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John Osborne: The Many Lives of the Angry Young Man
by John HeilpernJohn Osborne, the original Angry Young Man, shocked and transformed British theater in the 1950s with his play Look Back in Anger. This startling biography-the first to draw on the secret notebooks in which he recorded his anguish and depression-reveals the notorious rebel in all his heartrending complexity. Through a working-class childhood and five marriages, Osborne led a tumultuous life. An impossible father, he threw his teenage daughter out of the house and never spoke to her again. His last written words were "I have sinned." Theater critic John Heilpern's detailed portrait, including interviews with Osborne's daughter, scores of friends and enemies, and his alleged male lover, shows us a contradictory genius--an ogre with charm, a radical who hated change, and above all, a defiant individualist.
Judson Dance Theater: Performative Traces
by Ramsay Burt"The Judson Dance Theatre "explores the work and legacy of one of the most influential of all dance companies, which first performed at the Judson Memorial Church in downtown Manhattan in the early 1960s. There, a group of choreographers and dancers--including future well-known artists Twyla Tharp, Carolee Schneemann, Robert Morris, Trisha Brown, Yvonne Rainier, and others--created what came to be known as " postmodern dance." Taking their cues from the experiments of Merce Cunningham, they took movements from everyday life--walking, running, gymnastics--to create dances that influenced not only future dance work but also minimalism in music and art, as well as the wedding of dance and speech in solo performance pieces.Judson's legacy has been explored primarily in the work of dance critic Sally Banes, in a book published in the 1980s. Although the dancers from the so-called "Judson School" continue to perform and create new works--and their influence continues to grow from the US to Europe and beyond--there has not been a book-length study in the last two decades that discusses this work in a broader context of cultural trends. Burt is a highly respected dance critic and historian who brings a unique new vision to his study of the Judson dancers and their work which will undoubtedly influence the discussion of these seminal figures for decades to come"Performative Traces: Judson" "Dance Theatre and Its Legacy "combines history, performance analysis, theory, and criticism to give a fresh view of the work of this seminal group of dancers. It will appeal to students of dance history, theory, and practice, as well as all interested in the avant-grade arts and performance practice in the 20th century.
Julius Caesar: Shakespeare for Young People
by William Shakespeare Diane DavidsonYoung people can grow loving Shakespeare's work especially if they act it out. Julius Caesar is a simple Roman act, clearly composed with several scenes and easy to memorize lines. With a good and efficient director, it takes about 6 weeks to prepare for a good show.
Kids Take the Stage: Helping Young People Discover the Creative Outlet of Theater
by Lenka Peterson Dan O'Connor• Foreword by Paul Newman • Completely revised and updated version of a beloved theater classic • ReplacesKids Take the Stage, ISBN 0-8230-7742-X • Clear, practical guide to helping kids ages 8 to 18 get a show up and running The classicKids Take the Stageis one of the best-selling Back Stage Books of all time. Now Back Stage is proud to present the completely revised and updated second edition of this indispensable guide to getting young people on stage and helping them create their own shows. For teachers, for parents, for budding actors, emerging crew, and incipient directors—this is the book that shows how to get a production up and running. . . and have fun in the process. Clear and accessible,Kids Take the Stageoutlines a systematic approach to staging, complete with basic lessons in acting, relaxation and trust-building exercises, and improvisations. From first read-through to opening night, from butterflies to bravos, this is the perfect book to help young people realize their creative potential. www. sherrihaab. com . Nina Edwardsis a graphic designer and illustrator. She lives in New York City.
King Lear: The 1608 Quarto and 1623 Folio Texts (The Pelican Shakespeare)
by William Shakespeare Stephen Orgel A. R. BraunmullerThe acclaimed Pelican Shakespeare series, now in a dazzling new series designWinner of the 2016 AIGA + Design Observer 50 Books | 50 Covers competitionGold Medal Winner of the 3x3 Illustration Annual No. 14 This edition of King Lear presents a conflated text, combining the 1608 Quarto and 1623 Folio Texts, edited with an introduction by series editor Stephen Orgel and was recently repackaged with cover art by Manuja Waldia. Waldia received a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators for the Pelican Shakespeare series. The legendary Pelican Shakespeare series features authoritative and meticulously researched texts paired with scholarship by renowned Shakespeareans. Each book includes an essay on the theatrical world of Shakespeare’s time, an introduction to the individual play, and a detailed note on the text used. Updated by general editors Stephen Orgel and A. R. Braunmuller, these easy-to-read editions incorporate over thirty years of Shakespeare scholarship undertaken since the original series, edited by Alfred Harbage, appeared between 1956 and 1967. With stunning new covers, definitive texts, and illuminating essays, the Pelican Shakespeare will remain a valued resource for students, teachers, and theater professionals for many years to come.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
The Last "Darky": Bert Williams, Black-On-Black Minstrelsy, and the African Diaspora
by Louis Chude-SokeiThe Last "Darky" establishes Bert Williams, the comedian of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth, as central to the development of a global black modernism centered in Harlem's Renaissance. Before integrating Broadway in 1910 via a controversial stint with the Ziegfeld Follies, Williams was already an international icon. Yet his name has faded into near obscurity, his extraordinary accomplishments forgotten largely because he performed in blackface. Louis Chude-Sokei contends that Williams's blackface was not a display of internalized racism nor a submission to the expectations of the moment. It was an appropriation and exploration of the contradictory and potentially liberating power of racial stereotypes. Chude-Sokei makes the crucial argument that Williams's minstrelsy negotiated the place of black immigrants in the cultural hotbed of New York City and was replicated throughout the African diaspora, from the Caribbean to Africa itself. Williams was born in the Bahamas. When performing the "darky," he was actually masquerading as an African American. This black-on-black minstrelsy thus challenged emergent racial constructions equating "black" with African American and marginalizing the many diasporic blacks in New York. It also dramatized the practice of passing for African American common among non-American blacks in an African American-dominated Harlem. Exploring the thought of figures such as Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, and Claude McKay, Chude-Sokei situates black-on-black minstrelsy at the center of burgeoning modernist discourses of assimilation, separatism, race militancy, carnival, and internationalism. While these discourses were engaged with the question of representing the "Negro" in the context of white racism, through black-on-black minstrelsy they were also deployed against the growing international influence of African American culture and politics in the twentieth century.
Life Is a Dream
by Gregary Racz Pedro Calderon de la BarcaThe masterwork of Spain's preeminent dramatist--now in a new verse translation Life Is a Dream is a work many hold to be the supreme example of Spanish Golden Age drama. Imbued with highly poetic language and humanist ideals, it is an allegory that considers contending themes of free will and predestination, illusion and reality, played out against the backdrop of court intrigue and the restoration of personal honor. In the mountainous barrens of Poland, the rightful heir to the kingdom has been imprisoned since birth in an attempt by his father to thwart fate. Meanwhile, a noblewoman arrives to seek revenge against the man who deceived and forsook her love for the prospect of becoming king of Poland. Richly symbolic and metaphorical, Life Is a Dream explores the deepest mysteries of human experience.
The Lives and Loves of Daisy and Violet Hilton: A True Story of Conjoined Twins
by Dean JensenTHE LIVES AND LOVES OF DAISY AND VIOLET HILTON follows the poignant life story of twin sisters who were literally joined at the hip, set against the tumultuous backdrop of America during the first half of the 20th century. Daisy and Violet and an unforgettable cast of show-business characters come alive on the pages of this carefully researched and sensitively written biography.Reviews"Jensen'¬?s book is a testament to the fickleness of the entertainment world."-Tampa Bay Tribune"It is an affecting story, gently and honestly told without frills, without sensation. In Jensen'¬?s hands, the twins are always human, individuals, never freaks joined at the hips as the world saw them after their birth in 1908. . . Here, their story is pure."-Milwaukee Journal SentinelFrom the Trade Paperback edition.
Looking
by Norm FosterComedy / 2m, 2f / From one of Canadas most popular playwrights comes this hilarious comedy. Val is an O.R. nurse, Andy is in the storage business, Nina is a police officer and Matt is the host of a morning radio show. Theyre middle-aged, single and looking. Val agrees to meet Andy after answering his personal ad in the newspaper and Nina and Matt are coaxed into joining their friends for support. What follows is hilarious, touching and so very true to life.
Love and Human Remains
by Brad FraserDavid McMillan is a former actor, current waiter on the verge of turning thirty. Together with his book-reviewing roommate, Candy, and his best friend, Bernie, David encounters a number of seductive strangers in their search for love and sex. But the games turn ugly when it appears one of their number might be a serial killer. A compelling study of young adults groping for meaning in a senseless world. Love and Human Remains was immediately controversial for its violence, nudity, frank dialogue, and sexual explicitness. It was quickly acclaimed by critics and audiences alike and was named one of the ten best plays of the year by Time Magazine. The play has been produced worldwide, translated into multiple languages, and received many awards.
Love Me Like No Other
by A.C. ArthurTwo Can Play at This Game!Lincoln can’t believe it—that beautiful babe who owes his casino $5,000 is Jade. He’s never stopped thinking about her since that one hot night years ago. Now she’s in his debt! Of course, he doesn’t want her money….At first, Jade’s outraged—pose as his fiancée for one week or he’ll call the police! But then…how about some sweet revenge? So while he’s playing Mr. Seducer, she’ll be Miss Tease. Before the week is up, she’ll have him on his knees—just before she walks away! That is, if she can convince her heart she’s not still in love….
Mahadevbhai, 1892-1942, and Insomnia
by Ramu Ramanathan Ninaz KhodaijiMAHADEVBHAI (1892 - 1942) is a one-person play, which attempts to remind us of the times that were, and their devotion to truth. INSOMNIA consists of 4 Monologues by Ninaz Khodaiji.
Maiden's Progeny
by Le WilhelmFull length, drama / 1m, 2f / Interior / Frederick M Winship (UPI) writes regarding MAIDEN's PROGENY, "It was high time that someone wrote a play about Mary Cassatt, the only American member of the original Impressionist coterie of artists. Le Wilhelm, has met the challenge with flying colors with MAIDEN's PROGENY." This intellectually entertaining drama takes the audience to Cassatt's chateau outside Paris on a spring afternoon when Wynford Johnston comes calling uninvited. What follows is living discussion, of two very head strong individuals, that ultimately results in an understanding and growth in both characters. Never falling into the category of a lecture, this play provides insight and understanding of the art and times at the dawning of the 20th century.
Making History
by Brian FrielDrama / 4m, 2f / This brilliant work by Ireland's pre eminent playwright plunges into the world of Hugh O'Neill, an Irish hero who led an ill fated uprising in alliance with Spain against the British in 1591, a conflict which culminated in ignominious defeat at the Battle of Kinsale. The play begins shortly after O'Neill's controversial marriage to the sister of the British "Butcher Bagenal" who is famous for slaughtering Irish villagers. The battle occurs between acts and then the myth of O'Neill is created by his biographer, Archbishop Peter Lombard. O'Neill ends up a hapless drunk in Rome while Lombard rewrites history to satisfy the Irish craving for legend.
Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida, and All's Well that Ends Well
by William ShakespeareAn exciting new edition of the complete works of Shakespeare with these features: Illustrated with photographs from New York Shakespeare Festival productions, vivid readable readable introductions for each play by noted scholar David Bevington, a lively personal foreword by Joseph Papp, an insightful essay on the play in performance, modern spelling and pronunciation, up-to-date annotated bibliographies, and convenient listing of key passages.From the Paperback edition.
The Merry Wives of Windsor
by William Shakespeare Paul Werstine Dr Barbara MowatShakespeare's "merry wives" are Mistress Ford and Mistress Page of the town of Windsor. The two play practical jokes on Mistress Ford's jealous husband and a visiting knight, Sir John Falstaff. Merry wives, jealous husbands, and predatory knights were common in a kind of play called "citizen comedy" or "city comedy." In such plays, courtiers, gentlemen, or knights use social superiority to seduce citizens' wives. The Windsor wives, though, do not follow that pattern. Instead, Falstaff's offer of himself as lover inspires their torment of him. Falstaff responds with the same linguistic facility that Shakespeare gives him in the history plays in which he appears, making him the "hero" of the play for many audiences. The authoritative edition of The Merry Wives of Windsor from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes: -Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play -Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play -Scene-by-scene plot summaries -A key to the play's famous lines and phrases -An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language -An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play -Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books -An annotated guide to further reading Essay by Natasha Korda The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu.
The Messenger Bag
by Jillian Powell Charlotte AlderStacey finds a beautiful old bag. She takes it everywhere. She soon finds a secret hidden in the bag that's meant only for her.
Miss Julie
by David French August StrindbergDavid French's adaptation of August Strindberg's disturbing and enduring drama of the transgressive affair between the daughter of a count and the count's man-servant has an eerie contemporary feel about it. French has sharpened the psychodramas of the original - scenes of desire, anger, jealousy, coercion, manipulation, exploitation, arrogance, dominance, submission, and deceit. Cast of 2 women and 1 man.
Miss Witherspoon and Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge: Two Plays (Books That Changed the World)
by Christopher DurangFrom one of theater’s most outrageous comic talents, two plays—one a Pulitzer Prize in Drama finalist, the other a twisted take on Christmas classics.In this book, Christopher Durang, the criminally funny author of Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You, presents two plays about death, religion, and a creamy Christmas pudding. In Miss Witherspoon—named one of the Ten Best Plays of 2005 by both Time and Newsday—Veronica, a recent suicide whose cantankerous attitude has not improved in the afterlife, discovers that the one thing worse than the world she left behind is having to go back for seconds. Ordered to cleanse her “brown tweedy aura,” Veronica resists being reincarnated (as a trailer-trash teen or an overexcited Golden Retriever), only to find that she may be mankind’s last, best hope for survival. In Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge, a sassy ghost once again attempts to shake Scrooge from his holiday humbug, but the whole family-friendly affair is deliciously derailed by Mrs. Cratchit’s drunken insistence on stepping out of her miserable, treacly role. Morals are subverted, starving yet plucky children sing carols, and somebody’s goose is cooked as Durang lovingly skewers A Christmas Carol, It’s a Wonderful Life, and many more to create a brand-new, cracked Christmas classic.
A Moon for the Misbegotten
by Eugene O'NeillEugene O’Neill’s last completed play, A Moon for the Misbegotten is a sequel to his autobiographical Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Moon picks up eleven years after the events described in Long Day’s Journey Into Night, as Jim Tyrone (based on O’Neill’s older brother Jamie) grasps at a last chance at love under the full moonlight. This paperback edition features an insightful introduction by Stephen A. Black, helpful to anyone who desires a deeper understanding of O’Neill’s work.
The Musical as Drama
by H. Scott McMillinDerived from the colorful traditions of vaudeville, burlesque, revue, and operetta, the musical has blossomed into America's most popular form of theater. Scott McMillin has developed a fresh aesthetic theory of this underrated art form, exploring the musical as a type of drama deserving the kind of critical and theoretical regard given to Chekhov or opera. Until recently, the musical has been considered either an "integrated" form of theater or an inferior sibling of opera. McMillin demonstrates that neither of these views is accurate, and that the musical holds true to the disjunctive and irreverent forms of popular entertainment from which it arose a century ago. Critics and composers have long held the musical to the standards applied to opera, asserting that each piece should work together to create a seamless drama. But McMillin argues that the musical is a different form of theater, requiring the suspension of the plot for song. The musical's success lies not in the smoothness of unity, but in the crackle of difference. While disparate, the dancing, music, dialogue, and songs combine to explore different aspects of the action and the characters. Discussing composers and writers such as Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Kander and Ebb, Leonard Bernstein, and Jerome Kern, The Musical as Drama describes the continuity of this distinctively American dramatic genre, from the shows of the 1920s and 1930s to the musicals of today.
My Antonia
by Charles JonesDrama / 11m, 7f, 7 children / Unit set This faithful adaptation brings the wonderful romantic novel's profoundly human characters and its expansive view of 19th century American frontier life vibrantly to the stage. The play celebrates Antonia's story and her extraordinary delight in the happenings of daily life. It moves from the raw hardships of her immigrant family's first year as settlers on the plains through her joyful and rebellious youth to her fulfillment as a farm wife and mother. "No romantic novel ever written in America is one half so beautiful as My Antonia." -H.L. Mencken
Neil LaBute: A Casebook (Casebooks on Modern Dramatists)
by Gerald C. WoodNeil LaBute: A Casebook is the first book to examine one of the most successful and controversial contemporary American playwrights and filmmakers. While he is most famous, and in some cases infamous, for his early films In the Company of Men and Your Friends and Neighbors, Labute is equally accomplished as a playwright. His work extends from the critique of false religiosity in Bash to examinations of opportunism, irresponsible art, failed parenting, and racism in later plays like Mercy Seat, The Shape of Things, The Distance From Here, Fat Pig, Autobahn, and the very recent This Is How It Goes and Some Girls. Like David Mamet, an acknowledged influence on him, and Conor McPhereson, with whom he shares some stylistic and thematic concerns, LaBute tends to polarize audiences. The angry voices, violent situations, and irresponsible behavior in his works, especially those focusing on male characters, have alienated some viewers. But the writer's religious affiliation and refusal to condone the actions of his characters suggest he is neither exploitive nor pornographic. This casebook explores the primary issues of the writer's style, themes, and dramatic achievements. Contributors describe, for example, the influences (both classical and contemporary) on his work, his distinctive vision in theater and film, the role of religious belief in his work, and his satire. In addition to the critical introduction by Wood and the original essays by leading dramatic and literary scholars, the volume also includes a bibliography and a chronology of the playwright's life and works.
A New Guide to Italian Cinema
by Carlo Celli Marga Cottino-JonesA Student's Guide to Italian Film (1983, 1993) . This guide retains earlier editions' interest in renowned films and directors but is also attentive to the popular films which achieved box office success among the public.