THE CABOTS ARE HERE!
It’s here! The scripts for my plays, “The Cabot Comedies: Four One-Act Plays featuring the First Family of American Theater,” published by Next Stage Press, are now in stock and ready for you to read.
If you’ve pre-ordered (and thank you), the script should be in the mail and on its way to you soon.
If you want to order, use this link: https://www.nextstagepress.com/the-cabot-comedies/
To read a sample from one of the plays, follow this link: http://www.nextstagepress.com/…/The-Cabot-Comedies…
To hear a short monologue from one of the plays included in the script, visit: the Theatrical Shenanigans Podcast – One-Year Anniversary Special https://theatricalshenanigans.podbean.com/…/one-year…/
“The Cabot Comedies” are four one-act comedies I’ve written, all featuring the Cabots, a multi-generational family of actors in the theater. Starring Virginia Cabot, the respected and lauded matriarch of the family who has been in the theater since her youth; her son, John Charles Cabot, one of the most popular actors of his time; her daughter, Veronica, an actress struggling to find her own identity not tied to the family; her son, Monty, still struggling to find his place in the theater, and her sisters, Eve and Roz, old theater pros from the barnstorming days. While these characters were initially influenced by the Barrymores, they’ve taken on a life of their own as I’ve explored the characters through these plays. I’ve read that Sinclair Lewis and Eugene O’Neill made entire biographies and copious notes about their characters; I’ve done something similar with mine.
I’d like to express my appreciation to Gene Kato, the publisher of Next Stage Press, for providing me this opportunity to get these plays out to a wider audience. My hope is that theater companies will embrace these plays and help them find their place in the theater. Also, thanks to Rachel Feeny-Williams for her support in including the monologue in her one-year anniversary of “Theatrical Shenanigans” podcast. And thanks to the Pittsburgh New Works Festival for their support of “The Great Stalinski” back when I first started writing and submitting plays. It was a thrill to hear my play performed, as it always is.
You can find my other plays on New Play Exchange: https://newplayexchange.org/users/14397/greg-hatfield
Pre-Order The Cabot Comedies Now!
Just in time for Christmas, you can now pre-order my first published script of one-act plays!
“The Cabot Comedies: Four One-Act Plays” featuring the captivating tales of The Cabot family, the First Family of American Theatre, will hit the shelves in February 2024. Don’t miss the chance to pre-order today at https://www.nextstagepress.com/the-cabot-comedies/.
The Cabot Comedies comprise four unique one-act plays: “Three Sisters in Repertory,” “Henry Irving’s Hamlet Script is Missing,” “The Janus Circle,” and “The Great Stalinski.”
As a special treat, a monologue from “Henry Irving’s Hamlet is Missing” will be available in January, produced by Theatrical Shenanigans as part of their special second-anniversary podcast. Stay tuned for more details on this exciting preview! In the meantime, visit their podcast site at https://theatricalshenanigans.podbean.com/
I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Next Stage Press for bringing these plays to life. Their commitment to publishing meaningful works aligns perfectly with my desire to share these stories with a wider audience. Your support in pre-ordering will help bring these scripts to theater groups across the country.
Visit https://www.nextstagepress.com/the-cabot-comedies/ to pre-order your copy and join me in celebrating the magic of The Cabot Comedies!
Playwright Signs Publishing Contract
I’m pleased to announce that I have signed with Next Stage Press to publish four of my one-act plays under the collection, The Cabot Comedies: One-Act Plays featuring the First Family of American Theater. Publication date will be early 2024.
Next Stage Press is a publisher devoted to providing opportunities for playwrights whose scripts might be overlooked by larger publishers. https://www.nextstagepress.com/
The plays that make up The Cabot Comedies showcase the First Family of American Theater, the Cabots, who have been part of theater since the early 1920’s. The plays included are Two Sisters in Repertory, Henry Irving’s Hamlet Script is Missing, The Janus Circle and The Great Stalinski. These plays each reflect a period of time from 1926 to 1962, as we chronicle the story of the Cabots.
Theater companies will discover a group of plays with “Clearly a lot of thought and care put into each of these individual characters” (Austin Film Festival), adding “Hatfield presents a compact historical fiction of an American theater dynasty. It’s a charming portrait of “the life” and the sacrifices folks made to live it.” Another reviewer wrote, “Fantastic repartee in the script. Both on and offstage, the dialogue is great. All the characters bring good energy to the play and hold your interest to the end. This play will hit with a production company or acting group.”
My goal is to get more visibility for these plays resulting in productions. I will keep you posted as this develops.
New Updated Playwright and Directing Curriculum Vitae
Playwright:
Greg Hatfield Playwriting Resume
Contact:
– Email: greghatfield@greghatfield.com
– Social: @greghatfield
-NPX: https://newplayexchange.org/users/14397/greg-hatfield
Dramatist Guild Member
Summary:
Accomplished playwright, director, and actor with a proven record of delivering sophisticated and witty plays. Member of the Dramatists Guild known for creating uniquely entertaining works. Recognized by the Pittsburgh New Works Festival and the NPX for exceptional dialogue and humor.
Notable Quotes:
– “(Greg Hatfield) has a knack for writing witty dialogue!” – Pittsburgh New Works Festival
– “Brilliantly funny” “Sophisticated humor, through wit, wordplay, and charm” – NPX
– “The King of the One-Acts!” – Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative
– “Funny dialogue!” – The Black List
Plays:
– **Curtain Call**
– Production: The Drama Workshop, Cincinnati, OH, January 2023
– Virtual Production: PlayZoomers, Boston, MA, October 2021
– Staged Reading: The New Town Players, Richmond, VA, November 2021
– **The Ten-Minute Play (with a Nice Picture of Jimmy Carter)**
– Production: Rebound Productions, London, England, November 2022
– Production: The Drama Workshop’s Home Brew 4 festival, Cincinnati, OH, June 2019
– Featured Playwright Reading: Midwest Dramatists Center Conference, Kansas City, MO, 2018
– **Mundy Tuesday Friday**
– Radio Adaptation: Theatrical Shenanigans, London, England, February 2023 (Streamed worldwide)
– Finalist: Shakespeare in the Burg, Middleburg, VA, 2018
– **Lily Blossoms, or Modern Subdivision Zoning in the Present Day**
– Shortlisted: William Inge Theatre Festival, Independence, KS, 2020
– Staged Reading: Cincinnati Playwright’s Initiative New Voices Series, Cincinnati, OH, 2020
– **The Janus Circle**
– Virtual Reading: Philadelphia Screenwriters, 2020
– Virtual Reading: Kentucky Playwrights Group, 2021
– **The Sequel to Citizen Kane**
– Virtual Reading: New City Players, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 2020
– Staged Reading: Miami Writes, Miami University, OH, 2020
– **The Great Stalinski**
– Finalist: Pittsburgh, PA, New Works One Act Play Festival, 2018
– Staged Reading: Company’s New Works Play Readings series, 2018
Television:
– Alice Goodheart (Five-episode mini-series)
DIRECTING:
“Bringing a production to life on stage is exhilarating,” expresses Greg Hatfield, reflecting on his passion for directing. “The process of rehearsing and uncovering the play’s characters with the actors is a joy. Witnessing the culmination of that hard work during a live performance is an unmatched experience.”
Greg is renowned for his knack for character creation, honed through years of performing, writing, and directing as an integral member of the award-winning Cincinnati-based comedy troupe, Dr. Browndog’s Monkeytime. The troupe graced stages across Cincinnati, including prominent venues like Playhouse in the Park and Ensemble Theatre.
A trailblazer at Northern Kentucky University’s theater department, Greg became the first student to dedicate himself to directing. This journey led him to be the inaugural student to produce and direct a full-length college performance, “The Gingerbread Lady,” and to helm a production as part of the regular theater season, “Harvey.”
As a director, Greg’s hallmark is his meticulous organization and exhaustive play research, fueled by his passion for theater history. His background as a concert and special events producer equips him to handle any theatrical challenge. He’s not just a director for the actors; he’s an actor’s director, fostering excellent relationships with the cast, and his behind-the-scenes experience endears him to the crew. His mastery extends to sound and lighting techniques.
In January 2023, Greg showcased his original play, “Curtain Call,” for The Drama Workshop in Cincinnati, Ohio. Notable directing credits include Monk Ferris’ “Let’s Murder Marsha,” which premiered on October 6, 2022, with Beechmont Players in Cincinnati. The production garnered multiple awards at the 2023 ACT Convention. In June 2022, Greg helmed Christine Charlson’s “The Surprise Engagement” for The Drama Workshop’s Home Brew Festival.
From February 25 to March 5, 2022, Greg’s rendition of “You Can’t Take It with You” by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart graced the Village Players of Ft. Thomas stage, earning numerous Orchid Awards in 2022.
Further showcasing his directorial prowess, Greg presented Teri Foltz’s “Lessons” for The Drama Workshop’s Home Brew 4 festival in Cincinnati during the summer of 2019.
One of Greg’s proudest achievements, “Lily Blossoms, or Modern Subdivision Zoning in the Present Day,” both written and directed by him, featured in the Cincinnati Playwright’s Initiative’s reading series in January 2020. This play also achieved recognition by being shortlisted at the William Inge Theatre Festival in Independence, KS, in 2020.
Additional works directed by Greg Hatfield include:
“Clevenger’s Trial” by Joseph Heller
“The Wager” by Mark Medoff
“Man of La Mancha” by Dale Wasserman (Community theater production, St. Agnes Church, Ft. Wright, Kentucky)
“The Gingerbread Lady” by Neil Simon (First student production at NKU)
“The Browning Version” by Terence Rattigan
“Sorry, Wrong Number” by Lucille Fletcher
“The Sandbox” by Edward Albee
“The Bald Soprano” by Eugene Ionesco
“Harvey” by Mary Chase (First student production as part of NKU’s regular season)
“The Odd Couple” by Neil Simon
In addition to his directorial achievements, Greg Hatfield is an accomplished international playwright, with several of his plays having been produced both live and virtually in the US and UK.
Notable Productions:
“Comedy Beat Starring The Act” (Television and stage)
“Dr. Browndog’s Monkeytime” (Television and stage) – Available at YouTube.com/dickbeaks
“Cinema Beat” (Television)
“Eight Flights Up” (Television)
We’re On the Air!
And we are on the air! Tune in and listen to my play, Mundy Tuesday Friday, on this podcast! It’s free and available now at these fine podcast websites: https://rss.com/podcasts/theatrical-shenanigans/… https://open.spotify.com/show/54qD1COB9WRnH4HMrq142H…
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/0505ca3d-8b2e-46db-b487-5a63ea96f628/theatrical-shenanigans
https://facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087550385392
Mundy Tuesday Wednesday and Curtain Call
I’m looking forward to this. I hope you’ll tune in. So many of my friends on LI can’t get to a theater where my plays have been performed, so here’s a perfect way to experience one of them from the comfort of your own home. It’s free and the plays are archived in case you make it on the debut night.
My play, Mundy Tuesday Wednesday is presented as a radio play beginning Sunday, January 15 produced by Theatrical Shenanigans. Here’s a link: https://lnkd.in/gFNtXHJF
Mundy Tuesday Friday was a comedy play I wrote when I got back into theater. I had this idea for a play about this group of people and it just wouldn’t leave me. I wasn’t actively writing at the time, so to have this one idea just stay with me seemed important. It was if the jokes poured out of me. I wrote it. It seemed good to me and then I had to figure out what to do with it. That, friends, led me to discover the “joys” of submitting plays to theater groups all over the world.
I’m still doing it four years later, still writing plays and trying to get them produced. I’ve been fortunate to have had a few plays performed outright by theater companies here in the U.S., and recently, had one of my plays performed in the UK (Theatrical Shenanigans, who is producing this play, is also based in the UK. I may have to move). I’ve also had several Zoom productions, during the shut-down, and have had many staged readings.
Following this production, I am directing my play, Curtain Call, for The Drama Workshop’s Home Brew VI, here in Cincinnati (Cheviot, actually), Ohio. We open January 20. This is a play about the theater and actors, and I have a wonderful cast. It’s also very funny. Tickets are at thedramaworkshop.org and they will sell out, so plan accordingly. #theater #playwright #director
Home
What’s Happening in 2023?
Happy New Year everyone! I have some important announcements to make before we get started. Please feel free to take notes. You may need your calendar to circle the important dates. We’ll start at the beginning and work our way down.
January 15 will be the debut of a radio adaptation of my play, Mundy Tuesday Friday. This is a very funny comedy about love in the workplace and is in the vein of the screwball comedies from the 40’s, like His Girl Friday and The Philadelphia Story. This is produced by Theatrical Shenanigans (check out their FB page, they have a whole season of plays in their schedule) and the marvelous Rachel Feeny-Williams, who is herself a remarkable playwright.
Mundy Tuesday Friday can be found on these fine podcast platforms:
music.amazon.com/podcasts/0505ca3d-8b2e-46db-b487-5a63ea96f628/theatrical-shenanigans
open.spotify.com/show/54qD1COB9WRnH4HMrq142H
rss.com/podcasts/theatrical-shenanigans
There is no charge for listening and it’s available worldwide (so all my friends in other states and countries can listen to it. It’s also archived, so if you don’t get a chance to listen on the 15th, you have a while to hear it. If you do listen to it, let me know how you liked it.
The second thing I want to tell you about is closer to my home here in Cincinnati, Ohio. I’m directing my play, Curtain Call, for The Drama Workshop’s production of Home Brew VI. We open Friday, January 20, and run that weekend. Details at https://thedramaworkshop.org/. Tickets will go fast. We usually sell out each performance, so get them now. Home Brew is an evening of ten-minute plays written by local playwrights. I’ve participated in the past two productions and I love it.
Curtain Call is my tribute to Noel Coward, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, based on a true story from their production of Coward’s Design for Living in 1938. It’s very funny and features Karen Romero, Steve Krieger, Michael Scarpelli and Allie Webber.
So that’s it for now. Thanks to everyone who has supported my theater work these past couple of years. 2022 was a great year for me, back after the shut-down. I directed two well-received plays (You Can’t Take It With You for Village Players and Let’s Murder Marsha for Beechmont Players) and had a play, The Ten Minute Play (with a Nice Picture of Jimmy Carter), performed in London. I was also interviewed for an article in The Dramatists magazine and got paid the most money I’ve ever made in the theater for a play that the theater company decided not to produce.
My Play, Curtain Call, Will Be Produced
I’ll be directing my own play, Curtain Call, for The Drama Workshop’s Home Brew series January 20-22, in Cheviot, Ohio (Cincinnati metro).
Details are here: https://thedramaworkshop.org
Curtain Call is my tribute to Noel Coward and Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. During rehearsals for Design for Living in 1932, Noel wasn’t used to working with the perfectionists Lunts, who changed things liberally before opening night. I wanted to give my interpretations.
Me on the Radio
Here is the link to WGUC’s Cincinnati Spotlight, with yours truly talking about Let’s Murder Marsha, opening tomorrow night, from Beechmont Players.
Thanks to Elaine Diehl for having me on the show to talk about a play that I’ve enjoyed directing. Tickets on sale at beechmontplayers.org . We run October 7, 8 and 9 and October 14 and 15. Come see it. It’s funny.
Tickets On Sale Now for “Let’s Murder Marsha”!
In case you missed it, I have a show that I’ve directed opening Friday, October 7. It’s “Let’s Murder Marsha” by Monk Ferris, a comedy murder mystery, presented by Beechmont Players. Tickets are available at beechmontplayers.org. The theater is in the Anderson Center, 7850 Five Mile Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45230.
This is a very funny play performed by a wonderful cast, whom you can see below in the accompanying photo, taken by Kristy Rucker. I hope you’ll come.
The cast, from left to right, are: Bryce Willson, Mary Jo Bissmeyer, Susan Smith, Kiya Fix, Robert Tully, Cheri Russell and TJ McDonough.
Greg Hatfield: Ruminations 