STAGEPLAYS
WRITTEN
by
TOM CAVANAUGH
NEW PLAY IN DEVELOPMENT
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COPY OF
THE UNSEEN CANVAS
THE UNSEEN CANVAS
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Cast Size: 1M 3W
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Running Time: 90+ minutes
In the claustrophobic apartment above a ghost-shop of failed dreams, a veteran’s violent PTSD collides with her family’s desperate secrets. When an uninvited artist discovers a hidden talent within the wreckage, the Alverez family must
decide if the art that saves the mother will be the very thing that destroys the home."
PUBLISHED WORKS
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INLAND EMPRESS
INLAND EMPRESS
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Cast Size: 1M 5W
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Running Time: 90+ minutes
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Royalty Rate: $75 per performance
After serving seven years in prison, a reformed matriarch returns to her desert criminal empire as a devout Muslim, only to face a violent power struggle with the ambitious niece who has seized her throne.
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ADAM & YOSHI
ADAM & YOSHI in BOSNIA
ADAM & YOSHI in CHINA
ADAM & YOSHI
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Cast Size: 1M 1W one offstage voice (his mother)
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Running Time: 90+ minutes
A divorced writer moves back in with his mother to find his creative voice, only to fall into a surreal romance with a mysterious woman who refuses to remove her superhero mask
DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTION HISTORY
2013 – Play Club West, Los Angeles, CA – Staged Reading
2013 – WINNER – The Make the House Roar Prize for Comedy, The Lionheart Theater of GA.
2013 – McKinney Repertory Theatre Festival, McKinney, TX – Finalist w/ Staged Reading
2013 – New American Playwrights Development Project at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, Cedar City Utah – Finalist w/ 4 Workshop Production followed by audience Q&A sessions.
2015 – Special Workshop Production – The Flea Theater, NYC – Presented by the In-Residence-Director for consideration in the 2015 and 2016 Seasons for the Artistic Director and staff.
Silliman University Philippines, Philippines – 2022
WeDraman Group, Hong Kong,
China – 2022
UNPUBLISHED WORKS
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THE CHAIR LADY
THE CHAIR LADY
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Cast Size: 1 M 7 W
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Running Time: 90+ minutes
On the historic night of Geraldine Ferraro’s 1984 VP nomination, a powerhouse political chairwoman must scramble to salvage a mayoral election from a scandalous leak while managing her college-dropout daughter’s own bombshell revelation.
CHRISTMAS ON THE 552
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CHRISTMAS ON THE 552
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Cast Size: 1 M 1 W
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Running Time: 90+ minutes
When a defensive retiree and a sharp-witted college student clash over an empty seat on a Christmas Eve bus ride, an unlikely conversation forces them to confront their prejudices and personal traumas. As they travel toward uncertain homecomings, they discover an unexpected bond that transforms a tense commute into a journey of mutual healing.
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THE ZOMB-APOCS
THE ZOMB-APOCS
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Cast Size: 1 M 3 W
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Running Time: 90+ minutes
After a classroom confrontation brands her a "xenophobe" and triggers a paralyzing case of agoraphobia, a disgraced professor finds redemption as a virtual lockdown advisor during COVID-19 only to discover that her newfound success in isolation may cost her the marriage she’s trapped in.
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BEHOLD
BEHOLD
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Cast Size: 3 M 2 W
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Running Time: 90+ minutes
A family confronts the tragedy of a teenage son's violent death in a school shooting, it seems that nothing could be worse. Until they are forced to face the issues of grief for the shooter's death, as well as the unthinkable possibility of their own child's cruelty as a bully.
THEARE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCE PLAYS
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AURA FARMING
AURA FARMING
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Cast Size: 3W
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Running Time: 15 minutes
At a local mall, sixteen-year-old Skylar is desperate to recover from an "aura" deficit after a viral cheerleading fail. Alongside her meme-spouting sidekick, Pippa, she meticulously films "fit checks" to reclaim her status as a school "Main Character." Their digital bubble bursts when their friend Maya arrives with devastating news: she’s been forced to take a job at Burger King. Initially horrified by the "negative aura" of fast food, the trio eventually rebrands the job as a high-stakes RPG expansion. By gamifying adulthood, they realize that real-world discipline might just be the ultimate "God-Tier" power-up.
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THE CIRCUS ALWAWAYS COMES TO TOWN
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OCEAN FRONT
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THE CHOCA
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RADIO 2025
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WHEN THEY MET
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CHEESE
SHORT PLAYS
THE CIRCUS STILL COMES TO TOWN
Read the full
SHORT PLAY
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Cast Size: 1M 2W
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Running Time: 15 minutes
A one-act play about two sisters who have lost their parents. Dolores is the older, resentful sibling caring for her sister, Rachel, a stuttering teen that falls in love with Joe, a circus roust-a-bout. The romance is soon blocked when Dolores tries to steal him from her. This fantastic complex drama deals with issues of self-worth, family, and independence. These are rich characters that will stay with you and actors will love to perform
OCEAN FRONT
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Cast Size: 2m
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Running Time: 15 minutes
A couple that has been married 17 years. When they go to the beach to find the bench with a commemorative plaque to celebrate the event, secrets and truths are told on their anniversary.
THE CHOCA
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Cast Size: 2F
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Running Time: 15 minutes
Two women meet in a bar and once they realize what's really wrong going on in their lives, they bond over vodka and toilet training.
RADIO 2025
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Cast Size: 1M 1F
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Running Time: 15 minutes
A young girl tries to listen to her radio, but all the stations are playing the same song and it never changes. That makes her sad and discouraged until a street performer encourages her to find her music within and sing it to the world!
WHEN THEY MET
A SHORT PLAY BY TOM CAVANAUGH
WHEN THEY MET
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Cast Size: 2M
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Running Time: 10 minutes
A young Army Staff Sargent, J.D. Salinger searches for his literary idol, Ernest
Hemingway and finds him in Paris. They discuss, life, death, war, peace and writing,
but it isn't until Salinger shares his novel, that later becomes CATCHER IN THE RYE,does Salinger ask the question that is burning inside of him. Inspired by the real meeting.
2023 PLAY LAB
FINALIST
CHEESE
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Cast Size: 1M 2F
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Running Time: 30 minutes
CHEESE explores what happens when three wine counterfeiters get out of the bottle business and take up smuggling cheese into Canada.
