Nina Mansfield
Writer of plays and fiction
Published Plays
Three More Marriage Plays
Cast: 1-3 Females, 2-4 Males
Running Time: Approx. 30 min.
Three short plays about marriage.
Bona Fide: In this satire, Anna has married Samir so that he can stay in the country, and he is eternally grateful. As they celebrate their new marriage with champagne, Annad discovers a letter from the state. At first it seems like a routine immigration letter, but as they read on, they realie that the state is asking for proff that their marriage has been consummated.
The Ping and the Pong of It: As Tina and Gavin measure a small room in their new apartment for a ping pong table, it becomes apparent that Tina no longer wants a ping pong table. In fact, she never wanted a ping pong table. Gavis is crushed. Can their marriage survive?
Bite Me: Ellen has surprise for her husband Mark, and no, it isn't a new puppy dog. She's brought home a vampire. After all, he did stay that he wanted to spend all eternity with her, and wouldn't it be nice if they didn't have to age in the process.
Available from One Act Play Depot.
Click HERE to purchase.
Clean
Cast:1 Female, 2 Males
Running Time: Approx. 30 min.
Harvey and Donna, two recovering alcoholics, surprise each other in a church basement late one night. Harvey is there to do his dishes- seriously. Donna has been kicked out by her husband. A bottle of bourbon appears. An alcoholic pastor soon follows. Three humans struggle with addiction and the unbelievable cleaning power of an industrial strength dishwasher are revealed.
Clean is published and licensed by Original Works Publishing, www.originalworksonline.com.
Click HERE to purchase.
SMILE
Cast: 1 Female, 1 Male
Running Time: 10 min.
Set in two separate interrogation rooms, a man and a woman give differing accounts of what has just happened. As the interrogations unfold we learn that the woman has punched the man and feels justified in her actions. The man feels the woman is completely crazy. The audience is left to decide.
Smile is published and Licensed by Smith and Kraus, in 2010 The Best 10-Minute Plays.
Click HERE to purchase the anthology.
Also available from Original Works Publishing.
Click HERE to purchase.
TEXT MISDIRECTED
Cast: 1 female, 1 male, 1 off-stage voice
Running Time: 10 min.
A woman who is slowly being driven mad by technology encounters 
a divorce lawyer who is plugged-in, in more ways than one. One man, one woman, one text message…misdirected.
Text Misdirected is published by Smith and Kraus, in 2010 The Best 10-Minute Plays 2011. Click HERE to purchase.
It is also available from One Act Play Depot. Click HERE to purchase.
ERASING THE BRAIN
Cast: 1 female, 1 male, 1 off-stage voice
Running Time: 10 min.
When Ellen discovers that her younger brother Mattie has read her diary, she resorts to drastic measures: she takes his video game controller hostage. Mattie tries to convince Ellen that he can erase his brain, including all memories of the boy that she has been writing about. After all, Mattie argues, wasn’t Mom able to erase her brain? Has their Mom really forgotten all about their Dad, and is Mattie destined to as well?
Erasing the Brain is published and licensed by YouthPLAYS.
Click HERE for to read an excerpt, order a free perusal copy or to obtain performance rights.
MISSED EXIT
Cast: 4 females, 2males
Running Time: 10 min.
A family of five is trapped in acompact car ontheir way to a wedding. After one too many wrong turns, the GPS comes to life.
Available from One Act Play Depot.
Click HERE to purchase.
Also available in the Boston Theater Marathon XI, 2009 Anthology.
Click HERE to purchase.
Crash Bound
Cast: 2 females, 2 males
Running Time: 40 min.
Love, math and paranoia collide at 30,000 feet. An actress and a statistician find themselves on Flight 214 to Los Angeles via Detroit. According to the statistician’s calculations, today is the day that he was meant to find true love. The actress, however, is positive that Flight 214 will crash, as she was never meant to reach “the metaphorical Moscow.” Their personalities collide as the pilot quotes Chekhov and the flight attendant insists that she is a seagull.
Available from One Act Play Depot.
Click HERE to purchase.
NOEPILOGUE
Cast: 1 female, 1 male
Running Time: 40 min.
Mike, a struggling poet and cab driver, and Steph, the girl who loves him,debate the causes of a mysterious suicide early one morning on the Brooklyn Bridge. We soon learn that Mike hasn't written anything in months, but this suicide seems to inspire him. Was Mike somehow at fault for the stranger's fate? And how far will Steph go to inspire him again?
Available from One Act Play Depot.
Click HERE to purchase.
