Playing on Air Hour Length Episodes

Series produced by Playing on Air

Caption: Playing on Air
Playing on Air  

Playing on Air delivers recordings of contemporary short plays featuring top talent: Brian Cox, Audra McDonald, Timothee Chalamet, Michelle Williams, Jesse Eisenberg, Carol Kane, Adam Driver, Adepero Oduye, Danny DeVito to name a few.

Each short is about 10-25 minutes and there are one, two or three of them in every 53-minute episode. Original music and polished, subtle sound design are composed for every bite-sized but beautifully crafted piece.

After hearing each short play, listeners get the inside scoop from its participants. Lively, insightful conversation with each short's playwright, director and cast about what just happened, round out each show. Claudia Catania hosts.

The topics of these short plays are timely, and reflect the world we live in now. Like all great stories, these short plays entertain, illuminate, and humanize.

Writers and directors include Pulitzer Prize winners David Lindsay-Abaire, David Auburn, John Patrick Shanley, Beth Henley, Lynn Nottage, Donald Margulies, Lanford Wilson; Tony winners Christopher Durang, Warren Leight, John Guare, and notable emerging talent.

“Playing On Air is a great addition to our programming lineup. There’s nothing else like it on the public radio airwaves –short plays written and performed by well-known actors and directors. Take a break from the news!” -Catie Talarski, Senior Programming Director, WNPR Connecticut

"When I first sampled Playing on Air I thought our audience would like the program, so I scheduled it during the summer and asked for listener feedback. The most amazing feedback returned with almost 100 % positive about this program. This is not typical of our listeners! This is a gem worth your review and absolutely worth adding to your schedule. Try it! You'll love the response! What's left to say? Playing on Air is a public radio winner."
- Lynne Clendenin, Program Director, OPB Radio.

"The playwrights and the actors are award-winning first-rate professionals you will have heard of. Because the plays are short, there's time to include insightful interviews, usually with the playwrights, in each broadcast. Playing on Air definitely fills a gap in available radio theatre programming and I'm delighted to schedule them. Your audiences will love these shows."
- Linda Lopez McAlister, Producer, KUNM's Radio Theatre, Albuquerque, NM

"Playing on Air is the kind of show that should be multiplied by ten - it's fun, it's intelligent, and it reminds us how glorious radio can be."
- David Ives, playwright

"Playing on Air gives actors the thrilling experience of acting without having to look in a mirror first. They produce dramatically compelling radio in a fun and accessible way."
- Jesse Eisenberg, actor, playwright Hide full description

“Playing On Air is a great addition to our programming lineup. There’s nothing else like it on the public radio airwaves –short plays written and performed by well-known actors and directors. Take a break from the news!” -Catie Talarski, Senior Programming Director, WNPR Connecticut"When I first sampled Playing on Air I thought our audience would like the program, so I scheduled it during the summer and asked for listener feedback. The most amazing feedback returned with almost 100 % positive about this program. This is not typical of our listeners! This is a gem worth your review and absolutely worth adding to your schedule. Try it! You'll love the response! What's left to say? Playing on Air is a public radio winner." - Lynne Clendenin, Program Director, OPB Radio. "The... Show full description


53 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Caption: Jesse Eisenberg
Three short plays. THE BLIZZARD, a chilly thriller, features Jesse Eisenberg as a snowed-in screenwriter facing unexpected guests. In THE MIRACLE O...

Bought by WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass., WLRH, Connecticut Public (WNPR), WRKF, KUNM and more


  • Added: Dec 16, 2012
  • Length: 53:00
  • Purchases: 23
Caption: Chris Cooper
Two short plays. Oscar winner Chris Cooper and multiple Emmy winner Margo Martindale star in BITE THE HAND directed by Tony winner, John Rando. Ton...

Bought by Connecticut Public (WNPR), Georgia Public Broadcasting, Oregon Public Broadcasting, Red River Radio Network (E. Texas/Louisiana/Arkansas/Mississippi), KAZU Seaside, Calif. and more


  • Added: Dec 07, 2012
  • Length: 53:00
  • Purchases: 8
Caption: Jane Krakowski
Jane Krakowski and Lois Smith star in short plays by Christopher Durang (Tony winner) and Beth Henley (Pulitzer Prize winner). In Henley's REPORT O...

Bought by KUNM, Connecticut Public (WNPR), Oregon Public Broadcasting, and KUNM


  • Added: May 27, 2014
  • Length: 53:00
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Merritt Wever
Two short plays, with multiple Tony and Emmy winners Deborah Monk, Julie Halston, Merritt Wever, and others. In WEST OF STUPID, a teacher, vacation...

Bought by Connecticut Public (WNPR), WVPE, Oregon Public Broadcasting, New Hampshire Public Radio, Oregon Public Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Dec 22, 2012
  • Length: 53:00
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Jerry Stiller
In I'M WITH YA, DUKE, by Tony winner Herb Gardner, Jerry Stiller plays a fruit vendor dreaming of the good old days when Duke Snider played for the...

Bought by Connecticut Public (WNPR), Oregon Public Broadcasting, Oregon Public Broadcasting, and KUNM


  • Added: Jan 09, 2013
  • Length: 53:00
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Lynnette Freeman
Three short plays. In TWO JEWISH MEN IN THEIR SEVENTIES, comedians Jerry Stiller and Bob Dishy carry on as they play two old friends visiting a new...

Bought by Connecticut Public (WNPR), C89.5 - KNHC Seattle, WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass., Oregon Public Broadcasting, and KUNM


  • Added: Jan 10, 2013
  • Length: 53:00
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: Jerry Stiller
There's no business like show business.... In TONY winner Christopher Durang's witty MRS. SORKEN, a wacky theater devotee gets her chance in the s...

Bought by Connecticut Public (WNPR), Oregon Public Broadcasting, and KUNM


  • Added: Jan 10, 2013
  • Length: 53:00
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Olympia Dukakis
Starring Oscar Winner Olympia Dukakis, There You Are, the first of three short plays portraying the gay experience, is about two widows who meet ag...

Bought by WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass., Connecticut Public (WNPR), KUPR low power FM, KUNM, KUER and more


  • Added: Apr 27, 2013
  • Length: 53:00
  • Purchases: 13
Caption: Amy Ryan
Three short plays, with Amy Ryan, Michael Stuhlbarg and others. In SKIN, romance sparks at the college health clinic where two Bengali students awa...

Bought by KUNM, Red River Radio Network (E. Texas/Louisiana/Arkansas/Mississippi), Oregon Public Broadcasting, XRAY.fm, KUNM and more


  • Added: Aug 02, 2013
  • Length: 53:00
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Jesse Eisenberg
In Jesse Eisenberg’s satirical, humorous A Little Part of All of Us with Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Bartha, a young man displays his tenuous hold o...

Bought by Connecticut Public (WNPR), Oregon Public Broadcasting, KUNM, and Oregon Public Broadcasting


  • Added: Sep 04, 2013
  • Length: 53:00
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Liv Rooth
A trio of short plays from a master of the medium, David Ives, with an April Fools Day feel to them. First, in SURE THING, a chance meeting between...

Bought by Connecticut Public (WNPR), Oregon Public Broadcasting, KZYX, and KUNM


  • Added: Sep 09, 2013
  • Length: 53:00
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Jesse Eisenberg
Two plays starring Jesse Eisenberg, Ed Asner, Adam Driver and Kathleen Turner - one about a dog, and one about a cat. A deposed dictator's beloved ...

Bought by Connecticut Public (WNPR), Oregon Public Broadcasting, KUNM, WMPG, KUT and more


  • Added: Feb 11, 2014
  • Length: 53:00
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Audra McDonald, Credit: Autumn de Wilde
Aidan Quinn, Audra McDonald and Tonya Pinkins star in shorts by John Patrick Shanley (Oscar, Pulitzer, Tony winner) and Lynn Nottage (Pulitzer Priz...

Bought by KUNM, Connecticut Public (WNPR), KUNM, New Hampshire Public Radio, KFCF FM and more


  • Added: Mar 26, 2014
  • Length: 53:00
  • Purchases: 10