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Smith & Kraus Best 10 Min Plays '22
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Synopsis
Lost in Place interweaves six sharply observed, darkly comic playlets set in a nearly abandoned American town buckling under a relentless pandemic. A former mob wife is recruited by a wary detective to entrap a grandmother plotting to kill her pregnant daughter-in-law; a conspiracy-minded husband drives away his family while a well-meaning neighbor makes a fateful choice; martinis, stolen rutabagas, and buried resentments culminate in a shocking mercy; a prickly recluse and her abrasive visitor reveal unexpected tenderness; two widowed neighbors memorialize love with lawn chairs and gallows humor; and a displaced mother seeks refuge from an ex-cop guarding more than just her property. By turns absurd, profane, and poignant, the anthology explores isolation, moral compromise, and the uneasy intimacy of those left behind when the world falls apart.
Inspiration Set
Playwright Note
Lost in Place Anthology was written during the pandemic and is set squarely within one. But this is not, at its heart, a pandemic play.
The virus in these six intersecting pieces functions as a pressure cooker. It isolates, accelerates, and exposes. It strips away distraction and convenience, leaving these characters alone with themselves and with one another. What interested me far more than the pathology of disease was the pathology of people.
Each playlet unfolds on a micro level: a porch, a lawn chair, a police station, a kitchen window. A grandmother plots murder in the sexual wellness aisle. A husband mistakes conspiracy for conviction. A mother weighs mercy against endurance. Neighbors barter vegetables while the world quietly empties out. None of them are debating epidemiology. They are grappling with fear, pride, loneliness, ego, love, resentment, and the stories they tell themselves in order to survive.
The pandemic setting – hinted at throughout the anthology – provided a credible backdrop for societal breakdown. But the true collapse in these plays is not viral; it is moral. It is relational. It is spiritual. What happens when institutions fail? When garbage stops being collected? When help no longer comes? When responsibility is endlessly deferred? The anthology imagines a world teetering not simply because of contagion, but because of accumulated human greed, denial, and selfishness long predating any outbreak.
If the world is ending, these plays ask: what do we do in our small corners of it? Do we hoard? Do we lie? Do we double down on foolishness? Do we protect? Do we confess? Do we love better? Or do we finally admit that the collapse was never sudden.
The virus may be the circumstance. Humanity is the cause.
The virus in these six intersecting pieces functions as a pressure cooker. It isolates, accelerates, and exposes. It strips away distraction and convenience, leaving these characters alone with themselves and with one another. What interested me far more than the pathology of disease was the pathology of people.
Each playlet unfolds on a micro level: a porch, a lawn chair, a police station, a kitchen window. A grandmother plots murder in the sexual wellness aisle. A husband mistakes conspiracy for conviction. A mother weighs mercy against endurance. Neighbors barter vegetables while the world quietly empties out. None of them are debating epidemiology. They are grappling with fear, pride, loneliness, ego, love, resentment, and the stories they tell themselves in order to survive.
The pandemic setting – hinted at throughout the anthology – provided a credible backdrop for societal breakdown. But the true collapse in these plays is not viral; it is moral. It is relational. It is spiritual. What happens when institutions fail? When garbage stops being collected? When help no longer comes? When responsibility is endlessly deferred? The anthology imagines a world teetering not simply because of contagion, but because of accumulated human greed, denial, and selfishness long predating any outbreak.
If the world is ending, these plays ask: what do we do in our small corners of it? Do we hoard? Do we lie? Do we double down on foolishness? Do we protect? Do we confess? Do we love better? Or do we finally admit that the collapse was never sudden.
The virus may be the circumstance. Humanity is the cause.
Production History
THE CORPSE FLOWER (formerly Lost In Place: Rhonda & Danielle) received an online presentation on Fri, Jun 25th and Sat, Jun 26th, 2021, as part of Rainy Day Artistic Collective’s First Annual Queer Voices Festival. The piece was directed by Craig Houk and featured Gillian C. Kelleher as Rhonda and Kim Saunders as Danielle.
THE CORPSE FLOWER (formerly Lost In Place: Rhonda & Danielle) received an online presentation on Tue, Jul 27th, 2021, as part of Prince William Little Theatre's Original Works Festival. The piece was directed by Ward Kay and featured featured Stacy Crickmer as Rhonda and Larissa Norris as Danielle.
Development History
LOST IN PLACE ANTHOLOGY was actively developed over several months as part of a monthly group of established playwrights, monitored/led by Eric Webb, Dramaturg and Director of Creative Development at The TheaterMakers Studio.
Awards/Recognition
2023 Dominion Stage Playwrighting Competition One-Act Honorable Mention.
Reviews/Recommendations
None to date.
Enter "N/A" if not applicable.
REMINDER: No presentation or production of LOST IN PLACE ANTHOLOGY, in whole or in part, is allowed unless permission is granted by the playwright or his designated agents.