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Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Selected Writings, Volume I, Plays
by Friedrich Dürrenmatt Joel Agee Kenneth J. NorthcottThe Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–90) was one of the most important literary figures of the second half of the twentieth century. During the years of the cold war, arguably only Beckett, Camus, Sartre, and Brecht rivaled him as a presence in European letters. Yet outside Europe, this prolific author is primarily known for only one work, The Visit. With these long-awaited translations of his plays, fictions, and essays, Dürrenmatt becomes available again in all his brilliance to the English-speaking world. Dürrenmatt’s concerns are timeless, but they are also the product of his Swiss vantage during the cold war: his key plays, gathered in the first volume of Selected Writings, explore such themes as guilt by passivity, the refusal of responsibility, greed and political decay, and the tension between justice and freedom. In The Visit, for instance, an old lady who becomes the wealthiest person in the world returns to the village that cast her out as a young woman and offers riches to the town in exchange for the life of the man, now its mayor, who once disgraced her. Joel Agee’s crystalline translation gives a fresh lease to this play, as well as four others: The Physicists, Romulus the Great, Hercules and the Augean Stables, and The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi. Dürrenmatt has long been considered a great writer—but one unfairly neglected in the modern world of letters. With these elegantly conceived and expertly translated volumes, a new generation of readers will rediscover his greatest works.
Gem Of The Ocean
by August Wilson“No one except perhaps Eugene O’Neill and Tennessee Williams has aimed so high and achieved so much in the American theater.”—John Lahr, The New Yorker “A swelling battle hymn of transporting beauty. Theatergoers who have followed August Wilson’s career will find in Gem a touchstone for everything else he has written.”—Ben Brantley, The New York Times “Wilson’s juiciest material. The play holds the stage and its characters hammer home, strongly, the notion of newfound freedom.”—Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune Gem of the Ocean is the play that begins it all. Set in 1904 Pittsburgh, it is chronologically the first work in August Wilson’s decade-by-decade cycle dramatizing the African American experience during the 20th century—an unprecedented series that includes the Pulitzer Prize–winning plays Fences and The Piano Lesson. Aunt Esther, the drama’s 287-year-old fiery matriarch, welcomes into her Hill District home Solly Two Kings, who was born into slavery and scouted for the Union Army, and Citizen Barlow, a young man from Alabama searching for a new life. Gem of the Ocean recently played across the country and on Broadway, with Phylicia Rashad as Aunt Esther. Earlier in 2005, on the completion of the final work of his ten play cycle-surely the most ambitious American dramatic project undertaken in our history-August Wilson disclosed his bout with cancer, an illness of unusual ferocity that would eventually claim his life on October 2. Fittingly the Broadway theatre where his last play will be produced in 2006 has been renamed the August Wilson Theater in his honor. His legacy will animate the theatre and stir the human heart for decades to come.
The Good, the Bad, and Me: In My Anecdotage
by Eli WallachThe sparkling memoir of a movie icon's life in the footlights and on camera, The Good, the Bad, and Me tells the extraordinary story of Eli Wallach's many years dedicated to his craft. Beginning with his early days in Brooklyn and his college years in Texas, where he dreamed of becoming an actor, this book follows his career as one of the earliest members of the famed Actors Studio and as a Tony Award winner for his work on Broadway. Wallach has worked with such stars as Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, Marilyn Monroe, Gregory Peck, and Henry Fonda, and his many movies include The Magnificent Seven, How the West Was Won, the iconic The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and, most recently, Mystic River. For more than fifty years Eli Wallach has held a special place in film and theater, and in a tale rich with anecdotes, wit, and remarkable insight he recounts his magical life in a world unlike any other.
Greater Boston Community Theater
by Judson Lee PierceThe roots of community theater can be traced back to before the Revolutionary War. In the years that followed, many towns throughout America were fortunate to have both professional and amateur acting companies. The evolution of the moving picture forced many of these professional theaters to close their doors, but theater lovers in small communities still wanted the real thing, live theater. Today there are numerous community theater groups around the Boston area, including the oldest continuing community theater group in the country, the Footlight Club, which was founded in 1877. In the spirit of community, many theater companies donate to charities and sponsor playwriting contests and scholarship programs. They all share a common goal: bring live theater to suburban communities. Greater Boston Community Theater presents rare photographs from more than a dozen community theaters to document and celebrate the rich tapestry of theater life.
Grief Lessons: Four Plays by Euripides
by Anne Carson Eurípides<p>Euripides, the last of the three great tragedians of ancient Athens, reached the height of his renown during the disastrous Peloponnesian War, when democratic Athens was brought down by its own outsized ambitions. “Euripides,” the classicist Bernard Knox has written, “was born never to live in peace with himself and to prevent the rest of mankind from doing so.” His plays were shockers: he unmasked heroes, revealing them as foolish and savage, and he wrote about the powerless–women and children, slaves and barbarians–for whom tragedy was not so much exceptional as unending. Euripides’ plays rarely won first prize in the great democratic competitions of ancient Athens, but their combustible mixture of realism and extremism fascinated audiences throughout the Greek world. In the last days of the Peloponnesian War, Athenian prisoners held captive in far-off Sicily were said to have won their freedom by reciting snatches of Euripides’ latest tragedies. <p>Four of those tragedies are presented here in new translations by the contemporary poet and classicist Anne Carson. They are Herakles, in which the hero swaggers home to destroy his own family; Hekabe, set after the Trojan War, in which Hektor’s widow takes vengeance on her Greek captors; Hippolytos, about love and the horror of love; and the strange tragic-comedy fable Alkestis, which tells of a husband who arranges for his wife to die in his place. The volume also contains brief introductions by Carson to each of the plays along with two remarkable framing essays: “Tragedy: A Curious Art Form” and “Why I Wrote Two Plays About Phaidra.”</p>
Hamlet (Picture This! Shakespeare)
by Christina LacieNewest in Barron's growing Picture This! Shakespeare Series is the immortal tragedy of the Prince of Denmark, who seeks to avenge the death of his father. Each title in this series introduces a Shakespeare play to beginning students in a highly original graphic-novel format, which is supplemented with substantial excerpts from Shakespeare's original dialogue. Also presented are thumbnail sketches of the play's main characters and a succinct plot summary that explains the play's main themes and meanings. Students who feel overwhelmed by the original Shakespeare texts can use titles in this series as an important first step in understanding these literary masterpieces. Supplementing every Picture This! Shakespeare student edition is a teacher's resource guide that suggests topics for classroom discussion and presents enlightening activities intended to fulfill the needs of a multi-skill-level classroom environment. <P><P> <i>Advisory: Bookshare has learned that this book offers only partial accessibility. We have kept it in the collection because it is useful for some of our members. Benetech is actively working on projects to improve accessibility issues such as these.</i>
Hamlet, Protestantism, and the Mourning of Contingency: Not to Be
by John E. JrBuilding on current scholarly interest in the religious dimensions of the play, this study shows how Shakespeare uses Hamlet to comment on the Calvinistic Protestantism predominant around 1600. By considering the play's inner workings against the religious ideas of its time, John Curran explores how Shakespeare portrays in this work a completely deterministic universe in the Calvinist mode, and, Curran argues, exposes the disturbing aspects of Calvinism. By rendering a Catholic Prince Hamlet caught in a Protestant world which consistently denies him his aspirations for a noble life, Shakespeare is able in this play, his most theologically engaged, to delineate the differences between the two belief systems, but also to demonstrate the consequences of replacing the old religion so completely with the new.
Hamlet's Heirs: Shakespeare and The Politics of a New Millennium (Accents on Shakespeare)
by Linda CharnesSpeaking to readers in a voice that is adventurous rather than authoritative, innovative rather than institutional and speculative rather than orthodox, Linda Charnes’ provocative study of Shakespeare’s legacy in contemporary American and British politics explores the following themes: namesake princes and presidents stolen thrones and elections plutocrats and insurgents campaign trails and war-mongering waning monarchy and imperilled democracy revengers, early modern and postmodern. Linked by focused readings of Hamlet and the Henriad, the essays follow Shakespeare’s two most famous royal sons, the Princes Hamlet and Hal, as they haunt contemporary political psychology in the early years of a new millennium, and especially in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. Between devolution in Britain and the new ‘doctrine’ of pre-emptive strike in the United States, our contemporary Hamlets and Hals epitomize a debate – as fraught now as in Shakespeare’ day – about the cost of spin-doctoring legacies. In exploring how current political culture inherits Shakespeare, Hamlet’s Heirs challenges scholarly assumptions about historical periodicity, modernity and the uses of Shakespeare in present day contexts.
Happy Anniversary, Angel! Love, Gino
by Family Jewels Creations10m, 8f / Interior / Gino Paolucci is throwing a big anniversary bash for his beautiful wife, Angel! You're invited to join in the celebration of their fifth wedding anniversary as they renew their vows at the zaniest party you'll ever be a part of! Watch the loving couple attempt to "re-tie their knot" and witness the crazy calamities and mishaps surrounding the celebration. Then sit down to a sizzling family feast, dance to a live DJ and interact with the Guests of Honor and their crazy but lovable relatives and delightful friends!
Heather Raffo's 9 Parts Of Desire: A Play
by Heather RaffoAs topical as today's newspaper headlines, these rich monologues bring to life nine distinct Iraqi women whose very different stories convey the complex and harrowing reality of being female in modern-day Iraq. Their monologues quickly become a series of overlapping conversations leading to a breakdown in communication as the chaos of Iraq intensifies. Layal is a sexy and impulsive painter favored by Saddam's regime, breezily bohemian one minute and defensive the next; another woman mourns the death of her family in a 1991 bunker, and another--a blond American of Iraqi descent--painfully recalls a telephone conversation with Baghdad relatives on the eve of the U. S. invasion. Other characters decry the savagery of Saddam Hussein in terrifying detail and express an ambivalent relief at the American presence; still others--like a Bedouin woman searching for love--transcend politics. The title comes from the teachings of the seventh-century imam Ali ibn Abu Talib: "God created sexual desire in ten parts; then he gave nine parts to women and one part to men." Heather Raffo's monologues weave these nine parts into a finely textured, brilliantly colorful tapestry of feminine longing in dire times. This compassionate and heart-breaking work will forever change your view of Iraqi women and the people of the Middle East.
Hello … Hello
by Karen HinesWinner of the 2007 Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award for DramaIn the vast, unnamed metropolis of Hello ... hello, art and commerce have finally and completely conjoined; stylish cafés serve up zebra mussels and the air is thick with a gentle rain of sparrows plummeting down from the mirrored office towers. Everywhere, people are falling for an edgy new fashion accessory: a shiny ball filled with poison that hangs from a delicate chain. In this oddly peaceful world, Cassandra, a salesgirl at a clothing store called the Abyss, meets a charismatic ad man named Ben in the graveyard where she is mourning her lover, the last true artist on earth. They find themselves helplessly attracted to one another. Ben walks Cassandra home and invites her out to dinner, which leads to sex, marriage and a house in Semi-Residentia. Then comes baby. All one and a half inches of her. Hello ... hello, nominated for several Dora awards, including Best Play and Best Musical, is a tragic, comedic and curiously erotic attack on western society's predilection for escapist consumerism and entertainment. If the boy-meets-girl musical is the shiny happy ball, then the content of the play, and its characters, are the poison held within. '[Hines is] one of the most original artists in the city.' - Toronto Life
Henry the Fourth, Part One
by William ShakespeareWhile England is threatened by the Earl of Northumberland, Young Prince Hal cavorts in London's taverns, accompanied by the dissolute, entertaining Falstaff and his band of rogues. Much of this play's tension involves Prince Hal and Falstaff, as the former tries to live up to his duties and responsibilities. In creating Falstaff Shakespeare gave us one of the theater's most enduring and memorable characters.
The High School Theatre Teacher's Survival Guide
by Raina S. AmesA reference for high school theatre teachers covering both curricular and extracurricular problems – everything from how to craft a syllabus for a theatre class to what to say to parents about a student's participation in a school play.
A History of Asian American Theatre (Cambridge Studies in American Theatre and Drama #26)
by Esther Kim LeeIn 1965, the first Asian American theatre company, the East West players, was founded by a group of actors who wanted to find better opportunities in the acting industry. Forty years later, Asian American theatre is one of the fastest-growing theatre sectors with over thirty active theatre companies and numerous award-winning artists such as Frank Chin, Jessica Hagedorn, Ping Chong, David Henry Hwang, Philip Kan Gotanda, Velina Hasu, and B. D. Wong. Based on over seventy interviews, this book surveys the history of Asian American theatre from 1965 to 2005 with focus on actors, playwrights, companies, audiences, and communities. Emphasizing historical contexts, Esther Kim Lee examines how issues of cultural nationalism, interculturalism, and identity politics affect a racially defined theatre. Addressing issues ranging from actor's activism to Asian Diaspora, the book documents how Asian American theatre has become an indispensable part of American culture.
Intimate Apparel/Fabulation
by Lynn Nottage"Lynn Nottage's work explores depths of humanness, the overlapping complexities of race, gender, culture and history--and the startling simplicity of desire--with a clear tenderness, with humor, with compassion." --Paula Vogel, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwrightIntimate Apparel: "Thoughtful, affecting new play . . . with seamless elegance."--Charles Isherwood, VarietyFabulation: "Robustly entertaining comedy . . . with punchy social insights and the firecracker snap of unexpected humor."--Ben Brantley, The New York TimesWith her two latest plays, "exceptionally gifted playwright" (New York Observer) Lynn Nottage has created companion pieces that span 100 years in the lives of African American women. Intimate Apparel is about the empowerment of Esther, a proud and shy seamstress in 1905 New York who creates exquisite lingerie for both Fifth Avenue boudoirs and Tenderloin bordellos. In Fabulation Nottage re-imagines Esther as Undine, the PR-diva of today, who spirals down from her swanky Manhattan office to her roots back in Brooklyn. Through opposite journeys, Esther and Undine achieve the same satisfying end, one of self-discovery.Lynn Nottage's plays include Crumbs from the Table of Joy; Mud, River, Stone; Por' Knockers; Las Menias; Fabulation and Intimate Apparel, for which she was awarded the Francesca Primus Prize and the American Theatre Critics/Steinberg New Play Award in 2004. Her plays have been produced at theatres throughout the country, with Intimate Apparel slated for 16 productions during the 2005-2006 season.
An Introduction to: A Comprehensive Text-Past, Present, and Future
by Marsh CassadyThis semester-long, introductory theatre textbook is highly readable and created specifically to instill a strong interest in theatre.
The Italian Tycoon's Bride (Marriage and Mistletoe #1)
by Helen BrooksHe wants her-so he’ll wed her!Maisie Burns is a nice girl, with little experience of the world. But that doesn’t stop tycoon Blaine Morosini from wanting her! Maisie doesn’t see the effect she has on the enigmatic Italian-she thinks she’s far too plain for a man like him to notice her. But the longer they spend together, the more their mutual attraction grows. Though Blaine once thought he didn’t do commitment, now he realizes that if he’s to have Maisie he’ll have to put his playboy past behind him and make her his wife!
It's No Crime
by Brad GromelskiComedy / 1m, 1f / Simple Set / When a detective interrogates a woman on suspicion of burglary, she reverses the situation and questions him, instead. They soon discover an attraction for each other and after she is cleared of any crime, he invites her to lunch to discuss mutual interests.
Jasper Lake
by John KuntzFull Length, Drama \ 4m, 4f \ Unit Set \ Haunted by a violent past, Liz Sloane awakens to the voice of a girl she has never met, beckoning her to a place called Jasper Lake. Two affluent families reside along this beautiful, exclusive body of water: The abusive Mitchell, his long-suffering wife Nora and her teen-age daughter, Jennifer. Next door is loquacious Mid-western new-comer Deb, her workaholic husband Jerry and their disturbed son Caleb. A "meet the new neighbors" party ensues that will change these families forever, as their secrets and betrayals bubble to the surface. Someone will drown in Jasper Lake tonight, unless Liz and her new boyfriend, an unemployed roadie named Drake, can make it there in time. \ "JASPER LAKE sparkles with a haunting allure...every moment of mystery, fear, shock and dismay touches the audience the way a stone tossed in a pond creates an unmistakable ripple."-Boston Herald
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.