For Actors Books

Arms and the Man

(2008)

An extremely humorous play written by one of Ireland's most famous playwrites. George Bernard was born in Dublin in 1856. Before becoming a playwright he wrote music and literary criticism. Shaw used his writing to attack social problems such as education, marriage, religion, government, health care, and class privilege. Shaw was particularly conscious of the exploitation of the working class. Arms and the Man tells the story of an overmedicated pompous Judge named Fred Willard. This kangaroo co...

The Admirable Bashville

(2011)

The Admirable Bashville (1901), a short play based loosely on this novel, was written to protect American copyrights after the novel became unexpectedly successful in the United States.

The Devil's Disciple

(2006)

The Devil's Disciple A Melodrama in Three Acts; Like several of Shaw's early plays, The Devil's Disciple first produced in 1897 and published in his collection Three Plays for Puritans in 1901 takes an existing popular theatrical form, in this case melodrama, and adapts it to serve Shaw's dramatic purposes. In the preface to Three Plays for Puritans he writes: It does not contain a single even passably novel incident. Every old patron of the Adelphi [a theatre which specialized in melodrama] pit...

You Never Can Tell

(1981)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ACT III The Clandons' sitting room in the hotel. An expensive apartment on the ground floor, with a French window leading to the gardens. In the centre of the room is a substantial table, surrounded by chairs, and draped with a maroon cloth on which opulently bound hotel and railway guides are displayed. A visitor e...

Back to Methuselah: A Metabiological Pentateuch

(1988)

"Back to Methuselah" (A Metabiological Pentateuch) is a 1921 series of five plays and a preface by George Bernard Shaw. The five plays are: "In the Beginning: B.C. 4004" (In the Garden of Eden); "The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabas: Present Day"; "The Thing Happens: A.D. 2170"; "Tragedy of an Elderly Gentleman: A.D. 3000"; and, "As Far as Thought Can Reach: A.D. 31,920". The plays were published with a preface titled The Infidel Half Century, and first performed in 1922 by the New York Theatre ...

The Doctor's Dilemma

(2003)

This is Shaw's humorous satire of the medical profession.

Shaw on Shakespeare

(2002)

"With the single exception of Homer, there is no eminent writer, not even Sir Walter Scott, whom I can despise so entirely as I despise Shakespeare when I measure my mind against his." - From SHAW ON SHAKESPEARE Celebrated playwright, critic and essayist George Bernard Shaw was more like the Elizabethan master that he would ever admit. Both men were intristic dramatists who shared a rich and abiding respect for the stage. Shakespeare was the produce of a tempestuous and enlightening era under t...

Misalliance

(2009)

George Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin in 1856. Before becoming a playwright he wrote music and literary criticism. Shaw used his writing to attack social problems such as education, marriage, religion, government, health care, and class privilege. Shaw was particularly conscious of the exploitation of the working class Misalliance is a 1909 house-comedy. There is a clash between social classes when an Edwardian aristocrat wants to marry the daughter of an underwear tycoon. The entire play takes...

Plays Unpleasant

(2001)

With the plays in this 1898 collection-Widower's Houses, The Philanderer, and Mrs. Warren's Profession-Shaw challenges his audiences' moral complacency in the face of serious social problems and inequities.

Don Juan in Hell: From Man and Superman

(2006)

A dream sequence from the 3rd act of Man and Superman, "Don Juan in Hell" forms a play within the play, consisting of a dramatic reading by 3 characters from the main play in archetypal guises. The Devil himself joins their spirited debate regarding heaven and hell, of good and evil, and of human purpose.

Major Barbara

(2002)

Starred Review. The classic Shaw play is interpreted by this extremely talented cast of 12 performers, which mounts a rousing, unforgettable show complete with incredibly well-produced and realistic sound effects that capture everything from doors creaking open, bustling crowds on city streets and impatient horses ready to trot. Roger Rees as the elder Undershaft and Kirsten Potter as his daughter Barbara are standouts. The two play off each another very well and offer some truly memorable argum...

Dancing in Poppies

(2002)

This play is the story of George and Roger, two young Saskatchewan veterans of the First World War, and the Ontario woman, Adelaide, who nursed them during their convalescence. Adelaide's journey can be read as a coming-of-age story, a coming-of-age not just for one young woman, but also for a generation of young people and for a nation. It is a story about "young people and a young country; about love and friendship; about asking questions and seeking answers, and about celebrating in the mids...

Selected Plays

(1978)

Francis Russell O'Hara (March 27, 1926 – July 25, 1966) was an American writer, poet and art critic. He was a member of the New York School of poetry.

African Theatre: Southern Africa

(2004)

This volume in the African Theatre series includes the familiar territory of South Africa and Zimbabwe but also countries which have received little previous attention, such as Angola and Namibia. The articles range from evaluations of single plays to accounts of play-making processes, theatre for development and the relationship between modern drama and indigenous performance. Guest edited by David Kerr North America: Africa World Press

The Nostalgic Drum: Essays on Literature, Drama and Culture

(2001)

This is the first collection of the essays of Femi Osofisan, the internationally recognized Nigerian dramatist, poet, and scholar, who is widely hailed as the leading writer in Africa. He belongs to the generation following that of Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe. His essays have appeared over the years in journals and magazines, some of which have unfortunately ceased to be published. It is a great boon to scholars of African literature to have these essays under a single cover now. Often with...

The Nostalgic Drum: Essays on Literature, Drama and Culture

African Theatre: Youth

(2006)

This volume brings together a number of studies of theatre made and performed by young Africans to audiences across the continent. It shows a wide range of work, much of which depicts the crises that young people in Africa face as they enter the world ofadult relationships and compromises. The contributions, by adults who are deeply involved with this theatre, recount the inspiration and enthusiasm that has led to the artistic achievement and powerful creativity of the work. Michael Etherton's ...

African Theatre: Soyinka: Blackout, Blowout and Beyond

(2005)

This special issue, guest edited by Judith Greenwood and Chuck Mike, is devoted to early revue sketches by Wole Soyinka that had never been published outside Nigeria before. Soyinka's most recent plays - The Beatification of Area Boy and King Baabu, draw strongly on characters and incidents first created in Soyinka's revues and satirical songs, such as Before the Blackout and Unlimited Liability Company. Before the Blackout staged in the late 1960s, was published in Nigeria by Orisun Acting Edit...

African Theatre: Soyinka: Blackout, Blowout and Beyond

African Theatre: Playwrights and Politics

(2001)

This second volume in the annual African Theatre series focuses on the intersection of politics and theatre in Africa today. Topics include a puppet theatre company that was inspired by the infamous execution of Nigerian playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa and the plays of Femi Osofisan, Joe de Graft, and Mohammed Ben-Abdallah.

African Theatre: Playwrights and Politics

African Theatre 8: Diasporas

(2009)

'Diasporas', as used in the title of this volume, refers to a multitude of groups and communities with widely differing histories, identities and current locations. This book brings together essays on theatre by people of African descent in North America, Cuba, Italy, the UK, Israel and Tasmania. Several chapters present overviews of particular national contexts, others offer insights into play texts or specific performances. Offering a mix of academic and practitioner's points of views, Volume...

African Theatre in Development

(1999)

Scholars and playwrights discuss theatre in Africa from propaganda and mass education to practice and policy in theatre and development.

African Theatre: Women

(2002)

This third volume in the annual African Theatre series focuses on women in theatre and performance in Africa. Topics include the role of female goddesses in Egyptian theatre, early urban women performers in Asmara, Eritrea, an interview with Ghanaian concert party actress Adeline Ama Buabeng, and women's theatre and performance in Algeria, Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria.

Llanto por Ignacio Sanchez Mejias

(2010)

Federico García Lorca (Fuente Vaqueros, provincia de Granada, 5 de junio de 1898 – entre Víznar y Alfacar, ibídem, 19 de agosto de 1936) fue un poeta, dramaturgo y prosista español, también conocido por su destreza en muchas otras artes. Adscrito a la llamada Generación del 27, es el poeta de mayor influencia y popularidad de la literatura española del siglo XX. Como dramaturgo, se le considera una de las cimas del teatro español del siglo XX, junto con Valle-Inclán y Buero Vallejo. M...

La zapatera prodigiosa Farsa violenta en dos actos

(2010)

Federico García Lorca (Fuente Vaqueros, provincia de Granada, 5 de junio de 1898 – entre Víznar y Alfacar, ibídem, 19 de agosto de 1936) fue un poeta, dramaturgo y prosista español, también conocido por su destreza en muchas otras artes. Adscrito a la llamada Generación del 27, es el poeta de mayor influencia y popularidad de la literatura española del siglo XX. Como dramaturgo, se le considera una de las cimas del teatro español del siglo XX, junto con Valle-Inclán y Buero Vallejo. M...

La zapatera prodigiosa Farsa violenta en dos actos

El público Drama en cinco cuadros

(2010)

Federico García Lorca (Fuente Vaqueros, provincia de Granada, 5 de junio de 1898 – entre Víznar y Alfacar, ibídem, 19 de agosto de 1936) fue un poeta, dramaturgo y prosista español, también conocido por su destreza en muchas otras artes. Adscrito a la llamada Generación del 27, es el poeta de mayor influencia y popularidad de la literatura española del siglo XX. Como dramaturgo, se le considera una de las cimas del teatro español del siglo XX, junto con Valle-Inclán y Buero Vallejo. M...

Frederico Garcia Lorca: Impossible Theatre, Short Plays

(2000)

This collection brings together new original English-language translations of frederico Garcia Lorca's so-called "impossible" plays, as well as new translations of thirteen of his most recognized poems from his Poet in new York cycle. Along with translations are essays on Lorca's work by some of his most prominent Lorca scholars currently working today, and cover art and dramaturgical notes by esteemed Catalan painter, scenic designer, and filmmaker Frederic Amat. This volume seeks to recontext...

Frederico Garcia Lorca: Impossible Theatre, Short Plays

Four Puppet Plays: Play without a Title, The Divan Poems and Other Poems, Prose Poems, and Dramatic Pieces

(1990)

From Lorca's prologue to a puppet play: 'This is not the first time that I, the drunken puppet who marries Dona Rosita, leaves the hand of Federico Garcia Lorca on the stage, where I live and never die. The first time was in the house of this poet- remember that, Federico? It was spring in Granada, and the drawing rooom of your house was full of children who were saying: ' the puppets are flesh and bone, so how come they remain children and never grow up?' The famous Manuel de Falla was at the ...

Four Puppet Plays: Play without a Title, The Divan Poems and Other Poems, Prose Poems

Amor de don Perlimplín con Belisa en su jardín

(2010)

Federico García Lorca (Fuente Vaqueros, provincia de Granada, 5 de junio de 1898 – entre Víznar y Alfacar, ibídem, 19 de agosto de 1936) fue un poeta, dramaturgo y prosista español, también conocido por su destreza en muchas otras artes. Adscrito a la llamada Generación del 27, es el poeta de mayor influencia y popularidad de la literatura española del siglo XX. Como dramaturgo, se le considera una de las cimas del teatro español del siglo XX, junto con Valle-Inclán y Buero Vallejo. ...

Amor de don Perlimplín con Belisa en su jardín

Doña Rosita la soltera, o el lenguaje de las flores

(2010)

Federico García Lorca (Fuente Vaqueros, provincia de Granada, 5 de junio de 1898 – entre Víznar y Alfacar, ibídem, 19 de agosto de 1936) fue un poeta, dramaturgo y prosista español, también conocido por su destreza en muchas otras artes. Adscrito a la llamada Generación del 27, es el poeta de mayor influencia y popularidad de la literatura española del siglo XX. Como dramaturgo, se le considera una de las cimas del teatro español del siglo XX, junto con Valle-Inclán y Buero Vallejo. ...

Doña Rosita la soltera, o el lenguaje de las flores

Mariana Pineda

(1984)

Una joven granadina es encarcelada en 1831 por haber mandado bordar la bandera que servira de insignia a una insurreccion liberal. Le prometen la libertad si delata a los jefes de esta, pero, al negarse, es condenada a muerte y ejecutada.

La casa de Bernarda Alba

(2006)

La Casa de Bernarda Alba fue la ultima obra de teatro que Lorca dejo terminada, pero no llegaria a verla representada. El poeta, ademas, nunca comento nada sobre ella, por lo que se presenta como una de sus piezas mas enigmaticas. Su lectura ha estado sesgada por interpretaciones de corte politico que diluyen lo que en Lorca no es mas que un mero marco y postergan el problema de la condicion humana, esencial en el poeta. Joaquin Forradellas analiza en nuestra edicion los fundamentos de dichas i...

The Complete Plays of Frances Burney, 2 Volumes

(1995)

In the plays, as in her novels, Burney satirizes the social conventions and pretensions of her day. The Witlings (1779), her first play, is a biting satire on the Bluestockings; it was never performed, however, for fear of a possible scandal. The violent, the grotesque, and the macabre also figure strongly in her writings. Contents Volume 1: The Comedies Introduction Chronology The Witlings (1778-80) Love and Fashion (1798-99) A Busy Day (1800-02) The Woman-Hater (1800-02) Volume 2: The Tragedie...

The Complete Plays of Frances Burney, 2 Volumes

The Noh Theatre of Japan: With Complete Texts of 15 Classic Plays

(2004)

This outstanding work by an American-born authority on Chinese and Japanese art and literature, edited and translated by one of the most innovative poets of the first half of the 20th century, provides Western readers with complete translations of 15 plays, plus the historical background and development of the Noh theater.

The Noh Theatre of Japan: With Complete Texts of 15 Classic Plays

Andromache

(2001)

Based on the conviction that only translators who write poetry themselves can properly re-create the celebrated and timeless tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, the Greek Tragedy in New Translations series offers new translations that go beyond the literal meaning of the Greek in order to evoke the poetry of the originals. Under the general editorship of Peter Burian and Alan Shapiro, each volume includes a critical introduction, commentary on the text, full stage directions, and ...

The Phoenissae

(2004)

ANTIGONE I see him, yes! but not distinctly; 'tis but the outline of his form the semblance of his stalwart limbs I see. Would I could speed through the sky, swift as a cloud before the wind, towards my own dear brother, and throw my arms about my darling's neck, so long, poor boy! an exile. How bright his golden weapons flash like the sun-god's morning rays!

Iphigenia in Tauris

(1997)

The story of Iphigenia, as told in the two plays of Euripides which bear her name, is so well known that it is hard to believe that it is in fact a piece of mythological syncretism which, in all probability, only received its final form at the hands of Euripides himself. This edition, originally published in 1938 by OUP, was the pioneer in the series of Oxford commentaries on the plays of Euripides. As well as commentary, the book includes an invaluable introduction, the full Greek text and n...

Cyclops

(1999)

Based on the conviction that only translators who write poetry themselves can properly re-create the celebrated and timeless tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, the Greek Tragedy in New Translations series offers new translations that go beyond the literal meaning of the Greek in order to evoke the poetry of the originals. Under the general editorship of Peter Burian and Alan Shapiro, each volume includes a critical introduction, commentary on the text, full stage directions, and a...

Euripides Alcestis, Medea, Hippolytus

(2007)

This new volume of three of Euripides' most celebrated plays offers graceful, economical, metrical translations that convey the wide range of effects of the playwright's verse, from the idiomatic speech of its dialogue to the high formality of its choral odes.

Electra

(2006)

"The Electra of Euripides has the distinction of being, perhaps, the best abused, and, one might add, not the best understood, of ancient tragedies. "A singular monument of poetical, or rather unpoetical perversity;" "the very worst of all his pieces;" are, for instance, the phrases applied to it by Schlegel. Considering that he judged it by the standards of conventional classicism, he could scarcely have arrived at any different conclusion. For it is essentially, and perhaps consciously, a pro...

Ile

(2006)

Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright, and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish playwright August Strindberg. His plays were among the first to include speeches in American vernacular and involve characters on the fringes of society, where they struggle to maintain their hopes and a...

The Iceman Cometh

(1999)

Eugene O'Neill mined the tragedies of his own life for this depiction of a seedy, skid row saloon in 1912, peopled by society's failures: worn-out anarchists, failed con artists, drifters, whores, pimps, and informers. The pipe-dreaming drunks of Harry Hope's bar numb themselves with rotgut gin and make grandiose plans, while waiting for the annual appearance of the big-spending, fast-talking salesman, Hickey. But this year's visit fails to bring the expected good times, as a changed Hickey tri...

The Early Plays of Eugene O'Neill

(2010)

Six classic plays by Eugene O'Neill with an active table of contents. Works include: Abortion Anna Christie The Emperor Jones The First Man The Hairy Ape The Straw

Thirst; And Other One Act Plays

(2010)

THIRST, which contains five of O'Neill's early one-act plays, was published by Richard G. Badger as a part of his American Dramatists Series. O'Neill had offered the manuscript elsewhere, but could convince no one to risk publishing it. Badger offered to do so on the condition that the author defray all expenses. The printing cost of $450 was financed by O'Neill's father who, though he did not appreciate his son's writing, was relieved to see O'Neill trying to make something of himself. One tho...

Rhinoceros, And Other Plays

(1994)

Presents three dramatic works by the contemporary French experimental playwright: The Leader, The Future Is in Eggs or It Takes all Sorts to Make a World, and Rhinoceros

Red Angel

(2005)

In RED ANGEL a celebrated novelist is guest lecturer at a small elite college. He becomes sexually involved with a student, who also happens to be his biggest fan, only to find that there s more to this young woman than meets the eye. Bogosian riff on Von Sternberg.

Wake Up And Smell the Coffee

(2005)

Bogosian's newest solo show, his first since 1993, was a sold out hit in its recent New York City run. Wake Up is Bogosian's meditation on making it to the top of the ladder, on falling off the ladder and on the exhilarating thrill of the ultimate crash and burn. "Bogosian hasn't simply crossed the line of good taste, he has snorted it."-The Daily Texan --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Humpty Dumpty and Other Plays

(2005)

Eric Bogosian is one of our most singular and exhilarating commentators on American life. His award-winning solo performance works have been performed with acclaim all over the world. As the New York Times has pointed out, “Bogosian is a born storyteller with perfect pitch.” That is never more evident than in his newest book, which collects his three most recent plays. In Humpty Dumpty, five friends gather for a holiday at a mountain getaway where unforeseen events bring them to the brink of...

Theatre History Studies 2009: Volume 29

(2009)

Theatre History Studies is a peer-reviewed journal of theatre history and scholarship published annually since 1981 by the Mid-American Theatre Conference (MATC), a regional body devoted to theatre scholarship and practice. The purpose of MATC is to unite people and organizations in their region with an interest in theatre and to promote the growth and development of all forms of theatre.

Grenadine

(2009)

Neil Wechsler’s Grenadine has been chosen as the second winner of the Yale Drama Series. The play was selected by Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright and contest judge Edward Albee. Grenadine is the fantastical story of a man’s quest for love in the company of three devoted friends. Albee writes, “I found it highly original. . . . The questions the play asks and the answers it proposes are provocative; the play stretched my mind.”

The Zoo Story and the Sandbox

(1959)

The Zoo Story is American playwright Edward Albee's first play; written in 1958 and completed in just three weeks. It was originally titled Peter and Jerry. The play explores themes of isolation, loneliness, miscommunication as anathematization, social disparity and dehumanization in a commercial world. Initially the play was rejected by New York producers. Albee first had it staged in Europe, premiering in West Berlin at the Schiller Theater Werkstatt on September 28, 1959. In its first Ameri...

Triptych

(2005)

Edna O'Brien's Triptych is a provocative play about love and obsession. This taut 85 minute play strips back the deepest layers of three women who are simply called Mistress, Wife and Daughter. They all reveal their shared passion for one absent man.

Broadway Bookshelf — For Actors — Page 12

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