Something for Nothing

By Stephen DeCesare

Nora Gable wants the real thing.

A theater-maker with a grant, a rehearsal room, and an ambitious new project, Nora has tracked down Abe Keller, an aging confidence man who once specialized in the elaborate long con. She doesn't want a lecture about the past. She wants Abe and his old crew to rebuild one of their legendary operations and show her exactly how it worked.

Soon the rehearsal studio begins to transform. The props become convincing. The old roles return. The language of the con starts making sense. And Nora learns the most important rule of the confidence game: the best marks are rarely forced into anything. They convince themselves.

As the line between reconstruction and reality begins to disappear, Nora discovers that knowing how a con works doesn't necessarily protect you from becoming part of one.

Something for Nothing is a sharp, darkly funny two-act play about ambition, manipulation, trust, theater, and the dangerous human desire to believe we are too smart to be fooled.

Running time: approximately 80 minutes.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HJR9LBQM
• ISBN13: 9798174231559
• Release Date: September 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 44 Pages
• Weight: 0.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 8.5" x 11.0"