PlayZoomers Book of Comedy Scripts Available Soon!

Praise for COMEDIES FOR THE VIRTUAL STAGE:

This anthology is ideal for college acting courses, training students in live online and hybrid modes. PlayZoomers are pioneers of performance’s future, and these plays are the perfect gateway.

—Ansley Valentine, Associate Professor, Head of Acting-Directing, Indiana University Bloomington

This collection of short comedies will introduce you to the pleasures and possibilities to be discovered in the world of virtual theatre and entertain you each step of the way.

—Donald Steven Olson, award-winning playwright, Oscar & Walt and The Christine Jorgensen Show

Play production may have evolved, but our need to laugh at the human condition is unchanged. These 20 plays hold up a funhouse mirror to human nature, delivering classic comedy in a new medium. They empower everyone with a computer and a connection to produce theatre and bring the hilarity home.

— Christopher Byrne, theater critic, author of A Man of Much Importance: The Life and Art of Terrence McNally

Virtual theatre fed a hunger for live performances during the pandemic, when traditional stages went dark. Online streaming technology enabled audiences to enjoy the magic of theatre in real time from the comfort and safety of home. Today, this innovative art form is thriving beyond crisis times. With high production values and relatively low costs, live online theatre has proven to be more than a stopgap. It expands access for audiences who might otherwise be excluded due to location, disability, or affordability. It also connects actors, directors, and writers across distances, enabling global collaboration.

PlayZoomers, Inc. — a pioneering company in digital theatre — has staged more than 140 successful, live online productions with artists and audiences worldwide. Edited by producers Janet R. Carpman and Mary Ann Nichols, this book includes an Introduction to Online Theatre and 20 original comedy scripts, produced by PlayZoomers between 2020 and 2025, selected to help you explore the potential of virtual performance. Ideal for academic institutions, as well as community and professional theatre companies, each script offers engaging storylines, vivid characters, and witty dialogue. The playwrights featured in this book – including some award-winners – can help you ensure that laughter and the thrill of performance reach audiences anywhere in the world.

Included comedy scripts:

A First-Draft, Second-Rate Love Story by John Busser

A Horse! A Horse! by Steven Otfinoski

A Snake with a Ladder by Nick Maynard 

Almost Perfect by Trevor Suthers

Armchair Critic by Nicky Denovan

Can You Hear Me Now? by Morey Norkin

Chemistry Date by Lenny Hort

Curtain Call by Greg Hatfield

Drummer Boy by Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend

Imperfectly Frank by Seth Freeman

I’ve Got a Bun by Cary Pepper

Santa Noir by James McLindon

Speed Dating by Curt Strickland

Talkback by Sam Graber

The Audition by Steven Otfinoski

The Holiest of Sacraments by Patricia Connelly

The Noir Before Christmas by John Minigan

Tree #2 by R.A. Pauli

Your Call is Important to Us by Janet R. Carpman

Your Favorite by Ken Green

Paperback 320 pp. ISBN-13: 978-1968919047

Kindle eBook 345 pp. ISBN-13: 978-1968919054

Available in English on Amazon.com (US) and other global platforms, including Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.ca

Prices vary by country: US $24.95 paperback, $14.95 Kindle eBook

Special pricing available for educational institutions and nonprofit groups. Please contact the publisher, Armin Lear Press, for details: mkarinch@arminlear.com