A BOTTLE OF WORTH AND OTHER SHORT PLAYS
by Gene Kato
This collection of short plays by playwright Gene Kato showcases his signature offbeat writing style in compact creations. From genres that range from apocalyptic horror to broad comedy to existential avant-garde, these short play offer acting opportunities for casts of 3 or 4.
A Bottle of Worth (2M 2W) follows a young man “After the blast” as he wanders through a post-apocalyptic wasteland and encounters a group of strangers that lure him into a battle of wits over a lone bottle of water.
Finger Food (2M 2W) tells the comedic story of four scientists that are shrunk down to doll size and find themselves trapped in a dollhouse fighting a family cat for survival.
Period Piece (3 M or W) Three punctuation marks await their fate as a writer plods toward the last line of a novel.
2nd Anniversary Near Taurus Major (2M 2W) A husband and wife celebrate their 2nd wedding anniversary circling Taurus Major as mayhem ensues with two humanoid robots as their craft falls out of orbit.. (Selected as one of the Best American Short Plays for 2012/2013)
Fanny Got Fingered (1M 1W) – Two lifelong friends face an awkward betrayal of trust concerning a mutual acquaintance, Fanny.
The Tale of the Turtle (2M 1W) The birthday gift of a snapping turtle erupts into a fight for survival.
With a Bottle of Worth And Other Short Plays Gene Kato offers up six outrageous and delightfully entertaining shorts. Kato is unfiltered. His works are highly comedic, frequently suggestive, and always incisive. Kato brings a refreshingly unique, off-kilter point of view, and he does it all with a biting sense of humor. Highly recommend!
From the playwright who brought us sentient bowling equipment in “10-Pin Alley” come five equally quirky, equally well-wrought short plays. The characters include four survivors battling in one of the most disturbing dystopian worlds ever conceived; talking punctuation marks; three-inch scientists in danger of becoming cat treats; astronauts whose look-alike robots are likely to “outlive” them; and a thoroughly anti-social snapping turtle. Together they would be a most entertaining evening of theater. And any one of them would enliven any evening of various authors’ short plays.
Gene Kato serves up five short plays that cover everything from a post-apocalypse battle of wits for survival to finding just the wrong gift, and a wide, wry, and raucous range in between. Deftly crafted characters and sharp dialogue in tight (in more ways than one) situations make this an instant lesson in how to do short plays. Any one of them would be a great entry in a short play festival, or do the whole thing and make it a Kato Festival.
Review A Bottle of Worth and Other Short Plays.