Drama
Many of the works are published by Holly Grove Press. The translation of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House was published and is available for license from Eldridge Plays & Musicals. Approaching the Summer Sun was published in the June 2023 Issue of Mini Plays Review: An International Journal of Short Plays, The Judas Kiss was published in their September 2023 issue.
Poster art for Night Shade
featuring R. Daniel Walker
Photograph courtesy R. Daniel Walker
Poster art for Miss Merleen
Photograph courtesy Beth Kessler
And They Heard the Thunder of Angels (renamed The Summer Bobby(ie) Lee Turner Loved Me)
Photograph courtesy J. L. Clark
Full-Length Plays
Hunt
journey in 1 act, 2014. Mr. Hunt, the non-philandering, distant owner of a local nightclub is led into a dark odyssey of his own making.
Night Shade
monodrama in 2 acts, 2013, “Solomon,” a hitman, stages his final kill in such a way as to be caught. The nature of the hit has made him re-think his life of crime. First performance, April 2013- Theatre UAB, Birmingham, AL.
Wars and Rumors of Wars
spoken-word oratorio in 4 parts, 2011. Kurt, a debate teacher on the verge of a nervous breakdown, is caught in a web of complications with two students as he struggles to come to terms with his past. First performance, July 2011- PV Fine Arts Center, Pinson, AL.
Miss Merleen
drama of the Civil War in 2 acts, 2005. The body of a Confederate solider is returned home after the Battle of Fredericksburg, bringing with it revelations of deceit as a young widow tries to see the future in a time of war. First performance, May 2005- Visual and Performing Arts Center, Bennington, VT.
THE SHALLOP LAKE PLAYS
Songs of the Valley
Southern pastoral in 2 acts, 2004 (in Songs of the Valley: Selected Plays of Robert Cole). The return of Larry Roundtree, a local golden boy home from the military, prompts the town to throw him a surprise party. Christina attempts to confess her love only to discover he brings with him a crushing secret. First performance, March 2005- Visual and Performing Arts Center, Bennington, VT.
The Summer Bobby(ie) Lee Turner Loved Me
coming-of-age tragedy in 3 acts, 2006 (in The Summer Bobby(ie) Lee Turner Loved Me: A Coming-of-Age Tragedy). A seemingly perfect romance is interrupted by the arrival of a seductive newcomer. Bobby Lee Turner, the young man at the center of the love triangle, disintegrates on the precipice of adulthood. First performance, March 2007- Martha Moore Sykes Studio, Virginia Samford Theatre, Birmingham, AL.
To Wander in the Dust, or Fire Nights
fantasy in 3 acts, 2008. A group of young people discover the body of a friend washed ashore. The immediacy of death in the blush of youth forces them to face their uncertainties. First performance, May 2009- Children’s Dance Foundation, Birmingham, AL.
Short Plays/Cycles
The Judas Kiss, 2023 (in Mini Plays Review: An International Journal of Short Plays September 2023 issue)
Approaching the Summer Sun, 2023 (in Mini Plays Review: An International Journal of Short Plays June 2023 Issue)
Youth and Age, 2008-2013
includes:
The Unspoken, prayer request
After They’re Gone
Second-Growth Pines, after an image by Balthus
The Way She Lost Her Smile, melodrama
(in Songs of the Valley: Selected Plays of Robert Cole and The Way She Lost Her Smile: Acting Edition; first performance, June 2008- Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center, Birmingham, AL.)
Resolutions Elsewhere, reminiscence
The Whisperer
A Minimally Invasive Procedure, transaction
Stilldeath (first performance, July 2011- PV Fine Arts Center, Pinson, AL.)
Minding the Storm, elegy (first performance, June 2011- PV Fine Arts Center, Pinson AL.)
Coda (The Whisperer)
The Brotherhood Cycle, 2007-2008 (first performance, June 2011- PV Fine Arts Center, Pinson, AL.)
Thank You for Your Business, Jimmy Callahan
McCluskey Counts Each Peach
Give Me May, drunken seduction
A Judah Kiss, prayer
Saturday Mornings at McCullar’s
Notes toward a Sunday Sermon, monologue
Gardens without Seed
Finding the Blue Light
What Will the Stranger Say?, epilogue
Walstone, 2002-2006
She’s Standing Behind Me (in Songs of the Valley: Selected Plays of Robert Cole; first performance, May 2002- Upstairs Cafe, Bennington, VT.)
Above the Mountains (in Songs of the Valley: Selected Plays of Robert Cole and Above the Mountains: Acting Edition; first performance, March 2003- Margot Tenney Theater, Bennington, VT. Performed as part of the first annual Theatre UAB Ten-Minute Plays at the Bell Theater, Birmingham AL.)
Cowboy Music (in Songs of the Valley: Selected Plays of Robert Cole; first performance, May 2004- Visual and Performing Arts Center, Bennington, VT.)
Osceola Cries (in Songs of the Valley: Selected Plays of Robert Cole; first performance, March 2004- Visual and Performing Arts Center, Bennington, VT.)
The Sexy Daughter Cheyenne (in Songs of the Valley: Selected Plays of Robert Cole; first performance, May 2004- Lester Martin Drama Workshop, Bennington, VT.)
Blue Savage (first performance, May 2009- Children’s Dance Foundation, Birmingham, AL.)
The Death Wrestler (first performance, May 2009- Children’s Dance Foundation, Birmingham, AL.)
The Lonesome Blue (in Songs of the Valley: Selected Plays of Robert Cole; first performance, December 2004- Visual and Performing Arts Center, Bennington, VT.)
The Prayer for Heaven (first performance, May 2009- Children’s Dance Foundation, Birmingham, AL.)
Linda Roberts and Michael Hicks in the Theatre UAB production of Above the Mountains (part of the cycle Walstone)
Photograph courtesy Lee Eric Shackeford
Miguel Mercado in Cry of the Native Children
Photograph courtesy Eldridge Plays & Musicals
Danielle Gagne and Matthew Souther in
Love Suicide
Photograph courtesy Penn Genthner
Translations/Adaptations
The Gift of the Magi
2014
from the short story by O. Henry, short play. A one-act version of the story written with African-American middle/high school students in mind. First performance, December 2014- Brewbaker Auditorium, Montgomery, AL.
Cry of the Native Children
(in Cry of the Native Children, 2013)
from the play Pocahontas, or The Settlers of Virginia by George Washington Parke Custis, full-length play in one act. A high-tech take on the legend of Pocahontas and our country’s first story of culture clash. First performance, February 2011- PV Fine Arts Center, Pinson AL.
A Doll’s House
(in A Doll's House, 2011)
translated from the Danish from Henrik Ibsen’s play Et dukkehjem, play in three acts. A playable acting version of the classic work. First performance, September 2010- PV Fine Arts Center, Pinson, AL.
Love Suicide
2004
from the play The Love Suicides at Sonezaki (Sonezaki Shinjû) by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, full-length play in one act. An adaptation of the classic play utilizing Noh, Bunraku, and Kabuki elements. First performance, May 2004- Margot Tenney Theater, Bennington VT.
Religious Sketches
A Christmas Message from the Kids, 2015
Comic sketch for worship services. First performance, December 2015- Montgomery Community of Christ, Montgomery, AL.
Talking God’s Kingdom in the Animal Kingdom, 2014-2016
Puppet sketches for children’s worship services. First performances 2014-2016, Montgomery Community of Christ, Montgomery, AL.
A scene from the Eveleth Drama Guild's production of Mr. Tittle's translation of A Doll's House
Apprentice Plays
Wes Stewart Seals and Sage Bierster in Discordia
Photograph courtesy Elizabeth Adkisson
Michael Leslie and J. J. Marrs in Hopeless Romantics, part of Four Blinks of the Eye, a night of four one-act plays
Photograph courtesy Lee Eric Shackleford
As the Days Go By, comedy in two parts, 2003
Two formerly-married cabaret performers reunite for a final performance. First performance, 2003- Deane Carriage Barn, Bennington, VT.
Marcia, Marcia, Marcia, full-length play in one act, 2002
A teacher, in full nervous breakdown, goes to the Bradys for comfort and sustenance. First performance, 2002- Upstairs Cafe, Bennington, VT.
Call Waiting, short play, 2001
An interracial marriage suffers from societal pressure.
Discordia, futuristic comedy in two acts, 2000
Based on Elizabeth Adkisson’s adaptation of The Minor (Недоросль) by Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin. First performance, 2000- ASFA Performance Hall, Birmingham, AL.
More Than Words, short play, 2000
Two people meet through an unusual dating service. First performance, 2000- ASFA Studio Theatre, Birmingham, AL. Performed as part of Four Blinks of the Eye for the final season of Southern PlayWorks at the Library Theatre, Hoover, AL.
A Plumber’s Story, short play, 1999
A plumber and his apprentice in an endless cycle of blue-collar malaise. First performance, 2000- ASFA Studio Theatre, Birmingham, AL.
Hopeless Romantics, short play, 1999
Two guys in a bar– afraid of life, unlucky in love. First performance, 1999- ASFA Studio Theatre, Birmingham, AL. Performed as part of Four Blinks of the Eye for the final season of Southern PlayWorks at the Library Theatre, Hoover, AL.
Life’s Labor’s Love, short play, 1998
Shenanigans of close friends at a local bar and grill are interrupted by an intriguing newcomer. First performance, 1999- ASFA Studio Theatre, Birmingham, AL.
Last Call, short play, 1997
A young woman realizes she does not know the man she has just married. First performance, 1997- ASFA Studio Theatre, Birmingham, AL.
"Mixes the heady idealism of Tennessee Williams with a Sam Shepard-level of stark despair."
- Barrett Hathcock
Birmingham Weekly