Playing on Air Singles [8-35 minute short plays, plus interviews]

Series produced by Playing on Air

Series image

Playing on Air records short plays written, directed and performed by theatrical luminaries - Timothée Chalamet, Michelle Williams, Frankie Faison, Hank Azaria, Audra McDonald, Jonathan Groff, Adam Driver, Brian Cox... Listeners enjoy a beginning, middle and knock-out punch in minutes. Plus, after hearing the actors perform, listeners essentially join the scene as all the artists converse with host, Claudia Catania, about what just went down.

The Single Series is a module version of the full-length Playing on Air Series. It features a single short play followed by lively conversation with its playwright, director, cast. The times given include the ensuing conversation although the play can, of course, stand alone.

PLAYING ON AIR FULL EPISODES (53 Minutes)

PLAYING ON AIR SINGLES (10 - 42 Minutes including optional interview)

Location: Hillsdale, New York
http://playingonair.org/
http://www.facebook.com/PlayingOnAir
http://https://twitter.com/playingonair

PLAYING ON AIR SINGLES (8-35 Minutes)
Playing on Air records short plays written, directed and performed by theatrical luminaries - Timothée Chalamet, Michelle Williams, Frankie Faison, Hank Azaria, Audra McDonald, Jonathan Groff, Adam Driver, Brian Cox... Listeners enjoy a beginning, middle and knock-out punch in minutes. Plus, after hearing the actors perform, listeners essentially join the scene as all the artists converse with host, Claudia Catania, about what just went down.

Our contemporary shorts, generally 10-25 minutes each, make up an entertaining and insightful 53-minute show. (Single plays of various short lengths are available from our Playing on Air Singles Series).

The topics of these short plays are wide-ranging, timely, engaging, humorous, and reflect the issues of our world today. Pulitzer, Tony, and Emmy award winning playwrights, as well as dynamic newcomers, write pieces that, like all great theater, entertain, illuminate, inform and humanize.

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

THE CRITICS, PROGRAM DIRECTORS, AND ARTISTS WEIGH IN

"An answered prayer for anyone who craves more theater in their life." -Emma Dibdin, The New York Times

"In the long-running podcast series Playing on Air, sterling actors sink their teeth into short plays by the country’s finest authors" -Elisabeth Vincentelli, The New Yorker

"Playing on Air increases the accessibility of quality theatre to theatre-hungry audiences" -Ruthie Fierberg, Playbill

“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


We offer two different series: PLAYING ON AIR FULL-LENGTHS [53-minute offerings of 2-3 short plays followed by conversation] and PLAYING ON AIR SINGLES [a module version of the program with one play followed by one conversation, 10-42 minutes].
PLAYING ON AIR SINGLES (10 - 42 Minutes including optional interview)

PLAYING ON AIR FULL EPISODES (53 Minutes)

PLAYING ON AIR SINGLES (10 - 42 Minutes including optional interview)

These singles are taken from our full length 53-minute episodes, also available through PRX. Hide full description

PLAYING ON AIR FULL EPISODES (53 Minutes)PLAYING ON AIR SINGLES (10 - 42 Minutes including optional interview) Location: Hillsdale, New Yorkhttp://playingonair.org/http://www.facebook.com/PlayingOnAirhttp://https://twitter.com/playingonairPLAYING ON AIR SINGLES (8-35 Minutes)Playing on Air records short plays written, directed and performed by theatrical luminaries - Timothée Chalamet, Michelle Williams, Frankie Faison, Hank Azaria, Audra McDonald, Jonathan Groff, Adam Driver, Brian Cox... Listeners enjoy a beginning, middle and knock-out punch in minutes. Plus, after hearing the actors perform, listeners essentially join the scene as all the artists converse with host, Claudia Catania, about what just went down.Our contemporary shorts, generally 10-25 minutes each, make up an... Show full description


61 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Caption: Liv Rooth
In David Ives’ fantastical The End of Travel, a young woman seeks a travel agent and journeys to the end of the line. The play features Liv Rooth a...

  • Added: Jun 23, 2016
  • Length: 12:48
Caption: Lisa Emery
In A BETROTHAL by Pulitzer Prize winner Lanford Wilson, two middle-aged iris breeders bicker - and bond - at a flower breeders' competition. Perfor...

  • Added: Jun 23, 2016
  • Length: 36:09
Caption: Marsha Mason
Starring Marsha Mason and Steven Boyer. In the short comedy, TASHA WALKS, a young man (Steven Boyer, Tony nominee for HAND TO GOD, NBC's "Trial & E...

  • Added: Jun 23, 2016
  • Length: 16:14
Caption: Kelly Hitchinson
In IT'S ALL GOOD by David Ives, a Chicago native visits his hometown and meets his past. Featuring Carson Elrod, Rick Holmes and Kelly Hutchinson, ...

  • Added: Jun 24, 2016
  • Length: 25:00
Caption: Arnie Burton
In THE GOODNESS OF YOUR HEART, a friendship is put to the test over 900 dollars, and change. It features Arnie Burton (39 Steps) and Rick Holmes (S...

  • Added: Jun 24, 2016
  • Length: 27:33
Caption: Jesse Eisenberg
THE BLIZZARD, a mystery thriller, features Jesse Eisenberg and Pulitzer-finalist Heidi Schreck. A snowed-in screenwriter surprised by menacing, cre...

  • Added: Jul 27, 2016
  • Length: 19:27
Caption: James Lescene
Starring James Lecesne, Elizabeth is a short play about a son moving back in with his mother after his divorce. Written by David Cale, it features ...

  • Added: Aug 04, 2016
  • Length: 14:23
Caption: Michael Stuhlbarg
Amy Ryan and Michael Stuhlbarg star in You Belong to Me by Daniel Reitz. Two old friends from grad school, played by Amy Ryan ( Gone, Baby, Gone) a...

  • Added: Aug 04, 2016
  • Length: 17:49
Caption: Jesse Eisenberg
Jesse Eisenberg is both playwright and actor in this satirical short play about an anxious young hipster absurdly co-opting the tragedy of Septembe...

  • Added: Aug 04, 2016
  • Length: 16:49
Caption: Ed Asner
Starring Ed Asner and Jesse Eisenberg, in The Final Interrogation of Ceausescu’s Dog, a deposed dictator’s beloved pet answers to the disenfranchis...

Bought by KZYX and KZYX


  • Added: Aug 04, 2016
  • Length: 10:25
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Len Cariou
In Andy Reynolds' A Departure, a father and son (stage legend Len Cariou and ”Ugly Betty’s” Michael Urie) bond in the most unlikely of places - an ...

  • Added: Jan 29, 2018
  • Length: 28:15
Caption: John Douglas Thompson
Sam Waterston and John Douglas Thompson star in this offering from Playing on Air. In the short play, A Man of His Time, a descendant of Supreme Co...

Bought by KZYX and KVSC


  • Added: Jan 29, 2018
  • Length: 32:06
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Callie Thorne
Starring Jeremy Shamos and Callie Thorne, in the short-play At The Water’s Edge, Wet, a Production Stage Manager and his Sound and Light Board oper...

  • Added: Jan 29, 2018
  • Length: 20:18
Caption: Tracee Chimo
In Leland Frankel’s modern comedy WOKE, an aspiring Pakistani-American rapper crashes into a young activist and the cop pursuing her. Featuring Cra...

  • Added: Jan 29, 2018
  • Length: 26:25
Caption: Brad Bellamy
"[A]s funny a 20 minutes as you’re likely to see in a theater, thanks to a spectacular performance by Brad Bellamy as a football coach who recently...

Bought by KZYX


  • Added: Jan 29, 2018
  • Length: 19:02
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Scott Adsit
In Alan Zweibel’s short play Happy, a baseball fan (Scott Adsit of “30 Rock” and “Veep”) makes a pilgrimage to the home of a former baseball star w...

Bought by KZYX


  • Added: Jan 29, 2018
  • Length: 34:01
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Bobby Cannavale
Featuring Emmy winners Bobby Cannavale and Martha Plimpton, and recorded live on stage at Playwrights Horizons, the entertaining and timely GUN SHO...

Bought by KUNM, KZYX, and KUER


  • Added: Jan 29, 2018
  • Length: 32:00
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: April Matthis
The 1840s South. In the thick plantation air, two enslaved sisters spin a poetry of escape. Today’s the day: Field Girl is making her run for freed...

  • Added: Jan 29, 2018
  • Length: 20:56
Caption: Julia Cho, Credit: Zack DeZon
Cora and Dave Are Getting Older a young woman has returned from a dinner out with friends and confides in her husband she fears she doesn’t measure...

Bought by KZYX


  • Added: Jan 30, 2018
  • Length: 21:05
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Ciaran Hinds
Game of Throne's Ciaran Hinds stars in TWO CROWS APART. A couple braces themselves for unwanted houseguests, political correctness, and a murder of...

  • Added: Jan 30, 2018
  • Length: 22:11