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When Will I Be Famous?
by Martin KelnerWhen Will I Be Famous? is about a world of entertainment; a twilight world far from the bright lights of the West End. Among the pages of Showcall, an annual index of artistes and attractions, there is an army of hopefuls waiting for their big break. Some may be on the verge of a big break; for others, the big break came and went years ago. What they all have in common is that they are out there, entertaining people night after night, folding paper into interesting shapes, telling jokes to businessmen at corporate functions, stripping for hen-parties. Together, they represent an unalloyed triumph of hope over experience. Using acts from Showcall as a starting point, Martin Kelner travels from town to town, demonstrating that how we are entertained, what we do for fun, says at least as much about The Way We Live Now as any other indicator. When Will I Be Famous? is a fascinating and funny account of Britain as seen by the people who try to keep it happy.
When You Are Old: Early Poems, Plays, and Fairy Tales
by William Butler Yeats Rob DoggettRecalling Yeats's 1890s fascination in aestheticism and the arts and crafts movement, selections will draw from the first published versions of poems from works such as Crossways, The Rose, The Wind Among the Reeds, In the Seven Woods, The Green Helmet and Other Poems, Responsibilities, The Wild Swans at Coole, and Michael Robartes and the Dancer. A selection Irish myths and fairytales including "The Wanderings of Oisin," a Celtic fable and his first major poem, represent his fascination with mysticism, spiritualism and the rich and imaginative heritage of his native land.
When a Gesture Was Expected: A Selection of Examples from Archaic and Classical Greek Literature
by Alan L. BoegeholdA boldly innovative study of nonverbal communication in the poetry and prose of Hellenic antiquityWhen a Gesture Was Expected encourages a deeper appreciation of ancient Greek poetry and prose by showing where a nod of the head or a wave of the hand can complete meaning in epic poetry and in tragedy, comedy, oratory, and in works of history and philosophy. All these works anticipated performing readers, and, as a result, they included prompts, places where a gesture could complete a sentence or amplify or comment on the written words. In this radical and highly accessible book, Alan Boegehold urges all readers to supplement the traditional avenues of classical philology with an awareness of the uses of nonverbal communication in Hellenic antiquity. This additional resource helps to explain some persistently confusing syntaxes and to make translations more accurate. It also imparts a living breath to these immortal texts.Where part of a work appears to be missing, or the syntax is irregular, or the words seem contradictory or perverse—without evidence of copyists' errors or physical damage—an ancient author may have been assuming that a performing reader would make the necessary clarifying gesture. Boegehold offers analyses of many such instances in selected passages ranging from Homer to Aeschylus to Plato. He also presents a review of sources of information about such gestures in antiquity as well as thirty illustrations, some documenting millennia-long continuities in nonverbal communication.
Where Do We Live and Other Plays
by Christopher ShinnThis anthology marks the emergence of one of the finest and most innovative new artists writing for the theater today. "The secret of Shinn's success is in the way he exploits the dramatic gap between what is said and that which is left unsaid . . . writing like this is rare," said the London Independent. Where Do We Live, the title play, was written shortly after 9/11 and though never referenced, it still haunts this chronicle of the struggles of several aspiring and gifted young New Yorkers on the Lower East Side. Like all his work, it is a deeply affecting story of how we define our lives and our place in the world.The Coming World "Shinn certainly looks like a shining prospect for the future."--Daily TelegraphFour "Nothing is simple emotionally. The play keeps delivering small shocks and aches that end in a standoff, or maybe in that pause between despair, resignation and a twinge of hope. Haunting."--Margo Jefferson, The New York TimesOther People "Shinn writes with graceful compassion about people trapped inside their own skins unable to make sense of their lives."--The GuardianWhat Didn't Happen ". . . is about the distance between people, and the ways in which even friends, spouses and lovers are ultimately unknowable to one another . . . a playwright to cherish."--The New York TimesChristopher Shinn's plays have been produced at Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, the Vineyard Theatre in New York and often at London's Royal Court Theatre. Where Do We Live received a 2003 Olivier Award nomination for most promising playwright. His next play, On the Mountain, premieres in New York City early in 2005.
Where Is Broadway? (Where Is?)
by Francesco Sedita Douglas Yacka Who HQTake your seats, because Where Is Broadway? is ready to take center stage!In a lively and engaging style, authors Douglas Yacka and Francesco Sedita cover the development of the first theaters and the birth of the American musical, as well as the shows and stars that have become Broadway legends. Readers will get the inside story on their favorite shows and may even discover some new ones.
Where Madness Lies: The Double Life of Vivien Leigh
by Lyndsy SpenceVivien Leigh was one of the greatest film and theatrical stars of the twentieth century. Her Oscar-winning performances in Gone with the Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire have cemented her status as an icon of classic Hollywood.Her meteoric rise to fame launched her into the gaze of fellow rising star Laurence Olivier. A tempestuous relationship ensued that would last for twenty years and captured the imagination of people around the world.Behind the scenes, however, Leigh’s personal life was marred by bipolar disorder, which remained undiagnosed until 1953. Largely misunderstood and subjected to barbaric mistreatment at the hands of her doctors, she also suffered the heartbreak of Olivier’s infidelity. Contributing to her image as a tragic heroine, she died at the age of 53.Where Madness Lies begins in 1953, when Leigh suffered a nervous breakdown and was institutionalised. The woeful story unfolds as she tries to rebuild her life, salvage her career and save her marriage.Featuring a wealth of unpublished material, including private correspondence, bestselling author Lyndsy Spence reveals the woman behind the legendary image: a woman who remained strong in the face of adversity
Where There's a Will There's a Relative
by Roger KarshnerComedy / 3m, 3f / Interior Sam Price, a wealthy entrepreneur, has just recently passed away and, at his request, has been laid out in his townhouse. With the corpse in the bedroom, his immediate family-sister, brother, nephew and niece-have gathered to discuss their inheritance, a meeting that descends into acrimony over the division of property. Much to their chagrin, they learn that Sam has left his entire estate to the church, a discovery that results in them reluctantly seeking the advice of a person they deem to be of unsavory moral character. His advice seemingly solves their dilemma until they realize that the solution involves compromise. Many reversals drive a story that comically reveals avarice, mistrust and chicanery.
Where the Blood Mixes
by Kevin LoringWhere the Blood Mixes is meant to expose the shadows below the surface of the author's First Nations heritage, and to celebrate its survivors. Though torn down years ago, the memories of their Residential School still live deep inside the hearts of those who spent their childhoods there. For some, like Floyd, the legacy of that trauma has been passed down through families for generations. But what is the greater story, what lies untold beneath Floyd's alcoholism, under the pain and isolation of the play's main character?Loring's title was inspired by the mistranslation of the N'lakap'mux (Thompson) place name Kumsheen. For years, it was believed to mean "the place where the rivers meet"-the confluence of the muddy Fraser and the brilliant blue Thompson Rivers. A more accurate translation is: "the place inside the heart where the blood mixes." But Kumsheen also refers to a story: Coyote was disemboweled there, along a great cliff in an epic battle with a giant shape-shifting being that could transform the world with its powers-to this day his intestines can still be seen strewn along the granite walls. In his rage the transformer tore Coyote apart and scattered his body across the nation, his heart landing in the place where the rivers meet.Floyd is a man who has lost everyone he holds most dear. Now after more than two decades, his daughter Christine returns home to confront her father. Set during the salmon run, Where the Blood Mixes takes us to the bottom of the river, to the heart of a People.In 2009 Where the Blood Mixes won the Jessie Richardson Award for Outstanding Original Script; the Sydney J. Risk Prize for Outstanding Original Script by an Emerging Playwright; and most recently the Governor General's Literary Award for Drama.
While We're Young
by Don HannahA young soldier goes to Afghanistan, another to Passchendaele. A family splits in two when a Protestant falls in love with a Catholic; one hundred and twenty years later, it could happen all over again for a whole new set of reasons. From the University of Alberta's inaugural Lee Playwright-in-Residence.
While the Lights Were Out
by Jack SharkeyFarce / 5m, 9f / A Thunderstorm! The lights go out! An agonized voice! A pistol shot! The lights come up! A blonde in black lace stands over the dead man holding a bloody dagger! The detective examines the body and announces "He's been strangled! This is but the opening of one of the most astounding and hilarious murder mysteries ever staged. Every clue is a lulu and the plot twists furiously. The final solution involves the most bizarre motive ever conceived! The delightful evening of mayhem gallops madly about the stage and will leave your audience breathless with surprise and laughter. The mystery is topnotch, the character marvelous and the comedy explosive!
Whimsy State: or The Principality of Outer Baldonia
by A.J. DemersWith a few drinks and some “Ayes!” three fishermen on a small island off the coast of Nova Scotia declare independence from Canada: henceforth, they shall be known as the Princes of the Principality of Outer Baldonia! It’s 1948 when Russ, Elson, and Ron discover that the Canadian government plans to open their Atlantic commercial fishing rights to the Spanish, posing an overcrowding threat to business and wildlife. Russ, a vacationing American lawyer, has just purchased Outer Bald Tusket Island for $750. With a newly erected stone lodge, plenty of fish, two new friends, and just enough frustration about rules and regulations, Russ can do what he pleases, including requesting official recognition from the United Nations for his fledgling state and declaring war on the USSR. Based on an absolutely true story, this hilarious play about friendship shows that when ordinary people set out to do extraordinary things, the possibilities are endless.
White Bird in a Blizzard: A Novel
by Laura KasischkeI am sixteen when my mother steps out of her skin one frozen January afternoon—pure self, atoms twinkling like microscopic diamond chips around her perhaps the chiming of a clock, or a few bright flute notes in the distance—and disappears. No one sees her leave, but she is gone. Laura Kasischke's first novel. Suspicious River. was hailed by the critics as "extremely powerful" (The Los Angeles Times), "amazing" (The Boston Globe), and "a novel of depth, beauty, and insight" (The Seattle Times). Now Kasischke follows up her auspicious debut with a spellbinding and erotic tale of marriage, secrets, and self-deception. When Katrina Connors' mother walks out on her family one frigid January day, Kat is surprised but not shocked; the whole year she has been "becoming sixteen"—falling in love with the boy next door, shedding her baby fat, discovering sex—her mother has slowly been withdrawing. As Kat and her father pick up the pieces of their daily life, she finds herself curiously unaffected by her mother's absence. But in dreams that become too real to ignore, she's haunted by her mother's cries for help. . . .
White Biting Dog and Other Plays
by Judith ThompsonThis book collects some of Judith Thompson’s earlier, hard-to-find plays, including White Biting Dog, a poetic black comedy about a divorced lawyer who prepares to kill himself by jumping off the Bloor Street Viaduct—until he encounters a small dog who sets him on a different path; I Am Yours, a harrowing story about a group of characters on the brink of despair as each tries to escape what haunts them the most; and Pink, a moving monologue set in 1970s South Africa that centres on a young girl’s surprising reaction after her nanny is murdered during a protest.
White Room of My Remembering
by Jean Lenox ToddieDrama / 2m, 4f / Interior / This poignant play by the author of Tell Me Another Story, Sing Me a Song; A Little Something for the Ducks; A Scent of Honeysuckle and A Bag of Green Apples is the story of two women, Margaret and Jessie, who have come to Jessie's childhood home to put it up for sale. While Margaret goes to find a real estate agent, Jessie has conversations with herself as a girl and with her dead father and her mother.
White Suits in Summer
by Rosary Hartel O'NeillFull Length, ComedyCharacters: 2 male, 2 female. Unit Set. This contemporary Southern romance set in the topsy-turvy world of art. Celebrity artist Susann is determined to reclaim her lost love, Blaise, now married to a sedate New Orleans socialite. Convinced that she cannot live without him, Susann arranges an exhibition of her works to be held in his new house. Susann's readiness to sacrifice her career, his new wife, and her Mama's boy manager leave Blaise both angry and aroused. Theatrical excitement abounds in this comedy of love vs. duty. . Also available in A Louisiana Gentleman and other New Orleans Comedies.
Whiting Up
by Marvin McallisterIn the early 1890s, black performer Bob Cole turned blackface minstrelsy on its head with his nationally recognized whiteface creation, a character he called Willie Wayside. Just over a century later, hiphop star Busta Rhymes performed a whiteface supercop in his hit music video "Dangerous." In this sweeping work, Marvin McAllister explores the enduring tradition of "whiting up," in which African American actors, comics, musicians, and even everyday people have studied and assumed white racial identities. Not to be confused with racial "passing" or derogatory notions of "acting white," whiting up is a deliberate performance strategy designed to challenge America's racial and political hierarchies by transferring supposed markers of whiteness to black bodies--creating unexpected intercultural alliances even as it sharply critiques racial stereotypes. Along with conventional theater, McAllister considers a variety of other live performance modes, including weekly promenading rituals, antebellum cakewalks, solo performance, and standup comedy. For over three centuries, whiting up as allowed African American artists to appropriate white cultural production, fashion new black identities through these "white" forms, and advance our collective ability to locate ourselves in others.
Who Is In the Room?: Queer Strategies for Redefining the Role of the Theater Director (ISSN)
by Brooke O'HarraWith this book, Brooke O’Harra takes up directing as an artistic practice in and of itself. Speaking beyond and against craft, O’Harra drives the art of directing forward.O’Harra investigates a series of important questions: How do we wrest our work from institutional imperatives of public building and culture building? How can an artist-driven discourse lead us toward the urgencies of artists and their publics in this moment? How do we “make” plays? How do we activate the relationships of making, whether between artists in the rehearsal room or between the production and the audience? Brooke addresses all aspects of the directorial process: reckoning with the script through dramaturgy, working within the rehearsal room, collaborating with other artists, as well as staging and production.This exploration will be of great interest to students and scholars in performance studies with a particular interest in directing.
Who Is Lin-Manuel Miranda? (Who Was?)
by Who HQ Elijah Rey-David MatosStep into the spotlight with Lin-Manuel Miranda in this addition to the New York Times #1 Best-Selling series that explains how the Broadway legend got his start before Hamilton and Encanto!Born in New York to Puerto Rican parents, Lin-Manuel Miranda had a passion for the arts and creativity from a young age. He participated in theater as a child and wrote his first Broadway musical, In the Heights, while he was still in college. That show won him his first Tony Award for Best Musical! He went on to create and star in the beloved musical Hamilton about the life of Alexander Hamilton. A nonstop writer, Lin-Manuel contributed music for other major projects such as Moana, Encanto, Star Wars, and The Little Mermaid. He has won a Pulitzer prize, five Grammy awards, three Tony Awards, and two Emmy awards so far in his successful career as a composer, lyricist, actor, and director.
Who Keeps the Score on the London Stages?
by Kalina StefanovaHow does one become a theater critic in London? What do the theater critics think of their profession? How are they judged by those they critique? What do both critics and theatre-makers think of their mutual object of desire - the British Theatre?Who Keeps the Score on the London Stages? sets out to find the answers to these questions and many more in this long overdue publication on Britain's current theatre scene. Included are comprehensive interviews with more than fifty major London theatre critics and theater-makers, including Sir Alan Ayckbourn, Stephen Berkoff, Michael Billington, Martin Coveney, Nicholas de Jongh, Sir Richard Eyre, Sir Peter Hall, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Adrian Noble, Sir Trevor Nunn and Irving Wardle. The author has gathered together a lively discussion about the contrmporary state of the British theatre, drawing a picture of its strengths, weaknesses and the problems it faces today. This volume serves as a long overdue guide to the Theatre critics' profession in Britain.
Who Killed Shakespeare: What's Happened to English Since the Radical Sixties
by Patrick BrantlingerFirst published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Who Killed Spalding Gray?
by Daniel MacIvorSit down, Daniel’s going to tell you a story. On the weekend of January 10, 2004, American monologist Spalding Gray killed himself by jumping off the Staten Island Ferry in New York City. That same weekend, Daniel MacIvor was in California, visiting a psychic surgeon who offered to save his life by removing a spiritual entity that had attached to him. But what if Spalding’s death had something to do with Daniel’s entity? Linking these two true parallel stories is fiction derived from Gray’s obsessions and MacIvor’s inventions about a man named Howard who had forgotten how to live.
Who Walks in the Dark: A Victorian Mystery-horror Play In Two Acts
by Tim KellyThriller / 5m, 6f, 1 optional m or f extra / This thrilling jewel is based on Stoker's classic suspense novel written after Dracula. By breaking into the tomb of an evil sorceress, archaeologist Sir Abel Trelawny has upset The Nameless One's plans for a return to the living. She comes to London's Karnak house (in which the play is set) and creates murderous havoc for Sir Abel, his two daughters and his bewildered staff. Comic relief is supplied by a bumbling sergeant who admires Sherlock Holmes. The occult mystery builds to a rousing climax, complete with dramatic twists that hold the audiences spellbound.
Who Was William Shakespeare
by Dympna CallaghanA new study of Shakespeare's life and times, which illuminates our understanding and appreciation of his works.Combines an accessible fully historicised treatment of both the life and the plays, suited to both undergraduate and popular audiencesLooks at 24 of the most significant plays and the sonnets through the lens of various aspects of Shakespeare's life and historical environmentAddresses four of the most significant issues that shaped Shakespeare's career: education, religion, social status, and theatreExamines theatre as an institution and the literary environment of early modern LondonExplains and dispatches conspiracy theories about authorship
Who Wrote Shakespeare?
by James ShapiroThis ebook is an excerpt from Contested Will by James Shapiro, and originally appeared as the last section titled "Shakespeare." In this chapter, Shapiro succintly and eloquently makes the case for why no one else but Shakespeare could have written Shakespeare's plays.
Who Wrote That?: Authorship Controversies from Moses to Sholokhov
by Donald OstrowskiWho Wrote That? examines nine authorship controversies, providing an introduction to particular disputes and teaching students how to assess historical documents, archival materials, and apocryphal stories, as well as internet sources and news. Donald Ostrowski does not argue in favor of one side over another but focuses on the principles of attribution used to make each case.While furthering the field of authorship studies, Who Wrote That? provides an essential resource for instructors at all levels in various subjects. It is ultimately about historical detective work. Using Moses, Analects, the Secret Gospel of Mark, Abelard and Heloise, the Compendium of Chronicles, Rashid al-Din, Shakespeare, Prince Andrei Kurbskii, James MacPherson, and Mikhail Sholokov, Ostrowski builds concrete examples that instructors can use to help students uncover the legitimacy of authorship and to spark the desire to turn over the hidden layers of history so necessary to the craft.