Synopsis: Jacqui is a wildly untalented thirty-something actress who’s been struggling in L.A. for years and has nothing to show for it. When she meets a has-been movie star and his even more has-been wife—who believe there is an underground organization working to steal money from and then murder Hollywood stars—she latches onto them. As their lives and ambitions intertwine, it's a dangerous cocktail of desperation, paranoia, delusion, and filmmaking for this threesome, who try so hard and want so much and just can’t cut it.

Character Breakdown: 2 women, 2 men [4 total]

Development History:

• Workshop & Reading, 2021: The Playwrights’ Center, dir. Portia Krieger

• Reading, 2021: Clubbed Thumb, dir. Portia Krieger

Synopsis: In a landscape of distorted and fractured memories, a teenage prince meets Jess, a lonely schoolteacher, and becomes ensnared in her marriage, her family, and her fantasies. Boundaries fall away, and childhood is stolen—from The Prince, from Jess’s daughter, and from the students who came before.

Character Breakdown: 2 women, 2 men [4 total]

Production History

• University, 2019: Indiana University, dir. Jenny McKnight

Licensing/publication: Stage Partners, where you can read the play for free

Synopsis: It’s December. Shayna, the only Jewish kid in her class, would give anything to not have to celebrate Hanukkah and instead celebrate her favorite thing in the world: Christmas! But then she is visited by the spirit of a bubby from the Old Country, who takes her on a journey through Jewish history, large and small, and teaches her the value of tradition and of miracles, large and small.

Cast Breakdown: As small as 7, as large as ???

Production History

• Children: Jewish Theatre of Bloomington and Stages Bloomington (Covid delay)

Development History

• Reading, 2019: Jewish Theatre of Bloomington and Stages Bloomington

Synopsis: In July of 2016, Aaron’s family learned a dark, shocking, over-five-decades-old secret about his grandfather, whom everyone called Beak. Seven months later, Beak was dead. In this play about legacy, redemption, and family, Aaron grapples with what to make of a void left by a loved one, especially if that loved one was less than perfect.

Cast Breakdown: 1 actor [1 total]

Development History

• Workshop Presentation, 2019: Indiana University, dir. Kenneth L. Roberson

• Cabaret Performance, 2019: Undiscovered Countries

Synopsis: In a nail salon on the outskirts of New York City, immigrant ladies spend their days toiling like servants over the fingers and toes of obnoxious customers. This modest shop is the livelihood of a Korean-American family, who dream of making it big in America—or, really, just scraping by, especially now that the new salon next to the Whole Foods down the street is siphoning off their customers. As word spreads of labor department crackdowns, the salon owners’ daughter fights to modernize this tired establishment, all while growing captivated by a new customer who is not like the others, forcing her to examine the value of identity, government regulations, and Disney movies.  

Character Breakdown: 5 cis women, 1 transmasc, 1 cis man [7 total]

Production History

• University, 2018: Indiana University, dir. Jonathan Michaelsen

Development History

• Reading, 2017: NYC, dir. Seonjae Kim

Reviews

• “[It's] a gutsy move on Ricciardi’s part. Most playwrights capitalize on catering to the liberal leanings of the typical theater audience. Often in these cases, theater goers leave a bit dissatisfied and feeling like a play ‘preached to the choir’ by presenting a moral or lesson tailored for a specific audience. Nice Nails refuses to do this; it challenges the audience, arguing that easy categories of right and wrong don’t work in this instance, and the implications are felt far beyond the nail salon.” (Limestone Post)

Synopsis: Jeff is a Midwestern Jewish liberal who manages a Walgreens. Kirk is a right-wing Evangelical Christian who owns one of America’s largest companies. By day, they lead humdrum lives just like the rest of us, but, at night, these two closeted men rendezvous in an Internet chat room and project their fantasies onto each other. When their love gets all-consuming and all too real, Jeff and Kirk must strip themselves of their digital fictions and make a decision: remain in the closet, or finally live their truth.

Character Breakdown: 1-3 women, 3-4 men [4-7 total]

Synopsis: Four 10th-grade girls are studying for tomorrow's history test on World War II. When three of them stage an intervention to warn the fourth about the dangers that her neutral face poses to her social standing. it's clear that, even with no boys around, it's better to be pretty than smart.

Character Breakdown: 4 women/girls  [4 total]

Production History

• University, 2017: Indiana University, dir. James Nelson

Awards

• 2018: Tennessee Williams Festival One-Act Play Contest (judge: Lisa D’Amour)

Synopsis: Kenneth and Asher got caught trying to sneak into an R-rated movie, so now they’re camped out on a bench in front of the movie theater, unsure of what to do with their night—or at least until their moms come to pick them up. The boys butt heads, chat Oscars trivia, have a visit from one of their favorite actors, and run into their drama teacher, with whom Asher is close—perhaps too close, if you ask Kenneth. These two dweebs have grand visions for their lives—to make great art!—but, right now, life sucks.

Character Breakdown: 2 men/boys, 1-2 women [3-4 total]

Synopsis: Roberta, a spry young woman, is embarking on a cruise, but she can’t find her husband. Also, she’s annoyed to be surrounded by old people with walkers, and she has to babysit all these kids whose parents are nowhere to be found. Oh, and she doesn’t recognize the furniture in her apartment. Perhaps the woman on the phone can help her figure it all out, and also get her a frankfurter. In short, it’s a surreal expression of how life feels for someone with dementia.

Cast Breakdown: 4 women

Synopsis: A twenty-eight-year-old gay man walks on stage to tell you all the wildest story, but then she appears. You know. Her. That woman from his past: the teacher. Another gay guy joins to mix to help him tell the story, but our hero’s plans fall to pieces, especially once the woman gets down on hands and knees and starts playing his dog. This metaplay is a simple story that spirals into a more complicated one, a story about love and sex and how time moves for children of abuse.

Cast Breakdown: 1 woman, 2 men [3 total]

Development History

• Reading, 2019: Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF), Region III ; Madison, WI

Awards

• 2019: National Finalist for Gary Garrison National Ten-Minute Play Award, KCACTF, Region III

• 2019: KCACTF Top Six Ten-Minute plays in Region III

Synopsis: Shayna and Shoshana are sitting in their apartment, busying themselves on their smartphones, trying to order food for delivery, and ridiculing Rivka, that girl they hate who they hear is a Communist. When a canvasser comes to their door to encourage them to vote in the upcoming election, Shayna and Shoshana don’t really listen to what the canvasser has to tell them, even though their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren and other people from the future are all sitting in the audience watching to see what they did when the worst was happening.

Character Breakdown: 2 women, 1 any gender [3 total]