Friend Request

I have added a new play to my website!

Friend Request

Genre: Comedy
Cast: 3m, 4w
Running Time: 10 minutes
Setting: Cyberspace

Synopsis: Thanks to a series of ill-fated friend requests, a doctored photo of a student spreads like wildfire among a group of teenagers.

Part of Sixteen (in 10 Minutes or Less)

Please visit www.bradleyhayward.com and follow the links to read a preview!

Vamp Ire

I have added a new play to my website! I'm not one for Twilight or True Blood, but it was actually a lot of fun to write a vampire story with my spin on it. Enjoy!

Vamp Ire

Genre: Comedy
Cast: 2m, 3w
Running Time: 30-35 minutes
Setting: A living room

Synopsis: It's finally time for Kaitlyn's parents to meet her "super hot" new boyfriend. There's just one tiny detail that might put a snag in their introduction: he's a vampire! Kaitlyn does everything in her power to conceal the fact that he's a descendant of Dracula, but that becomes an uphill battle when her stern parents and dippy best friend keep talking about things like garlic and blood drives. Will Kaitlyn be able to keep his true identity under wraps, or will she spill the beans and face the ire of her parents? Falling in love with a vampire is definitely a pain in the neck!

Please visit www.bradleyhayward.com and follow the links to read a preview!

20 Books in Search of a Reader

I am extremely excited to have added a new play to my website! This one is quite different from the type of material I usually write, but it was a great deal of fun for me to come up with an absurd, totally wacky and all together strange piece of theater. Play, indeed!

20 Books in Search of a Reader

Genre: Comedy
Cast: 2-21 actors, either gender
Running Time: 25-35 minutes
Setting: A desk

Synopsis: This high school librarian has had enough! After years of watching the same students ask for the same books over and over and over again, she's sick of it. She would much rather know what the students have to say. So she takes matters into her own hands and embarks on an absurd quest to decimate twenty of the most classic titles in all of literature.

This broad comedy is a terrific showcase for two advanced actors, yet it could also accommodate a large number of actors in small, but rewarding roles.

Please visit www.bradleyhayward.com and follow the links to read a preview!

Sixteen in 10 Minutes or Less

I am extremely excited to have added a new play (or should I say, plays) to my website! I am especially proud of this full-length collection of ten 10 minute plays and hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did writing them. In addition to being performance pieces, they would also make terrific classroom material for drama students and teachers.

Sixteen in 10 Minutes or Less

Genre: Comedy/Drama
Cast: 3-13m, 4-17w, 2-3 flexible
Running Time: 100 minutes (10 minutes/play)
Setting: Various locations

Synopsis: The lives of seven teenagers become intertwined in this humorous and often times bittersweet collection of ten minute plays. From extracting a gummy bear out of a new set of braces to coping with bullies who have claimed a school bench as their own, these characters share their innermost hopes and fears with each other, ten minutes at a time. As the audience drops in on these intimate moments, they will come to understand that being sixteen isn't always easy.

Included plays: Friend Request, Double Click, Brace Yourself, Lazy Eye, Fireworks, Pay Phone, Bench Warrant, Wheels, Tumblefur, Status Update: A Symphony

The plays included may be licensed together or separately. The piece was conceived as a full-length evening of entertainment, but each short stands perfectly well on its own without any prior knowledge of the characters.

Please visit www.bradleyhayward.com and follow the links to read a preview!

Note to Self

I am thrilled to announce that I have added a brand new play to my website...

NOTE TO SELF

Genre: Comedy
Running Time: 35 minutes
Cast: Entirely flexible cast of 8-100
Setting: Bare stage

Synopsis: Note to self: it's not easy being a teenager. With the help of a rhyming chorus, ten teenagers have their inner monologues brought to life in a series of hilarious vignettes. From a cyberstalking mom and a fender bender while texting, to a caffeine buzz in band class and a run-in with Elvis, it turns out that high school might not be such a breeze after all. These students quickly figure out that the notes they pass in class have nothing on the ones they write for themselves!

First Impressions

As many writers will attest, the most difficult part of the process is staring at a blank page. At that very moment, anything is possible. But as soon as you commit to that first letter, whatever you are writing begins to take on a life of its own. Lately I've been writing long hand in little notebooks because it's amazing how many good ideas are swallowed by a simple key stoke. What seems stupid one day might seem genius the next. I shudder to think how many plays I've "cut and deleted" over the years. My most recent play started with a line that I would have never remembered had I not written it down in my notebook. Which got me to thinking of the first lines that have inspired me over the years...

Attention detention!
Oh, the mutiny.
Come on in, but don't fall in the hole.
Would you like more potatoes?
Lights, please.
Excuse me.
Computers for dummies.
What the hell is going on out here?
Yes?
Holy mother of god.
Ta da!
My name is Michael and this is the story of my life.
Can you believe it?
Before Jerry Maguire said "show me the money."
Becky will be with you in just a moment to take your order.
Even the hot fudge is incredible!
Next, please.
Ahoy!
Come on, Grandma, let's go.
Good morning, Miss Eliot.
It's just like the opening scene of Oklahoma! out here.
Split ends?
My back is to the world.
Have you ever had one of those days?
I woke up this morning, sick as a dog.
Just wait until you taste Grandma's tomato sauce!
Is it over?
He loves me.
How did we end up in bed together?
Oops!
That's my yogurt.
How long until the hot dogs are ready?
I am uninterested in the world.
I'm sixteen so I'm not allowed to have an opinion.
Hurry!