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This Is What Happens Next
by Daniel MacivorMost people hope for happy endings. For Warren, a gay divorcee, that means getting his stuff back; most importantly, his cherished John Denver CD. And then there's Warren's assortment of friends: Susan, a Percocet-fuelled divorce lawyer whose daughters are giving her a hard time; Tarot-reading Aaron, who is dating Susan and who secretly used to be known as Erin; Mike, an alcoholic who sometimes sees his son on Saturdays; and Kevin, Mike's kid who has an imaginary friend. Observing and directing all of their lives is the human will—or Will, as he prefers to be called—who doesn't quite believe in those happy endings. This Is What Happens Next is an intensely relatable, multi-character story that explores the anguish of addiction and divorce as it delves into the fundamentals of human desire and asks the philosophical question, "What happens next?"
This Is the Story of the Child Ruled by Fear
by David Gagnon WalkerDavid has written a play for himself and a gathering of friends and strangers to read together out loud. It tells the story of the rise and fall of an imaginary civilization in an imaginary land. Some of it is fact, some fiction. But at any point you may be part of a Greek chorus, playing a main character, or collectively confronting your fears about a world on the verge of collapse. Are you ready to take a leap of faith? It’s okay if you feel nervous. David is nervous too. With so much to be fearful of these days, it’s best to brave this thing together.An ingenious exercise in interactive storytelling, This Is the Story of the Child Ruled by Fear is a poetic and participatory fable about how to live with the slowly unfolding emergencies of our time. Playwright David Gagnon Walker guides us through an enchanting performance ritual that provides a communal, cathartic release for those prone to anxiety, fear, and depression. It’s an invitation to share the joys of creating a story together so that maybe we can all feel less alone.
This Must Be The Place
by Monk FerrisFarce / 4m, 5f / Interior / When world famous portrait artist Bob Zachary plans a romantic evening to propose to April March, he doesn't figure on his plumber chum posing as him to lure a Las Vegas chorine to the house for a tryst, fashion designer Pomona Beaumont showing up seeking her niece debutante who is a client of Bob's, the niece ecstatically thinking that Bob is going to propose to her, a monstrous rejected suitor of April's showing up to wreak vengeance, Gloria's mother arriving to look for the missing Desmond diamonds (which vanished while in the custody of Pomona's long missing daughter Clorinda) or the arrival of the weirdest private detective ever to stride onto a stage with drawn gun and an erroneous notion of who's who and what's what. This show is three acts of nonstop hilarity, a chaotic riot that barely gives audiences time to breathe between guffaws.
This One Thing I Do
by Claire Braz ValentineDrama / 4 m., 4 f., to play var. roles / Unit set / This play about Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the suffrage movement in the United States is a moving portrayal of struggles, successes and failures. Thoroughly researched, the play takes these women from the pages of history and makes them living crusaders for women's issues. From their decision to be the first women in bloomers to their invasion of male bastions to cast illegal ballots, as they are shot at and driven from cities, audiences hear their message to all women throughout the ages: "Failure is impossible." / "A glittering piece of artistry.... A unique contribution to theatre.... Clear and exciting characters... remain consistent and grow in depth over the period of the drama. Add to this a delightful and occasionally gutsy sense of humor, and the end result is a theatrical tour de force." Green Sheet.
This Restless House: An Adaptation of Aeschlyus' Oresteia (Faber Drama Ser.)
by Zinnie HarrisAeschylus' Oresteia opens with Agamemnon sacrificing his daughter to the gods; an act which sets in motion a bloody cycle of revenge and counter-revenge. When he in turn is killed at the hands of his wife Clytemnestra, their son Orestes takes up the mantle of avenging his father, continuing the bloodshed until peace is ultimately found in the rule of law. Zinnie Harris reimagines this ancient drama, using a contemporary sensibility to rework the stories, placing the women in the center. Orestes' leading role is replaced by his sister Electra, who as a young child witnesses her father's murder and is compelled to take justice into her own hands until she too must flee the Furies. This Restless House premiered at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, in April 2016 in a co-production with the National Theatre of Scotland.
This School is Driving Me Nuts: And Other Funny Plans for Kids
by Craig Smith Fiona Mcdonald Duncan BallThis hilarious collection of nine short plays for kids, written by popular author Duncan Ball, ranges from a comic monologue to a play that can involve a whole class, and everything in between. It will suit use both in the classroom and on stage, as well as being lots of fun to read at home. Capturing the imagination and tickling the funny bones of young readers and actors, the plays range from spoof mystery to fantasy to school capers, all with a great zing of humour. The book also includes tips on staging the plays. Originally published as Comedies for Kids in 1988, this fabulous collection has been fully revised and updated by the author, with a brand new play, The Teeth of a Vampire, added. The lively cover and internal illustrations are by well-known illustrator Craig Smith. Cover and internal design by Fiona McDonald. Recommended for children aged 7-12.
This Tiny Perfect World
by Lauren GibaldiThe big-hearted story of a small-town girl who discovers how wide the world really is during one transformative summer. Perfect for fans of Susane Colasanti and Sarah Dessen.Penny loves her small-town Florida life, and she has her future mapped out. She’s going to community college after graduation to stay close to home and her best friend, Faye. She’ll take over the family diner that her dad has been managing since her mother died. And one day, she’ll marry her high school sweetheart, Logan. But when she unexpectedly lands a scholarship to a prestigious summer theater camp, she is thrust into a world of competition and self-doubt. And suddenly, her future gets a little hazy. As she meets new friends, including Chase, a talented young actor with big-city dreams, she begins to realize that maybe the life everyone (including her) expects her to lead is not the one she was meant to have.From the acclaimed author of The Night We Said Yes and Autofocus.
This Was Burlesque
by Ann Corio Joseph DiMonaA rollicking, colorfully illustrated history of burlesque as seen through the eyes of its first lady, Ann Corio.
This and Other Plays
by Melissa James Gibson"Beautifully conceived, confidently executed . . . not just her finest to date, but also the best new play to open Off Broadway this fall."-The New York TimesA witty, melancholy comedy about a group of friends pushing against middle age, This is a major new work for Melissa James Gibson, best known for her boundary-challenging, linguistically delectable pieces. This volume also includes downtown cult favorites [sic] and Suitcase, and Brooklyn Bridge, a play for young audiences.Melissa James Gibson's plays include [sic] (winner of the OBIE Award for playwriting and the Kesselring Prize), Suitcase: or those that resemble flies from a distance, Brooklyn Bridge, Given Fish, and Current Nobody.
This is Our Youth
by Kenneth LonerganThis Is Our Youth, Kenneth Lonergan’s lacerating look at affluent young Manhattanites of the 1980s, depicts two days in the lives of three college-age Upper West Siders who are from wealthy families but living in doped-up squalor. Dennis—with a famous painter father and social activist mother—is a small-time drug dealer and total mess. His hero-worshipping friend Warren has just impulsively stolen $15,000 from his father, an abusive lingerie tycoon. When Jessica, a mixed-up prep school girl, shows up for a date, Warren pulls out a wad of bills and takes her off, awkwardly, for a night of seduction. A wildly funny, bittersweet, and moving story, This Is Our Youth is as trenchant as it was upon its acclaimed premiere in 1996.
This is Our Youth
by Kenneth LonerganThis Is Our Youth, Kenneth Lonergan's lacerating look at affluent young Manhattanites of the 1980s, depicts two days in the lives of three college-age Upper West Siders who are from wealthy families but living in doped-up squalor. Dennis--with a famous painter father and social activist mother--is a small-time drug dealer and total mess. His hero-worshipping friend Warren has just impulsively stolen $15,000 from his father, an abusive lingerie tycoon. When Jessica, a mixed-up prep school girl, shows up for a date, Warren pulls out a wad of bills and takes her off, awkwardly, for a night of seduction. A wildly funny, bittersweet, and moving story, This Is Our Youth is as trenchant as it was upon its acclaimed premiere in 1996.
Thom Pain (based on nothing) [Trade Edition]
by Will Eno"Astonishing in its impact. . . One of the treasured nights in the theatre that can leave you both breathless with exhilaration and, depending on your sensitivity to meditations on the bleak and beautiful mysteries of human experience, in a puddle of tears . . . Thom Pain is at bottom a surreal meditation on the empty promises life makes, the way experience never lives up to the weird and awesome fact of being. But it is also, in its odd, bewitching beauty, an affirmation of life's worth."--Charles Isherwood, The New York Times"Eno has emerged as one of the most original young playwrights on the scene. He is one of the few writers who can convert discomfort and outright agony into such pleasure."--David Cote, TimeOut New York"Will Eno is one of the finest younger playwrights I've come across in a number of years. His work is inventive, disciplined and, at the same time, wild and evocative."--Edward AlbeeWhen Will Eno's one-person play Thom Pain opened in New York in February 2005, it became something rare--an unqualified hit, which soon extended through July. Before that, the play was a critical success in London and received the coveted Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh Festival. Dubbed "stand-up existentialism" by The New York Times, it is lyrical and deadpan, both sardonic and sincere. It is Thom Pain--in the camouflage of the common man--fumbling with his heart, squinting into the light.Will Eno lives in Brooklyn, New York. His plays include The Flu Season, Tragedy: a tragedy, King: a problem play, and Intermission. His plays have been produced in London by the Gate Theatre and BBC Radio, and in the United States by Rude Mechanicals and Naked Angels. His play The Flu Season recently won the Oppenheimer Award, presented by NY Newsday for the previous year's best debut production in New York by an American playwright.
Thomas Betterton
by David RobertsRestoration London's leading actor and theater manager Thomas Betterton has not been the subject of a biography since 1891. He worked with all the best-known playwrights of his age and with the first generation of English actresses; he was intimately involved in the theater's responses to politics, and became a friend of leading literary men such as Pope and Steele. His innovations in scenery and company management, and his association with the dramatic inheritance of Shakespeare, helped to change the culture of English theater. David Roberts's entertaining study unearths new documents and draws fresh conclusions about this major but shadowy figure. It contextualizes key performances and examines Betterton's relationship to patrons, colleagues and family, as well as to significant historical moments and artifacts. The most substantial study available of any seventeenth-century actor, Thomas Betterton gives one of England's greatest performing artists his due on the tercentenary of his death.
Thomas Holcroft’s Revolutionary Drama: Reception and Afterlives (Transits: Literature, Thought & Culture, 1650-1850)
by Amy GarnaiA key figure in British literary circles following the French Revolution, novelist and playwright Thomas Holcroft promoted ideas of reform and equality informed by the philosophy of his close friend William Godwin. Arrested for treason in 1794 and released without trial, Holcroft was notorious in his own time, but today appears mainly as a supporting character in studies of 1790s literary activism. Thomas Holcroft’s Revolutionary Drama authoritatively reintroduces and reestablishes this central figure of the revolutionary decade by examining his life, plays, memoirs, and personal correspondence. In engaging with theatrical censorship, apostacy, and the response of audiences and critics to radical drama, this thoughtful study also demonstrates how theater functions in times of political repression. Despite his struggles, Holcroft also had major successes: this book examines his surprisingly robust afterlife, as his plays, especially The Road to Ruin, were repeatedly revived worldwide in the nineteenth century.
Thomas Kyd: A Dramatist Restored
by Brian VickersA groundbreaking new account of the author of The Spanish Tragedy that establishes him as a major Elizabethan dramatistThomas Kyd (1558–1594) was a highly regarded dramatist and the author of The Spanish Tragedy, the first revenge tragedy and the most influential Elizabethan play. In this first full study of his life and works, Brian Vickers discusses Kyd&’s accepted canon as well as three additional plays Vickers has newly identified as having been written by Kyd—exciting discoveries that establish him as a major dramatist.Thomas Dekker, a fellow Elizabethan dramatist, referred to &“industrious Kyd,&” which suggests a greater output than the three plays traditionally attributed to him—The Spanish Tragedy, Soliman and Perseda, and Cornelia. Kyd worked between 1585 and 1594, when the plague led to the anonymous publication of many plays because of the breakup of several London theatre companies. Researching this corpus, Vickers has identified Kyd&’s authorship of three more plays: Arden of Faversham, the first domestic tragedy, King Leir and his three daughters, a tragicomedy that provided Shakespeare with his main source, and Fair Em, a love comedy. These attributions are based on two forms of evidence: unique similarities of plot between Kyd&’s acknowledged and newly attributed plays and many unique phrases shared by all six plays as identified by modern software.Discussing all the plays in detail and placing them in biographical and historical context, Thomas Kyd offers a major reassessment of an underappreciated Elizabethan playwright.
Thomas Shadwell's Bury-Fair: A Critical Edition (Routledge Revivals)
by John C. RossFirst published in 1995, Ross provides a critical edition of Thomas Shadwell’s Bury Fair.
Thomas and Friends: Henry and the Elephant (Thomas & Friends)
by Richard Courtney Rev W. AwdryThe engines are very excited when the circus comes to Sodor. Everyone wants to pull the special freight cars and coaches. Henry carefully pushes an empty truck into the dark tunnel to clear the track. Imagine his surprise when something starts to push back!From the Trade Paperback edition.
Thomas and Percy and the Dragon (Thomas & Friends)
by Richard Courtney Rev W. AwdryPercy is sleeping when he hears a rumble. He opens his eyes and sees a giant yellow dragon! But dragons aren't real, are they? Maybe it was a dream! The next day he shares his fears with James and Thomas and learns the truth about what it was that he saw. A Step 1 BookFrom the Trade Paperback edition.
Thornton Wilder's The Skin of our Teeth (The Fourth Wall)
by Kyle Gillette"Ladies and gentlemen, I’m not going to play this particular scene tonight." - Sabina Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth (1942) telescopes an audacious stretch of western history and mythology into a family drama, showing how the course of human events operates like theatre itself: constantly mutable, vanishing and beginning again. Kyle Gillette explores Wilder’s extraordinary play in three parts. Part I unpacks the play’s singular yet deeply interconnected place in theatre history, comparing its metatheatrics to those of Stein, Pirandello and Brecht, and finding its anticipation of American fantasias in the works of Vogel and Kushner. Part II turns to the play’s many historic and mythic sources, and examines its concentration of western progress and power into the model of a white, American upper-middle-class nuclear family. Part III takes a longer view, tangling with the play’s philosophical stakes. Gillette magnifies the play’s ideas and connections, teasing out historical, theoretical and philosophical questions on behalf of readers, scholars and audience members alike.
Thornton Wilder: A Life
by Penelope NivenThe definitive biography of the great American playwright: a “fine-grained, sympathetic portrait” with a foreword by Edward Albee (The New York Times).Thornton Wilder—three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, creator of such enduring stage works as Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth, and beloved novels like Bridge of San Luis Ray and Theophilus North—was much more than a pivotal figure in twentieth century American theater and literature. He was also a traveler, a teacher, a scholar, a soldier, an outspoken citizen, and a complex, intensely private man. In Thornton Wilder: A Life, biographer Penelope Niven pulls back the curtain to present a fascinating portrait one of America's greatest literary icons. With unprecedented access to Wilder's papers, including his family's private journals and records, Niven shows the many sides of this multifaceted man, including his relationship to his two brilliant parents, four gifted siblings, and the specter of his twin brother lost at birth.“Comprehensive and wisely fashioned. . . . A splendid and long needed work.” —Edward Albee, playwright
Those Singing Sunday Mornings
by Jean Lenox ToddieComic drama \ 2 f. \ Simple set. \ An artist who dwells in a tree house is heading out to play poker in Peru with a monkey on her shoulder. Her niece wants to drop out of high school and see the world with her. Are they looking for adventure or running away? Will dipping their toes in lotus ponds in Japan, eating raw eggs in the hills of Eastern Europe and seeking the wee wild ones who dance in the woods or Ireland at the full moon heal these hearts? Laughter, tears and unanswered questions fill the backpacks of these wanderers - if they are allowed to leave.
Three Classical Tragedies
by William ShakespeareTitus Andronicus * Timon of Athens * CoriolanusEach Edition Includes:Comprehensive explanatory notes placed on pages facing the text of the playVivid 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 Titus AndronicusThis, Shakespeare's earliest tragedy, is also his bloodiest and most horror-filled. A Roman general, to appease the spirit of his dead son, sacrifices the son of a captive Goth queen--and sets in motion a remorseless cycle of revenge and counterrevenge. The play's vivid spectacle of violence stuns audiences with rape, murder, mutilation, and unmitigated cruelty. Timon of AthensThis stark drama--in some ways Shakespeare's most bitter play--is a brilliant psychological portrait of a wealthy Athenian lord whose extraordinary trust and love for others turns to hate and spite when, bankrupted by his generosity, he is overwhelmed by the indifference and ingratitude of those he had thought friends. CoriolanusThe arrogance of a Roman military hero puts him in conflict with the people of Rome when the aristocrat is unwilling to compromise with the commoners he so despises. Compellingly relevant today, Shakespeare's last tragedy--from its opening scene of popular unrest to its chilling climax of betrayal and murder--takes an unwavering, ironic look at political extremism.From the Paperback edition.
Three Classical Tragedies: Titus Andronicus, Timon of Athens, Coriolanus
by William Shakespeare David Scott Kastan David M. BevingtonTitus Andronicus * Timon of Athens * Coriolanus. Each Edition Includes: Comprehensive explanatory notes placed on pages facing the text of the play, vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship, and 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. Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare's earliest tragedy, is also his bloodiest and most horror-filled. A Roman general, to appease the spirit of his dead son, sacrifices the son of a captive Goth queen--and sets in motion a remorseless cycle of revenge and counterrevenge. The play's vivid spectacle of violence stuns audiences with rape, murder, mutilation, and unmitigated cruelty. Timon of Athens, a stark drama--in some ways Shakespeare's most bitter play--is a brilliant psychological portrait of a wealthy Athenian lord whose extraordinary trust and love for others turns to hate and spite when, bankrupted by his generosity, he is overwhelmed by the indifference and ingratitude of those he had thought friends. Coriolanus, the arrogance of a Roman military hero puts him in conflict with the people of Rome when the aristocrat is unwilling to compromise with the commoners he so despises. Compellingly relevant today, Shakespeare's last tragedy--from its opening scene of popular unrest to its chilling climax of betrayal and murder--takes an unwavering, ironic look at political extremism.
Three Comedies
by William Shakespeare Barbara A. Mowat Paul WerstineThe havoc wrought on lovers by magic in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the furious battle of the sexes waged in The Taming of the Shrew, and a stranded woman finding her way in a man’s world in Twelfth Night—this collection of three of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies is based on the acclaimed individual Folger editions of the plays. The authoritative edition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, and Twelfth Night 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 -Scene-by-scene plot summaries 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.
Three Early Comedies: Love's Labor's Lost, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merry Wives of Windsor
by William Shakespeare David Bevington David Scott Kastan James Hammersmith Robert Kean Turner Joseph PappThree Early Comedies: Love's Labor's Lost Farce and fun follow when a young king and his three friends vow to give up women for a year--just as a pretty princess and her three ladies-in-waiting arrive--in a delightful play that ends with one of Shakespeare's loveliest songs. The Two Gentlemen of Verona: In this lyrical comedy, two friends are infatuated with the same woman, while a jilted girl disguised as a boy and a clownish servant with a raffish mutt set the scene for laughter and a timeless story of love. The Merry Wives of Windsor: Shakespeare's famous rogue, Falstaff, woos two married women with identical love letters--and becomes the focus of a hilarious comedy when the women conspire to teach him a lesson.