Work samples

  • Feeble-Minded White Trash -- Middaugh_0.pdf

    Synopsis: Full length play

    During the late 1920s in rural Virginia, Hattie Clawson, an illiterate laundress with three illegitimate children, one of them Black, hasn't heard of U.S. Supreme Court Justice or his majority opinion in the landmark case, Buck vs. Bell. But she will feel the impact of the court's decision when the Commonwealth of Virginia authorizes her to be involuntarily sterilized and her parental rights severed. What will she and her children do to survive in a society preoccupied with race and class? Will the stigma ever go away?

    All told, 33 states allowed forced sterilization on those it determined to be unfit and feeble minded. This was an outcome of the eugenics movement that swept our country during the 20th century. 65,000 Americans were affected, 85% of them were women.

    A finalist out of 600 submissions in the Live Arts, 2024 Waterworks Festival, Charlottesville, VA.

  • When I Fall in Love final_0.pdf
  • A scene from Just a Bus Driver
    A scene from Just a Bus Driver

    A scene from Just a Bus Driver which was produced by Artscenterlive during 10x10 in the Triangle in Carrboro, NC. 

    On the eve of his retirement, an inner-city bus driver encounters a male passenger who plans to commit a murder when he exits the bus.

    Also produced by Stone Soup Theater; Actoneseries, the Renaissance Guild; Urban Waves at the Open Hydrant Theater Company; winner of the Raymond Flores Award from Around the Block; part of a curated readings on gun violence produced by Women in the Arts & Media Coalition.

  • This is a short comedy, Consumer Confidence, produced by North Park Vaudeville and Candy Shoppe in San Diego in 2022 (also read at the Peale Museum 12/14/2024). Peg Daly played Miss Hooper, Braden Evans plays Mel. The play won best director, best actress.

About Susan

Looking back, maybe it's not surprising that I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. My family loves stories: true, made up, spoken and read that entertain and inform, sadden, challenge and delight. Pop, my paternal grandfather, a son of Irish immigrants, recited narrative poetry from memory when our family gathered for Sunday dinners at their home in Queens. A large man with a strong voice and a seventh-grade education, Pop shared "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" and "The Cremation of Sam McGee… more

Just a Bus Driver

On the eve of his retirement, an inner-city bus driver encounters a male passenger who plans to commit a murder when he exits the bus. 

Produced by Stone Soup Theatre, Seattle, WA; Actoneseries, The Renaissance Guild, San Antonio, TX; Winner short play festival by Urban Waves at the Open Hydrant Theater Company, Bronx, NY; Artscenterlive during 10x10 in the Triangle, Carrboro, NC; part of a series of curated readings on gun violence produced by Women in the Arts & Media Coalition, NYC, NY; winner of the Raymond J. Flores Award from Around the Block, NYC, NY. 

 

  • Just A Bus Driver with contact .pdf

    This is a two-character play. It was inspired by a true story shared on the radio by a retired bus driver.

    In addition to productions, it was part of a series of curated readings on gun violence produced by Women in the Arts and Media Coalition in New York City. 

Consumer Confidence

Synopsis:

A convenience store clerk insists that all sales are final when his former elementary school teacher requests a refund on a package of condoms. Will she persuade him otherwise?

Produced by North Park Vaudeville and Candy Shoppe, San Diego, CA; reading at the Peale Museum sponsored by GBCA's Baker Artist Program.

  • North Park Vaudeville and Candy Shoppe in San Diego, CA produced my short comedy, Consumer Confidence
    North Park Vaudeville and Candy Shoppe in San Diego, CA produced my short comedy, Consumer Confidence

    North Park Vaudeville and Candy Shoppe in San Diego, CA produced my short comedy, Consumer Confidence. Actors Peg Daly played Miss Hooper and Braden Evans played Mel Abbott. This play also had a reading at the Peale Museum in Baltimore December 14, 2024 sponsored by the GBCA's Baker Artist program.

  • consumer confidence Susan Middaugh.pdf

Feeble-Minded White Trash

In the 1920s, long before Roe v. Wade or its overturn, the U.S. Supreme Court in a majority opinion by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes upheld a law by the Commonwealth of Virginia that allowed the state to perform involuntary sterilizations on those it deemed unfit or feebleminded. One of them was Hattie Clawson, an illiterate laundress with two illegitimate children, one of them black. She hadn't heard of the Supreme Court's decision in the landmark case, Buck vs. Bell. But she will feel the impact when the Commonwealth of Virginia forces her to be sterilized, severs her parental rights and takes her children away -- permanently. What will she and her children do to survive in a society preoccupied with race and class? Will the stigma ever go away?

All told, 33 states allowed forced sterilization as an outcome of the eugenics movement that swept our country during the 20th century; 65,000 Americans were affected, 85% of them were women. To this day, the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to overturn its decision in this case.

This play is based on a true story.

In 2024, Feeble-Minded White Trash was a finalist in Live Arts Waterworks Festival in Charlottesville, Va.

Black Widows

Synopsis: a full length play
This is a cautionary tale about two Los Angeles women in their 70s who are crooks. The play opens as Vera Krabitz and Gwen Halsted are stealing cash and credit cards from hotel locker rooms. Gwen is afraid of getting caught and suggests they come up with a new scam. Shortly thereafter, Vera and Gwen befriend a couple of homeless men they meet through a church soup kitchen. They give the men a place to live, take out multiple life insurance policies on them and name themselves as beneficiaries, then wait for the men to die. Until one day, Vera becomes impatient. Will they get caught? "Inspired" by a true story. 
 

Produced by Theatrical Mining Company on the campus of the College of Notre Dame Maryland as part of the Baltimore Playwrights Festival. Published by Next Stage Press.

 

  • Black Widows

    Synopsis:

    Gwen and Vera, two small time crooks in their 70s, pretend to befriend a couple of homeless men they meet through a church soup kitchen. They give the men a place to live, take out multiple life insurance policies on them, then wait for the men to die -- until one night Vera gets impatient. Will they get caught? 

    Based on a true story in Los Angeles.

    Produced by Theatrical Mining Company for the Baltimore Playwrights Festival at the University of Notre Dame Maryland. Published by Next Stage Press.

     

When I Fall in Love, It Will Be...

Synopsis:

Two devoted spouses of dementia patients strike up an unlikely friendship after they discover what's been going on at their spouse's assisted living facility. 

Produced by Fells Point Corner Theatre, Baltimore; Barrington Stage, Pittsfield, MA; Onstage Atlanta, Decatur, GA; Dorset Players, Dorset, VT; Acting Studio of Newburyport, Newburyport, MA; Thetford Players, Thetford, VT; Magnetic Theatre, Asheville, NC -- best play.

Queen for a Day

Synopsis:

In an auction Holly wins a butler for a day. He starts to serve her breakfast in bed -- until the action veers off in an unexpected direction.

Produced by Brief Acts, a division of Love Creek Productions, New York City; Knutsford Little Play Festival, Knutsford, England. Part of Theatre Southwest's Reader's Theater, Houston, TX

  • Program from Knutsford (England) Play Festival
    This festival in Knutsford, England, chose my short play, Queen for a Day, as a winner in their festival. The performance was in October of 2008.
  • Flyer to promote my play, Queen for a Day, in NYC
    Brief Acts produced my play, Queen for a Day, in New York City in September 2008. Directed by Donna Gloria Mooney Cast Holly: Susanna Randolph Jeeves, the butler: Paul Wilcox
  • Queen for a Day.pdf

It's My Party!

Synopsis:

Connie, a suburban woman, gets picked up for the first time for drug possession. Sharing a room with her at the jail intake center is a prostitute named Crystal. Each woman wants to get out on bail, but only one will. Except for their addiction and a fondness for the same pair of shoes, they appear to be very different. Will they find their common humanity?

Produced by Artistic New Directions as part of its Eclectic Evening of Shorts, New York City; Theatrical Mining Company, Downtown Cultural Arts Center, Baltimore.

  • It's My Party!

    Synopsis: 

    Connie, a white suburbanite, gets picked up for drug possession, a first. Sharing a room with her at the jail intake center is a prostitute named Crystal. Each woman wants to get out on bail, but only one will. Except for their addiction and a fondness for the same pair of expensive shoes, they appear to be very different. Will they find their common humanity?

    Produced by Artistic New Directions as part of its Eclectic Evening of Shorts, New York City; Theatrical Mining Company, the Downtown Cultural Arts Center, Baltimore.

Such Good Neighbors

Synopsis:


An elderly couple are awakened in the middle of the night by their next-door neighbors who are having an argument. The wife becomes intrigued, the husband wants to distract her from listening. What happens next?

Produced by Try It Out Theatre, Columbia, MD; Flying Leap Players, Grand Marais, MN; Shandaken Theatrical Society's Play Fair, Phoenicia, NY; The Strand Theater as part of its Friends and Neighbors Festival, Baltimore, MD.

  • Flyer to promote a production of this play
    Flyer to promote a production of this play
    The Flying Leap Players in Grand Marais, MN produced my play in 2002.
  • This is the playbill put out by Flying Leap Players
    This is the playbill put out by Flying Leap Players
    The playbill shows the actors and director.
  • Such Good Neighbors

    Synopsis: 

    An elderly couple are awakened in the middle of the night by their next-door neighbors who are having an argument. The wife becomes intrigued; her husband wants to distract her. Why?

    Produced by Try It Out Theatre, Columbia, MD; Flying Leap Players, Grand Marais, MN; Shandaken Theatrical Society, Phoenicia, NY; The Strand Theater, Baltimore.

Suite 510

Synopsis:

A woman writer is working in her office late at night when an Intruder insists that she open the door. He then proceeds to terrorize her and accuse her of killing his sister in a hit-and-run accident. What will she do to defend herself?

Produced by Lebanon Community Theatre, Lebanon, PA; Source Theater, Washington, DC; Wasatch Theatre Company, Salt Lake City, UT; Covered Bridge Theater, North East, MD; reading by Palm Springs Museum, Palm Springs, CA.



 

  • Suite 510

    Synopsis:

    A woman writer working alone in her office late at night encounters an intruder who insists she open the door. This man accuses her of killing his sister in a hit and run accident and threatens to kill her. What does she do?

     

Headlong into the Abyss

During the height of Hurricane Katrina, Lamont and his Aunt Pauline, who is confined to a wheelchair, escape to the attic of her home. The two of them watch, horrified, as their neighbors fall from a balcony into the waters below. When a chopper passes overhead without stopping, their dreams about being rescued are dashed -- until Lamont comes up with a plan.

Produced by Arena Players, Baltimore, as part of Variations on Flight.