Gather by the Ghost Light Jonathan Cook

IT'S HAPPENING IN YOUR REFRIGERATOR: Deutero-Fung, a mold spore with big ideas, attempts to rally his fellow mold spores into blooming immediately and take over the apartment-verse, but Hyphae-Fung, a mold spore with even bigger ideas, warns the community that blooming early will be a mistake. Look out! Cuz it's Happening in your Refrigerator!
Written by Greg Kotis
Directed by Jonathan Cook
Performed by Sol Baird as "Deutero-Fung"; Brad King as "Hyphae-Fung"; and the cast of Urinetown the Musical at Le Chat Noir Theatre as the mold spore community.
Intro/Outro music: JK/47
About the writer: GREG KOTIS is a two time Tony™ Award winning author of many plays and musicals including Urinetown (Book/Lyrics), The End of All Flesh, I Am Nobody, The Truth About Santa, The Sting (Lyrics), Lunchtime, Give the People What They Want, Michael von Siebenburg Melts Through the Floorboards, Yeast Nation (Book/Lyrics), Pig Farm, Eat the Taste, and Jobey and Katherine. His work has been produced and developed in theaters across the country and around the world, including Actors Theatre of Louisville, American Conservatory Theater, American Theater Company, The Apollo (West End), The Brick, the Eugene O’Neill National Theater Conference, The Geva Center, Goodspeed, Musicals, Henry Miller’s Theatre (Broadway), Manhattan Theatre Club, New York Stage and Film, New Line Theatre, The Old Globe, Perseverance Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, Soho Rep, South Coast Rep, The Saint James (Off West End), The Tank, and Village Theatre, among others. Future projects include ZM, an original musical about teenaged fast-food workers trying to survive a zombie plague. Greg co-founded Theater of The Apes with his wife Ayun Halliday (www.theater-of-the-apes.com), and is a member of the Neo-Futurists, the Cardiff Giant Theater Company, ASCAP, and the Dramatists Guild. He grew up in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, lives in New York City, and is the proud father of India and Milo.
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THAT NIGHT "BUTCHER" PETE GOT KNOCKED OUT BY JESSIE "THE CANNON" TESORI: World class heavyweight champion fighter, “Butcher” Pete Wilcox, is at the peak of his career – a living legend with a winning streak to brag about. He never expected, however, that his undefeated record would end in an exhibition match with Jessie “The Cannon” Tesori – a lightweight contender from the women’s fighting division.
Written and directed by Jonathan Cook
Performed by Ian Russell as "Butcher Pete", Bonnie Marie Williams as "Jessie 'The Cannon' Tesori", Robb Smith as "Mikey B.", & Valentin Angel Fernandez and Jonathan Cook as the Ring Annoucers.
Intro/Outro music: JK/47
About the writer: Jonathan Cook is heavily involved in the fine arts as an actor, writer, and filmmaker based in South Carolina. Many of his short plays have been produced in theatres around the World and and his full length play INSURGENTES was a semi-finalist in the 2020 Screencraft Stage Play Contest and the SE Texas Festival of New Plays. He is a five-time recipient of the Porter Fleming Literary Award in the playwriting category and some of his works have been published in anthologies by Smith & Kraus, Black Bed Sheet Books, Ghost Light Publications, and Ardneh. Aside from playwriting, he has also written and directed several short films that have been presented in regional film festivals as well as distributed internationally on ShortsTV. He is also the host and producer of the radio theater podcast GATHER BY THE GHOST LIGHT. Launched in 2020, GATHER BY THE GHOST LIGHT is a collection of stage plays adapted to an audio only format performed by voice actors and edited with appropriate sound effects and music.
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If you are associated with a theatre and would like to perform this play, please send an email to gatherbytheghostlight@gmail.com to get connected with the playwright.
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Gather by the Ghost Light
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UNKNOWN NUMBER: As a snowstorm rages outside, a woman receives phone calls from an entity that attempts to lure her outside.
Written by Greg Mandryk
Directed by Chris Plumridge in association with Ruby Sky Productions
Performed by Jacquie Floyd as "Samantha", Barbara Guinan as "Mom", Morey Norkin as "Dad", Scott Sickles as "Dispatcher", Dana Hall as "Operator", & Chris Plumridge as "Joe".
Intro/Outro music: JK/47
About the writer: Greg Mandryk is a playwright living in Cleveland, Ohio. His work has been produced throughout the United States.
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Gather by the Ghost Light
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FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY (aka THE BREAD PLAY): After getting the unlimited bread deal at an Italian restaurant, Arlo and Val are both stuffed and ready for the check. But their server doesn’t bring them their check. He brings them more bread. He keeps ... bringing them more bread. He won’t stop. He won’t ever stop. The bread is unlimited. And there is no escape. A romantic horror comedy about the hard truth that nothing lasts forever, except maybe bread.
Written by Daniel Prillaman
Directed by Jonathan Cook
Performed by Roshelle Simpson as "Val", John D. Nelson as "Arlo", Valentin Angel Fernandez as "Server", and Jacquie Floyd and Jonathan Cook as the "Advertisement Announcers"
Intro/Outro music: JK/47
About the writer: Daniel (he/him) is a neurodivergent ginger Virginian currently based out of Northern Ohio (with his creative partner and wife, Allisyn). He has a special fondness for absurdism, folklore, and horror, but ultimately loves plays about honest people (or talking animals) in situations he hasn't seen before. When not gleefully giving his "soul" to artistic endeavors and projects, he legitimately enjoys long walks on the beach, a video game with a glass of wine, and biscuits. His plays include "A Pirate Carol," "The Ashen Crown," and "You See Them in the Corners of Your Eyes," which have been produced in camp workshops and schools across the United States. His cosmic horror, "In the Slush," was a Finalist for the 2023 Princess Grace Award. Daniel is an alumnus of the University of Virginia and a member of the Dramatists Guild.
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COMMUNAL TABLE: Have you ever had to share a table in a café with the wrong people? On one summer afternoon in June, the day of the summer solstice, three characters end up at the same café table. Minna enjoys eavesdropping, but this time is different — this guy is getting so many things wrong, she may just need to interrupt. Gary loves meeting new people, but it looks like his latest flirtation is getting sabotaged. Allie has come here for some peace but she’s unlikely to find any here.
Written by Jenny Lyn Bader
Directed by Jonathan Cook
Performed by Elizabeth D. Moore as "Allie", Shelby Lauren Smith as "Minna", & Mickey Lay as "Gary".
Intro/Outro music: JK/47
About the writer: Jenny Lyn Bader is a playwright living in New York City. Her plays include Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library (Luna Stage) ("powerful and timely!"—Voice of America), Equally Divine (Theatre at the 14th St. Y), In Flight (Turn to Flesh Productions), and None of the Above (New Georges). One-acts include Worldness (Humana Festival of New American Plays), Miss America (NY Int’l Fringe Festival/”Best of Fringe” selection), Anniversary Season (Mona Bismarck Center, Paris), and My First Time (Voting Writes). A Harvard graduate, she has received the “Best Documentary One-Woman Show” Award (United Solo Fest); Athena Playwriting Fellowship; and the O’Neill Center’s Edith Oliver Award for a playwright who has, in the spirit of the late New Yorker critic, “a caustic wit that deflates the ego but does not unduly damage the human spirit.” For This Is Not a Theatre Company, she wrote Tree Confessions (w/ Kathleen Chalfant), which has streamed on five continents; International Local: 7 (Subway Plays app); co-authored Café Play (Cornelia St. Café) and Play in Your Bathtub 2.0, and wrote Guru of Touch (Edinburgh Festival Fringe). Her work has been published by Dramatists Play Service, Smith + Kraus, Applause, Vintage, W.W. Norton, The Lincoln Center Theater Review, Plays International + Europe, and The New York Times, where she served as a frequent contributor to the "Week in Review.” She has written commissioned scripts for Laura Ziskin Productions/WB Network, NBC Studios/NBC, and HBO, where she developed a pilot with Billy Crystal. A Harvard graduate, she has been a frequent contributor to the NY Times "Week in Review" and a Lark playwriting fellow, nominated by Wendy Wasserstein. She belongs to the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, the League of Professional Theatre Women, and Honor Roll.
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IMMERSION THERAPY: The best husband in the world gives his wife the ultimate birthday present.
Written by David MacGregor
Directed by Jonathan Cook
Performed by Devon McSherry as "Melissa", Jonathan Cook as "Doug", and Tommy Cooper as "Droppo the Clown"
Intro/Outro music: JK/47
About the writer: David’s plays have been performed from California to New York to London and Hobart, Tasmania. He is a resident artist at The Purple Rose Theatre (Chelsea, MI), which was founded in 1991 by actor and playwright Jeff Daniels. He has had nine plays produced there, and a revival of his 2008 dark comedy, "Vino Veritas," appeared in 2017 as The Purple Rose Theatre's 100th production. His trilogy of Sherlock Holmes plays, "Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Elusive Ear" (2018), "Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Fallen Soufflé" (2019), and "Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Ghost Machine" (2022) all premiered at the Purple Rose, and are available for licensing through Theatrical Works Worldwide (TRW). His work has been published by Dramatic Publishing, Playscripts, Smith & Kraus, Applause, Heuer Publishing, and TRW. The film based on "Vino Veritas," which stars Carrie Preston (of "True Blood" and Emmy-winner for "The Good Wife"), won numerous festival accolades and is now available on various on-line platforms, as well as DVD and Blu-ray. His Icelandic romance "In the Land of Fire and Ice" was a 2016 Athena List winner, and is now in pre-production, with Emmy-winner and Oscar-nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo attached. He teaches writing at Wayne State University in Detroit and is inordinately fond of cheese and terriers. His newest full-length play, the dark comedy "The Antichrist Cometh," will premiere at The Purple Rose Theatre in March 2024.
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Gather by the Ghost Light
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