Work samples

  • Black Widows, a full length play

    Gwen and Vera, 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 feels impatient. First one hit and run, then another. Will they get caught? "Inspired" by a true story in Los Angeles. Produced by Theatrical Mining Company as part of the Baltimore Playwrights Festival on the campus of the College of Notre Dame Maryland. Published by Next Stage Press.

  • Feeble-Minded White Trash, a full length play

    During the late 1920s in rural southern Virginia -- long before Roe v. Wade or its overturn, Hattie Clawson, an illiterate laundress with three illegitimate children, one of them Black, hasn't heard of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes 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 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 Supreme Court has yet to overturn its decision in this case.

    Finalist, Live Arts Waterworks Festival 2024 in Charlottesville, VA.

  • When I Fall in Love, It Will Be...a 10-minute play

    Two devoted spouses of dementia patients strike up an unlikely friendship when they discover what's going on behind the scenes at their partners' memory care unit. 

    Produced by Fells Point Corner Theatre, Baltimore; Barrington Stage, Pittsfield, MA; Onstage Atlanta, Decatur, GA; The Actors Studio of Newburyport, MA; Westfield Theatre Group, Westfield, MA; Red Phoenix Theater, Adelaide, Australia.

    Published in The Best 10-minute plays of 2022 by Smith & Kraus, edited by Debbie Lamedman.

    A review that appeared in Glam by Ben Stefanoff 1/17/26 about the Promenade of Shorts (Season 3) in Adelaide, Australia

    "Theatre royalty, Adrian Barnes and Lisa Lanzi, brought such sensitivity and care to When I Fall in Love, It Will Be... (by Susan Middaugh). This emotionally packed short play was breath-taking to watch. Barnes and Lanzi are absolute masters of the their art. You hang on every word, every pause, every look or small gesture...Bring tissues -- these two, along with Drake's sensitive direction

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

    Scene from Westfield Theatre Group's production of When I Fall in Love, It Will Be... December 2025. Two devoted spouses of dementia patients strike up an unlikely friendship when they discover what's going on behind the scenes of their partners' memory care unit.

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About Susan

Baltimore County  

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

View Susan's Resume
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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
  • North Park Vaudeville and Candy Shoppe in San Diego, CA produced my short comedy, Consumer Confidence

    • 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; Magnetic Theatre, Asheville, NC -- best play; Westfield Theatre Group, Westfield, MA; Parish Players, Thetford, VT; Red Phoenix Theatre, Adelaide, Australia.

    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.
  • Flyer to promote a production of this play
  • This is the playbill put out by Flying Leap Players

    • 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.

     

    • Headlong into the Abyss

      During the height of Hurricane Katrina, Lamont and his Aunt Pauline, who is wheelchair bound, escape to the attic of her home. They watch, horrified, as their neighbors fall from a balcony into the waters below. When a chopper passes overhead without stopping, their hopes for being rescued are dashed -- until Lamont comes up with a plan. Will he succeed?

    • The Sober House for Men

    A 10-minute play about the impact of addiction

    • The Sober House for Men, a 10-minute play

    • Feeble-Minded White Trash

    Full length play

    • Feeble-Minded White Trash