Michael W. Kramer

Playwright

Due to my interest in theater which includes participating in over 70 productions as an actor, crew member, director, or producer, I began to write plays a about 25 years ago with some noticeable time lags between efforts. These plays have received public readings and generally positive responses at the Missouri Playwrights Workshop. This group meets on Tuesday evenings on the Campus of the University of Missouri but met in Zoom during and after COVID. Plans are to begin meeting in person as soon as possible.

My play, Then and Now, won two contests and received staged readings as result. One was the Play Around Contest for Ann Arbor Civic Theatre. The other was the Fall Festival for the South of Broadway Theater Company in North Charleston. It was also a semi-finalist in the Eugene O'Neil National Playwrights Contest and received a reading in the Play Festival at the First Run Theatre in St. Louis.

Recently, I was selected as a featured playwright in the Starting Gate Competition at the Talking Horse Production company in Columbia, MO. For that, I wrote two new 10-minutes plays, "Think About It" and "Because..." These received full production (memorized, lights, costumes, sets) and were well received. I hope to do more with "Because" since it seemed to touch audiences.

Previously, a 10 minute play I wrote, "Lunch Together," was performed as a staged reading at Carpenter Square Theater in Oklahoma City. Prior to that, "The Plan" received staged readings at the Mid-American Theatre Conference Playwriting Symposium and at the University of Missouri New Play Series.

I have resumed writing plays in retirement. I have completed three new full length playss and four ten-minute plays since retiring. I am looking for places to send them for additional opportunities for them to be produced.

If you or a group you are affiliated with is interested in possibly producing one of my plays, I would be quite interested in working with you. The links below (all in Word) include a brief synopsis, list of characters, and some sample dialogue for some of the plays. I will be adding the new ones as time permits. Please contact me if you have any interest in reading the full version of the plays.

• Eight Hours (full-length)
• Empty Nest (full-length)
• Then and Now (full-length)
• One by One (full-length)
• The Wager (full-length, available soon or on request)
• STUFF (full-length, available soon or on request)
• The Devil's Folly (full-length, available soon or on request)
• Our Suburb: An Adaptation of Our Town (full-length, available soon or on request)
• The Prodigals (one act)
• The Plan (10 minute)
• Lunch Together (10-minute, available soon or on request)
• Zoom Out (10-minute, available soon or on request)
• Because... (10-minute, available soon or on request)
• Think About It (10-minute, available soon or on request)
• That's Not The Point (10-minute, available soon or on request)