Synopsis
The Hummingbird General
by Neal Alexander Lewis

Several years after a rock climbing accident left him hemiparetic, DENNIS has grown tired of what remains of his life. As his few friends and his daughter gather together to celebrate his birthday, DENNIS struggles to find lasting joy in their company when can hardly find joy in himself. Torn by the gratitude he feels and his own self-loathing, DENNIS retreats into his house, much the frustration of his guests. By the end of the day, though, DENNIS is not the only one facing a crisis.

4 Characters. 60 minute run-time.

Synopsis
Tiny Elephants

by Neal Alexander Lewis

FERNANDO, an openly gay football player, is back in town visiting on semester break from college and he's hosting a pool party as diverse in cross-section as his own intersectionality. Old teammates, family, and fellow queer all come together, in spite of their disassociations, out of their friendship with FERNANDO. Unfortunately, some of those old friends have become new enemies and FERNANDO'S patience is tested as the body issues and self-acceptance of his guests are brought to light and under fire. As each reacts to the conflicts in their own way, true strength and genuine friendships are revealed and, in the end, it is love, alone, that survives.

14 Characters. 1 hour 15 minute run-time.

Synopsis
The Seven-Ten Split
by Neal Alexander Lewis

It may be cliché to say “if nothing changes; nothing changes,” but that doesn't mean it that it isn't also true. Until CASEY met ALEXANDRA, she had never really stepped beyond the walls of her brother's MMA Gym and the security of it being home. Accepting ALEX'S invitation to go bowling, CASEY begins to experience a life beyond the Octagon, and as she discovers new friends, she must confront her own desire for a life beyond it.

7 Characters. 2 hour 10 minute run-time.

Read it at the New Play Exchange

Synopsis
Waiting For Toast
by Neal Alexander Lewis

Nothing quite ruins a morning like the dregs of yesterday's coffee and accidentally burnt toast. The only thing worse is the person consuming them. CHARLES DUNLAP is a bitter and jaded old man with a hatred for everybody, and nothing makes his day better than ruining somebody else's. Today that someone is ALBERT MONROE. In the small common kitchen of Mesa Park West, a community based apartment complex for active seniors, ALBERT is conflicted by curiosity and his desire to leave when he is subjected to the affront that is CHARLES. Getting older doesn't always mean getting wiser.

2 Characters. 30 minute run-time.

Synopsis
Blurred Lines
by Neal Alexander Lewis

A dying old man and his closest companion have their final conversation, and it isn't the conversation you expect.

2 Characters. 10 minute run-time.

Synopsis
To Fleece The Fleece
by Neal Alexander Lewis

When photographer SAM'S wife died two years ago, his world ground to a halt. Caught between the demands of being a single-parent, an artist, and a business owner, SAM struggles to remember what his happiness is. JESSICA is an amicable, but closed-off bartender whose isolation is her main defense against a world that has constantly let her down. As the demands of family begin to interject themselves into her life, JESSICA finds the walls she's built begin to crumble. Divided by the baggage of the past even as they are introduced because of it, SAM and JESSICA form an unlikely friendship that challenges how they both see the world. And as their worlds continue to collide, SAM and JESSICA begin to discover that although the past defines who they are, who they could be is limited only by their choices.

7-9+ Characters. 2 hours 20 minute run-time.

Synopsis
Untitled, currently under revision
Neal Alexander Lewis

Haunted by his past, and haunted by the shadows of himself, TERRANCE fled the ghetto to move in with his cousin ELIJAH in suburbia. Mired in a self-inflicted stagnation, TERRANCE has done little to acclimate to his new life. All of that begins to change when JASMINE, ELIJAH'S girlfriend, throws a party and new faces enter TERRANCE'S life. Caught between different versions of himself, TERRANCE must chose between a truth he cannot even admit to himself, and lie he would never admit he's living. It's hard to live life when you are somewhere in between.

9 Characters. 1 hour 40 minute run-time.

Synopsis
Postmasters of the Dead
by Neal Alexander Lewis

Existential dilemmas don't stop just because you're dead, and only a few among the living can begin to understand why when ordinary mortals are too busy living their own lives. FRANCESCA and AGNUS, however; are no longer ordinary. They've both died – they just didn't stay that way. Under AGNUS' tutelage, FRANCESCA is learning to live her life as a Medium; someone who can dwell on either side of life. Serving as friends, confidantes, and go-betweens, AGNUS and FRANCESCA connect the Living with the Dead (or vice-versa) to bring solace and peace to those who seek it. Only one thing is certain, however; you never know just what you'll find on the Other Side Of Life.

9-11 Characters. 2 hour run-time.

Read it at the New Play Exchange

Synopsis
A Girl Named Wench
Neal Alexander Lewis

MIKA and her boyfriend PAUL both have extensive romantic personal histories, a fact generally well known to all. At first glance, everything appears to be fine, but when MIKA'S exes (many of whom she's still friends with) start appearing, PAUL discovers that he's not as okay with it as he thought. Confronted by the gender disparity of sexual expression, MIKA takes a stand for herself and for love as she levels self-acceptance against his condemnations. Double standards are a bitch.

5 Characters. 1 hour 45 minute run-time.

Read it at the New Play Exchange

Synopsis

The Swift Macaw

Neal Alexander Lewis

Life is good for KATARINA, and she won't let anyone tell her otherwise. She's got a great boyfriend, a job she loves, and a wonderful cafe just around the corner. Using a wheelchair just makes things more interesting. It all takes an unexpected turn when her boyfriend MATEO proposes opening their relationship. As KATARINA struggles to understand and accept her feelings, the possibilities for her and MATEO's future take on a wholly new and different light. Life, it seems, is about to become complicated.

7 Characters. 1 hour 10 minute run-time.

Synopsis
Airport Sparrows 
by Neal Alexander Lewis

Leaving his dead-end life behind, MARCUS is returning to a town he hates to care for his dying mother. And as if that wasn't bad enough, he's just met someone. Caught between the burgeoning hope of attraction and the squalid detritus of a past better left there, MARC struggles to navigate between the sun and the turbulent storm. Amidst the ruins of his old life and the failing health of his mother, MARC struggles to find his way home.

7-15 Characters. 90 minute run-time.

Read is at the New Play Exchange

Synopsis
The Longview
by Neal Alexander Lewis

The Longview Institute is a place where people who have attempted suicide go to find help. Confronted by the realities and internalized damage some don't even know they have, ALICE, RUTH, SHANNON, and TIMOTHY struggle to recover the lives abuse drove them to take. In the common room of the Institute, they begin to rediscover themselves and find understanding through the eyes and lives of each other. Sometimes when you try to end your life, you find out it's only just begun.

5 Characters. 1 hour 45 minute run-time.

Read it at the New Play Exchange

Synopsis
The Last Train Home
by Neal Alexander Lewis

EMILY is returning to a town she loathes because her sister, MARY, is getting married. Over two weekends, two weeks apart, EMILY must face the dreaded bridesmaid's dress, her sister's friends, and the pressures of a job that doesn't stop just because she's gone for a few days. Meanwhile; JAKE, LAURENCE'S Best Man, labors as a go-between for ASHLEY and ANNABEL, an estranged couple who are nonetheless set to stand across the aisle as their friends get married. Before the backdrop of wedding bliss, and the broiling antipathy between ASHLEY and ANNABEL, JAKE and EMILY find meaning and friendship as they struggle to hold the bridal party together.

6 Characters. 2 hour 20 minute run-time.

Read it at the New Play Exchange