A PLAYSCRIPTS TITLE

Frankenstein (Jory, Dixon) (one-act)

Short Play, Drama  /  7w, 5m, 3 any gender (adult)

By Jon Jory and Michael Bigelow Dixon
A One-Act Adaptation of Mary Shelley's Novel


Frankenstein (Jory, Dixon) (one-act)

Request licence
Get the Script
  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    7w, 5m, 3 any gender (adult)
  • Duration
    Duration
    40 minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adaptation (Literature)
Frankenstein (Jory, Dixon) (one-act)

Details

Summary

It’s 1818, and Victor Frankenstein is a medical student at Ingolstadt University on the verge of a scientific breakthrough: His goal is to reverse death. Ignoring warnings from those around him, Frankenstein puts together a human body with parts from different corpses and brings it to life. But rather than celebrate his success, Frankenstein abhors the “Monster” he created and curses its existence. When the Monster pleads for compassion, Frankenstein rejects him, and the Monster seeks revenge through a series of murders. This succinct one-act retelling of Mary Shelley’s masterpiece calls into question the lines between hero and villain and asks: What are the costs of science without responsibility or empathy?

Keywords

PROFESSOR WALDMAN – 50, female. 
PROFESSOR KREMPE – 40, male.
VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN – Late teens/early 20s, male. 
URSULA CLERVAL – Student, 18, female. 
ELIZABETH LEVANZA – Victor’s cousin, 20, female. 
THE MONSTER – Male 
WILLIAM – Victor’s younger brother, early teens, male 
MOTHER OF FRANKENSTEIN – 50, female. 
BAILIFF – 30, gender neutral. 
KARIN MULLER – 50, female. 
JUSTINE MORITZ – 20, female. 
FATHER OF ELIZABETH – 60, male. 
2 or more ASSISTANTS in Frankenstein’s Laboratory – 20s, gender neutral. 
BODY ON GURNEY – 20s, female. 
Doubling: 
PROFESSOR WALDMAN and KARIN MULLER or MOTHER OF FRANKENSTEIN 
PROFESSOR KREMPE and BAILIFF or FATHER OF ELIZABETH 
CLERVAL and JUSTINE MORITZ or FEMALE BODY ON GURNEY

  • Setting

    Various locations: Interiors and outdoors in Germany and Switzerland. 1818.

  • Duration 40 minutes

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £30 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

Available Formats:
Get the Script

Authors

Michael Bigelow Dixon

Michael Bigelow Dixon

Michael Bigelow Dixon is a playwright, director, and professor of theatre. For 17 years, he supervised the reading and selection of plays for the annual Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville. He then moved to Minneapolis, where he created a new ...

View full profile
Jon Jory

Jon Jory
Jon Jory. As the Producing Director at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Jon Jory directed over 125 plays and produced over 1,000 during his 32-year tenure. He conceived the internationally lauded Humana Festival of New American Plays, the SHORTS Festival, and the Brown-Forman Cl ...
View full profile

Now Playing