I am about to start my second year of a Masters of Fine Arts at Baylor and one of the firs things I'll need to do is propose five possible shows to produce in my THIRD year as a part of the completion of my degree and a part of Baylor's main stage season.

So... here's what I'm looking for -

• Contemporary
• Comedy
• Meaty - A play that does some serious thematic exploration through or with it's comedy
• Inexorably theatrical - I want something that was written for the stage and only REALLY works on the stage
• Not over the top profane or sexually explicit (it's a Baptist university after all)

Ideally I'd like something like Sarah Ruhl's Clean House or Guirgis's The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. Neither of those would work at Baylor but that's the neighborhood in which I'd like to start shopping.

HERE'S NEW INFO and NEW WAYS TO HELP

The following is a list of plays that have caught my attention for one reason or another:
Handler - http://www.playscripts.com/play.php3?playid=396
Tallgrass Gothic http://www.playscripts.com/play.php3?playid=841
Quake - http://www.playscripts.com/play.php3?playid=731
After-Play http://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=781
Brutality of Fact - http://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=1925
God's Ear - http://www.samuelfrench.com/store/product_...roducts_id/7218
Messiah on the Frigidaire - http://www.samuelfrench.com/store/product_...roducts_id/7128
SILENT PARTNERS http://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=3915
THE RUBY SUNRISE http://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=3739
100 Saints You Should Know http://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=3923
WHAT DIDN”T HAPPEN http://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=3199
Stay http://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=3921
Man from Nebraska – http://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=3453

If you HAVE any of the above I'm looking to borrow. If you KNOW any of the above, I'd love to hear your thoughts. If you can think of OTHERS that belong on the list I'd love to hear your ideas.

I'm staying away from plays that are smaller than 5-6 in the stated cast list, since this is a mainstage and the school usually wants larger cast shows there.

Hitchcock Blond
Getting Frankie Married... and Afterward (surely Horton Foote works at Baylor)
The Beard of Avon
Hospitality Suite aka The Big Kahuna
O Calcutta (I love to tweak Baylor sensitivities.)

SEE UPDATE ABOVE.

God's Man in Texas -- David Rambo (or maybe they're sick of that one at Baylor)
Gideon -- Paddy Chayefsky
Heaven on Earth -- Bob Schenkkan
Fiction -- Steven Dietz
Collected Stories -- Donald Margulies

Let me put in my vote for "Messiah on the Frigidaire". I've seen it twice. Once at a community theatre and once at a college (Winthrop University) as a student directorial project. It has some nice Baptist jokes (I'm a Baptist and wasn't offended) and it is definitely not something you would see in church, But once you get past the set up (Image of Jesus on a refrigerator in a trailer park) it is really a very positive narrative on true faith and Gods mysterious ways. But more than just a religious examination, it is at its heart a love story. I thoroughly enjoyed both productions. I actually have a copy of the play if you want to borrow it to read. I know Samuel French is the publisher, but you can get even more information at a website I found for the play. Here's the link Messiah on the Frigidaire
Tell me where to send you my copy of the play and I'll put it in the mail. All I ask is that you return it.

Will
Oh by the way, it's VERY funny.

Thanks Will!! Your offer is generous, but my dept will buy it for me. And your recommendation is strong enough that it deserves a read for sure.

Dan

Not sure if Musicals qualify but my brother's "Academy of Death" ticks all the boxes. There are links to promo vids and stuff and it's due to play at the Edinburgh festival next year.

Matt

I will be directing...

Fuddy Meers by David-Lindsay-Abaire

I'm very excited about it. It's a hilarious show and it's subtly about some important things that are especially important to me right now.

If you're in Waco one year from now (First week in Dec 2009), I'll score you some comps.

How weird is that? Schenkkan's Heaven on Earth, which I recommended above, is on the exact same topic.

You couldn't put it closer to SXSW so that I could try to talk myself into a trip to Texas?