Playing On Air: Short Audio Plays
by Playing on Air
Hear short, contemporary stage plays with first-rate casts. Playing on Air brings together award winners and emerging young talent, and each play is followed by a conversation with the playwrights and cast. Tune in for great American plays with great American actors, hosted and produced by Claudia Catania.
Episodes
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A HEADSPACE MEDITATION by Mara Nelson-Greenberg
Today we share the final audio play in our '25 - '26 Season, "A Headspace Meditation" by Mara Nelson-Greenberg, directed by Sarah Lunnie. Thank you for joining us as we explored a new format. We're excited to begin sharing conversations with our artists in the coming weeks, so if you missed those…
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THE RED COAT by John Patrick Shanley
Today, we are back with a Playing on Air favorite! POA Regular, Playwright John Patrick Shanley and his two-hander, "The Red Coat". It's been an exciting '25-'26 Season here at Playing on Air! We've got 1 play left that drops in two weeks, "A Headspace Meditation" by Mara Nelson-Greenberg. This...
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FATHER'S SIN by Maleek Rae
Today, we are proud to premiere the inaugural MC Libby Commission, "Father's Sin" by Maleek Rae with music by Xander Browne. "Father's Sin" is Directed by POA Alum, Goldie E. Patrick Jezelle the Gazelle and Revelations) Welcome back to another episode of Playing on Air! Last month, we premiered...
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THE CORNER CAFE by Charles Mee
Welcome back to another episode of Playing on Air! Playing on Air is back for a new season! We've got 5 plays for the '25 - '26 Season, 4 of which are new plays, and 3 of those new plays are commissions. Two weeks ago, we premiered "73, SK." by Else Went. Today, we drop our 2nd episode of the...
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73, SK. by Else Went
Playing on Air is back for a new season! We've got 5 plays for '25 - '26 Season, 4 of which are new plays, and 3 of those new plays are commissions. First up, is "73, SK." by Else Went, directed by Emma Rosa Went. "73, SK" features a company of actors each making their Playing on Air debut! We…
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Playing on Air '25 - '26 Season Announcement
Playing on Air's Leadership team, Artistic Director, Joshua Kahan Brody and Associate Artistic Director & Creative Producer, Garlia Cornelia Jones announce the '25 - '26 Season! Their 1st season together! This new season includes 5 plays, 4 of which are World Premieres and 3 of which are...
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A STICKY MEMENTO by Ken Urban
When Dee–a forty-something from Rockford, Illinois–visits Harvard's namesake statue, she discovers a legacy student, hiding from his parents in the bushes. What could this recently suspended nerd have in common with a Midwestern working-class divorcee? Parents! College! Rules and regulations! Gay...
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SHEILA: A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF by Kirsten Greenidge
It's not easy living with a zealot. Or being at the local supermarket where he prowls. Suppose you like bacon? Suppose disposable diapers? There is interference in the air. Sheila: A Year In The Life Of is a world-premiere James Stevenson commission from Playwright Laureate of Boston Kirsten...
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CRISIS PLANNING by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb
What's with these birthdays that end in a zero? How is it that a mere multiple of ten can wield such power? A touch of wit and love language can help. Crisis Planning is a world premiere James Stevenson commission from Bay Area-playwright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb (The Making of a Great Moment)....
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DISNEY/FUKIJAWA BY Lloyd Suh
It's 1942. WWIl is raging. Mr. Walt Disney is in New York to discuss another propaganda film requested by the US government to boost the wartime effort. At the moment, though, he is in a meeting with a former illustrator from his early days. It's Gyo Fujikawa. Disney/Fujikawa comes from the mind…
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REVERIE by John Patrick Shanley
A woman (Carol Kane) is drawn into a neighborhood church by the sound of music beautifully sung. A marriage is taking place within. Do beautiful music and ceremony make a marriage? Reverie, a world premiere written and directed by Oscar, Tony, and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright John Patrick...
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KANSAS ANYMORE by David Ives
1976 Kansas or Oz, that is the question. Here's a new spin on a great tale spun. To go, or say no? And in which direction? Kansas? or Oz? Tell me. Anyone? Kansas Anymore, a world premiere from esteemed playwright David Ives (Here We Are, Venus in Fur), features screen legend Lois Smith (Twister,...
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DID I MISS ANYTHING IMPORTANT by Patricia Cotter
Parents, Don and Charlotte, summon their adult children, Susanna and Brian, to a meeting at Le Pain Quotidien scheduled smack in the middle of their workday. What's up? Patricia Cotter's comedy ensues. Did I Miss Anything Important? is a world-premiere James Stevenson commission from accomplished...
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BONNET by John Patrick Shanley
In BONNET, the incredibly talented John Patrick Shanley's marital (and sometimes martial) comedy of manners, Dan (John Turturro) has a few questions for his wife Ava (Debra Messing) when she appears at the breakfast table with a meaningful new accessory. BONNET, written and directed by the Tony...
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SECOND SIGHT by David Ives
In SECOND SIGHT, a world premiere written and directed by renowned playwright David Ives, a retired historian's (Danny Burstein) minor surgery brings up major questions that his affable surgeon (Steven Boyer), bemused wife (Susie Essman) and brother (Lee Wilkof) can't seem to answer. Or is he…
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MARY MARY QUITE CONTRARY by Rehana Lew Mirza
It's 1907 and a typhoid fever outbreak among New York City's elite families has led zealous sanitation engineer George Soper (Matt Park) to the home of the haughty Mr. Winthrop (Michael Chernus) and a face-off with Winthrop's proud, though not very hygienic cook, "Typhoid Mary" Mallon (Catherine...
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TYPHOID MARY by Mike Lew
It's 1915 and another typhoid fever outbreak, this one in a bustling hospital run by an officious Supervisor (Cindy Cheung), has once again led dogged sanitation engineer George Soper (Matt Park) to the hospital's newest cook, "Typhoid Mary" Mallon (Catherine Curtin). It's been years since Soper...
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I DON'T KNOW by James McLindon
An old school drill sergeant under fire from his very modern and diverse new recruits desperately longs for simpler times. Directed by John Giampietro, James McLindon's short satire I DON'T KNOW features stage and screen favorite Jay O. Sanders as the Drill Sergeant and an ensemble cast of...
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. ABERNATHY by Lloyd Suh
In Lloyd Suh's HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. ABERNATHY, a shared story, formerly repressed, begins to bridge the racial and generational distance between a white American centenarian of the Greatest Generation (Len Cariou) and his Asian American great-grandson (Ken Leung). Stay tuned after the play for a...
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THE ARMY DANCE by Cary Gitter
It's the summer of 1955, and a new U.S. Army private stationed far away from his New Jersey hometown may have met his match, a very modern Southern belle, at a USO-style dance. Emily Bergl directs a pitch perfect cast—Eli Gelb, Erin Wilhelmi, and Vance Barton—in Cary Gitter's THE ARMY DANCE…
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ECHO AND NARCISSUS by Amanda Quaid
Hear that? In ECHO AND NARCISSUS, playwright Amanda Quaid's newfangled take on an infamous myth from Ovid's Metamorphoses, a young woman falls in love with a narcissist after a vengeful wife condemns her to a unique fate. The sprightly production is directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt, stars Sarah...
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JFK TAXI by Aurin Squire
A jet-lagged Gen Z couple (Toney Goins and Kerry Warren) decides to take an old school taxicab home to Brooklyn instead of an Uber, and their kooky cabbie (Louis Mustillo) introduces them to a very different (under)side of New York City. Playwright Aurin Squire's otherworldly urban comedy is a...
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EVENING AT ANAHEIM by James Stevenson (Summer 2022 Re-Release)
From brilliant New Yorker cartoonist, illustrator, and children's book author James Stevenson comes this darkly hilarious reimagining of iconic animated characters - now "over the hill" and waiting out their golden years at a seedy retirement community in Los Angeles. Directed by Tony nominee…
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TENNESSEE by John Patrick Shanley (Summer 2022 Re-Release)
In Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner John Patrick Shanley's TENNESSEE, a wannabe musician seeking an escape plan and a glimpse at his future approaches a dissatisfied woman who's blessed, and possibly cursed, with the power of foresight. The audio play stars Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet…
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BANSHEE by John Patrick Shanley (Summer 2022 Re-Release)
Anything can happen when you leave your window open on a warm night. Tony, Oscar and Pulitzer Prize winner John Patrick Shanley (Doubt, Moonstruck, Outside Mullingar) wrote and directed this week's summer re-release about a curious banshee, a fantastical Irish spirit, who pays an ailing teacher a...
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BITE THE HAND by Ara Watson (Summer Re-Release 2022)
In this week's summer re-release, we're doing a bit of time travel. It's a balmy night in the post-WWII Ozarks, and a young woman is leaving behind her life as a "lady of the evening" for an offer of marriage. Then a client shows up with some jaw-dropping news. Oscar-winner Chris Cooper (A Doll's...
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YOU BELONG TO ME by Daniel Reitz (Summer 2022 Re-Release)
This week's summer re-release features Daniel Reitz's (NAPOLEON IN EXILE) affecting one-act YOU BELONG TO ME, featuring Amy Ryan (Oscar nominated for Gone, Baby, Gone, "The Office," "Only Murders in the Building," and a five-time Playing On Air MVP) and Michael Stuhlbarg (a recent Emmy nominee…
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AT THE WATER'S EDGE, WET by Jonathan Bernstein (Summer 2022 Re-Release)
The curtain is up. The show is in progress. But for a production stage manager and a sound and light board operator calling the cues behind the scenes, the night's most dazzling romance isn't playing out onstage. Written and directed by Jonathan Bernstein (RULES OF COMEDY and A VERY VERY SHORT...
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RELATIVE STRANGERS by Sheri Wilner (Summer 2022 Re-Release)
This week's summer re-release features RELATIVE STRANGERS, a bubbly comedic short from playwright Sheri Wilner (The Miracle of Chanukah, Cake Off, Kingdom City) about a young woman who, during a flight to South Carolina, decides the woman next to her just might be the mother she never had. She...
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OPEN ARMS by Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros (Summer 2022 Re-Release)
In Open Arms by Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros, an impending 50th birthday party sets off calamity over coffee and Kindles. Open Arms is directed by Tony Award winner John Rando and features Julie White (The Little Dog Laughed, Airline Highway, POTUS: Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women…
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CELL by Cassandra Medley (Summer 2022 Re-Release)
Tony winner Tonya Pinkins (Jelly's Last Jam, "Fear the Walking Dead," PoA's Poof!), Tony nominee Condola Rashad (Saint Joan, "Billions"), and Melanie Nicholls-King ("The Wire," "Little Fires Everywhere") star in Cassandra Medley's CELL. When a jaded supervisor at an immigrant detention center…
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GUN SHOW by David Auburn (Summer 2022 Re-Release)
From David Auburn (Pulitzer and Tony winner for PROOF) comes a riveting, witty world-premiere commission for Playing on Air: GUN SHOW. In the aftershock of a national tragedy, a congenial double-date morphs into a battle of the sexes. As tempers blaze, two couples must reconsider the possibility…
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The MAN IN RED by Arian Moayed
In this holiday dazzler written, directed and produced by Arian Moayed, Santa keeps a closer eye on the naughty and nice lists than we think, especially during "unprecedented times." But maybe Mrs. Claus, the hardworking team at the North Pole, and one melancholy little girl might keep the man in...
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JARED AND IVANKA'S PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE AT MAURICE J. FELDMAN JEWISH DAY SCHOOL by Jonathan Spector
In the cool, otherworldly confines of a Zoom room, a controversial president's ethereal daughter and hands-on son-in-law surf the choppy waters of chiseled memories, personal responsibility...and elementary school. JARED AND IVANKA'S PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE AT MAURICE J. FELDMAN JEWISH DAY...
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JACOB AND AMAL by Dipika Guha
On the precipice of making a world changing medical breakthrough, Amal visits an old lover and they contend with the uncertain future through the light of a shared, tumultuous past. JACOB AND AMAL, our second Wordsmith Duo play this season supported by the Axe-Houghton Foundation, was written by...
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THE HUMAN EXPERIMENT by Mfoniso Udofia
Amal would like to spend the night hiding from, well, everything. But when her bestie has other ideas - ideas that include a world renowned research university, high heels, and lowered expectations - she agrees to a not-so-scientific exercise that could take her, well, anywhere. All right. Just...
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THANKSGIVING FOR ONE by Hamish Linklater (Re-Release)
After his hit NUDITY RIDER, OBIE winner Hamish Linklater returns for another helping of irresistible comedy: the world-premiere commission THANKSGIVING FOR ONE. Marjorie Mumms (Jean Smart) would rather not be eating her holiday turkey alone at the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. She can't get a decent…
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LOCKED AND LOADED. CAN I HELP YOU? by David Ives
The proud owner of a gun shop in a small American city has a peculiar visitor one day - a celebrity of sorts who wants to buy a weapon but can't say exactly why. LOCKED AND LOADED. CAN I HELP YOU?, a world premiere from celebrated playwright David Ives (Venus in Fur, The Heir Apparent, White...
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THE WAYFARER'S CODE by Brittany K. Allen
Airstreams, Winnebagos, Chevys, the blood brothers of RV circuit, take us from the shackles of modernity to the freedom of the road! Two couples who might not otherwise cross paths befriend each other in a Texas RV Park, and declare their mutual independence. THE WAYFARER'S CODE, another world...
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TECH DEMONS by Sarah Gancher
An aspiring writer (Isaac Oliver) who dreams of learning the secrets of the human heart summons an ancient demon (Vera Beren). Good thing he's got tech support (Jay O. Sanders). TECH DEMONS, a world premiere James Stevenson Commission by Sarah Gancher, is directed by Marc Bruni (Broadway's...
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THE BURIAL SOCIETY by Susan Sandler (Re-Release)
Husband-wife team Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller play former Yiddish theater stars who steal the show at a memorial service in the THE BURIAL SOCIETY, a comic play by Susan Sandler. Also featuring George Morfogen* ("Oz") and David Margulies (Ghostbusters). Directed by Playing on Air Producing...
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WAKING UP by Cori Thomas
Playing on Air presents Waking Up, an insightful short by Cori Thomas. It juxtaposes the experiences of an American urbanite's and an African villager's struggle with breast cancer. Although the details from diagnosis to ultimate triumph are vastly different, their stories underscore the...
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A DEPARTURE by Andy Reynolds (Re-Release)
When a conservative father and his young gay son (stage legend Len Cariou and "Ugly Betty's" Michael Urie) reconnect in the most unlikely of places - an airport terminal - they find that love can transcend a family's baggage. This witty, heartfelt short by Andy Reynolds is directed by Broadway's...
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PLAYING GOD by Alan Zweibel (Re-Release)
In PLAYING GOD, a divine comedy from SNL's Alan Zweibel (Playing on Air's HAPPY), a self-involved OB-GYN (Scott Adsit of 30 Rock) creates chaos for his pregnant patient (Emily Bergl). Over the objections of a heavenly assistant (Susie Essman of Curb Your Enthusiasm), God himself (Bill Buell)...
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THE DONOR by Avery Deutsch
Single mom Suzanne needs an actor for a discreet personal favor. It should be simple. But when she casts Mike, she grossly underestimates the lengths an out-of-work actor will go to to make an impact. Written by Avery Deutsch and a winner of the 2020 James Stevenson Prize for Short Comedic Plays,...
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OWNER OCCUPY by Jonathan Spector
In Alvin and Mia's neighborhood, property owners flip houses or parcel them out for AirBnBs. No one's investing in the community. So they're thrilled by the arrival of a new homeowner — a tech entrepreneur who's rich, ambitious, charismatic, and strangely pale. And he's an excellent drinking...
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REVELATIONS by JuCoby Johnson
Mahalia, a Black trans woman, returns to her hometown of Minneapolis during the tumultuous summer of 2020. Against a backdrop of fire and protest, she and her father tentatively rekindle a long-dormant bond. REVELATIONS is written by JuCoby Johnson (How It's Gon' Be) and directed by Goldie E....
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CAMBERWELL HOUSE by Amelia Roper
A tale of old age, murder and gingernut biscuits. CAMBERWELL HOUSE, a darkly comic one-woman play by Amelia Roper ("The Great"), stars five-time Tony nominee Dana Ivey (The School for Scandal, "Sex and the City").
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DUMMY DIALOGUE by David Ives
Norman and Max may be dummies, but they're no fools. Offstage, ventriloquist dummies are the same as anyone else — smack-talking their bosses, worrying about being behind the times — but beneath their hard wooden exteriors lurk sensitive, philosophical, funny souls. A world premiere by a master…
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REAL AMERICAN DINNER PARTY by Jen Silverman
Sometimes you lose your keys, sometimes you lose your temper, and sometimes you lose the most unexpected of things. When Marcy and her difficult boyfriend come for a visit, what we know about ourselves can change in the blink of an eye... REAL AMERICAN DINNER PARTY is written by Jen Silverman...
About this show
Hear short, contemporary stage plays with first-rate casts. Playing on Air brings together award winners and emerging young talent, and each play is followed by a conversation with the playwrights and cast. Tune in for great American plays with great American actors, hosted and produced by Claudia Catania.
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Playing on Air
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