Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Plays”
I’m enjoying the book, “There Must Be Happy Endings,” by Megan Sandberg-Zakian. It is described as her “personal odyssey through the American theater landscape.” Happy endings are a conundrum because they so often seem to defy real life. For example, “Hairspray” seems to conclude with an upbeat celebration that racism is ended. While there is something to celebrate – a …
One of the things I love about Tennessee Williams is how his plays use metaphor. His play titles are nearly all beautiful, evocative metaphors, and his plays are infused with rich symbols and metaphors. Many people think of metaphors simply as figures of speech. That is one form of a metaphor. Another form is to have one thing represent another. …
The Original Theatre Company and The Anthology Group in association with Peter Stickney and York Theatre Royal have made available two plays through June 2, 2020, online. In THE HABIT OF ART, Benjamin Britten, sailing uncomfortably close to the wind with his new opera, Death in Venice, seeks advice from his former collaborator and friend, W H Auden. During this imagined …
This TedX talk by Meg Sullivan explores playwriting, empathy, and how a playwriting practice can help nurture the creativity of young people. She talks about theatre’s ability to change attitudes when audience members experience an emotional moment with the performer(s). Meg Sullivan, MFA, is the Executive Artistic Director of The Manton Avenue Project, the mission of which is to nurture the unique potential of …
One of the “good” things to come out of the pandemic is that National Theatre is sharing its very well-made filmed productions on YouTube. A new play goes up on Thursday and is available for one week. For the most part, the filming is exceedingly sharp, and yet the productions retain the feel of a play, and the live audience …
Simon Stephens, playwright from Royal Exchange Theatre in London, conducts a playwriting workshop with playwrights interested in submitting for the Bruntwood Prize, 2015. I really enjoyed some of the prompts he uses in this workshop. For example, he suggests one write for five minutes straight, a series of sentences all beginning with “I remember …”
Theatre publishers Nick Hern Books have launched The NHB Playgroup, a new initiative offering one free play each week to read and discuss, plus a Q&A with the writer. I joined right away! Each Wednesday during the virus shutdown, Nick Hern Books will be making one play available for free, and inviting everyone who reads it to send in a …
The New Conservatory Theater Center in San Francisco has announced its 2020/21 Season, and the world premiere of “The Law of Attraction” is a part of it! We are scheduled to open January 15, 2021. Pandemic permitting. The show is sandwiched in between “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and “The Glass Menagerie,” so no pressure, I guess. Here’s the marketing …
It took me till Saturday to realize that the last live show I saw was going to be the last live show I will see for a while (a year, maybe?) Ugh. It wasn’t a very good show. Now, live theatre is its own reward, in some ways (see previous post), and there is nothing like it. With apologies to …
Tabitha Mortiboy is a UK playwright whose works include Beacons (nominated for three Off West Ends Awards including Best New Play and Most Promising Playwright), Billy Through the Window (shortlisted for the Brighton Fringe Excellence Award) and The Amber Trap, which played at Theatre503 in London. Tabitha says, “In many ways, the power of theatre is even more potent in …