Go to Home Page of Small-Cast One-Act Guide Online

Wood, Nick Francis (British playwright, writer, teacher, 1949-____), “Suspicious Minds,”

a 40-minute comedy in English, set in an empty office, July, 1999,

2m1f;

  •  © 1999 by Nick Wood;  •  script/rights available from Nick Wood, 1, Dagmar Grove, Alexandra Park, Nottingham, NG3 4JE, England, e-mail nick.wood@breathemail.net, telephone (home) 0115 9857569.  •  Cited by Nick Wood, via ftp August 9, 1999; Wood says,

  § Dramatis Personae Frank (m), 30, a sharp-shooter; Josie (f), 30, Frank’s partner; Vernon (m), 34, an Elvis impersonator.

  § Synopsis “Vernon, an Elvis impersonator with a speciality in birthday King-a-Grams, has been lured to an empty office block by Frank and Josie. They wish to punish him for the trouble he has caused Frank’s mother,  who lives in the flat above Vernon’s. Frank and Josie have a sharpshooting act that they perform for their own benefit. In a bizarre machination, they force Vernon to become their target, then they leave him to be released  by the caretaker tomorrow morning. The CD player endlessly repeats ‘Old Shep,’ the one Elvis track Vernon cannot stand.

  § Comment “Very simple staging. The sharpshooting act requires a stepladder with concealed pins and some
balloons. A dropped cup and saucer must break. Vernon needs an Las Vegas Elvis jumpsuit and wig—both should look as tacky as possible. Frank needs a gun, and he must remove his suit jacket and tie to reveal a bootlace and cowboy shirt. Similarly, Josie, as Frank’s assistant in the sharpshooting act, needs something glamourous under her blouse and skirt.”

  § Themes bizarre, black comedy, cruelty, Elvis (Elvis Aron Presley, American singer, actor, 1935-1977), Graceland (the home of Elvis Presley, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A.), sharpshooting, surreal.

See also Nick Wood’s:

“Female 29, G.S.O.H.,” a 40-minute comedy in English, set in one setting that can change with minimal fuss from a wine bar to a flat etc., the present, 1m1f

“The Graceland Experience,” a 40-minute comedy in English, set in the lounge of an old peoples’ home, July, 1999, 1m1f

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

Page mounted September 5, 1999, by the site Webmaster.