Books
The Side Door
The Side Door began as a series of short stories from Melrose (Mel) Bird’s point of view. It grew into a novel as I realized Mel had an important journey ahead of her—-one that would open a door and expose a long-held secret.
Stories
“House”
A flash fiction piece published in
“Mrs. Tucci's Tree”
My short story, “Mrs. Tucci’s Tree” appears in issue 8 of 34th Parallel, a wonderful small press. You can view past issues on line.
“Four Shorts”
Four pieces of my flash fiction appear in Silk Road Literary Journal: “Lamp,” “Lightning,” “Shadow,” and “Reflection.”
“Salamander”
You can find my story “Salamader” in Milkweed Editions’
Stories from Where We Live: The Great North American Prairie
Plays
It’s Just the Wind
Impressionistic comedy
10 minutes running time
Four roles: all women
Production:
Boston Theatre Marathon
Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts
May 20, 2007
In the short play It’s Just the Wind, Pat and Gail go in search of a noise that has disturbed their sleep. Outside, on the street, they encounter two neighbors, each with their own impressions of the noise and the fickle wind.
It’s Just the Wind is meant to be non-realistic, a bit absurd, and, if acted well, poetic.
Give the Dog a Bone
Full length/comedy-drama
90 minutes running time
Seven Roles: 5 women, 2 men
Production:
American Cabaret Theatre Space
Indianapolis, IN
June 9-25, 2006
Give the Dog a Bone is a quirky, dreamlike comedy about a girl, her mother, and a bone collection.
Give the Dog a Bone needs strong actors who understand timing and dark humor. The play has a feminist edge and is told from the point of view of an adolescent struggling to discover her very own bones.
DIRT
Monologue/drama
Approx. 10 minutes running time
One role: woman
Production:
Bloomington Playwrights Project
Bloomington, IN
February 25-27, 1988
Reprised June 17-18 2005 for Bloomington Playwrights Project 25 Year Anniversary Celebration
In this monologue, the audience becomes an Oklahoma Depression Era church congregation as Annie gets up to testify, blaming the dust bowl storms for destroying her faith, her land, and a close friend.
WHISPER STORIES
One-act/comedy-drama
30 minutes running time
Three roles: all women
Two Productions:
Indiana University T300 Black Box, Indiana University, 1986
ACTF Regional Festival, South Bend, IN, January 1987
AUNT ELINOR’s CLOSET
One-act/comedy-drama
30 minutes running time
Three roles: all women
Production:
Bloomington Playwrights Project
Bloomington IN
August-Sept 1987
A “prequel” to Whisper Stories, Aunt Elinor’s Closet brings us back to the day when Milly and Grace meet, brought together by the unlikely matchmaking skills of Milly’s Great Aunt Elinor.
A CLOSET YEAR
Full Length/drama-comedy
90 minutes running time
Eight roles: 5 women, 3 men
Production:
Green Candle Theatre Company
Burlington, Vermont
February 9-17, 1996
The Burlington Free Press, in its review (Feb 1996), states, “The play deals with two young women, Grace and Milly, meeting at Milly’s great aunt’s, their subsequent deepening love, and the reactions to their relationship from both families. That’s it in a nutshell, but the meat picked out of this particular nutshell by author Jan Donley does not depend overly much on established clichés, either in language or in plotting. It works because it is simple. It works because the side problems that develop contribute to the plot and do not leave us at the end with a handful of unresolved strands.”