A Lighter Shade of Noir
by Patrick Derksen
A fabulously funny and high styling take on film noir.
Average Producer Rating:
About 75 minutes
Act 1: 35 minutes, Act 2: 25 minutes, Act 3: 15 minutes
Times given are approximate and do not include intermissions/scene changes/breaks
25
4 M | 5 W | 16 Any Gender
Simple set
62 pages
Reviews from Past Producers
Trent Trowel is your typical gumshoe. Searching the mean streets for crimes to solve and dames to fall for. He joins some of the world’s most famous detectives at the International PD gala. There’s Shirley Holmes, Jean Louie Phillip Eustache… and Aunt Beatrice. But is this just an innocent gala? Will the world’s most dastardly villains foil them with a fiendish master plan? Will Aunt Beatrice ever get an English muffin? Everything is not what it seems.
A fabulously funny and high styling take on film noir - it’s a lighter shade of noir after all!
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Awards and Accolades
- Millhopper Montessori School - Superior Award - Florida Junior Regional Festival
Characters
25
4 Men, 5 Women, 16 Any Gender
-
TRENT TROWEL
[M]
136 lines
- A tough, but somewhat incompetent, hard-boiled P.I.
-
TRACY DYCK
[W]
64 lines
- A no-nonsense police detective who loathes private inspectors
-
SHIRLEY HOLMES
[W]
96 lines
- A confident and intelligent British detective
-
JEAN-LOUIS-PHILIPPE EUSTACHE
[A]
77 lines
- A refined inspector from France
-
MS. BEATRICE
[A]
61 lines
- An elderly lady who knows it all
-
DR. WATSON
[M]
55 lines
- Holmes’ long-suffering assistant
-
MISS FLANNIGAN
[W]
31 lines
- Trowel’s long-suffering secretary
-
MONSIEUR SILENCIEUX
[A]
0 lines
- Eustache’s long-suffering butler
-
JANE
[A]
34 lines
- Ms. Beatrice’s long-suffering niece
-
SERGEANT MALONEY
[A]
23 lines
- Dyck’s long-suffering subordinate
-
BIG BILL
[M]
12 lines
- A shadowy crime boss
-
TONY
[A]
7 lines
- A tight lipped-henchman who gives away more than he thinks
-
VINNY
[A]
7 lines
- Big Bill’s henchmen
-
CANDY
[A]
6 lines
- A good-for-nothing floozy
-
MARIO
[A]
7 lines
- Another criminal thug
-
MAUREEN ARTEE
[W]
18 lines
- A cunning villain
-
LE CAMBRIOLEUR
[A]
7 lines
- An infamous cat burglar
-
ETHEL
[A]
5 lines
- Ms. Beatrice’s good-for-nothing neighbor
-
MR. SMITH
[M]
38 lines
- A hapless postman
-
CLARICE LATRICHE
[W]
48 lines
- A femme-fatale with mysterious motives
-
MAYOR DEFEHR
[A]
48 lines
- A boisterous and personable politician
-
MRS. BENEDICT
[A]
30 lines
- A wealthy socialite and hotel owner
-
BEVERLY STEWART
[A]
6 lines
- A very famous singer
-
JANITOR 1
[A]
12 lines
- A grumpy hotel-worker
-
JANITOR 2
[A]
12 lines
- A jaded hotel-worker
- Subgenres
- Noir Mystery/Thriller Parody Melodrama
- Settings
- 1940s
- Dress
- Period costumes
- Audience
- All audiences Pre-teen Teen
- Features
- Stage combat Sound & Lighting Design
- Set
- Simple set
- Themes
- Betrayal Friendship Relationships Obedience Morality Jealousy
- Other uses
- Audition material Monologues Scene work
- Awards & Accolades
- Plays with Awards & Accolades
Prop List
Gigantic feather, Egyptian mask, Painting of Beverly Stewart, Stuffed toy dog, Dog carrier (small), Pistol (toy), English muffins, Love Letter (Snookie Wookums) and envelope filled with rose petals, Several flower bouquets, Newspaper, Coffee cup, Mop and broom, Rotary phone, Two invitations to Gala, Fancy handkerchief, Maps, Palm-tree souvenir, Notepad and pencil
Production Photos
Multimedia
Related Titles
Customer Comments
I greatly enjoyed directing 'A Lighter Shade of Noir' last year with my middle school theater students. It had everything I was looking for in a script for 6th, 7th and 8th graders: lots of parts for girls or parts that could be changed to female roles, action without lots of fighting, multiple character scenes that had things to do while other people were talking, a main story line but also sub-plots, links to school subjects (like literature and history), and most importantly - dialogue that I could stand listening to over and over in rehearsal that gave the students motivation to look deeper and deeper into their character development.
I hope you write more for theater, especially children's theater. We need more good writing for these young actors.
Sharon Boski
I sincerely enjoyed directing your creation. There were lots of wonderful characters and I had a great bunch of students with creative ideas. Many of the plays I read before I chose one have similar themes but yours piqued my interest in the first couple of pages.
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Royalty fees apply to all performances whether or not admission is charged. Any performance in front of an audience (e.g. an invited dress rehearsal) is considered a performance for royalty purposes.
Exemption details for scenes and monologues for competition.
A Lighter Shade of Noir
by Patrick Derksen
About 75 minutes
Act 1: 35 minutes, Act 2: 25 minutes, Act 3: 15 minutes
Times given are approximate and do not include intermissions/scene changes/breaks
25
4 M | 5 W | 16 Any Gender
Simple set
62 pages