Rosemary FrisinoToohey's portfolio

Work samples

The Body Washer excerpt

The Body Washer is a series of monologues by 3 young women in war:

Nikki, a National Guard soldier stationed at a checkpoint,

Amy, a reporter, recording the daily tally of death and destruction in the war in Afghanistan,

and Mara, the body washer who prepares the bodies of dead women for burial.

The play has been produced 15 times across the USA and the U.K.
Under The Poplar Trees excerpt

Meyer, imprisoned at a concentration camp, is joined in the barracks by Josef, a new prisoner.

But the two are at odds because they vary greatly in temperament. Josef is a dreamer, bent on seeing life as an unfolding miracle, while Meyer is stronger, but less imaginative.

Under The Poplar Trees made Finalist for the Julie Harris Awards in California, the Hudson River Showcase Theatre Contest in New York, and the Jewish Ensemble Theatre Festival in Michigan.

It was produced at Fells Point Corner Theatre in Baltimore and won First Prize in the Baltimore Playwrights Festival.
Gladys In Wonderland excerpt

Gladys is a slightly unhinged eighty-some-year-old who fills her days eating sweets and reading the obituaries.

When a snazzy dresser in a white suit shows up and announces that he’s her angel of death, the feisty Gladys says she’s not ready to go. He can't force the issue, but he can show her what life will be like if she stays around too long...

That leads to a visit to a nursing home where she meets two wised-up residents.

Gladys in Wonderland has been produced more than 50 times across the US, Canada, Mexico and the U.K.
In The Tank excerpt

“If you spend all your time pretending to be dead, what’s the point of being alive?”

That’s the question the philosophical Stu poses when he lands In The Tank, and meets the cunning, clever Harry who plays dead to avoid becoming someone’s dinner entrée.

Gradually, they move toward understanding as they share thoughts about life, death, and the humans who wield dominion over all.

And yes. Stu and Harry are lobsters.

Tank has now been staged more than 150 times around the world.
The Body Washer excerpt

The Body Washer is a series of monologues by 3 young women in war:

Nikki, a National Guard soldier stationed at a checkpoint,

Amy, a reporter, recording the daily tally of death and destruction in the war in Afghanistan,

and Mara, the body washer who prepares the bodies of dead women for burial.

The play has been produced 15 times across the USA and the U.K.
Under The Poplar Trees excerpt

Meyer, imprisoned at a concentration camp, is joined in the barracks by Josef, a new prisoner.

But the two are at odds because they vary greatly in temperament. Josef is a dreamer, bent on seeing life as an unfolding miracle, while Meyer is stronger, but less imaginative.

Under The Poplar Trees made Finalist for the Julie Harris Awards in California, the Hudson River Showcase Theatre Contest in New York, and the Jewish Ensemble Theatre Festival in Michigan.

It was produced at Fells Point Corner Theatre in Baltimore and won First Prize in the Baltimore Playwrights Festival.

About Rosemary

My writing was first published in Baltimore Magazine...but in 1998, recovering from an injurious auto accident, I found my true "home" in playwriting.

Since then, my plays have been produced more than 400 times on 4 continents and in 45 states---and I'm aiming for productions in the final 5!

… more

View Rosemary's Resume

The Body Washer

A young Iraqi woman has been killed at a military checkpoint.

Her death is seen through three sets of eyes: those of the body washer who prepares her body for burial, those of the National Guard soldier who fired the weapon that killed her, and those of a reporter, recording the daily tally of death and destruction in war.

THE BODY WASHER.pdf

The Body Washer premiered in New York and has been produced more than a dozen times in the US and U.K.

In The Tank

The prompt for this play came from a late night visit to a crowded seafood restaurant.

As we waited for a table I found myself looking at the denizens of the lobster tank.

Were they looking back at us?

In The Tank.pdf

In The Tank has been produced more than 150 times around the world.

The Garbageman

Larry is a garbageman, and he likes picking up trash just fine.

In his view, trash collection ranks up there with the important jobs---and that view holds---until the day he finds more than trash in a trash bag.

That’s when an awful discovery prompts bad decisions on his part and ends with his arrest.

It's a modern story, played out across the backchannels of urban life in the big city.

GARBAGEMAN.pdf

The Garbageman won the artist an Individual Award from the Maryland State Arts Council and took First Prize, the Carol Weinberg Award, in the Baltimore Playwrights Festival. The script also won the Oglebay Institute Towngate Theatre National Contest in Wheeling, WV

Socks---Left Behind

It’s NO EXIT meets FINDING NEMO---in a laundromat.

A tale of abandonment, rejection and hope in the confines of a clothes dryer. Left behind by careless owners, three socks and a leg warmer debate their plight. The play attempts to answer the nagging question…where do missing socks go???

SOCKS---Left Behind.pdf

SOCKS has been produced 35 times in the US, U.K., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.

Under The Poplar Trees

The focus of Under The Poplar Trees is the difference between people and how they face unimaginable brutality.

The idea for the depiction of these two men comes from learning about Holocaust survivors in the present day.

Their numbers are dwindling and every year, more of them pass from the scene. Still, in an amazing tribute to the unquenchable strength of the human spirit, it’s fascinating to learn about some who have gone on to live their lives to the full.

Perhaps, having survived the worst nightmare of the twentieth century, their spirit will not be dimmed, in fact, can never be dimmed. These stories need to be told.

UNDER THE POPLAR TREES_0.pdf

This script of Under The Poplar Trees won First Prize, The Carol Weinberg award, in the Baltimore Playwrights Festival.

It also won a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council and made Finalist in The Julie Harris Competition in California, the Jewish Ensemble Theatre Festival in Michigan, and the Hudson River Showcase Theatre Contest in New York.

Judy And The General

Against all odds, a woman outsmarts and destroys a powerful man.

It’s a flip, funny take on the Book of Judith, and like many stories from the best-selling book of all time, it features love, sex, death and violence.

JUDY AND THE GENERAL_0.pdf

The book, music, and lyrics of Judy And The General were written by the artist

Cornered

Passionate about fencing, Laura relishes the art of the duel.

But now that multiple sclerosis is turning her body into stone, she escapes her wheelchair only in her imagination.

She's resolved that her husband must find a life apart from her...she won’t bend, so he must break.

In the end, she triumphs, but there are no trophies for this knockout.

CORNERED.pdf

Cornered has had five productions in the US.

The script won the Next Generation Contest in New York, took the Carol Weinberg award, First Prize in the Baltimore Playwrights Festival, and made Finalist for the Arts and Letters Prize in Georgia.

Gladys In Wonderland

“You get up one day, eat a donut, read the paper, and some clown in a Good Humor suit says you’re going to die…” That’s Gladys’ dilemma in this bittersweet comedy about living and dying.

Gladys In Wonderland.pdf

Gladys In Wonderland has had more than 50 productions in the US, Canada, Mexico and the U.K.

SHARDS - The Aftermath Of Violence

“What do you say when someone tells you your son has killed somebody? What life experience could possibly prepare you to hear such a thing?"

Four teenagers in a high school hallway are venting about classes, parents, friends and the opposite sex when a gunman opens fire.

Eight actors play 36 characters in this drama.

Shards - The Aftermath of Violence.pdf

Originally titled School Shooter, this script made Finalist in the Gunplay Competition in Illinois, The Trustus Theatre Play Festival in South Carolina, and the Women at The Door Competition in Chicago.

It also won a Maryland State Arts Grant.

Cosmic Fruit Bowl

Think living in a fishbowl is tough? Try a fruit bowl.

There's tension, anxiety, alarm, alienation, attitude...and is the focus on looks or what’s inside? Is it a question of appeal? Or… a peel?

All oranges are acidic but the one in this bowl is off the charts. Apple’s got a big secret, and banana, bruised by self-doubt, wonders if he can possibly be "top banana."

Yes, there’s much more than seeds and juice in this fruit bowl.

COSMIC FRUIT BOWL.pdf

Cosmic Fruit Bowl has had more than 50 productions in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand & South Africa.

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