Small Jokes About Monsters
by Steven Strafford

Small Jokes About Monsters Book Cover — Small Jokes About Monsters Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

Unit Set/Multiple Settings Comedy

Synopsis

THE STORY: Three brothers arrive in a rented beach house to read a letter from their estranged father after his funeral.

Ryan, the middle brother, explains to his two brothers his theory of how there are three different kinds of funny people: Godzillas, Mothras, and Gameras.

Godzillas destroy all they see with their jokes.

Mothras, the silent but deadly types, lay a room flat with just one joke.

And Gameras are the folks who don’t even realize they’re funny.

When their tough-talking, no-nonsense mother arrives, more and more secrets are revealed, tempers flare, and the joking that was light and fun becomes cruel.

SMALL JOKES ABOUT MONSTERS is about a family that uses humor to deflect their feelings, and what it means to confront the pain beneath the comedy so traumas can be healed.

Press Reviews

"Life teaches us that the funniest people we know often have been through the most personal trauma… [SMALL JOKES ABOUT MONSTERS] is an uncommonly raw and moving explroration of that intersection: it is a sweet-and-sour meditation on whether or not it’s healthy to laugh at really terrible things.” —Chicago Tribune “…darkly quirky family dynamic play.“ —Houston Press “…sly, well-crafted play..."
— Chicago Reader