Craig Sodaro
Craig Sodaro is one of Eldridge Publishing's most popular and prolific playwrights with over 60 titles currently in print. Most of his work is ideal for children's theatre and school performances, and several plays have been turned into musicals. His audience participation plays are extremely well received. For community theatre plays he writes under the pen name of Sam Craig. Mr. Sodaro taught for 33 years in public schools, but now writes full time. He and his wife Sue have four grown daughters. Here he speaks in his own words about his love of writing. "I always wanted to write. From the first time I read my first full-fledged book - a long-forgotten mystery - I wanted to be an author. I've always had an imagination that runs overtime. My mind has always been more interested in the possibilities of what if two times two equaled five rather than four. "I grew up in Chicago, but I don't think the Midwest has had a great deal of influence on my writing. I was fortunate enough to travel as a youngster, and the places we visited - the West, East, and South, all seemed steeped in atmosphere and dramatic possibilities. Eventually, I traveled to Alaska, Europe, and Africa, and each experience planted seeds for future stories. "I wrote my first play in high school - an anti-administration absurdist comedy performed in my last period art class. Our teacher turned a deaf ear to the proceedings, but we all caught her laughing. I liked this idea of audience response, and during college, I entered a playwriting contest. I won the fifty dollar prize and saw my characters come to life under the blue, red, and amber stage lights. I knew that this was the direction my writing obsession would have to take. "Success on stage would have to wait for a number of years, however, since I married, began teaching, and had four children and received many, many rejections slips. Eventually I found a formula that worked: large cast mystery with mainly female parts, one setting, and a lot of one-liners. Since then, I've written a hundred and thirty plays, many of which have been published and/or produced. I've had the thrill of walking down 54th Street in New York to a flag-adorned theater where one of my plays premiered. I've received terrific letters from kids who have had parts in the plays I've written, and I've found myself in Amazon.com. "Once in a while people ask me how I write so fast. I guess it’s that I have a lot of stories to tell. And idea will grab me, and then for quite some time—even while working on another script—I’ll keep thinking about the characters and develop the major plot points in my imagination. Once I sit down to the computer to write, the characters really tell the story almost too quickly for me to write down what they’re saying. And that's what I think playwriting is all about. It's telling a story in the simplest but most dramatic way possible. There's a ninety minute or so limit on reaching the climax, and for literature that's quick. I write fast simply so I can find out what's going to happen at the end, just like anybody who watches the play."
Pocahontas
Classic by Craig Sodaro
67 pages
11 m, 13 w, doubling possible
Bring the exciting, inspiring story of the most famous Native American woman to life on your stage. This play is filled with challenging characters who played important parts in a turbulent, fascinating life - Powhatan, the chief; John Smith, the fearless adventurer; Capt. Argall, the greedy sea captain; Governor Gate's three lively daughters; and Pocahontas, the princess who longs for a world beyond the forest where her people live. The story is woven through the memories of an old woman who takes her granddaughter on a walk in the forest. The representation...
The Medici Code
Comedy Mystery by Craig Sodaro
68 pages
6 m, 11 w
When a mysterious old woman named Q slips tickets for a trip to Medici Castle to Lucy Lyons, she feels compelled to go there. Lucy, a classical scholar and cryptologist who is temporarily caring for her nieces and nephew, Emmy, Jess, and Ben, is intrigued by the remote, historical hotel. But the tour group they are with is strange, and soon one of the tourists suddenly disappears. His wife, however, seems more interested in getting a missing parchment back than finding her husband. Q appears and tells Lucy she needs to crack the Medici Code, a dangerous, long...
Cat and Mouse
Drama by Craig Sodaro
66 pages
2 m, 3 w, 1 flexible
Nora Marsh has lived with the burden of a father who's been branded a traitor. She has tried to keep their inn, the Cat and Mouse, running smoothly, but her father's depression and drinking after his return from the World War II European front has made life difficult. Her life begins to further unravel when a new border, Daniel Cavell, turns up missing. Kate Sherwin, the local Civil Defense warden, and Cavell's mother, Ruth, begin a search which ends when his body is found in the window seat of the inn's living room. Kate has long suspected Nora's father Harr...
Alice's New Adventures in Wonderland
Fantasy by Craig Sodaro
67 pages
5 m, 8 w, 23 flexible, doubling
Alice has accidentally discovered a strange new world and she's convinced her two friends to explore it with her. They meet the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, and Tweedledee and Tweedledum, all on their way to the castle for the Princess' homecoming from college. But the Princess is now a tattooed tough girl who has brought home some very unsavory friends. The Queen has them all arrested and the King allows them one phone call. They call Monstressa, an opportunist who wants to turn Wonderland into an amusement park. Alice and her friends must...
Hail to the Chief
Comedy by Craig Sodaro
64 pages
7 m, 11 w, 5 flexible parts
Fellow Americans! Your President has more problems than the Treasury Department can count! When he ends up stranded in the sleepy mountain town of Turtle Creek he finds the folks there none too happy 'bout the new highway passing them by. To make matters worse, his daughter's rebellious boyfriend shows up with his own political agenda. Also popping in unexpectedly is a lady CEO who's into acquisitions - and her next planned take-over is the White House as the new first lady! Add an inept Secret Service agent, two chiseling advisors, and an underworld kingpin ...
Date With a Vampire
Comedy by Craig Sodaro
67 pages
9 m, 15 w
Count Sid Onitt is trying to mend his vampire ways so he can become a member of Parliament, but it isn't easy when his servant Igor and five vampire widows are hanging around (literally) his dreary castle, ready for some fresh necks. So you can imagine the excitement when ten - dare we say, red-blooded - American students stay overnight as part of their tour of England! To get the attention of one of the girls, two of the guys hatch a perfect little romantic plot, especially since it coincides with Vlad night when Vampire Vlad, the granddaddy of all vampires,...
Beauty and the Creep
Comedy by Craig Sodaro
61 pages
4 m, 17 w, 2 flexible
Jimmy Martin's the coolest cat in the class of '63 at Buddy Holly High, until he's turned into a real creep--a classic nerd named Clarence Doogle. And his cool friends are turned into his school supplies! The spell will last until a "fair damsel" asks Clarence Doogle out. All the kids are aware of the Creep's existence, but are shocked when he actually enters the malt shop one day to try to get a date. Meanwhile, three con-ladies pose as Hollywood talent scouts and announce auditions at the malt shop the following day. The thugs kidnap the richest student for...
Nuptialknots.com
Comedy by Craig Sodaro
64 pages
7 m, 10 w
Rhoda Raines desperately needs money to pay the rent on her beauty parlor, so she decides to check out a computer dating service in hopes of finding a rich man to marry her spoiled daughter Olive. She logs on to www.nuptialknots.com., and no sooner than Rhoda can say, "Wash, rinse, and set," prospective grooms are dropping in all over the place. There's a "British aristocrat"; a Hollywood producer; a guy who thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt; an old codger; and even an undercover cop. Mix in Ronnie Harper, the owner of the local Kwiki Mart (who really loves Olive),...
Half Frozen
Comedy by Craig Sodaro
48 pages
3 m, 7 w, 2 flex
Poor King Augustus and Queen Regina! Their kingdom is half frozen because of a curse placed on their daughter, Princess Mirabelle, and nobody seems to know how to break the spell. When the Princess’s latest suitor, Prince Tomaso from a neighboring kingdom, is frozen by her touch, matters are no long inconvenient—they’re downright dangerous. Tomaso’s father threatens war if his son is not returned safely. As a last resort, the Queen texts a writer who gives advice in her “Leave It to Lilith” daily column. Lilith says the easiest way to break the curse is to go...
Catering to Murder
Mystery by Craig Sodaro
65 pages
5 m, 9 w
Joanna Garner, a caterer, has good reason for being over-protective of her 16-year-old daughter Holly - reasons she has told no one. As guests begin to arrive at an exclusive party which Joanna is catering with Holly's help, there's a phone call. A hideous, disguised voice tells Joanna she must do exactly as she's told or Holly will die. Joanna desperately tries to get Holly out of the mansion, but another call from the voice reveals her every move and gives her further instructions about adding cyanide into the food she is preparing. Which one of the wealthy...
The Cradle Will Fall
Mystery by Craig Sodaro
56 pages
2 m, 4 w
A young mother, penniless and desperate, moves to a lonely lighthouse with her infant to escape her rich and possessive husband, a doctor used to getting his own way. So when the baby is kidnapped, it seems so obvious the father is behind it. But like an intricate and suspenseful chess game, there are numerous moves which simultaneously reveal and confuse. A suspicious car only Karen, the young mother, spies. Her long-buried secret of a child that died in her care. A grandmotherly housekeeper who so conveniently appears to help. A dead stranger. Insurance mon...
After-School Detectives
Comedy Mystery by Craig Sodaro
62 pages
5 m, 7 w
High school outsiders Agatha, Sebastian, Claire, and Ryder have bonded as the After-School Detectives devoted to solving crimes and misdemeanors at Yankum High School. Trouble is, they don’t get the slightest bit of recognition even though they’ve found lost lab animals, returned extorted lunch money, and stopped a blackmail plot. Head detective Agatha (named after her mom’s favorite author) figures if they could just get one Big Case, they’d make a name for themselves. It doesn’t take long! When someone breaks into janitor Willy’s office and steals petty cas...