Plays
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OSCAR WILDE THE DOVER READER
My familiarity with Oscar Wilde is based primarily on his plays. What college theatre student isn’t familiar with The Importance of Being Earnest which generally leads to reading some of his other works. Only one other play is included in this collection (which, honestly, was a little disappointing), that being An Ideal Husband. For the most part, this Continue reading
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PLAYS FOR THREE – Eric Lane and Nina Shengold, editors
Any good theatre student could tell you that three is an ideal minimum number of actors to have on stage at a time because it offers the best opportunity for stage ‘pictures.’ Three characters also provides more conflict possibilities between characters while keeping the number of actors (often seen in terms of cost – especially Continue reading
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ELIZABETHAN COMEDIES – anthology
Anyone who knows me personally knows I have an interest in theatre. Working in theatre is how I spent the better part of my professional career. And ever since my college days, I’ve loved reading classical theatre (though I would have to say the ancient Roman plays have appealed to me the most). When I Continue reading
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THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT PLAYS 2015-2016 – William W. Demastes, editor
There was a time when I bought every collection of short plays that was published. I love reading plays and I also was directing plays – for theatres and for high schools. When my focus changed and I wasn’t directing much any more, I also backed off from reading play collections. Which is too bad, Continue reading
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LEAR – Harold Bloom
Anyone who’s read much Shakespeare apologia has certainly encountered the works of Harold Bloom. Lear: The Great Image of Authority is the third book in Bloom’s “Shakespeare’s Personalities” series. I had quite enjoyed the second volume on Cleopatra and looked forward to this volume. Unfortunately this one did not work quite so well for me. Continue reading
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WORKSHOPPING A NEW PLAY – George Sapio
George Sapio has written what is probably the best, most definitive book on the how and the why to workshop a new play. While writing may be a solitary exercise, once words are on a page they need to be seen, read, or heard. This is especially true for playwrights who write very specifically for Continue reading
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THEATER OF FEAR AND HORROR – Mel Gordon
THROWBACK THURSDAY: REVIEWING A REISSUE I’ve heard of the Grand Guignol of Paris and that it was horror or even depraved theatre, but I didn’t really know too much about it. It’s not the sort of theatre taught in the local colleges. The sub-title, I think, really gets it right when calling it a “grisly Continue reading
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5-MINUTE PLAYS – Lawrence Harbison, editor
I love reading plays and collections of short plays are right up my alley. Not too long ago I read and reviewed a similar book (5-Minute Plays for Teens) by the same editor. This collection takes on the occasional more mature theme or just features older characters than the previous collection. Oddly enough, however, unlike Continue reading
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A PARTICLE OF DREAD – Sam Shepard
I love to read plays and don’t have as many opportunities to do so since the Fireside Theatre Book Club went out of business (when was that…the 1990’s?). There seems to slowly be a revival of getting plays in print for the general reading audience. It should come as no surprise to anyone who is Continue reading
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5-MINUTE PLAYS FOR TEENS – Lawrence Harbison, editor
There is a special knack to reading plays and unless you are used to it, it can be frustrating. But for those of us who enjoy reading plays, it can be difficult to find reading material that isn’t one of the classics that we’ve all already read a dozen times, or not the latest Pulitzer Continue reading
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WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S STAR WARS – Ian Doescher
Apparently I’m not the only sci-fi geek who also happens to really like (and work professionally in) theatre. Author Ian Doescher must also have similar interests, to have chosen to re-tell the Star Wars (“A New Hope”) story in iambic pentameter ala William Shakespeare. The story, of course, is George Lucas’ story and the dialog Continue reading
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