Overview
The Puzzlemaker is holding a workshop to teach you to make a crossword puzzle! As the Puzzlemaker embarks on their creation, they reveal the tricks of the trade, but also something unexpected: there is power in puzzles.
Will the Puzzlemaker use their powers for good–or evil? And which choice means making a puzzle that will solve their life?
Casting & Production
Casting
PUZZLEMAKER: A person in their thirties, smart about most things,but especially crossword puzzles. This person can be played by anygender or ethnicity.
Time and Place:
Any boardroom, conference room, or rented spacewhere a workshop might happen. Time is now and always.
Set Note:
In an intimate space, a big easel works beautifully. In a larger space, producer may use an electronic set-up or anything that allows the Puzzlemaker to fill in words in a way that allows an audience to see the grid and also allows the Puzzlemaker to maintain eye contact with the audience.
Production Notes
THE CROSSWORD PLAY (Or Ezmeranda’s Gift) was developed at Theatre Aspen’s Solo Flights Festival, September 2021; Jed Bernstein, Producing Director.
THE CROSSWORD PLAY (Or Ezmeranda’s Gift) was first produced at Lake Dillon Theatre in Silverthorne, Colorado, with a subsequent world premiere at Shadowland Stages in Ellenville, NY.
