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"Craig's work never fails to surprise and delight me. He crafts some dark and often unsettling worlds populated with some of the most delightfully unlikable characters. Despite the darkness, he still finds humanity in his characters, opening them up for both our censure and our empathy. Similar to Pinter and Beckett (though far more approachable), Craig's plays capitalize just as often on silence as they do bombast, utilizing the theatrical space (and the spaces between) in unexpected ways to build tension and disarm the audience. If you find the darker side of life delicious, then look no further." -Eric Webb, Dramaturg and Director of Creative Development at The TheaterMakers Studio
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By downloading any of the plays below, you hereby acknowledge that Craig Houk is the sole owner of all rights in and to these plays. None of these plays may be produced or reproduced in whole or in part unless permission is granted by the playwright or his designated agents. For License Application & Fees Information or to Purchase a Copy of Brute Farce, of Syd, of Cooler, or of Cold Rain, please visit NEXT STAGE PRESS. Licensing and royalty information for all other works are available upon request through CRAIG HOUK directly.
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Excited to announce that two monologues from SYD will be included in Smith & Kraus's The Best Women's Stage Monologues 2025 and The Best Men's Stage Monologues 2025. Thank you to Gene Kato (Next Stage Press) and to Owen Robertson (Lab Theater Project) for their incredible support.
Additionally, Lou's "Peanut M&Ms" monologue from RADIATOR is now available for purchase as part of Smith & Kraus's The Best Men's Stage Monologues 2024. Thank you to the Anacostia Playhouse for including RADIATOR in their 2023 Theater After Dark/Art All Night program. Thank you also to Joshua Prescott (André Cooper) and Matty Griffiths (Lou Brunazzi) for sharing their time and talents.
And a very special thank you to the enormously gifted Debbie Lamedman for her ongoing dedication to and support of playwrights.
Additionally, Lou's "Peanut M&Ms" monologue from RADIATOR is now available for purchase as part of Smith & Kraus's The Best Men's Stage Monologues 2024. Thank you to the Anacostia Playhouse for including RADIATOR in their 2023 Theater After Dark/Art All Night program. Thank you also to Joshua Prescott (André Cooper) and Matty Griffiths (Lou Brunazzi) for sharing their time and talents.
And a very special thank you to the enormously gifted Debbie Lamedman for her ongoing dedication to and support of playwrights.
BIO
Craig Houk is an award-winning DC based Playwright and proud Dramatists Guild Member. He is also a Producer, Actor & Director. Houk’s plays include Cold Rain (published by Next Stage Press, winner “Best Drama” and “Best of Festival” at Capital Fringe 2018), Syd (published by Next Stage Press), Brute Farce (published by Next Stage Press, 2021 The Loom New Works Festival Finalist, 2022 Dominion Stage Playwrighting Competition Full Length Winner), Cooler (published by Next Stage Press), Lost In Place Anthology (2022 Dominion Stage Playwrighting Competition One-Act Honorable Mention), and Radiator (2020 Dominion Stage Playwrighting Competition One-Act Honorable Mention). His other works include Herb Cleary Meant No Harm, The Reluctant Hen, Big Bastard, Lost Sole, Dinner Dance, and Old Money. Lost In Place: Rhonda & Danielle (now titled The Corpse Flower) has been included in Smith & Kraus’s “The Best Ten-Minute Plays 2022”. Brute Farce has two monologues included in Smith & Kraus’s “Best Women's Stage Monologues 2023” and “Best Men’s Stage Monologues 2023” 2023. Radiator has one monologue included in Smith & Kraus's "Best Men's Stage Monologues 2024". Syd will have two monologues included in "The Best Women's Stage Monologues 2025" and "The Best Men's Stage Monologues 2025". Many of Houk’s plays can be found at The Drama Book Shop in New York City.
ARTIST STATEMENT
While my writing has been generously compared to that of Pinter, Beckett, Albee, Shaffer, Shepard, and the Coen brothers - all of whom have deeply influenced my work - I make no claims to be profound or prolific. I describe my style as dynamic realism, whereby my stories are grounded in reality, but always pushing against its edges, challenging and redefining it. I don’t want the audience to settle in; I want them to buckle up. At heart, I write to entertain. And in doing so, I strive to create vivid characters with compelling stories to tell; roles actors want to play, and stories audiences want to experience.
MESSAGE TO MY FELLOW ARTISTS
We live in a time where our hardships, our development, and the ways we endeavor to uplift others are overlooked. The lens has shifted: less focused on how far we've come, more fixated on where we’ve faltered. People are quick to reduce us to our missteps, whether real or perceived. There was a time when owning our faults, learning from them, and choosing to grow were seen as signs of strength, but none of that is enough, not anymore. Apologies are scrutinized, transformation is questioned, and grace is now withheld. So, protect your peace. Not everyone is entitled to your energy or to your story. Be kind, but never at the cost of not being yourself. Be honest, even when it’s hard. Stay grounded, even when the world feels like it’s spinning out from under you. Those who truly know you will hold steady. The rest? Let it fall away.
Next Stage Press Podcast - Episode 35 - On Location in Tampa/St. Petersburg
Gene is on location in Florida with Next Stage Press playwrights Owen Robertson, Craig Houk, and Doug DeVita discussing Lab Theatre Project and celebrating the World Premiere of FABLE at FreeFall Theatre
Gene is on location in Florida with Next Stage Press playwrights Owen Robertson, Craig Houk, and Doug DeVita discussing Lab Theatre Project and celebrating the World Premiere of FABLE at FreeFall Theatre
Next Stage Press - Episode 22 - Craig Houk
Gene talks to Washington D.C. playwright Craig Houk about his plays COLD RAIN, SYD, and BRUTE FARCE.
Gene talks to Washington D.C. playwright Craig Houk about his plays COLD RAIN, SYD, and BRUTE FARCE.
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Brute Farce is available for purchase and licensing through Next Stage Press.
Synopsis: Four vengeful, narcissistic actors – backed by a brutish stage manager and a cynical stagehand – kidnap a theater critic infamous for closing productions and destroying careers with his ruthless reviews. Their plan? To murder him live onstage during a performance of the very show they’re all starring in. Less than an hour before curtain, chaos erupts as it becomes clear that none of the conspirators actually understand the plan or its designed outcome. Brute Farce is a sharp, satirical take on the tangled, often dysfunctional, and sometimes explosive relationship between actors and critics. |
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Syd is available for purchase and licensing through Next Stage Press.
Synopsis: Decades before the tragic Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, a devastating fire at a gay bar in New Orleans claimed the lives of thirty-two men on June 24, 1973; an act of arson set by one of their own. That same night, Sydney “Syd” Trahan, a young nursing student, is arrested for dancing at Brady’s, a notorious lesbian bar in the French Quarter nearby. As Syd’s parents, Bud and Helen, grapple with the shock and struggle to reclaim some sense of normalcy, their neighbors Beau and Beverly Larson harbor dark secrets that connect them to both the fire and Syd’s arrest. |
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Cold Rain is available for purchase and licensing through Next Stage Press.
Synopsis: Carly Weekes and her sisters, Lolly and Shirley, are witches. When the trio casts a spell to conjure a perfect partner for Carly – a famous musician from Colorado – Shirley adds a dangerous twist: a questionable incantation with potentially deadly consequences. Fearing they’ve cursed Carly and her future family, Lolly attempts to undo the damage, but her counterspell backfires, banishing her to an alternate realm. Years later, tragedy strikes when the Pacheco twins mysteriously drown. The case goes cold, but suspicion lingers as many believe Carly’s eldest son, Johnny, was involved. Cold Rain is a dark, often comic tale of a family bound by black magic and unraveling under the weight of misguided intentions, buried resentments, and forbidden longing. |
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Cooler is available for purchase and licensing through Next Stage Press.
Synopsis: Oscar-winner Jack Dunn emerges from self-imposed exile to confront his oldest friend – and fiercest rival – Wade Henry. What starts as a friendly, nostalgic poker night quickly unravels into a tense, whiskey-soaked reckoning, where long-buried grudges resurface and the weight of fading legacies takes center stage. Cooler is a darkly comic and gripping meditation on ambition, aging, and the masks we put on when the spotlight fades. |
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Lost In Place: Rhonda & Danielle (now titled The Corpse Flower) is available for purchase as part of Smith & Kraus's The Best Ten-Minute Plays 2022.
Synopsis: Two or more years into a world-wide pandemic, next door neighbors, Rhonda and Danielle, gossip with one another while dealing with the loss of their significant others. |
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Deirdre's Monolgue from Brute Farce is available for purchase as part of Smith & Kraus's The Best Women's Stage Monologues 2023.
Synopsis: Production Stage Manager, Deirdre Shepherd, is just about to announce “places” before walking into the disastrous aftermath of an entire cast that has turned on one another. |
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Killian's Monolgue from Brute Farce is available for purchase as part of Smith & Kraus's The Best Men's Stage Monologues 2023.
Synopsis: Killian Black is shocked to discover that none of the other actors are familiar with his plan to murder Alistair McHugh, a theatre critic from the Daily Telegraph, during a production of the play they’re all currently appearing in. |
