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Mister Paradise and Other One-Act Plays
by David E. Roessel Tennessee Williams Anne Jackson Nicholas Rand Moschovakis Eli WallachThirteen previously unpublished short plays now available for the first time. Tennessee Williams had a distinct talent for writing short plays and, not surprisingly, this remarkable new collection of never-before-published one-acts includes some of his most poignant and hilarious characters: the indefatigable, witty and tough drag queens of And Tell Sad Stories of the Deaths of Queens...; the strange little man behind the nom de plume Mister Paradise; and the extravagant mistress who cheats on her married man in The Pink Bedroom. Most were written in the 1930s and early 1940s when Williams was already flexing his theatrical imagination. Chosen from over seventy unpublished one-acts, these are some of Williams's finest; several have premiered recently at The Hartford Stage Co., The Kennedy Center, the Manhattan Theatre Club and the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival. Included in this volume: These Are the Stairs You Got to Watch Mister Paradise The Palooka Escape Why Do You Smoke So Much, Lily? Summer At the Lake The Big Game The Pink Bedroom The Fat Man's Wife Thank You, Kind Spirit The Municipal Abattoir Adam and Eve on a Ferry And Tell Sad Stories of the Deaths of Queens... Long associated with Williams, acclaimed stage and film actors Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson provide a fresh and challenging foreword for actors, directors, and readers.
Monkey Soup
by Don NigroFull length, farce / 5m, 3f / Unit set / Set on the stage of a New York theatre in the 1930s, this demented, madcap, no holds barred, galloping farce is a loving parody and homage to the sort of movie the Marx Brothers might have made after a hundred cups of coffee with their hair on fire. The language is rapid fire and the physical comedy is maniacal. Mrs. Lillian Quackenfurter, a once renowned actress, has written the worst play in the history of the theatre, Lady Furtwinger's Lover, which she hopes to star in to revive her career after a forty year hiatus, and has hired a person she believes to be the internationally renowned director, Dr Cornelius T. Fartwhistle, a rude, fast-talking con man who insults her constantly and makes hash of her play. He's actually a dentist named Hassenfusser who accidentally killed Fartwhistle with laughing gas while filling a cavity. The stage manager, Boccalucci, and his wild, girl-chasing, mute assistant, Goosey, who have worked with the real Fartwhistle in the past (and slept with his wife) blackmail Fartwhistle-Hassenfusser into letting them appear in the play, planning to disable the other actors by feeding them bad fish and putting vodka in the water cooler. Lucy the maid is determined to get through her exposition, despite the fact that she's forced to talk into a goose instead of a telephone, and is being constantly bombarded by bird carcasses. Edgar is insanely jealous over his blond bombshell wife Thelma, who is unconscious for much of the second act. Dick, the leading man, plays tennis and announces that he has three balls. Somebody has put tranquilizer darts in the prop gun. Non-stop lunacy.
Much Ado About Nothing
by William Shakespeare David Bevington David Scott KastanSet in a courtly world of masked revels and dances, this play turns on the archetypal story of a lady falsely accused of unfaithfulness, spurned by her bridegroom, and finally vindicated and reunited with him. Villainy, schemes, and deceits threaten to darken the brilliant humor and sparkling wordplay-but the hilarious counterplot of a warring couple, Beatrice and Benedick, steals the scene as the two are finally tricked into admitting their love for each other in Shakespeare's superb comedy of manners.Each Edition Includes:* Comprehensive explanatory notes * Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship * Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English* Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories * An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmographyFrom the Paperback edition.
My Nights at the Improv
by Jan SieboldLizzie feels like she's on a thirty-second delay. That's how long it always takes for the brilliant thing she should have said to pop into her head--thirty seconds for her brain to catch up with her life. But Lizzie's never been one to take risks--not with her mom, who worries so much, and especially not now that she's the new kid at school. But once a week Lizzie hides out in the auditorium and watches five strangers in a theater class learn the art of improvisation, where there are no lines, no script--just making it up as they go along. How do they do it? Lizzie wonders. Not just on stage, but in life, too . . .
Naughts and Crosses
by Malorie BlackmanCallum is a naught, a second-class citizen in a society run by the ruling Crosses. Sephy is a Cross, and daughter of the man slated to become prime minister. In their world, white naughts and black Crosses simply don't mix -- and they certainly don't fall in love. But that's exactly what they've done. When they were younger, they played together. Now Callum and Sephy meet in secret and make excuses. But excuses no longer cut it when Sephy and her mother are nearly caught in a terrorist bombing planned by the Liberation Militia, with which Callum's family is linked. Callum's father is the prime suspect...and Sephy's father will stop at nothing to see him hanged. The blood hunt that ensues will threaten not only Callum and Sephy's love for each other, but their very lives.In this shocking thriller, UK sensation Malorie Blackman turns the world inside out. What's white is black, what's black is white, and only one thing is clear: Assumptions can be deadly.
The Nutcracker
by Karen KainMisha and Marie are thrilled that Christmas is coming. It’s a frosty night, the neighbors are all invited, and Peter the stable boy is sweeping the barn in preparation for the dancing to come. But there’s a disappointment in store. Instead of the beautiful doll she’d hoped for, the only thing strange old Uncle Nikolai has for Marie is a wooden nutcracker. Marie thinks it’s a wonderful gift. Little does she know that it will lead her and her brother on the adventure of a lifetime.When Misha and Marie finally go to bed on Christmas Eve, they sleep fitfully and are beset by nightmares. In one particularly bad dream, they join forces — unusual for the squabbling children — and conquer an army that might harm the nutcracker. Their reward is splendid: they are swept to the realm of the Snow Queen for a night of wonders.James Kudelka, the Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Canada, is one of North America’s foremost dance artists. His vision of The Nutcracker is elegantly told by Karen Kain and beautifully rendered by artist Rajka Kupesic, herself a ballet dancer.
One Man's Vision
by Frederick StroppelSix one-act plays: Designated Driver, Friendly Fire, One Man's Vision, Tangled Web, Tree World and Twenty Years Ago.
Open Secrets
by Dale WassermanDramatic Comedy / 4m, 3f / Two one-act plays BOY ON BLACKTOP ROAD and THE STALLION HOWL may be joined to make a full theatre evening, or may also be performed separately. If together, there is almost a complete overlap of cast. The subject is retroactive jealousy, specifically sexual jealousy. A seemingly happy couple in the Midwest is subjected to severe strain when the wife is left a large gift of money by a notorious womanizer with whom, presumably, she once had a relationship. Will the happy marriage now shatter? Surprises occur, and the play makes a brave (but possibly reckless) attempt to answer Dr. Freud's famous question: "What do women want?"
Othello
by William Shakespeare David Bevington David Scott KastanThough this great tragedy of unsurpassed intensity and emotion is played out against Renaissance splendor, its story of the doomed marriage of a Venetian senator's daughter, Desdemona, to a Moorish general, Othello, is especially relevant to modern audiences. The differences in race and background create an initial tension that allows the horrifyingly envious villain Iago methodically to promote the "green-eyed monster" jealousy, until, in one of the most deeply moving scenes in theatrical history, the noble Moor destroys the woman he loves-only to discover too late that she was innocent.Each Edition Includes:* Comprehensive explanatory notes * Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship * Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English* Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories * An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography
Othello (Annotated Shakespeare)
by William Shakespeare Harold Bloom Burton RaffelOne of the most powerful dramas ever written for the stage, Othello is a story of revenge, illusion, passion, mistrust, jealousy, and murder. If in Iago Shakespeare created the most compelling villain in Western literature, in Othello and Desdemona he gave us our most tragic and unforgettable lovers.
Pericles
by Paul Werstine William Shakespeare Barbara MowatPericles tells of a prince who risks his life to win a princess, but discovers that she is in an incestuous relationship with her father and flees to safety. He marries another princess, but she dies giving birth to their daughter. The adventures continue from one disaster to another until the grown-up daughter pulls her father out of despair and the play moves toward a gloriously happy ending. The authoritative edition of Pericles 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 Margaret Jane Kidnie 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.
Phaedrus
by Plato Christopher RowePhaedrus is widely recognized as one of Plato's most profound and beautiful works. It takes the form of a dialogue between Socrates and Phaedrus and its ostensible subject is love, especially homoerotic love. This new translation is accompanied by an introduction, further reading, and full notes on the text and translation that discuss the structure of the dialogue and elucidate issues that might puzzle the modern reader.
Plato: Protagoras and Meno
by Plato Adam Beresford Lesley BrownPlato's finest dramatic work, an entertaining tale of goodness and knowledge Exploring the question of what exactly makes good people good, Protagoras and Meno are two of the most enjoyable and accessible of all of Plato's dialogues. Widely regarded as his finest dramatic work, the Protagoras, set during the golden age of Pericles, pits a youthful Socrates against the revered sophist Protagoras, whose brilliance and humanity make him one the most interesting and likeable of Socrates' philosophical opponents, and turns their encounter into a genuine and lively battle of minds. The Meno sees an older but ever ironic Socrates humbling a proud young aristocrat as they search for a clear understanding of what it is to be a good man, and setting out the startling idea that all human learning may be the recovery of knowledge already possessed by our immortal souls.
Play-Acting: A Guide to Theatre Workshops
by Luke DixonPlay-Acting is an inspired book of theatrical beginnings-jumping-off points for actors, teachers, and directors. Drawing upon his thirty years of designing and leading theater workshops, Luke Dixon goes to the heart of contemporary theater practice. Whether drawing upon Japanese butoh, Shakespearean verse, or African rhythms, these thirty-two workshops cover a wide range of activities-voice warm-ups, body work, the exploration of theatrical space, life games, dreamtime, sense and chakras, working with the spine, and much, much more. More than a collection of exercises, Play-Acting is constructed to take the user on a journey from learning about the anatomy of the individual actor's body to the performance of narrative by a group of actors. With tips on what you might expect to experience as an actor, teacher, or director, along with ideas on how to exploit the unexpected in performance, Play-Acting is a book to be read again and again.
A Play of Dux Moraud (A Joliffe Mystery #2)
by Margaret FrazerPerforming at the wedding of Sir Edmund Deneby's daughter, the player Joliffe has another task to perform--as a spy. <P><P>As he uncovers the secrets of the Denebys' sordid history, it becomes clear that this wedding celebration is destined to end in tragedy.
Playwriting: A Practical Guide
by Noël GreigPlaywriting offers a practical guide to the creation of text for live performance. It contains a wealth of exercises for amateur and professional playwrights. Usable in a range of contexts, the book works as: a step-by-step guide to the creation of an individual play a handy resource for a teacher or workshop leader a stimulus for the group-devised play. The result of Noël Greig's thirty years' experience as a playwright, actor, director and teacher, Playwriting is the ideal handbook for anyone who engages with playwriting and is ultimately concerned with creating a story and bringing it to life on the stage.
The Preaching Fox: Elements of Festive Subversion in the Plays of the Wakefield Master (Studies in Medieval History and Culture #32)
by Warren E. EdminsterFirst published in 2005. Volumes in the Medieval History and Culture series include studies on individual works and authors of Latin and vernacular literatures, historical personalities and events, theological and philosophical issues, and new critical approaches to medieval literature and culture. Momentous changes have occurred in Medieval Studies in the past thirty years, in teaching as well as in scholarship. The Medieval History and Culture series enhances research in the held by providing an outlet for monographs by scholars in the early stages of their careers on all topics related to the broad scope of Medieval Studies, while at the same time pointing to and highlighting new directions that will shape and define scholarly discourse in the future. This volume is a collection of Wakefield Master’s festive plays. Characters threaten the audience with comic bravado, engage in mocking tomfoolery, and parody any number of sacred forms; it is behavior unexpected by modern students of the drama, especially from what we assume was a serious and religious medieval past, and it is unlike what we find in the other mystery cycles.
Pronouncing Shakespeare: The Globe Experiment
by David CrystalIn an unusual blend of autobiography, narrative, and academic content, reflecting the unique nature of the experience, David Crystal recounts the first attempt in over 50 years to mount a full-length Shakespeare play in original pronunciation.
Pygmalion
by George Bernard ShawSpeech professor Henry Higgins successfully teaches Eliza Doolittle to speak and act like a duchess, but she adamantly refuses to be his creation.
Qué haréis con este libro: Teatro completo
by José SaramagoToda la obra dramática del Premio Nobel de Literatura portugués reunida en un solo volumen por primera vez en español: una perfecta combinación de ideas plenamente vigentes y maestría literaria. «La memoria es el dramaturgo que todos tenemos dentro. Pone en escena e inventa un disfraz para cada ser vinculado con nosotros. La distancia entre lo que fue una persona y lo que se recuerda de ella es literatura.»José Saramago José Saramago se llamaba a sí mismo «el dramaturgo involuntario» porque siempre sintió que su contribución a ese género venía marcada por circunstancias azarosas. Pero incluso así, su genio creativo dio luz a las cinco obras teatrales que se reúnen ahora en este volumen: La noche (1979), ¿Qué haré con este libro? (1980), La segunda vida de Francisco de Asís (1987), In Nomine Dei (1993) y Don Giovanni o El disoluto absuelto (2005). Salvo La noche e In Nomine Dei, se publican por primera vez en castellano. Con la hondura propia de toda su obra -aunque revestida de una aparente simplicidad-, brilla en estas piezas magistrales la ironía del autor y la agudeza de sus reflexiones. Los grandes héroes dejan paso a los hombres y mujeres sencillos que, desde la honestidad y la firmeza de sus convicciones, luchan por la libertad, la justicia y un futuro mejor. Ambientadas en lugares y épocas distintos que van desde el Portugal del triunfo de la revolución de los Claveles o el renacentista del poeta Camões, a la Alemania de la reforma luterana, la Italia de don Giovanni o la intemporalidad deslocalizada de una empresa en crecimiento, en ellas las grandes cuestiones que caracterizan el pensamiento del autor están expuestas sin enjuiciamientos ni sentencias. Todas ellas son parte de un diálogo que Saramago mantiene para siempre, desde cada una de las páginas que escribió, con suslectores.
Queen Milli of Galt
by Gary KirkhamComedy / 3m, 3f / Unit set / Based on a true story. A lovely romantic comedy with a handy supply of humor, this play is a genuinely witty exploration of unexpected love. In 1972, the Duke of Windsor (Edward VIII) dies while living in exile at the age of 78. Two weeks later in Canada, an 80 year-old woman from a small town named Galt has her tombstone engraved, claiming to be his wife. A young journalist appears at her door, eager for answers. Flashback to 1919 as Edward, then holding the official title of the Prince of Wales, visits Canada as an emissary of the King. Bored with the pomp and circumstance, he slips away from his official duties and begins a romance with a charming young woman.
Renaissance Self-Fashioning: From More to Shakespeare
by Stephen GreenblattRenaissance Self-Fashioning is a study of sixteenth-century life and literature that spawned a new era of scholarly inquiry. Stephen Greenblatt examines the structure of selfhood as evidenced in major literary figures of the English Renaissance—More, Tyndale, Wyatt, Spenser, Marlowe, and Shakespeare—and finds that in the early modern period new questions surrounding the nature of identity heavily influenced the literature of the era. Now a classic text in literary studies, Renaissance Self-Fashioning continues to be of interest to students of the Renaissance, English literature, and the new historicist tradition, and this new edition includes a preface by the author on the book's creation and influence. "No one who has read [Greenblatt's] accounts of More, Tyndale, Wyatt, and others can fail to be moved, as well as enlightened, by an interpretive mode which is as humane and sympathetic as it is analytical. These portraits are poignantly, subtly, and minutely rendered in a beautifully lucid prose alive in every sentence to the ambivalences and complexities of its subjects."—Harry Berger Jr., University of California, Santa Cruz
Replay
by Sharon CreechLeo's papa stood in the doorway, gazing down at him. "Leo, you make gold from pebbles," and the way he said it, Leo could tell that this was a good thing. He may have been given a bit part in the school play ... but Leo dreams he is the biggest star on Broadway. Sure, his big, noisy family makes him feel like a sardine squashed in a tin ... but in his fantasy he gets all the attention he wants. Yes, his papa seems sad and distracted ... but Leo imagines him as a boy, tap-dancing and singing with delight. That's why they call Leo "fog boy." He's always dreaming, always replaying things in his brain. He fantasizes about who he is in order to discover who he will become. As an actor in the school play, he is poised and ready for the curtain to open. But in the play that is his life, Leo is eager to discover what part will be his.
Romance
by David MametExhilarating courtroom farce from America's finest playwright. Romance is an uproarious courtroom farce which lampoons the American judicial system and exposes the hypocrisy surrounding personal prejudices and political correctness. Wildly humorous and often gob-smackingly outrageous, the play is set in a modern-day courtroom in New York during a week when there are Middle East peace talks being brokered in town. The court case at hand is unrelated, but the defendant and counsel come up with a plan to solve the conflict in the region. A pill-popping judge, a defendant and lawyer (on the same side) who hate each other, and a prosecutor with a troubled personal life are part of the picture. A new comedy from 'the finest American playwright of his generation' Sunday Times. 'A deliriously funny David Mamet farce' Associated Press. 'An exhilarating spectacle. Mamet is a connoisseur of fiasco, knows all about legal punctilio, and he has great fun bringing mayhem to the ritual' New Yorker. Published to tie-in with the play's European premiere at the Almeida Theatre, opening 6th September 2005.
Romeo and Juliet
by William ShakespeareWritten in the mid-1590s, the play is regarded as one of the Bard’s earliest masterpieces. To make Romeo and Juliet more accessible for the modern reader, our Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Edition includes a glossary of the more difficult words, as well as convenient sidebar notes to enlighten the reader on aspects that may be confusing or overlooked. In doing this, it is our intention that the reader may more fully enjoy the beauty of the verse, the wisdom of the insights, and the impact of the drama.