All Plays
Venus Rising (3W, 1M)
Productions:
Northern Stage – White River Junction, VT – January 30-February 17, 2019
Synopsis: When Julie, married mother of three, unexpectedly leaves her husband and moves in with her mother Cora, she’s shocked at what she finds in her childhood home. Insults, galoshes, and English muffins fly as the women fight for control of Cora’s life and Julie comes to grips with her own mid-life crisis. Venus Rising is a hilarious and deeply perceptive story of aging gracefully – or sometimes not so gracefully – and how we try to care for one another in the face of life’s challenges. Smith brings to bear her signature brand of humor and acuteness of language to leave us laughing and crying all at once.
Mad Love (2M, 2W)
Productions:
Northern Stage – White River Junction, VT – January 27-February 13, 2016
New Jersey Repertory Company – Long Branch, NJ – October 20-November 20, 2016
Synopsis: Sloane Hudson, a rich, beautiful recent Ivy League graduate and product of the campus hook up culture and frat basement pong tournaments, doesn't believe in love or marriage. She does believe in babies and wants one soon so her tummy can bounce back and she can still wear a bikini. The problem is she needs a sperm donor who passes muster. Enter Brandon, who's got the right stats but the wrong attitude. Brandon has enough on his plate already and lives with brother Doug, the infamous "De-Fenestrator" who just fell in love with Katerina, the hooker from the Ukraine. Cabbage soup, a rare baseball card and a lizard named Pogo all play a part in this romantic comedy for cynical times.
“Mad Love is crazy good.”
- The Link News, October 2016
Saving Kitty (2M, 2W)
Productions:
Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater – Wellfleet, MA – July 15-July 28, 2012
New Jersey Repertory Company – Long Branch, NJ – July 25- August 25, 2013
Central Square Theater – Cambridge, MA – July 9-August 2, 2015
Synopsis: The battle lines are drawn and it’s all-out war when beautiful, fifty-something Kate Hartley, a wealthy, liberal, Manhattan atheist, launches a diabolical campaign to break up the engagement of her daughter Kitty to hunky Evangelical Christian Paul. Kate, divinely dizzy, supremely charming and highly intelligent, uses all her wiles to scuttle the relationship, alternating between saboteur and seductress.
Funniest show in town.
- Joyce's Choices, July 2015
Sex and Other Disturbances (2M, 3W)
Productions:
Portland Stage – Portland, ME – May 1-May 20, 2018
Synopsis: It’s the fall of 2018 and a storm with no end is pummeling Manhattan and so are a variety of extreme midlife crises for the characters in Sex and other Disturbances. When your husband is too busy buying cabins in Newfoundland for the apocalypse, what’s the harm in having a little affair? Sarah, a former actress and now stay-at-home Mom and woman on the verge, finds out the hard way in this fast-paced comedy about friendship, love, sex, and other disturbances.
“The Portland Stage premiere explores messy mid-lives with a light touch. With likable characters and ample laughs, it asks some not-so-simple questions in an entertaining way.”
- Portland Press Herald, Steve Fenney, May 7th, 2018
10-Minute Plays
Marisa's 10-minute plays can be read at the corresponding links below. The performance royalty is $25 dollars a performance. Please be in touch with Marisa with details at marisasmithkraus@gmail.com.
POLAR BEAR SWIM: 3M, Synopsis: Harry, a city boy, down on his luck and at the end of his rope, is on his way to the Polar Bear Swim up in the wilds of New Hampshire when he runs into Brother and Troy at the local auto shop. Click HERE to read the full play.
NO LOVE, PLEASE: 1M, 1W, Synopsis: Man and Woman have chemistry but as they get to know each other they run into some problems. They hit upon a solution to keep lust alive. Click HERE to read the full play.
TOTAL EXPRESSION: 1M, 2W, Synopsis: Jane, an Upper East Side matron, gets some marriage tips from a recently arrived young woman from Russia, Katerina. Click HERE to read the full play.
WELCOME TO THE BEEKMAN ARMS: 1M, 1W, Synopsis: Meg is in a car accident and meets an old friend. Click HERE to read the full play.
THE DRESS REHEARSAL: 2W, Synopsis: Dorothy tries to convince her daughter, Marti, that she needs to have a dress rehearsal for her funeral. Click HERE to read the full play.
THE PRE-NUP: 1M, 1W, Synopsis, Lincoln, a husband, comes up with a unique way to test his pre-nuptial agreement with his wife, Delphina. Click HERE to read the full play.
DAY ONE: 1M, 1W, Synopsis: Janie and Jake wake up to the first day of their married life together in a remote cabin in the Adirondacks. Click HERE to read the full play.
CUBS WIN!: Synopsis: The Chicago Cubs finally win the World Series after 108 years…but there are some devastating consequences for the women in one Chicago book group…and one man. Click HERE to read the full play.
THINK LIKE A MAN: Synopsis: On Hallow's Eve, Denise gives her friend Lily some unwanted advice. Click HERE to read the full play.
THAT’S MARRIAGE: Synopsis: It’s 1959. A newly married woman is driven to distraction by a quirky gesture of her husband and loses her temper in a very big way. The marriage is tested by this event. Click HERE to read the full play.
GETTING INTO VASSAR: 1W, Synopsis: A mother has a meltdown when her daughter fails to get into her Alma Mater. Click HERE to read the full play.