"The Woman with 27 Children"

Bollow, Ludmilla (American playwright, writer, actress, 19__-____), “The Woman with 27 Children,”

a 45-minute drama in English, set on a bare stage, unfolding circling time,

1f

; • © 1983 by Ludmilla Bollow; • in Ludmilla Bollow’s One Acts and Monologues for Woman (New York: Broadway Play Publishing, 1983), ISBN 0881450081, Broadway Play Publishing, 56 East 81 Street, New York City, New York 10028, http://www.BroadwayPlayPubl.com; • rights from Ludmilla Bollow, 314 West Sugar Lane, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53217, U.S.A., e-mail bollow@earthlink.net, telephone (home) 414-352-8370, http://home.earthlink.net/~bollow/. • Cited by Ludmilla Bollow, via ftp September 12, 1999; Bollow says,

§ Dramatis Persona Angel (f), widow, age not apparent.

§ Synopsis “Angel lives alone in the house on the hill, built by her now-deceased husband Vernon, the love of her life. She is utterly lost without him to guide her. He carved so many beautiful things, but the most treasured, were the exquisite lifelike wooden dolls. He presented her with one each Christmas (because she could not have children). Eventually there were twenty-seven dolls—treated as real children. Confused and disoriented, Angel sits recalling their life, speaking to the last-carved child as if he were Vernon, telling of the plight taking place—the tax people coming to take their home, and the only solution is selling the priceless dolls to the museum, which tears her apart, because ‘you can’t sell your own children!’ Ultimately, she believes Vernon is back with her, and all his statues are standing once more in the magic circle, and it’s time to retire. In the morning, “We’ll take all but one child to the museum.’”

§ Comment “Requires chair and rocking chair. Angel wears long, loose gown of homespun materials, earthspun color. • This touching, gripping monologue has been widely produced in the U.S. and Canada. In Hong Kong, China, it was presented in Chinese. In São Paulo and surrounding countryside, Brazil, it was presented in Portuguese, with original music. In Pretoria, South Africa, it was presented in Afrikaan. All with commendable reviews. A simply staged tour de force for any actress!” • Addendum, May 15, 2004: “Also filmed in South Africa and in African Film Festival in Manchester, England, in 2004.”

§ Themes bare stage, children, Christmas, infertility, death, doll, gift, home, loneliness, love, magic, museum, projection, sale, tax, tour de force, widowhood, wood.



See also Ludmilla Bollow's

• "Allegra at the Beach," a 4-minute dramatic monolog in English, set on a beach, the present, 1f
• "Battle Hymn," a 10-minute drama in English, set in a park area outside a small midwest town, U.S.A., evening, 1998, 1m2f
• "The Beach Club," a 30-minute comedy-drama in English, set on a beach, , the present, 2m2f (+ optional walk-on)
• "Belle of the Bijou," a 45-minute drama in English, set in the ticket taker booth, Bijou theatre, night, the present, 1f
• "Bitsy and Her Friends," a 30-minute sparkling comedy in English, set in the garden of the Wyndham Estate, which has fallen into disrepair, on a summer afternoon, today, 6f, available elsewhere
• "Bunnies in a Bomb Shelter," a 10-minute comedy in English, set a simple home and bomb shelter, evening, a few years back, 2m2f (+ dramatic voice over)
• "By the Sea, by the Sea," a 20-minute comedy in English, set in a pool area in posh hotel, Texas, U.S.A., early morning, today, 2m1f (+ voice)
• "Carryon," a 10-minute play in English, set on a bare stage, no specific time, 1f (+ m or f voice)
• "Children of Sin," a 10-minute bare-stage dramatic monolog in English, set at a carnival, the present, 1f
• "City Sidewalks," a 15-minute drama in English, set on a city street, U.S.A., Christmas Eve, the present, 1f
• "Dateless in Wisconsin," a 10-minute comedy in English, set in a bar and kitchen, U.S.A., the present, 1m3f
• "Dental Mania," a 30-minute comedy in English, set in a decrepit dental office, three working days in January, the present, 1m2f
• "Dental Mania, Day One," a 10-minute comedy in English, set in a decrepit dental office, U.S.A., the present, 1m2f
• "Dental Mania, Day Three," a 10-minute comedy in English, set in a decrepit dental office, U.S.A., the present, 1m2f
• "Dental Mania, Day Two," a 10-minute comedy in English, set in a decrepit dental office, U.S.A., the present, 1m2f
• "Edwina at the Sanitarium," a 7-minute dramatic monolog in English, set in a sanitarium, U.S.A., 1880s, 1f
• "Fatless Future," a5- minute comedy in English, set in a living room, 2050, 1m1f
• "First Time," a 5-minute dramatic monolog in English, set in a beauty salon, the present, 1f
• "Flickering Fireflies," a 10-minute bare-stage comedy in English, set in _____, 2050, 2m2f
• "Four Widows from Wal-Mart," a 30-minute comedy in English, set on a bare stage with four chairs to indicate various locations, summer, the present, 4f (+ 1 male voice)
• "The Girl with Three Arms," a 25-minute dramatic monolog in English, set as an interview, winter, the present, 1f
• "A Gypsy's Tale," a 10-minute bare stage drama in English, set _____, Christmas, the present, 1f
• "Late/Late . . . Computer Date!," a 40-minute sentimental comedy in English, set in the sitting room of the Paisley sisters, evening of Veronica's first date, the present, 2f (+ possible bird extra)
• "Martha's Boy," a __-minute drama in English, set in a kitchen, the present, 2m1f
• "Moussaka Meeting," a 10-minute fantasy drama in English, set in a Greek restaurant, U.S.A., on a maternal birthday, March 23, the present, 1m2f
• "Nun Scene," a 10-minute bare-stage drama in English, set in a nunnery, U.S.A., the present, 2f
• "Ozmania," a 10-minute children's theatre fantasy comedy in English, set in Ozmania, in any time, 2m2f
• "Ring Around Rosie," a 29-minute drama in English, set on a stage with a small table, chair, and folding screen, the present, 1f
• "St. Cecelia," a 35-minute drama in English, set in the baths in the home of a patrician Roman family, middle of the third century, A.D., 1m3f
• "Shelter Skelter," a 10-minute meaningful comedy in English, set in an animal shelter, the present, 1m2f
• "Stanley and Stella," a 10-minute comedy in English, set in a living room and a restaurant, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A., on Stanley and Stella's 25th anniversary, the present, 2m1f
• "Sunset Zoo," a 10-minute comedy with pathos in English, set in the day room of an old-age home, night, the present, 3m1f
• "TV Brides," a 45-minute drama in English, set on a bare stage, unfolding circling time, 1f

This Website continues under construction and welcomes new citations and comments.

Page mounted June 8, 2004, by the Webmaster.

There is a there there with a correct click.

Quick Connections to Major Sections of This Guide

Preliminaries
| Home Page | Contents | Acknowledgments |
| Foreword | Preface | Introduction |

Body
| Author Index | Cast Size/Gender Index | Title Index | Glossary of Genres | Bibliography for Playwrights | Playbills by Themes |
| Eighty Script Analyses (in Print Volume) | Source Directory for Scripts |

Sundries
| Visits Counter | Success Stories |
| Form for Submitting New Citation | Ordering 1/2/3/4 for the Show |
| Present Web Links | Adding Web Links |
| Guest Book | Disclaimer | General Bibliography |
| About the Author |

Quick Connections to Cast Size/Gender Menus

1 Actor
| One-Male Plays | One-Female Plays |

2 Actors
| One-Male-One-Female Plays | Two-Male Plays | Two-Female Plays |

3 Actors
| One-Male-Two-Female Plays | Two-Male-One-Female Plays | Three-Male Plays |
| Three-Female Plays |

4 Actors
| One-Male-Three-Female Plays | Two-Male-Two-Female Plays |
| Three-Male-One-Female Plays | Four-Male Plays | Four-Female Plays |

Small-Cast One-Act Guide Online

complements

the more-extensive print volumes

1/2/3/4 for the Show: A Guide to Small-Cast One-Act Plays

Vols. 1 and 2