West Hartford playwright Stuart Brown will have multiple works being performed this September.

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West Hartford playwright Stuart Brown will be having a busy September. Three theaters in Connecticut will be featuring his works.

“This is a very exciting time for me,” said Brown, who is also President of the Connecticut Critics Circle.  “On Sept. 5, my one-act play, Lady Jigsaw, will be leading off the Chestnut Street Playhouse’s fifth Annual Playwrighting Festival. It takes place in a senior retirement complex, where two senior adults must overcome their individual grief, loneliness and an irascible competitor, as they prepare for the annual jigsaw puzzle tournament.”

Brown, who retired in June 2021 after 32 years as director of Student Services at UConn-Waterbury, has had his works presented in his home state as well as at Festivals in California, Floria, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Texas, and via the British podcast, Theatrical Shenanigans.

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On Sept. 12, The Arts at Angeloria’s theatre will be presenting eight of his 10-Minute plays as a fundraiser for the playhouse.   These works are rooted in personal experience and observation. Most of them are comedic. “My play, The Drawing, came about during a period when it seemed every lotto drawing was for an unbelievable amount of money. I thought – what would I do with all that money if I won? The Waitconcerns a theater critic and his friend who are caught in the gridlock of audience members leaving the theater after a performance of Mamma Mia!”

Brown makes these plays available free-of-charge to theaters so they can so they can use them as a fundraising event. “The costs associated with operating a theater, whether a community theater or professional playhouse, are so great,” he explained.  This is my small way to help.” Last year, the Newtown Players raised over $2,000 staging Brown’s 10-Minute works.

The long-time West Hartford resident will have his one-act murder mystery presented in September by the Square One Theater group. “Square One has staged many of my works over the years,” said Brown. “This will be a simple table read, open only to invited guests. I’ve included many murder mystery tropes in the plot and tapped into my experience as an administrator at UConn to bring a sense of realism to the characters.”

For more information, including dates, times, and ticket information for the September 5 and 12 presentations, go to Brown’s website at StuartJBrown.com.

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