I’m a Philosopher. The theater I love explores what it means to be human and, so, I create plays that look for answers even when they reach their zaniest heights.

I like plays that thrill. The strength of theater is a shared experience you can’t get from television or movies and good theater capitalizes on that. I write plays like rollercoasters. Theater should be a thrill ride.

Full-length plays

Everything Changes | Staged reading, Little Fish Theatre, San Pedro

A skewed romantic comedy that deals with the changes that occur in our lives and how we choose to deal with them. Benjamin Jorge is stuck in the past, reliving the night when his wife and friends walked out on him. When he learns he has to save his wife’s marriage, Ben finds he must also salvage his own existence. Dramedy, 4m/4w, simple sets.

Atheists | Staged reading, Hunger Artists Theatre, Fullerton

Tom has met Beatrice, the woman of his dreams. She is a devout Catholic while he is an Atheist. This begins a questioning of beliefs and what place they hold in their lives. When Beatrice forces a decision between beliefs, the questions become less speculative and more fundamental. After all, which is more important: love or God? Dramedy, 4m/2w, suggested sets.

Whatever Happened to Me? | Staged reading, Chance Theater, Anaheim Hills

His wife has left him. His father is a stranger. And now James Newman has a new roommate – his 21-year-old self! Dramedy, 4m/2w, 1 voice, single set.

After You Fall | (Brand new)

What happens after you fall in love? Is love enough? Or are the complications nobody warns you about the pavement you hit after you fall? Dramedy, 3m/2w, single set.

Murielle’s Big Date | Most recent staged reading: Dark Room Theater, San Francisco | Available at Connotation Press

“It’s Murielle’s third date with Mark. Will it come off without a hitch? Absolutely not!” Murielle may be hesitant about relationships, having lost one man too many, but her best friends, Sam and Angela, are determined to make sure this date proves to be Mr. Right in all the wrong ways! Comedy, 2m/2w, single set.

Meaning | (Brand new)

A man walks into his brother’s apartment and says “Tell me the meaning of life or I’ll kill myself.” What happens when the brother doesn’t know? Or when the brother is haunted by the hallucination of his ex-wife and is so broken inside he can’t find the meaning of his own life, let alone The Meaning. Would knowing the answer really be enough? Or do the injuries of our own lives make meaning meaningless? Drama, 2m/1w, single set.

Sometimes We Find Our Way | Most recent reading: Alive Theatre, Long Beach

Sometimes you don’t get to fix your life a little at a time. Jimmie, his mother, and the crazy girl he finds himself more and more attracted to are going to have to fix theirs in one day. Dramedy, 1m/2w, single set.

Diamonds to Go | (Brand new)

In this screwball comedy, Bernie and Carpacci know who stole the diamonds but that won’t stop them from framing someone else… Comedy, 4m/1w, single set.

Murder, Zombies, the Devil… and Stuff | (Brand new)

The Devil solves a murder in the suburbs. (A black comedy.) 3m/2w, single set.

The Death of Ethics | (Brand new)

A wedding on the last day for the human race exposes how humanity’s lack of ethics may have meant its doom. Comedy, 5m/3w, simple set.

Friends, First | (Brand new)

Derrick wants his brother Jeff out of his apartment, and if it means confronting Jeff with his once-best-friend, he’ll do it. Dramedy, 3m, single set.

Happily After Ever | (Brand new)

Characters in two plays discover the concept of free will and travel through other plays to find its meaning. Dramedy, 21 characters can be cast with as few as 9 actors, suggested sets.

Broken People | (Brand new)

In an abandoned train station in Arizona, one woman is caught between the lover she knows is no good for her and the man telling her an awful truth. Drama, 2m/1w, single set.

Out of Character | (Brand new)

The lead character in a play called Lost Among Sunset appears at a performance of the work, making things difficult for the actors. Dramedy, 3m/3w, 1 voice, single set.

Nothing Sexual | (Brand new)

Phillip knows the only way he’ll ever sleep with Brian’s wife is if Brian cheats on her – and he’ll make Brian do it even if he has to hold a gun to his head. Comedy, 2m/2w, single set.

Cold Love | (Brand new)

When Mason and Amanda are first married, there is a sickness that infects their marriage and drives Amanda to self-destruction. Or is it Mason who is destroying Amanda? Part love story, part mystery – the riddle of what there is in love that eventually kills you is up to the audience to solve. Drama, 2m/1w, single set.

Selected shorter plays

Myth of the Cubicle | Last produced at the OC-centric New Play Festival, Orange

When you see beyond the veil of illusion, all that is left is unemployment. Comedy, 3m/1w, suggested set.

Persecution Complex | Produced at Theatre of NOTE, Hollywood

John would break up with Amy if only the mob of gangsters in his head would stop molesting him. Comedy, 1m/1w and 1 mob, simple set.

The Spunky Taste of Hell | Produced at Sacred Fools Theater, Los Angeles

Tiresias wakes to find he very well may be in Hell, a place that plays fast and loose with sex and death. Comedy, 3m, suggested set.

You can contact Ken at: kenlasalle-at-sbcglobal-dot-net