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The 39 Steps
by John Buchan Patrick BarlowFrom the Movie by Alfred Hitchcock, Licensed by ITV Global Entertainment Limited and an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon Characters: 3m, 1f Comedy WINNER! 2 Tony® and Drama Desk Awards, 2008 WINNER! BEST NEW COMEDY Laurence Olivier Award, 2007 The 39 Steps, is Broadway's longest running comedy, playing its 500th performance on Broadway, May 19th, 2009! Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps, a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre! This 2-time Tony® and Drama Desk Award-winning treat is packed with nonstop laughs, over 150 zany characters (played by a ridiculously talented cast of 4), an on-stage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers and some good old-fashioned romance! In The 39 Steps, a man with a boring life meets a woman with a thick accent who says she's a spy. When he takes her home, she is murdered. Soon, a mysterious organization called "The 39 Steps" is hot on the man's trail in a nationwide manhunt that climaxes in a death-defying finale! A riotous blend of virtuoso performances and wildly inventive stagecraft, The 39 Steps amounts to an unforgettable evening of pure pleasure! "A wonderful triumph of theatre!" -BBC Radio 4 "It's really not so much about a spoof of Hitchcock, which it is, of course; it's really an homage to the theater. Not the contemporary theater, where mermaids traverse the stage on wheels and gargantuan mechanical sets get bigger applause than the actors, but the nostalgic version that survives on greasepaint and hammy actors. It's a valentine to that kind of creativity and imagination, of doing so much with so little..." -The New York Times "THEATER AT ITS FINEST... Absurdly enjoyable! This gleefully theatrical riff on Hitchcock's film is fast and frothy, performed by a cast of four that seems like a cast of thousands." -Ben Brantley, The New York Times "The most entertaining show on Broadway!" -Liz Smith, The New York Post "INGENIOUS! A DIZZY DELIGHT!" -Joe Dziemianowicz, Daily News "RIOTOUS & MARVELOUS!" -Clive Barnes, The New York Post "Whirlwind funny business!" -Michael Sommers, The Star-Ledger "a giddy display of theatrical invention!" -David Rooney, Variety "comedy of the highest order!" -Roma Torre, NY1 "About the cleverest show on Broadway in a long time!" -David Richardson, WOR Radio "Rollicking Fun! Hugely Entertaining!" -Sunday Times "Clever, very funny, imaginative and brilliantly acted!" -The Guardian "Dizzyingly entertaining show!" -Daily Telegraph
39 Microlectures: In Proximity of Performance
by Matthew Goulish'A series of accidents has brought you this book. You may think of it not as a book, but as a library, an elevator, an amateur performance in a nearby theatre. Open it to the table of contents. Turn to the page that sounds the most interesting to you. Read a sentence or two. Repeat the process. Read this book as a creative act, and feel encouraged.' 39 Microlectures: In Proximity of Performance is a collection of miniature stories, parables, musings and thinkpieces on the nature of reading, writing, art, collaboration, performance, life, death, the universe and everything. It is a unique and moving document for our times, full of curiosity and wonder, thoughtfulness and pain. Matthew Goulish, founder member of performance group Goat Island, meditates on these and other diverse themes, proving, along the way, that the boundaries between poetry and criticism, and between creativity and theory, are a lot less fixed than they may seem. The book is revelatory, solemn yet at times hilarious, and genuinely written to inspire - or perhaps provoke - creativity and thought.
365 Days / 365 Plays
by Suzan-Lori Parks"Suzan-Lori Parks is one of the most important dramatists America has produced."-Tony Kushner "The plan was that no matter what I did, how busy I was, what other commitments I had, I would write a play a day, every single day for a year. It would be about being present and being committed to the artistic process every single day, regardless of the 'weather.' It became a daily meditation, a daily prayer celebrating the rich and strange process of a writing life."-Suzan-Lori Parks On November 13, 2002, the incomparable Suzan-Lori Parks got an idea to write a play every day for a year. She began that very day, finishing one year later. The result is an extraordinary testament to artistic commitment. This collection of 365 impeccably crafted pieces, each with its own distinctive characters and dramatic power, is a complete work by an artist responding to her world, each and every day. Parks is one of the American theater's most wily and innovative writers, and her "stark but poetic language and fiercely idiosyncratic images transform her work into something haunting and marvelous" (TIME).
360° Circus: Meaning. Practice. Culture (Routledge Advances in Theatre & Performance Studies)
by Franziska TrappThis collection aims to map a diversity of approaches to the artform by creating a 360° view on the circus. The three sections of the book, Aesthetics, Practice, Culture, approach aesthetic developments, issues of artistic practice, and the circus’ role within society. This book consists of a collection of articles from renowned circus researchers, junior researchers, and artists. It also provides the core statements and discussions of the conference UpSideDown—Circus and Space in a graphic recording format. Hence, it allows a clear entry into the field of circus research and emphasizes the diversity of approaches that are well balanced between theoretical and artistic point of views. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of circus studies, emerging disciples of circus and performance.
30 Modern Scenes
by Roger KarshnerContemporary scenes for man/man, woman/woman, and man/woman pairs are written in a language that lives, making them ideal for workshops, auditions, and special readings.
30 Modern Monologues
by Roger KarshnerSelected speeches for actors and actresses from the author's successful works - comedy, drama, absurdist - provide a gold mine of contemporary material for amateurs and professionals to use in auditions, workshops, and special readings.
The 30-Minute Shakespeare Anthology: 18 Student Scenes with Monologues
by Nick Newlin William ShakespeareDrawing on his eighteen years of experience as a teaching artist for Folger Shakespeare Library, Nick Newlin offers eighteen scenes to get young actors on their feet performing Shakespeare with confidence, understanding, and fun!Each scene averages five minutes in length, containing two to six characters, and features a monologue that young performers can use in performance, audition, or competition. Every scene has been "road tested" by one of Newlin's student groups at the Folger's annual Secondary School Shakespeare Festival, and includes dynamic stage directions and incisive performance notes to help teachers and students bring Shakespeare's plays to life.The 30-Minute Shakespeare Anthology includes one scene and monologue from eighteen of Shakespeare's greatest plays, including Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice, and The Taming of the Shrew.Additionally, the anthology contains a scene and monologue from Henry IV Part I, King Lear, As You Like It, The Comedy of Errors, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Love's Labor's Lost.Also featured is an essay by editor Nick Newlin on how to produce a Shakespeare play with novice actors, and notes about the original production of this abridgment at the Folger Shakespeare Library's annual Student Shakespeare Festival. Each scene and monologue has accompanying notes and performance suggestions.
30 Great Myths about Shakespeare
by Emma Smith Laurie MaguireThink you know Shakespeare? Think again . . . Was a real skull used in the first performance of Hamlet? Were Shakespeare's plays Elizabethan blockbusters? How much do we really know about the playwright's life? And what of his notorious relationship with his wife? Exploring and exploding 30 popular myths about the great playwright, this illuminating new book evaluates all the evidence to show how historical material--or its absence--can be interpreted and misinterpreted, and what this reveals about our own personal investment in the stories we tell.
3 by Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet and Richard III (Dover Thrift Editions Ser.)
by William ShakespeareComedy, tragedy, and history -- this anthology presents a trio of Shakespeare's most frequently studied and performed works. Each represents one of the playwright's primary genres, and together they run the gamut of the Elizabethan theater experience, from lighthearted romance to star-crossed passion to ruthless ambition: A Midsummer Night's Dream, a celebration of the imaginative powers of love, replete with mischievous fairies, mistaken identities, and magical transformationsRomeo and Juliet, a gripping drama in which young love is thwarted by a bitter feud and a tragic twist of fateRichard III, a portrait of a cunning and ambitious villain who seduces, betrays, and murders his way to the throneAll plays are complete and unabridged and feature informative footnotes.
27 Wagons Full of Cotton and Other Plays
by Tennessee WilliamsThe thirteen one-act plays collected in this volume include some of Tennessee Williams's finest and most powerful work. They are full of the perception of life as it is, and the passion for life as it ought to be, which have made The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire classics of the American theater. Only one of these plays (The Purification) is written in verse, but in all of them the approach to character is by way of poetic revelation. Whether Williams is writing of derelict roomers in a New Orleans boarding house (The Lady of Larkspur Lotion) or the memories of a venerable traveling salesman (The Last of My Solid Gold Watches) or of delinquent children (This Property is Condemned), his insight into human nature is that of the poet. He can compress the basic meaning of life--its pathos or its tragedy, its bravery or the quality of its love--into one small scene or a few moments of dialogue. Mr. Williams's views on the role of the little theater in American culture are contained in a stimulating essay, "Something wild...," which serves as an introduction to this collection.
27 Rue de Fleurus (My Life with Gertrude)
by Ted Sod5f / Musical/ Unit Set Unlike most of the stage works about Gertrude and Alice, 27 Rue de Fleurus is told from Alice's point of view. Gertrude grows tired of Alice's lack of panache for telling her perspective of their story and attempts to hijack the play as only the author of such lines as "sugar is not a vegetable" can. But Alice has secrets to share with the audience that silence the famously verbose Gertrude. This celebrated couple confronts each other about love, marriage, jealousy, genius and a few other delicious topics while Pablo Picasso, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mabel Dodge, Sylvia Beach and even Jean Harlow drop by for a visit. "27 Rue de Fleurus gets its sweetness from a genuine love of its subject, the "marriage" of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. The music is well handled by John Bell; and the all-female cast sings excellently." - Village Voice "What we have here is a love story, fraught with jealousy and passion like others, but most of all, it celebrates the incredible bond between two women who decided to share their lives, even during a time when it was relatively unheard of. That alone makes 27 Rue de Fleurus worth an evening of your time." - GO Magazine "Ms. Rosenblat, who, seated, resembles portraits of Stein, plays Gertrude as a commanding bully. And Ms. Stern's Alice is a bright, attractive creature. ("Everyone is entitled to a bit of fantasy," she says.) They're strong, plausible performances." - NY Times "Credit Ted Sod and Lisa Koch, writers of 27 Rue de Fleurus, with the provocative notion of fashioning a revisionist musical from Alice B. Toklas' corrective version of her life with literary giant Gertrude Stein. Name-dropping opening number "Salon (Let's Talk)" sets the smart tone for the musical's mise en scene -- the Parisian apartment at 27 Rue de Fleurus wh
24 Favorite One Act Plays
by Bennett Cerf Van H. CartmellTwo dozen classic dramas by some of the finest and most famous playwrights of the last hundred years--Anton Chekhov, Noel Coward, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Miller, and A.A. Milne.
225 Plays
by The New York Neo-Futurists Joey RizzoloThis book brings together over 200 short (very short) plays from the New York production of the acclaimed cult theater hit "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind.""Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind," created by Greg Allen, debuted in Chicago in December, 1988, and has been playing to sold out houses ever since. The show presents 30 plays in 60 minutes, 50 weeks a year, to a devoted following. The ensemble of writer-performers generates between two and 12 new plays each week, as dictated by a roll of the dice, creating a constantly changing menu of plays. In 2004, a New York ensemble was formed and the show has been running there since, playing to houses of younger, culturally adventurous audiences as well as seasoned theater-goers. The 225 plays in this volume, culled from more than 1,300 the New York company has generated since 2004, reflect the diversity of 35 current and past ensemble members and the multiplicity of viewpoints and voices they bring to the stage. The material runs the gamut of style, tone, and topic: musical, confession, agit-prop, poetic gesture, physical comedy, puppet theater, audience interrogation, folk song, sex joke, and many more.
21 Black Futures: The Anthology
by Obsidian TheatreWhat is the future of Blackness? Obsidian Theatre presents twenty-one versions of it.In 2021, Obsidian Theatre engaged twenty-one writers to create twenty-one new stories about imagined Black futures. Twenty-one to celebrate Obsidian’s twenty-first anniversary in 2021. Each playwright was tasked with scripting a ten-minute monodrama in response to the question “What is the future of Blackness?” To counter the intense early-pandemic isolation and the trauma of witnessing heightened violence toward Black bodies, Obsidian’s goal was to give as many opportunities to as many diverse Black artists as possible and to bring new voices together from both theatre and film. It was a grand experiment to create a rich tapestry of possibilities and to uplift Black artists in the process.A radical offering in unprecedented times, newly appointed Obsidian artistic director Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu’s curatorial aim was joyful, aspirational, and empowering: come together in this moment and create something communal, unapologetically Black, and with the Black gaze at its centre—art as the architecture for creating those futures. Includes plays by Amanda Parris, Cheryl Foggo, Shauntay Grant, Donna-Michelle St. Bernard, Lawrence Hill, Djanet Sears, and many others.
20 Seasons: Broadway Musicals of the 21st Century
by Amy S. Osatinski20 Seasons: Broadway Musicals of the 21st Century catalogues, categorizes, and analyzes the 269 musicals that opened on Broadway from the 2000-2001 season through the 2019-2020 season. This book is the first to comprehensively examine the musicals that premiered on Broadway during this important historical period, which was bookended by the 9/11 terrorist attacks on one end and the Coronavirus pandemic on the other. It begins by exploring the historical context for the first 20 years of the 21st century and how this impacted American culture and theatre. Rather than chronologically, the musicals are then organized into categories based on their source material and whether they were original musicals or revivals, painting a detailed picture of the Broadway musical in first 20 years of the 21st century. Jukebox musicals, screen-to-stage musicals, revivals, and other original musicals are all covered, and each chapter ends with reading guides and discussion prompts. The book not only discusses what was produced, but by whom, uncovering the stark lack of representation for women and artists of color on Broadway musical creative and design teams. Additionally, the last chapter discusses the COVID-19 pandemic, the Broadway shutdown, and what happened to the Broadway musical during the shutdown, including the response to the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer of 2020. 20 Seasons: Broadway Musicals of the 21st Century will appeal to fans and scholars of musical theatre, as well as students of Musical Theatre, Musical Theatre History, American Studies, and Pop Culture Studies.
20@OMI
by Ross Willows Leslie Alan Horvitz Joan KaghanA celebration in words and pictures, 20@OMI offers a vivid portrait of a renowned international, nonprofit arts center in upstate New York. This handsome, lavishly illustrated volume recounts how Art Omi grew from its modest beginnings as an artists' residency program in a converted barn into a thriving arts center boasting four artists residency programs, a sculpture park, a spectacular new visitors' center and year round arts education for local children all located on a beautiful 120-acre campus dedicated to contemporary art and architecture. This is a story which could only be told in the words of the artists, sculptors, writers, musicians, dancers and architects who have participated in Omi's various programs over its first twenty years. The book also features revealing accounts from administrators, program directors, curators, critics and mentors who have worked tirelessly to develop Omi into the vibrant community that it is today. 20@OMI also provides readers with an understanding of the alchemy that happens at Omi. How did Omi become such a crucible of creativity? How has Omi made it possible for artists from all over the world, working in every conceivable medium, to come together in a spirit of collaboration? What happens to artists at Omi that can transform their lives and work so profoundly in just a matter of weeks? For all of the thousands of Omi alumni, 20@OMI is essential reading - the next best thing to actually being there. For those who have yet to experience Art Omi, 20@OMI will serve both as an introduction and as an invitation to come visit.
20 Ground-Breaking Directors of Eastern Europe: 30 Years After the Fall of the Iron Curtain
by Kalina Stefanova Marvin CarlsonDirectors have long been the main figures on Eastern European stages. During the last three decades some of the most outstanding among them have risen to international stardom thanks to their ground-breaking productions that speak to audiences far beyond local borders. Not by chance, a considerable number of these directors have won the second-biggest theatre award on the continent – the European Prize for (New) Theatrical Realities. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the top directors of the region have been pushing contemporary theatre as a whole ahead into new territories. This book offers informative and in-depth portraits of twenty of these directors, written by leading critics, scholars, and researchers, who shed light on the directors’ signature styles with examples of their emblematic productions and outline the reasons for their impact. In addition, in two chapters the selected directors themselves discuss their artistic family trees as well as the main stakes theatre faces today. The book will be of interest to theatre scholars, students, and anybody engaged with theatre on a global scale.
2 Pianos 4 Hands
by Ted Dykstra Richard GreenblattAmidst pushy parents, eccentric teachers, hours of repetitive practice, stage fright, the agony of competitions and exams, and the dream of greatness, Ted and Richard grow up as "piano nerds." As they mature, they become more aware of the gap between the merely very good and the great, and come to the humbling realization that concert stardom may be out of reach, but they just might be two of the best piano players in the neighbourhood, and that in itself is worth celebrating.
2 Across
by Jerry MayerComedy / 1m, 1f / Interior Two strangers, a man and a woman (late 40's to middle 50's) board a San Francisco BART train at 4:30 AM. They're alone in the car, each is married, both are doing the New York Times crossword. She's an organized, sensible, psychologist. He's a free spirited, unemployed ad exec. She is a crossword pro, he always quits. When he tosses his puzzle away, she snaps, "Crosswords are a metaphor for life, those who finish, succeed, those who don't, fail." Now he vows to finish. Why? He's a competitor and she happens to be lovely. This starts an 80 minute ride described by critics as "Hilarious," "Witty," "Romantic," "Poignant," "Wonderfully entertaining." Two opposites in an enclosed space, attacking each other's values but also being swayed and intrigued by them. They each have serious life problems that the other helps them solve. Their trip is filled with unpredictable but believable surprises, even a passionate embrace or two. As the train ride ends it's obvious each of them has been changed for the better. And we're dying to know, will these two meet again?
2.5 Minute Ride and 101 Most Humiliating Stories
by Lisa KronThis book collects Lisa Kron's two extraordinary solo performance works. Best known for her ongoing work as a member of The Five Lesbian Brothers, Kron's solo pieces are very personal examinations of both herself and her family history. This is singularly clear in 2.5 Minute Ride, where her writing deftly maneuvers between the tragic drama of the Holocaust and the wry comedy of her family's attempts to pursue pleasure at the local amusement park. This critically acclaimed work played to sold out audience for over six months at New York's Public Theatre. Also included is the riotous 101 Most Humiliating Stories, which first premiered in 1993, and in fact only consists of seventeen tales but each, as the author observes, has several humiliations. It recounts the adventures and misadventures of a self-described Big Lesbian as she tests the boundaries of decorum in social and professional situations.
1979
by Michael HealeyIt’s December 1979 and Clark’s minority Progressive Conservative government is under threat of dissolution before it has a chance to accomplish anything — even pass a budget. But Clark is young and idealistic, resolute on making his mark in office. When he steals a moment at his desk to make a crucial decision, his colleagues, including Brian Mulroney and Pierre Trudeau, take the opportunity to steer him in different directions.
1956 and All That: The Making of Modern British Drama
by Dan RebellatoIt is said that British Drama was shockingly lifted out of the doldrums by the 'revolutionary' appearance of John Osborne's Look Back in Anger at the Royal Court in May 1956. But had the theatre been as ephemeral and effeminate as the Angry Young Men claimed? Was the era of Terence Rattigan and 'Binkie' Beaumont as repressed and closeted as it seems? In this bold and fascinating challenge to the received wisdom of the last forty years of theatrical history, Dan Rebellato uncovers a different story altogether. It is one where Britain's declining Empire and increasing panic over the 'problem' of homosexuality played a crucial role in the construction of an enduring myth of the theatre. By going back to primary sources and rigorously questioning all assumptions, Rebellato has rewritten the history of the Making of Modern British Drama.
18th Century Male Tailoring: Theatrical and Historical Tailoring c1680 – 1790
by Graham Cottenden18th Century Male Tailoring: Theatrical and Historical Tailoring c1680 – 1790 introduces the reader to English eighteenth-century tailoring and covers the drafting of patterns, cutting out in cloth and construction techniques in sequence for the tailoring of waistcoats, breeches and coats. From choosing the right cloth to preparing for the fitting process, this how-to guide will help readers create beautiful, historically accurate eighteenth-century male garments for events and performances. The book contains the following: step-by-step instructions complete with illustrations for students and costumiers who are new to the making of male tailored garments from the eighteenth century; drafting blocks and construction techniques for the different styles through the eighteenth century and patterns, photographs, detailed measurements and articles taken from a variety of male coats, waistcoats and trousers from c1680 – c1790 from museums and collections. 18th Century Male Tailoring is written for costume design and construction students, fashion students and practitioners who have a reasonable working knowledge of sewing and general costume making, but not necessarily of tailoring, drafting patterns, cutting skills and the making of male garments.
1864 ... Fear About Capital: A series of murders always carries with it a series of investigations ...
by Anna Maria Stratta and Franca Bosco1864 ... Fear About Capital by Anna Maria Stratta and Franca Bosco A series of murders always carries with it a series of investigations ... 1864 ... fear of the capital In an apartment in Piazza Vittorio, a young aristocrat had just taken the life of his mistress. As the nobleman walked away, conflicting emotions within him tormented him but at the same time exalted him. How nice to be masters of the life of another human being. Deciding to end the existence of another person made him feel almost omnipotent. These were the thoughts that crowded his head as an evil grin pursed his lips.
1864 ... Angst vor dem Kapital: Eine Mordserie bringt immer eine Reihe von Ermittlungen mit sich ...
by Anna Maria Stratta und Franca Bosco1864 ... Angst vor dem Kapital von Anna Maria Stratta und Franca Bosco Eine Mordserie bringt immer eine Reihe von Ermittlungen mit sich ... 1864 ... Angst vor dem Kapital In einer Wohnung auf der Piazza Vittorio hatte ein junger Aristokrat gerade seiner Geliebten das Leben genommen. Als der Adlige wegging, quälten ihn widersprüchliche Gefühle in ihm, erhoben ihn aber gleichzeitig. Wie schön, Herr über das Leben eines anderen Menschen zu sein. Die Entscheidung, die Existenz einer anderen Person zu beenden, ließ ihn sich fast allmächtig fühlen. Das waren die Gedanken, die ihm durch den Kopf gingen, als ein böses Grinsen seine Lippen spitzte.