessings
Struggling to continue the family tradition of holiday baking, two sisters face the first Christmas without their mother. Grief and an aunt’s childhood resentments undermine the girl’s cherished memories. The discovery of a letter at the bottom of a flour tin changes everything.
Cast size: 4W, 1M. Three roles age 19-23.
Charlotte's Revival
Late one night the owner of a revival movie house is confronted by a troubled and grief-stricken loner with a tragic past. Through a series of fictional movie references, and an emotionally shattering story, she reveals some surprising episodes from their complicated past. His memory is tested as he struggles to do the right thing.
Cast size: 1W, 2M (one is a teenager)
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Review
“What I can say, unequivocally and without spoiling the profound impact of Scranton’s incredible show, is that Charlotte’s Revival was stupendously and impeccably acted, expertly and evocatively written.”
- Eva Phillips, Pittsburgh in the Round
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Complete review in Pittsburgh in the Round
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Recommendation
“I attended an online reading of this play at The Depot. It is a very poetic piece with a lush use of language. The character of Charlotte is drawn with so much delicacy; she is reminiscent of the women populating the plays of William Inge and Tennessee Williams. I would love to see a full production of this poignant play.”
- J. Lois Diamond, playwright
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“This play features some elegant writing and moments of real strength.”
- Nina Steiger, Artistic Associate
Hartford Stage
The End of Society
An African-American woman submits an unusual piece of original work to an art show. Debate ensues between the white arts administrator and the artist. They navigate a treacherous maze of verbal sparring, populated with racial barbs and personal threats. A satire on race relations and the role of art in society.
Cast size: 1W, 1M.
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NY Review
"A smartly satirical glimpse into the nexus of race, class, and cultural gatekeeping."
- John R. Ziegler and Leah Richards
Thinking Theatre NYC News and Reviews. The NYC off-Broadway theatre scene.
Recommendations
“I was fortunate enough to see a production of this riveting short play. This examination of gatekeeping in the arts field is clear-eyed and honest in its depiction of microaggressions and systemic as well as personal exclusions. It resolves on a note of hope that feels completely organic to the journey these two characters go on together. A sharp and witty piece.”
- Maximillian Gill, playwright
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”The dialogue is perfectly paced, witty, and poignant, and the characters are dynamically rendered. I love that you included not only the racial and class divide but the remedy. Empathy, communicating with one another, making connections."
- Jillian Rodseth, Dramatic Works Editor
Stonecoast Review
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Published in Stonecoast Review Literary Journal
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The Edgefest 2021, Semifinalist
Birdhouse Theatre, Milledgeville, GA
The Head of Seamus Delaney
Two opportunistic Irishmen place a bar bet to see who has the biggest head in the city. The men ride a wave of conspiracy theories and convoluted wordplay as they try to figure out how to win. Lopsided love and family devotion play a hand in the outcome.
Cast size: 2W, 3M.
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Finalist
The National James Stevenson Prize for Short Comedic Plays.
The Last Battalion of Children
This memory play takes place in the dream world of a Nazi doctor. Was he a hapless pawn or a willing participant responsible for the death of hundreds? The spirits of his family and a child of the Holocaust haunt him. The child’s story propels the old man back and forth in time toward an explosive conclusion.
Cast size: 2M (one a boy 9-11), 2W (one a girl 13-15).
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Recommendation
“What has impressed me is the dramatic tension between the dream setting and the tough, unsentimental dialogue. The language is both spare and unsparing, and despite its brevity and simplicity, the dramaturgy creates a powerful subtext of emotional life and wartime loss. The characters are well-written, and the imagery is consistently theatrical.”
- Steve Hayes, Executive Director
The Drama Studio, Springfield, MA
The Warehouse at the End of the World
The end is here. Nuclear war and relentless climate change disasters have decimated the planet. The living exist in an absurdist landscape filled with comic urgency. This is the new normal. Who will survive?
Cast size: 4 characters. Flexible casting. Roles may be played by M or W.
Weighting to be Noticed
The lives of three very different teenagers intertwine at a call-back audition for a coming-of-age film. The stakes are high as they navigate a treacherous maze of self-discovery, the need for stability, love, and acceptance.
Cast size: 1M. 3W. (3 are teenagers)
10-Minute
The Back-Porch Gang
Early one summer morning, residents of the Bluebonnet Village Retirement Community wave at cars to pass the time. Life-long friends toss off good-natured insults. Verbal barbs fly as the excitement rises. What these people are really seeking is the need to be noticed.
Cast size: 3W, 1M.
A great opportunity for older actors.
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Recommendation
“The audience loved The Back-Porch Gang. The laughter rang long and loud.”
Gary Bullock & Mil Nicholson
Literary Managers
The Blue Sphere Alliance, Hollywood, CA
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Finalist
2024 TENS Play Festival, Parish Players Theater, Thetford, VT
Field Trip
Lee faces her husband’s controlling nature daily. When her elderly mother, struggling with dementia, recalls a childhood field trip, trust issues surface for the couple. The story of the trip has repercussions for Lee and her husband, linking them to an important event.
Cast size: 1M, 1W.
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YouTube online reading with actors Kerry Benson and Mark Silence, directed by Michelle Joyner.
Maude and Maxine Make Change
Two laundresses live in the world of the ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ as employees to the royal couple. When one of them questions the rules, comic chaos erupts. The play examines gender communications, what it means to speak truth to power, and the evolution of change.
Cast size: 4 characters. 3W. 1 (could be played by a M or W)
1-Minute
Official
After a car accident, Todd's college football career is over. His father tries to carve out a path for him as a football official. Sister Meg is caught in the middle. What are her career options?
Cast size: 1M, 1W.
Recommendation
”How clever is this? A moment in time and the future changes – significantly. Ben Scranton creates characters, a backstory, a present narrative, and a future in the space of just two minutes. Crickey, I wish I could do that! Inspiring creativity.”
- Paul Smith, playwright
Santa In Disguise
One plays Santa. One plays an elf. The department store co-workers meet up for drinks and identities are questioned.
Cast size: 1W, 1M.
Score
A homeless couple pull a hand-written piano sonata from a dumpster. The score may be of value to them, but at what cost? Who owns creativity?
Cast size: 1W, 1M.
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Recommendation
"Score is proof that a one-minute play need not be a mere finger exercise but a complete, even visceral work in and of itself. Darkly humorous, frightening, painful. It stayed with me for days.”
- Ken Love, playwright
This Could Have Been Avoided
Score
A court officer escorts a convicted felon to her court-assigned community service. The felon harbors a burning secret.
Cast size: 1W, 1M.
Unplanned
A young married couple face an unplanned event that upends their world.
Cast size: 1W, 1M.
Recommendation
“We love doing Ben Scranton’s plays because they are crowd pleasers, actor pleasers, and critic pleasers. His characters are unmistakably real and, therefore, a welcome challenge to an actor. Yet, they are also eccentrically real and joyfully theatrical, whether comic or serious in nature, and he does both well. The entertainment value in Mr. Scranton’s plays rests invariably on a foundation of keen observation and subtle commentary on the foibles and failings of everyday people muddling toward an end of simple decency and goodwill.”
- Jim Patrick, Founder and Literary Manager
The Nantucket Short Play Competition and Festival
A homeless couple pulls a hand-written piano sonata from a dumpster. The score may be of value to them, but at what cost? Who owns creativity?
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Recommendation
‘Score’ is proof that a one-minute play need not be a mere finger exercise but a complete, even visceral work in and of itself. Darkly humorous, frightening, painful. It stayed with me for days.”
- Ken Love
Blessings
Struggling to continue the family tradition of holiday baking, two sisters face the first Christmas without their mother. Grief and an aunt’s childhood resentments undermine the girl’s cherished memories. The discovery of a letter at the bottom of a flour tin changes everything.