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(2008) 32nd HUMANA FESTIVAL
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(2007) 31ST HUMANA FESTIVAL
THE UNSEEN by Craig Wright: Full length, 1 act. Imprisoned by a totalitarian regime and mercilessly tortured for unknown crimes, Wallace and Valdez live without hope of escape or release. When an enigmatic new prisoner arrives and begins communicating in code, both men develop new relationships to each other, their captors, and themselves. A darkly humorous examination of faith in an uncertain world.
3M.
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dark play or stories for boys by Carlos Murillo: Full length, 1 act. A teenage boy’s fictional Internet identity begins as a harmless game. But the game takes on a frightening reality when real emotion overtakes his online relationship. When Nick’s virtual world online collides with the real one, his fantasies of love, intimacy, obsession and betrayal spiral into consequences that lead him to the brink of death. 3M, 2W.
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STRIKE-SLIP
by Naomi Iizuka: Full length, 2 acts. In the urban sprawl of Los Angeles, three diverse families each carry a dream, but a recent shooting creates an unexpected seismic shift that rocks each family's foundation. Faults that were once inactive or dormant suddenly appear and abruptly change the way they think about themselves, their community and their dream. 5M, 3 W.
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WHEN SOMETHING WONDERFUL ENDS by Sherry Kramer: Full length, 1 act. After the death of her mother, Sherry's family home goes up for
sale. Sifting through memories of a seemingly simpler time as
she packs up her baby-boom childhood, Sherry begins to connect
the dots between her Barbie collection and America’s place in
the rest of the world. A touching, funny, deeply personal and
daringly global one-woman, one-Barbie play. 1W.
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THE AS IF BODY LOOP by Ken Weitzman: Full length, 2 acts. Aaron’s sister Sarah is succumbing to a mysteriously icy illness and to save her, his family must save…well….all humankind, starting with one guy. With great humor, tremendous compassion, and a good dose of mysticism, maybe the apocalypse can be kept at bay by a group of eccentrically dysfunctional, but loving, people. 3M, 2W.
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BATCH: AN AMERICAN BACHELOR/ETTE PARTY SPECTACLE conceived by Whit MacLaughlin and Alice Tuan, with Text by Alice Tuan, created by New Paradise Laboratories:
Full length play in 6 rounds. Your friend is getting married. Wants to say goodbye to single
life forever. You throw a party. A real bash. Does the sky break
open? Do you summon the divine? Change? Or just get drunk? Speak
now, friends, or forever hold your peace. This collaboration between
New Paradise Laboratories and playwright Alice Tuan is the second
in NPL's series examining rites of passage. 3 M, 3 W.
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I am not Batman. by Marco Ramirez: Ten-minute play. A streetwise kid with a stomach full of grocery store brand mac-and-cheese lives out his
Batman fantasy. Accompanied by live drums, crashes, bangs, and justice. 1 M, 1 drummer.
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MR. AND MRS. by Julie Marie Myatt: Ten-minute play. Once newlyweds learn who they are, are they sure that they "do?". 1 M, 1 W.
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CLARISSE & LARMON
by Deb Margolin: Ten-minute play. A middle-aged couple receives a visit from an anonymous soldier bearing the news of their son’s death and a photograph of his leg. A searing look at the nature of language and truth, and what happens to the value of bodies in the face of war. 2 M, 1 W.
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THE OPEN ROAD ANTHOLOGY by Constance Congdon, Kia Corthron, Michael
John Garcés, Rolin Jones, A. Rey Pamatmat and Kathryn Walat, with music by GrooveLily: Full length, 1 act.
The call of the open road has reverberated since the founding
of our nation: the wind in our hair and promise of a new life
around the corner; or in the legacy of land taken, communities
divided and the increasingly guarded borders behind which Americans
drive. Comic and thought-provoking, these writers examine how
America's yearning for unfettered freedom resonates today and
where it rings hollow. 11 M, 11 W, can be doubled to smaller cast.
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365 DAYS/365 PLAYS by Suzan-Lori Parks: Short plays.
On November 13, 2002, Pulitzer-prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks got
an idea to write a play a day for a year. She began that very
day, finishing one year later. The resulting play cycle, called
365 Days/365Plays, is a daily meditation on an artistic
life. Some plays are very short, less than a page. Others last
forever. Actors Theatre is pleased to participate in the rolling
premiere of this work by presenting eight plays from the first
half of the cycle.
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365 Days/365 Plays project
November 14,
Father Comes Home from the Wars (Part 1), 1 M, 1 W December 18,
The Great Army in Disgrace, 2 M, 5 either gender January 3,
2 Marys, 2 W December 18,
The Birth of Tragedy, 3 M, 2 W, extras January 31,
If I Had to Murder Me Somebody, 1 actor Feburary 13,
(Again), The Butchers Daughter (For Bonnie), 1 M, 1 W March 21,
A Play for the First Day of Spring Entitled "How Do You Like the War?", Flexible, at least 3
April 1,
George Bush Visits The Cheese & Olive, 1 M, 2 W, Chorus (2006) 30TH HUMANA FESTIVAL
ACT
A LADY by Jordan Harrison: Full length, 2 acts. When
the men of a small Prohibition-era town decide to put on a play
dressed in fancy-type, women-type clothes, the whole
community is affected: gender lines blur, eyebrows raise, identities
explode, and life and art are forever entangled. A thoughtful, exuberant
Midwestern fable about the woman in every man, the man in every
woman and the power of theatre to uncover both. Accompanied by accordion.
3M, 3W.
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HOTEL
CASSIOPEIA by Charles L. Mee, Produced in association
with the SITI Company: Full length, 1 act. The American collage
artist Joseph Cornell made wooden boxes filled with pocket watches,
coiled springs, maps of the stars, a forest of thimbles, parrots,
seashells, broken glass, childrens alphabet blocks, brightly
colored balls, soap bubbles, whales teeth, a colored lithograph
of the moon in the night sky, star fish. How would it be if those
boxes could speak? About art, about America, about compassion and
longing and loneliness and heartbreak. 4M, 3W.
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LISTENERS
by Jane Martin: Ten-minute play. Say what you will, you're not alone.
A woman's assigned "Listeners" let her speak directly
to the "big guy".
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LOW by Rha Goddess, A co-production
of Divine Dime, Ltd. and Made in da Shade: Full length, 1 act. Acclaimed
artist and social activist, Rha Goddess poses the question: What
is Insanity? This one-woman, multidisciplinary theatre piece explores
the mythology, stigma, fear and confusion surrounding mental illness
and asserts that reaching a real state of well being
is a revolutionary act. A visceral, kinetic and truly live show,
Lows Journey is a mixture of reality, fantasy, insanity and
truth. 1W.
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NATURAL
SELECTION by Eric Coble: Full length, 2 acts. Were
in the not-so-distant future where the Culture Fiesta Theme Park
needs to restock the natives of the Native American Pavilion, and
curator Henry Carson must venture into the wastes of North America
to find one. But will his new acquisition make a blip on his wifes
blog? And whats up with all this rain? 3M, 2W.
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NEON
MIRAGE by Liz Duffy Adams, Dan Dietz, Rick Hip-Flores,
Julie Jensen, Lisa Kron, Tracey Scott Wilson & Chay Yew
Full length, 1 act. Las Vegas: where the rugged outdoors meets Oz,
where Americas central myth of unbridled possibility collides
with its compulsion for perpetual self-invention. In the middle
of the desert, glitz and grit combine in a place that is as narcotic
as it is undeniably real. What happens where so much possibility
and so much failure meet? Six writers and a composer, along with
the Actors Apprentice Company, are going to find out.
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SIX
YEARS by Sharr White: Full length, 2 acts. After six
silent years, Phil Granger returns home to his wife, Meredith, shattered
by all he witnessed in World War II. We return to Phil and Meredith
every six years, from the Post-war boom through the quagmire of
Vietnam, in this poignant examination of damaged souls in an era
of unparalleled change. 4M, 3W.
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THE
SCENE by Theresa Rebeck: Full length, 1 act. Cleas
new to the scene. Lewis wants to make a new scene from the old scene.
Charlie was part of the scene and Stellas trying not to make
a scene. This biting new black comedy takes on New York, the entertainment
industry, marriage and even Ohio. Three old friends hitting middle
age have their worlds upended by the new hot, young thing. 2M, 2W.
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SOVEREIGNTY
by Rolin Jones: Ten-minute play. Gardening, new neighbors, old neighbors,
chocolatelife in the suburbs can be so complicated. A scathing
and satiric play about the people right next door. 2M, 2W.
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THREE GUYS AND A BRENDA by Adam Bock: Ten-minute play. The three guys agree that
Brenda is beautiful, but will the one single guy actually ask her
out? A sweet gender-bending look at the courage it takes to simply
be a nice guy. 4W
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(2005) 29TH HUMANA FESTIVAL
DREAM
OF JEANNIE-BY-THE-DOOR by David Valdes Greenwood: 10-Minute
Play. Gary and Bonnie have a date at the altar, Wilma has a date
with her favorite slot machine, and everyone is hoping to get lucky.
A quirky critique of casinos, good-luck charms, and the dangers
of aiming for a jackpot that will never pay out quite the way you
imagine. 1m, 2w
GOODY
FUCKING TWO SHOES by Jennifer Maisel: 10-minute Play.
The drama club. The new girl. The lead in the school play. High
school politics get dirty. 2w.
HAZARD
COUNTY by Allison Moore: Full-length in 2 Acts. How much
truth is necessary for a news segment or a love affair? Ruth is
a young widowed mother who has lost everything and Blake is a television
producer who wants to tell her story to a national audience. Interspersed
with recollections of Bo, Luke and Daisy Duke - and with a taste
for genuine moonshine-the slyly subversive Hazard County
takes a deep look at the small-town South. 2m, 3w.
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JOHANNES,
PYOTR & MARGE by Jeffrey Essmann: 10-minute Play.
Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Marge-the three pillars of Romanticism-share
a birthday and an ability to wax rhapsodic on music, Velveeta cheese,
and the struggle to recognize the beauty right in front of you.
2m, 1w.
LONG
DREAM IN SUMMER by Saïd Sayrafiezadeh: 10-minute
Play. A mother tries to save her son from the brutalities of war
in this evocative study of the power, even in its earliest days,
of Americas favorite past-time. 3m, 1w.
MEMORY
HOUSE by Kathleen Tolan: Full-length in 1 Act. One winter
night, a woman bakes a pie as a girl tries to finish her college
essay. Unfolding in real time, this play is about two people who
are forced to grapple with the past as they face an uncertain future.
A funny and moving story about the complexity of living in the world
today. 2w.
MOOT
THE MESSENGER by Kia Corthron: Full-length in 2 Acts.
A complex and fiercely intelligent indictment of the current state
of the American news media. Briar, an ambitious journalism student,
lands a job as an embedded reporter in Iraq. Her encounters with
soldiers, international journalists and a working-class girl she
knew from home force her to grapple with the fact that while her
role is to report the truth, the truth is no longer being reported
in the American media. 8m, 4w.
A
NERVOUS SMILE by John Belluso: Full-length in 1 Act.
Three parents do the unthinkable: abandon their children with cerebral
palsy in order to escape the bruising reality of caring for them.
As they deal with the consequences of their actions, they face down
the fear and disgust they feel for the children they also fiercely
love. Belluso examines these choices with insight and compassion,
while giving voice to the resilient if hidden personality of a girl
with cerebral palsy. More
about this production
PURE
CONFIDENCE by Carlyle Brown: Full-length in 2 Acts. The
powerful tale of Simon Cato-a slave with the imagination to pursue
the unfathomable: freedom. Based on historical accounts of African
American jockeys, the play examines these early riders-unusual assets
to their masters-while conveying yet another untold story: a complex
view of the essentially capitalistic impulse underlying the peculiar
institution of slavery. 4m, 2 w.
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THE
SHAKER CHAIR by Adam Bock: Full-length in 2 Acts. The
Shakers built for utility, not comfort. In this play, Marion navigates
the constrictions and possibilities of middle age: her friend has
become an activist and is pushing her to do the same, her sister
clings to the familiarity of her marriage and Marion grapples with
her responsibilities to the world beyond the comfortable edges of
her living room. 2m, 4w.
UNCLE
SAMS SATIRIC SPECTACULAR:
On Democracy and Other Fictions, Featuring Patriotism Acts and Blue
Songs from a Red State
a collaborative project by Greg Allen, Sheila Callaghan, Bridget
Carpenter, Eric Coble, Richard Dresser, Michael Friedman and Hilly
Hicks: Full-length in 1 Act.
Comedians! Ventriloquists! Mesmerists! Musicians! Vaudeville took
a bit of everything in American culture and reflected it back in
act upon act of pure entertainment. As the culture and politics
of the United States grow increasingly surreal, we thought the time
was ripe for a return to the humorous forms of yesteryear. Weve
asked seven playwrights to draw on the conventions of these earlier
forms to create an evening of contemporary satire, performed by
Actors apprentice company.
(2004) 28th HUMANA FESTIVAL
AFTER
ASHLEY by Gina Gionfriddo: Full-length, 2 Acts. Three years
after his mothers murder, seventeen-year-old Justin can barely
function. His father, on the other hand, has written a best-selling
book about the crime and scored his own cable television talk show.
America may be ready for a mega-marketing blitz of Justins
murdered mom, but he isnt. Gina Gionfriddos scathing
satire takes on our medias obsession with victims and violence
in a hilariously penetrating fashion. 4m, 2f.
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AT
THE VANISHING POINT by Naomi Iizuka: Full-length, 1 Act.
In this stunning portrait of a community, Naomi Iizuka weaves together
historical fact, myth and memory to give voice to people who would
otherwise exist only as faded images in an old photo album. Developed
through extensive interviews and archival research, At The Vanishing
Point conjures the rich history of Butchertown, a storied neighborhood
minutes from downtown Louisville, once home to the stockyards and
meatpacking plants that used to thrive on the banks of Beargrass
Creek. How do we remember a part of our history at the moment that
its slipping away? How do we give voice to the ghosts that
haunt us as individuals and as a community? Bringing together the
stories of residents past and present, this unique theatrical event
was performed site-specifically in an industrial warehouse in the
heart of Butchertown. 5m, 3f.
A
BONE CLOSE TO MY BRAIN by Dan Dietz: 10-minute Play. A man's
brother changes identities more often than underwearreporter
one day, radiologist the next. Today he's a dentist, bent on extracting
a perfectly healthy tooth. What are the limits of brotherly love?
When a pair of pliers is reaching for your mouth, how do you draw
the line? 1m.
FOUL
TERRITORY by Craig Wright: 10-minute Play. Ruth and Owen
take in a baseball game to get their minds off their romantic woes.
But some people just cant manage to focus on the positive.
Especially when life keeps sending foul balls their way. 1m, 1f.
KID-SIMPLE,
a radio play in the flesh by Jordan Harrison: Full-length,
1 Act. In which Moll, a girl who invents things, creates The Third
Ear, a miraculous machine for hearing sounds that can't be heard.
But a master of disguises, The Mercenary, steals the machine (and
Molls heart) at the bidding of two dark-dwellers. Will the
crafty Moll and her reluctant guide, the boy virgin Oliver, be able
to raft the river, cross the chasm and mount the mountain in time
to reclaim the device? Will the Third Ear destroy noise and narrative
as we know it? Tune in to this quirky fable of innocence and experience
to find out. 4m, 3f.
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KUWAIT
by Vincent Delaney: 10-minute Play. Violating the rules of engagement,
a Gulf War journalist has been caught in the combat zone. When a
soldier detains her for her trespass, is what follows an interrogation
or a punishment? And in this apparent smokescreen, what is it thats
being hidden? 2m, 1f.
THE
RUBY SUNRISE by Rinne Groff: Full-length, 3 parts in 2 Acts.
In 1927, in a barn on the outskirts of Indianapolis, a young woman
named Ruby struggles to realize her dream of inventing and perfecting
the first all-electrical television system. Twenty-five years later,
in a television studio in Manhattan, Ruby's literal and metaphorical
heir faces similar battles of will and crises of faith as she works
to get Ruby's story told as she feels it must be told. 3m, 4f.
SANS-CULOTTES
IN THE PROMISED LAND by Kirsten Greenidge: Full-length,
1 Act. A lawyer about to make partner keeps bumping her head; her
architect husband can't close a deal or keep his hands off the help;
their young daughter is desperate for attention and the nanny has
a secret. In this fantastical satire about the road to success,
Kirsten Greenidge maps the false promise of education and the reality
of the glass ceiling in America, especially within this upper middle-class,
African-American family. 1m, 5f.
THE
SPOT by Steven Dietz: 10-minute Play. A posse of political
spin doctors clamor to create the perfect "spot," one
designed to captivate the carefully polled public and capture their
candidate's honor, integrityand a little something that his
Communications Director likes to call "honesty." 2m, 2f,
2 either.
TALLGRASS
GOTHIC by Melanie Marnich: Full-length, 1 Act. Set amid
the stark beauty of the Great Plains, this sensual tale of love
and its consequences reveals the dark side of small town America,
exposing a claustrophobic and unforgiving landscape of secret longings,
silent hatred and unleashed fury that festers beneath the deceptive
calm of the heartland. 4m, 2 f.
FAST
AND LOOSE An Ethical Collaboration by José Cruz González,
Kirsten Greenidge, Julie Marie Myatt and John Walch: Full-length,
1 Act. Should you share a secret if it might hurt the one you tell?
Whats more important, the end or the means? How do you behave
when anothers standards are not your own? And is there any
compelling reason to think about the interests of others at all?
In this dramatic anthology, created to be performed by Actors
Apprentice Company, four playwrights work alongside each other and
in conversation to attack classic dilemmas of right and wrong from
every anglethrough stories both personal and communal, from
inside our homes to our ethically challenged world and beyond.
(2003) 27TH HUMANA FESTIVAL
THE
FACULTY ROOM by Bridget Carpenter: Full-length, 2 Acts.
Welcome to the faculty room at Madison-Feurey High Schoolwhere
firearms are stowed after Morning Checkpoints, and the teachers
can say whats really on their minds (unless the principals
eavesdropping over the P.A. system, that is). Idealistic Carver
has just arrived, but soon finds that this inner sanctum is not
so much a refuge as a battleground for his burned-out and sharp-tongued
colleagues, Zoe and Adam. With their students packing heat and rhapsodizing
about the Rapture, tensions run wild amongst this trio of lost teacher
souls. A bitingly funny tragicomedy of Biblical proportions. 4m,
1f, 1 either.
FIT
FOR FEET by Jordan Harrison: 10-minute Play. As her perfect
wedding day approaches, Claire is faced with something even more
pressing than china patternsher fiancé thinks hes
famed Russian dancer Vaslav Nijinsky. If this union is to be a success,
Claire has to answer one question: will she be fit for Jimmys
increasingly flashy feet? 1m, 2f.
THE
LIVELY LAD a play with songs by Quincy Long, music by Michael
Silversher: Full-length, 2 Acts. Jonathan Van Huffles heart
is all aflutter, for hes in love with the scrumptious and
scrupulous Miss McCracken. A woman of conscience, she wants the
wealthy Jonathan to think less about having moreand shes
particularly opposed to what she considers an inhumane custom thats
making a comeback: the procurement of eunuchs for rich debutantes
like Little Eva, Jonathans spoiled and insistent offspring.
In this hilarious, stylish, and slyly satirical comedy (with songs),
Quincy Long creates a world thats oddly reminiscent of our
own. 6m, 3f.
OMNIUM-GATHERUM
by Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros and Theresa Rebeck: Full-length,
1 Act. A lively, contentious debate is the heart and soul of every
dinner partyand thats why Suzie, a domestic artist and
perfect hostess, has brought together an assortment of sharp, opinionated
personalities to share her surreally exquisite meal. At this magnificent
feast of food and argument, the dinner guests confront a moment
when history is turning over, and when a culture must face grave
danger and global responsibility. An urgent, impassioned, and hilarious
conversation about the implications of the September 11th attacks
and beyond. 5m, 3f.
ORANGE
LEMON EGG CANARY: A Trick In Four Acts by Rinne Groff: Full-length.
Great is a magician with a dangerous past and a promising future.
Trilby is looking for the truth behind the illusion. In this mysterious
love story filled with top hats, disappearing coins, floating objects
and seemingly impossible feats, everyone has a few tricks up their
sleeves. Is it all smoke and mirrors? Only the lovely assistant
knows for sure. 1m, 3f.
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THE
ROADS THAT LEAD HERE by Lee Blessing: 10-minute Play. Brothers
Jason, Marcus, and Xander reunite annually to share their contributions
to "the project," a nationwide road trip to collect pictures,
sounds, and objects from an America thats very particularly
their own. But this year their sponsor, "the Eminent,"
has other plans in store for them. 3m.
THE
SECOND DEATH OF PRISCILLA by Russell Davis: Full-length,
2 Acts. The Second Death of Priscilla takes place in Priscillas
bedroom, in a forest, and in the big blue sky outside. It is about
a woman who sets out in her mind to slay what lurks like a wolf
outside her window, waiting for her house to blow down. In this
richly imagined universe, playwright Russell Davis tears away the
veil that separates this world from the next to reveal a place where
monsters are real; and they may well be the ones telling the story.
3m, 4f.
SLIDE
GLIDE THE SLIPPERY SLOPE by Kia Corthron: Full-length, 2
Acts. Twins reunited after a lifetime apart find they are as different
as two people can be. Erm likes her isolated life on the farm, talking
to the sheep and devouring scientific journals about the possibilities
and limitations of human cloning. Elo, a recent exile from the big
city, is looking for a way out of an abusive relationship and a
way back to the daughter she lost in an accident. When cloning becomes
the answer she is searching for, both sisters must ask themselves:
is it better to create what you wish for, or to love what is? 1m,
5f.
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TRASH
ANTHEM by Dan Dietz: 10-minute Play. Little house. Big South.
A pair of cowboy boots is all Jennys got left of the lover
shes killed. But before she can make peace with his memory,
the boots have a few things to say. 1m, 1f.
TREPIDATION
NATION
A Phobic Anthology by: Keith Josef Adkins, Stephen Belber, Hilary
Bell, Glen Berger, Sheila Callaghan, Bridget Carpenter, Cusi Cram,
Richard Dresser, Erik Ehn, Gina Gionfriddo, Kirsten Greenidge, Michael
Hollinger, Warren Leight, Julie Marie Myatt, Victoria Stewart, and
James Still: Full-length in 1 Act. "All of us are born with
a set of instinctive fears," writes humorist Dave Barry, "of
falling, of the dark, of lobsters, of falling on lobsters in the
dark." But what if a fear becomes inexplicable, illogical,
and just plain weird? Then youre dealing with a phobia, those
most extreme and fascinating of terrors. We asked 16 frighteningly
creative playwrights to find inspiration in real phobias, and the
resulting collection of piecescreated to be performed by
Actors 2002-2003 Apprentice Companymight just prove
that not only is fear humankinds oldest emotion, but its
also one of our silliest, most serious and stage-worthy.
RHYTHMICITY:
A convergence of poetry, theatre and hip-hop
curated by Mildred Ruiz and Steven Sapp; featuring Regie Cabico,
Gamal Abdel Chasten, reg e. gaines, Willie Perdomo, Rha Goddess,
Mildred Ruiz and Steven Sapp
Rhythmicity brings to Actors Theatre the eclectic and inventive
performances of seven spoken word artists. Both individually and
in conversation with one another, these acclaimed innovators will
invade the lobbies and public spaces of the theatre with thrilling
rants and rhythms, ranging from the personal to the political and
everything in-between. Poet merges with actor, storytelling melds
with music, and speech comes alive through dance and movementall
subject to the truth of the word.
(2002) 26TH
HUMANA FESTIVAL
a.
m. SUNDAY by Jerome Hairston: Full-Length, 2 Acts. Beginning
on a Sunday morning and spanning the course of five tense days,
a.m. Sunday is an extraordinary portrait of a family confronting
where they stand in one anothers worlds. This moving and subtly-rendered
drama is the tale of an interracial couple, R.P. and Helen, who
reach a painful turning point in their relationship. It is equally
the story of their two sons, Jay and Denny, both of whom are arriving
at a time in their lives when everything is in question. Fifteen-year-old
Jays romance with a white girl adds another complex layer
to this cross-generational examination of how difficult it is to
love and be loved in the face of difference. 3m, 2f. Published by
American Theatre and by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2002:
The Complete Plays.
BAKE
OFF by Sheri Wilner: 10-minute Play. Its showtime
at the Bake-Off and Ritas on the warpath. Last year, a man
took home the largest prize in Bake-Off history. This year, shell
make sure every man there, even the Doughboy himself, gets his just
desserts. 1m, 1f, 1 Doughboy, 1 voice. Published by Smith and Kraus
in Humana Festival 2002: The Complete Plays.
CLASSYASS
by Caleen Sinnette Jennings: 10-minute Play. Its 3:47 a.m.
at WBMR, the voice of Bellmore College, and the D.J., a smart-assed
freshman named Amadeus, is about to learn a lesson he wont
soon forget. Cause you dont have to be uptight and white
to love classical music. 2m, 1f. Published by Smith and Kraus in
Humana Festival 2002: The Complete Plays.
FINER
NOBLE GASES by Adam Rapp: Full-Length, 1 Act. In this
freakishly funny and vividly-imagined absurdist nightmare for our
time, the inert occupants of an East Village apartmentmembers
of a band once called "Lesters Surprise," now remembered
simply as "Less"are going numb. Pill-popping Chase
and Staples, who look like theyve been living on their sofa
since the previous spring, sit mesmerized in front of the television...until
its untimely demise. Desperately in need of technological stimulus,
they decide to call up their weird neighbor, luring him upstairs
and under Chases narrative spell so that Staples can steal
his Magnavox via the fire escape. The strange arrivals and events
that follow move from the hilarious to the disturbingly existential,
as Rapps electronic-age creatures long to feel something,
to be part of something, or to be of use. 5m, 1f. Published by Smith
and Kraus in Humana Festival 2002: The Complete Plays.
LIMONADE
TOUS LES JOURS by Charles L. Mee: Full-Length in 1 Act.
Its Paris in the springtime and love is in the air. When Andrew,
an American man in his fifties, meets Jacqueline, a young French
cabaret singer, romance blossoms over refreshing glasses of limonade
and steaming cups of café au lait. But relationships are
always more complicated than romanceboth are recovering from
broken hearts, and the only thing they know for sure is that they
shouldnt be together. Yet together is exactly where they find
themselves. In this achingly beautiful, whimsical play, playwright
Charles L. Mee reminds us of the irrationality of attraction and
celebrates the bittersweet pleasure of living in the moment, even
if that moment may fade. 2m, 1f. Published by Smith and Kraus in
Humana Festival 2002: The Complete Plays.
THE
MYSTERY OF ATTRACTION by Marlane Meyer: Full-Length in
1 Act. If youve ever been tempted to slow down at the sight
of a traffic accident... If youve ever wanted to eavesdrop
on the fight taking place in an adjacent motel room... If youve
ever been curious about why the lessons we fail to learn again and
again appear in our lives as fate, then you might want to see The
Mystery of Attraction; a darkly comic and edifying entertainment.
4m, 2f. Published by South Atlantic Quarterly and by Smith and Kraus
in Humana Festival 2002: The Complete Plays.
NIGHTSWIM
by Julia Jordan: 10-minute Play. Black water, black sky, midnightits
a beautiful night for a swim, but for two young girls, the lake
holds the promise of both velvety warmth and danger. Will Rosie
convince Christina to come out and play? 2f. Published by Smith
and Kraus in 30 Ten-Minute Plays for 2 Actors and Humana
Festival 2002: The Complete Plays.
REMBRANDT'S
GIFT by Tina Howe: Full-Length. In Rembrandts
Gift, award-winning playwright Tina Howe introduces us to Walter
Paradise and Polly Shaw. Theyre in their sixties and have
been married forever. Shes a world-class photographer; hes
a former actor turned hoarder. Their Soho loft is disappearing under
stacks of old costumes that block the windows and doors, creating
a fire hazard. The landlord is on his way to evict them when the
great Dutch painter Rembrandt suddenly appears in full 17th century
regalia. The three then spend the day together testing the limits
of art, love and old age. 2m, 1f. Published by Smith and Kraus in
Humana Festival 2002: The Complete Plays.
More About the Play
SCORE
conceived and directed by Anne Bogart, adapted by Jocelyn Clarke:
Full-Length in 1 Act. Score is a play about passionthe passion
that exists between a man and his music. Director Anne Bogart creates
an extraordinary theatrical tour-de-force that chronicles the ideas
and obsessions of one of Americas greatest figuresLeonard
Bernstein. A distinguished conductor, a dedicated teacher, and a
composer of rare skill and ability, Bernsteins work is breathtaking
in its range and scopefrom renowned interpretations of Beethoven
and Mahler to his own musical creations, West Side Story
and On The Waterfront. Score, adapted by Jocelyn Clarke
from Bernsteins writings, stars long-time SITI Company member
Tom Nelis in a remarkable study of ecstasy, genius and the power
of great music.1m. Article published by Smith and Kraus in Humana
Festival 2002: The Complete Plays.
SNAPSHOT
A Dramatic Anthology by: Tanya Barfield, Lee Blessing, Julie Jensen,
Honour Kane, Sunil Kuruvilla, David Lindsay-Abaire, Michael Bigelow
Dixon & Val Smith, Victor Lodato, Quincy Long, Deb Margolin,
Allison Moore, Lynn Nottage, Dan OBrien, Annie Weisman, Craig
Wright, and Chay Yew: Full-Length in 1 Act. A photograph captures
and documents a single moment in time and spacea snapshot
of history, of a reality bounded by the photos frame. But
what lies outside, beyond, behind the photograph? And what stories,
memories, or associations does an image of place inspire? In this
multi-writer project, 17 talented playwrights encounter and transform
Mount Rushmore, South Dakota (1969), a compelling image of the monument
by renowned photographer Lee Friedlander. Performed by the 22 members
of Actors Theatres 2001-2002 Apprentice Acting Company, the
resulting collection of dramatic perspectives approaches an ever-evolving
Humana Festival experiment through a new lens. Published by Smith
and Kraus in Humana Festival 2002: The Complete Plays.
THE
TECHNOLOGY PROJECT
From live concerts to live news updates and live webcastsall
available through a dizzying array of mediathe definition
of "liveness" is no longer limited to the simple act of
communication between a live actor and an audience. At the start
of the new millennium, it seems particularly important that the
theatre, a medium founded on presence, should investigate the question,
"What is live performance?" In order to explore this increasingly
complex territory, Actors Theatrein partnership with the EST/Sloan
Foundation Science and Technology Project and Carnegie Mellon Universitys
Entertainment Technology Centerhas commissioned some of the
nations most innovative young writers to interface with technologies
that range from the mundane to the mind-boggling. Published by Smith
and Kraus in Humana Festival 2002: The Complete Plays.
More About the Play
VOICE
PROPERTIES (ON A FIRST DATE AFTER A FULL YEAR OF FEBRUARYS)
by John Belluso: Yolanda and Barney are on a blind date, and this
already awkward situation is made all the more so by a very real
obstacle to their communication. Barney, who has cerebral palsy,
communicates through a VOCAa device that allows him to speak
through a simulated voice. But he is not the only one struggling
with language. In this delicate, short play, writer John Belluso
takes us on a journey through the difficulty we all havemale
or female, disabled or temporarily able-bodiedto make our
needs and desires known. 1m, 1f.
F.E.T.C.H.by
Alice Tuan: In this "small installment of Virtual Hypertext
Theater," playwright Alice Tuan has crafted a wild theatrical
event that includes a pole, a bucket and an endless series of possibilities.
What will happen next? In this new interactive universe, you get
to decide. 4 actors.
VIRTUAL
MEDITATION #1 by Sarah Ruhl: Can machines sense how we
feel? Playwright Sarah Ruhl, in collaboration with the students
and faculty at Carnegie Mellon Universitys Entertainment Technology
Center, has harnessed the subtle energy of touch in this stunning
virtual reality romance.
(2001) 25TH HUMANA FESTIVAL
bobrauschenbergamerica
by Charles L. Mee: Full-length in 1 act. In bobrauschenbergamerica,
Charles L. Mee, in collaboration with Anne Bogart and The SITI Company,
takes us on a wild road trip through our American landscapein
a play made as one of Americas greatest living artists, Robert
Rauschenberg, might have conceived it if he had been a playwright
instead of a painter: a collage of people and places and music and
dancing, of love stories and picnics and business schemes and shootings
and chicken jokes and golfing, and of the sheer exhilaration of
living in a country where people make up their lives as they go.
6m, 4f. Published by American Theatre Magazine and
Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2001: The Complete Plays.
Description Beggared; or the Allegory of WHITENESS by
Mac Wellman, music by Michael Roth: Full-length in 1 act. Imagine
the new millennium: Everything and everyone is very white. We all
assemble to take the family portrait and somehow get it dreadfully
wrong. The Ring family must do the century all over, in a vast metaphysical
Rhode Island. Our crimes and acts of erasure call out. In many voices.
Louisa hears a scary story and then tells one as everything becomes
even whiter than before. Zm, 6f, musicians. Published by TheatreForum
and by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2001: The Complete
Plays.
FLAMING
GUNS OF THE PURPLE SAGE by Jane Martin: 2 acts. Set in
deepest Wyoming, Jane Martins macabre comedy pits the code
of the West against the contemporary darkness. There is a rodeo
hellion, a demonic biker, stolen drug money and enough spare ribs
for all the carnivores circling the wagons. Jane Martins bodacious
crossover comedy mixes horror and hilarity. Imagine Hopalong Cassidy
dating Carrie, or Miss Kitty chasing Chuckie in an Addams Family
version of Gunsmoke. Oh, how to be good in the new century! 4m,3f.
Published by Samuel French, Inc. and Smith and Kraus in Humana
Festival 2001: The Complete Plays.
QUAKE
by Melanie Marnich: Full-length in 1 act. Lucy is on a mission.
Shes searching for the love of her life. She follows the curve
of the world, picking up enough speed to cross mountain ranges,
rivers, lakes, and jet streams. Amid humorous encounters with a
variety of guys, she dreams of a brilliant astrophysicist serial
killer with a mean romantic streaka woman on a parallel quest.
Since a body in motion will keep moving unless acted upon by another
force, will either of them ever be able to stop? A young woman grapples
with the laws of physics and the evolving desires of her heart in
this wacky comic journey that shakes across the fault lines. 3m,
3f. Published by TheatreForum and by Smith and Kraus in Humana
Festival 2001: The Complete Plays.
HEAVEN
AND HELL (ON EARTH): A DIVINE COMEDY
a comic anthology by Robert Alexander, Jenny Lyn Bader, Elizabeth
Dewberry, Deborah Lynn Frockt, Rebecca Gilman, Keith Glover, Hilly
Hicks, Jr., Karen Hines, Michael Kassin, Jane Martin, William Mastrosimone,
Guillermo Reyes, Sarah Schulman, Richard Strand, Alice Tuan &
Elizabeth Wong
In this comic anthologya collection of scenes and monologuesan
array of devilishly talented playwrights put a contemporary spin
on a fascinating eternal obsession. Grappling with their own diverse
experiences of vice and virtue, salvation and damnation, characters
from the twentysomething generation interpret their world with amusing
revelations and surprising insights. Full-length in 1 act. Published
(with additional monologues by Robert Alexander, Melanie Marnich,
Jane Martin and Richard Strand) by Dramatists Play Service and by
Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2001: The Complete Plays.
More About the Play
WHEN
THE SEA DROWNS IN SAND by Eduardo Machado (Retitled:
HAVANA IS WAITING): 2 acts. Exiled from his homeland for
forty years, a Cuban-American returns home to mend his broken heart.
With the help of a devoted friend and an entrepreneurial cab driver,
Federico discovers that theres no embargo on feelings in this
era of family reconciliation. Funny, angry, and deeply passionate,
this post-cold-war comedy points to the personal hardships caused
by political stand-offs. As Cuban activists cry out for the return
of a young boy named Elian, a grown-up Lost Boy ponders how one
powerful nation could steal anothers children, and what happens
four decades later if it does. 3m, percussionist. Published by Smith
and Kraus in Humana Festival 2001: The Complete Plays.
WONDERFUL
WORLD by Richard Dresser: 2 acts. An apparently happy
family hurtles to the brink of despair in this hilariously twisted
comedy about two brothers, one of whom has a serious in-law problem.
Feeling slighted by Max and his girlfriend, Barrys wife embarks
on a scorched-earth policy of truth-telling, uncovering deep animosities
and startling passions hidden in the mysterious fabric of an American
family. Shedding a wildly comic light on the perils of honesty and
the delicate balance between hostility and love, Dresser explores
what a curse it can be to suddenly find yourself tellingor
hearingthe truth. 2m, 3f. Published by Dramatic Publishing
and by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2001: The Complete
Plays.
CHAD
CURTISS, LOST AGAIN by Arthur Kopit: 3 Ten-Minute Plays
in Serial Form. Born with an unerringly bad sense of direction,
but beloved of the gods (at least, so far), our hero, Chad Curtiss,
sets out to discover Truth, and, if hes lucky, Beauty. Never
one to take the easy path, however, Chads wrong turns lead
him again and again into perils worthy of Pauline, to whom Chad
is distantly related. This commissioned cliffhanger was created
by Arthur Kopit during a recent, ill-conceived trip to Bolivia.
Chads continuing saga, written as a series of ten-minute plays,
unfolds in several death-defying performances. Will the daring but
reckless Chad Curtiss appear in all the episodes, or will he be
lost again? 8m, 4f. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival
2001: The Complete Plays.
More About the Play
THE
PHONE PLAYS
The Phone Play has quickly become a tradition at the Humana Festival,
where audience members dare to eavesdrop on several three-minute
plays played over payphones in the lobby. But this year we added
a new twist. We invited small, adventurous theatre companies who
are dedicated to producing new work to give us an earful of the
most exciting voices they have to offer. Published by Smith and
Kraus in Humana Festival 2001: The Complete Plays.
SUBLIMINABLE
by Greg Allen (The Neo-Futurists, Chicago) Have you listened to
the phone plays? Theyre over there. I think you should try
the one called Subliminable
HYPE-R-CONNECTIVITY
by Andy Bayiates (The Neo-Futurists, Chicago) A maddeningly true-to-life
journey through a "voice activated telecom portal."
CALL
WAITING by Rachel Claff (The Neo-Futurists, Chicago)
A lyrical tribute to one of technologys most exquisite torturesthe
unreturned phone call.
OWLS
By Erin Courtney (Clubbed Thumb, New York) A young runaway struggles
to survive in a wilderness of her own creation.
MESSAGE
SENT by Sterling Houston (Jump-Start Performance Co.,
San Antonio) A mans life is lost, and found again, on the
tape inside his lovers answering machine.
CLICK
by Brighde Mullins (Thick Description, San Francisco) What has poetry
done for you lately? A couple in crisis discovers the difference
between metaphor and meaning.
SOMEBODY
CALL 911 by Jennifer L. Nelson (African Continuum Theatre
Company, Washington, D.C.) Over the sound of her babys screams,
a teenage mother reaches out across the wires.
(2000) 24th HUMANA FESTIVAL
ANTON
IN SHOW BUSINESS by Jane Martin: 2 acts. Jane Martins
madcap comedy follows three actresses across the footlights, down
the rabbit hole, and into a strangely familiar Wonderland that looks
a lot like American theatrethe resemblance is uncanny! As
these women pursue their dream of performing Chekhov in Texas, theyre
whisked through a maelstrom of "good ideas," power politics
and competing agendaseach of which offers a unique answer
to the Three Sisters need to have lifes deeper purpose
revealed. In the great tradition of backstage comediesfrom
The Royal Family to Noises OffAnton in Show
Business conveys the joys, pains and absurdities of "putting
on a play" at the turn of the century. May you live in interesting
times. 7f. Published by Samuel French, Inc. and by Smith and Kraus
in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.
ARABIAN
NIGHTS by David Ives: 10-minute play. The banal turns
into the beautiful and the ordinary becomes exotic through the medium
of a wacky translator. 3 actors. Published by Dramatists Play Service
and Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.
BIG
LOVE by Charles L. Mee: Full-length in 1 act. To commemorate
the millennium, Charles L. Mee found inspiration in the oldest extant
Greek drama, Suppliants by Aeschylus, in which fifty brides
vow to murder fifty fiancés on their wedding night. Updated
to the 21st century and set in an exquisite villa on the Italian
coastline, Big Love unfolds the story of the womens
betrothal (theyre all sisters!), their attempted flight and
murderous pact, and one immense wedding reception/massacrewith
all the wedding music youve ever heard. A rhapsodic, invigorating
journey through the politics of love. 4f, 5m. Published by TheatreForum
and Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.
More About the Play
THE
DIVINE FALLACY by Tina Howe: 10-minute play. A comic
and revelatory session in a photographers studio suggests
that beauty may be found in the mind of the beheld. 1f, 1m. Published
by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.
NO.
11 (BLUE AND WHITE) by Alexandra Cunningham: Full-length
in 1 act. In the town where everyones sick of being asked
about The Ice Storm, Alexandra is a debutante in training. Her best
friend is Reid Callahan, star athlete and golden boy. A lot of people
are pinning their hopes on and dreaming big dreams for Reid; Reids
own hopes and dreams are a mystery, until he brings them to horrible
lifeor does he? Dont ask Alexshes choosing
between the devil she doesnt know and the devil shes
known since kindergarten. Sometimes you can either be a friend or
a human being, but not both. 6f, 3m. Published by Smith and Kraus
in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.
STANDARD TIME by Naomi Wallace: 10-minute play. Frustrated
by elusive promises of the American dreamfast cars, brand
names and easy moneya young man takes his destiny into his
own hands. 1m. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival
2000: The Complete Plays.
TAPE
by Stephen Belber: Full-length in 1 act. Whats the statute
of limitations for betrayal of friendship? When Jon attends the
premiere of his flick in the Lansing Film Festival, he faces the
most important weekend of his young lifebut not in ways he
expected. His old pal, Vince, has been stewing for a decade and
their high school girlfriend, Amy, is now the assistant district
attorney in Lansing. Edgy humor gives way to a fiery confrontation
that examines the motives of memoryand Memorex. 1f, 2m. Published
by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.
Made into a movie directed by Richard Linklater.
TOUCH
by Toni Press-Coffman: 2 acts. Science and spirit form a perfect
union between Kyle, a reserved young astronomer, and Zoe, his flamboyant,
vivacious soulmate. But one night, something as profoundly dark,
chaotic, and infinite as the night sky turns Kyles enviable
happiness upside-down. Tracing Kyles journey through terrifying
unanswered questions and memories of the rarest, deepest love, this
moving drama explores the miracle and fragility of human connection.
2f, 2m. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000:
The Complete Plays.
WAR
OF THE WORLDS Conceived by Anne Bogart, Created by The
SITI Company, Written by Naomi Iizuka: Full-length in 1 act. His
radio broadcast War of the Worlds sent Americans into hysterical
panic. He took Hollywood by storm with Citizen Kane, a larger-than-life
film about a mover-and-shaker not so very different from himself.
Mercurial, controversial, inspiring, infuriatingOrson Welles
entranced and enraged everyone. His fall from grace mirrored the
magnitude of his talentand the massiveness of an ego steered
straight to self-destruction. Director Anne Bogart, her remarkable
SITI Company, and playwright Naomi Iizuka join forces to explore
the myth and myth-maker, charlatanism and genius of Orson Welles.
2f, 9m. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000:
The Complete Plays.
BACK
STORY
Dramatic Anthology by Joan Ackermann, Courtney Baron, Neena Beber,
Constance Congdon, Jon Klein, Shirley Lauro, Craig Lucas, Eduardo
Machado, Donald Margulies, Jane Martin, Susan Miller, John Olive,
Tanya Palmer, David Rambo, Edwin Sanchez, Adele Edling Shank, Mayo
Simon & Val Smith
Based on characters created by Joan Ackermann
Full-length in 1 act. When Ethan is born in the worst blizzard of
the century, two-year-old sister Ainsley nearly sacrifices a toe
trying to clear a path for the babys arrival. That initial
gesture of devotion blossoms into a tale of sibling loyalty, rivalry
and love that spans two decades. Inspired by Joan Ackermanns
narrative "Back Story," each of the eighteen playwrights
in this collective creation puts a distinctive spin on Ainsleys
and Ethans amusing and poignant struggles with life, with
each other, and with the phantom dad who abandoned them for the
wilds of Alaska. Published by Dramatic Publishing and Smith and
Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.
More About the Play
PHONE
PLAYS
BESIDE
EVERY GOOD MAN by Regina Taylor. In this intimate exchange,
the lives of Coretta Scott King and Winnie Mandela are illuminated
by the grandeur of their love and the cruelty of fate. Published
by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Play.
LOVERS
OF LONG RED HAIR, by José Rivera. Haunted by the
unwanted adoration of strangers, Adriana shares her nightmare with
a friend at 3 a.m. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival
2000: The Complete Plays.
THE
REPRIMAND by Jane Anderson. Could any conversation between
female business associates begin more ominously? "We need to
talk about what you did in the meeting this morning." Published
by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.
SHOW
BUSINESS by Jeffrey Hatche..r "The customer is always
right." Yeah, tell it to Telecharge. Published by Smith and
Kraus in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.
TRESPASSION
by Mark ODonnell. George needs to know why Lenore called him
a jerk and hes not hanging up without an an answerno
matter whos on the other line. Published by Smith and Kraus
in Humana Festival 2000: The Complete Plays.
(1999) 23RD HUMANA FESTIVAL
ALOHA,
SAY THE PRETTY GIRLS by Naomi Iizuka: 2 acts. Alohaits
a word that means hello and goodbye. Naomi Iizukas aloha-filled,
dark comedy takes a quirky, wildly imaginative look at how people
enter and leave each others lives as they search for a family
or a tribe. Crossing paths and sometimes colliding, a cast of waylaid
strangers and friends struggles to evolve into grown-up versions
of themselves. 7-11 actors. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana
Festival '99, The Complete Plays.
CABIN
PRESSURE Created by Anne Bogart & The SITI Company:
Full-length in 1 act. With trademark flourish, fierce wit and intense
bravado, Anne Bogart and her SITI troupe plunge into the long troubled
waters of actor/audience relations. Drawing upon theatrical practices
from Festival of Dionysia to the Festival of Humana, this exuberant
production coins modern theatrical currencies from grand traditions.
5 actors. Contact The SITI Company, 172 E. 7th St., 6D, New York,
NY 10009. More
About the Play
WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? by Richard
Dresser: Climb in the backseat of an automobile and fasten your
seat belts for a harrowing cruise through one couples dizzying
misadventures. In groups of three, audience members are invited
to get in the car with an earnest young man whos off on the
ride of his life when he picks up a free-spirited hitchhiker. More
About the Play
THE COCKFIGHTER by Frank Manley, Adapted by Vincent Murphy:
Full-length in 1 act. Inspired by the courage and fierceness he
associates with fighting cocks, a young man rebels against an adult
world tainted by his fathers flawed vision of manhood. Animated
by a highly theatrical rendition of an ancient bloodsport, this
powerful drama moves through the turbulent landscape of adolescence
and traces the steps by which a boy becomes a man, not on his fathers,
but on his own terms. 2m, 1f. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana
Festival '99, The Complete Plays.
GOD'S
MAN IN TEXAS by David Rambo: 2 acts. Wits, egos and ideologies
are set on a collision course when renowned preacher Jerry Mears
"auditions" for the top job in the Baptist universe. But
Dr. Phillip Gottschall, the aging pastor of the biggest, best-known
and most closely-watched Baptist church ever, wont easily
give up his dynastyor the televised 10 oclock servicein
this sharply-observed drama about institutional power struggles,
fathers and sons, and religion in the age of mass marketing. 3m.
Published by Dramatists Play Service and Smith and Kraus in Humana
Festival '99, The Complete Plays.
More About the Play
THE T(EXT) SHIRT PROJECT
Why didnt Gutenberg think of this? Print the text of an entire
play on a t-shirt so that anyone can "perform" the play
simply by wearing the shirt into the streets for the masses to read.
Street theatre or fashion statement? Chic. de la Mode. Livin large.
More About the Play
Y2K
by Arthur Kopit (Retitled: BecauseHeCan): Full-length in 1 act.
He calls himself ISeeU, but you cant see him. And if its
you he wants, nothing can stop him. This gripping drama propels
an unsuspecting couple into their worst nightmareimagine a
world in which there are no secrets. 4m, 1f. Published by TheatreForum;
by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '99, The Complete Plays;
and by Samuel French, Inc.
LIFE UNDER 30A BILL OF 10-MINUTE PLAYS
SLOP-CULTURE
by Robb Badlam: In this tenderly sarcastic tale, a spiritual castaway
must answer a loaded question about her cultural heritage. Unfortunately,
her answer depends on 25 years of bad TVas does her job. 2m,
2f. Published by Dramatics Magazine; by Smith and Kraus in
Humana Festival '99, The Complete Plays; and by Samuel French,
Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 5 from Actors Theatre of
Louisville.
THE
BLUE ROOM by Courtney Baron: Adrift in the South Pacific,
a sailor longs for the company of his beloved, whose irrepressible
passion for the sea now haunts the vivid blues of twilight, bathwater
and breaking waves. 1m, 1f. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana
Festival '99, The Complete Plays and by Samuel French, Inc.
in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 5 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.
DANCING
WITH A DEVIL by Brooke Berman: Unspeakable moments, too
painful for words, transform a young womans life through a
graceful dance that leads to the point of no return. 1m, 2f. Published
by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival 99, The Complete Plays
and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 5 from
Actors Theatre of Louisville.
FORTY
MINUTE FINISH by Jerome Hairston: An accident forces
two young men to wrestle with universal uncertainties before they
clock-out for the night. Will lifes big questions take a backseat
to the comforting lure of escapist entertainment? 2m. Published
by Dramatics Magazine; by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival
'99, The Complete Plays and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute
Plays: Volume 5 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.
MPLS.,
ST. PAUL by Julia Jordan: In this spirited teenage romance,
Billy and Mel use their favorite music to test the waters of friendship.
Their tentative exchange infuses an element of uncertainty into
a "mythic" summer filled with teasing, laughing, flirting
and falling in love on the roof. 1m, 1f. Published by Smith and
Kraus in Humana Festival '99, The Complete Plays and by Samuel
French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 5 from Actors Theatre
of Louisville.
DRIVE
ANGRY by Matt Pelfrey: Existential pollution and The
Cosmic Whatever drive two young men to dire acts as they careen
through LA traffic. This examination of diseased bedies and diseased
societies is laced with provocative and dark humor. 2m. Published
by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival '99, The Complete Plays
and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 5 from
Actors Theatre of Louisville.
LABOR
DAY by Sheri Wilner: On the eve of Labor Day, a Last-Day-To-Wear-White
party sets the scene for a stand against the march of time. A funny
and visually arresting play about one womans act of refusal.
1f, 5 other m/f characters. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana
Festival '99, The Complete Plays and by Samuel French, Inc.
in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 5 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.
JUST
BE FRANK by Caroline Williams: An overly ambitious worker
declares her wish for office honesty... and gets it. Crossing the
dangerous line into the minds of her co-workers, she learns what
everyone, from the power-happy secretary to the sexually-harrassing
boss, is really thinking. 1m, 4f or 2m, 3f. Published by Smith and
Kraus in Humana Festival '99, The Complete Plays and by Samuel
French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 5 from Actors Theatre
of Louisville.
(1998) 22ND HUMANA FESTIVAL
ACORN
by David Graziano: 10-minute play. Acorn is a Brooklyn romance about
a 26-year-old, unemployed union carpenter who puts his heart on
a clothesline and the 18-year-old girl who folds it in half. 1m,
1f. Published in Dramatics Magazine; by Smith and Kraus in
Humana Festival '98, The Complete Plays; and by Samuel French,
Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 5 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.
DINNER
WITH FRIENDS by Donald Margulies: 2 acts. When Tom and
Beths marriage unravels, their best pals Karen and Gabe face
some terrifying questions. What exactly are the ties that bind them
to their friends? Or even to each other? This rueful comedy about
marriage, friendship and the fallout from other peoples divorces
is penned by one of Off-Broadways brightest stars and is the
winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize. 2m, 2f. Published by Smith and
Kraus in Humana Festival '98, The Complete Plays and by Dramatists
Play Service. Made into a motion picture by HBO Films.
LET
THE BIG DOG EAT by Elizabeth Wong: 10-minute play. When
four famous captains of industry meet to play a friendly game of
golf, their competitive banter evolves into a debate weighing the
pleasure of sheer accumulation against the scramble to spend on
the public good. Exploring the game of giving, this bouncy comedy
offers a highly imaginative look at the image-driven rivalries of
the ultra-rich. 4m. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival
'98, The Complete Plays and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute
Plays: Volume 5 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.
LIKE
TOTALLY WEIRD by William Mastrosimone: Full-length in
1 act. Two "totally weird" teens steal into a Hollywood
mansion to meet their idols, a film producer and his leading lady.
But these mega-stars of the 90s soon find themselves trapped in
a reenactment of a "body-bag" action thriller, a frightening
scenario of their own making. This edgy, suspenseful drama portrays
what can happen when life imitates art and art is all murder
and mayhem. 3m, 1f. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival
'98, The Complete Plays.
MEOW
by Val Smith: 10-minute play. Its happy hour and , for two
professional women, time to dish a little after-work dirt. Amidst
friendly wisecracks, fried wontons and foibles of a scatterbrained
waitress, these long-time friends discover some disquieting truth
in cattinessand the cattiness of truth. 3f. Published by Smith
and Kraus in Humana Festival '98, The Complete Plays and
by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 5 from Actors
Theatre of Louisville.
MR.
BUNDY by Jane Martin: 2 acts. When a convicted child
molester moves into the neighborhood, the quality of everyones
mercy is strained. Weighing Mr. Bundys rights against the
risks to their own daughter, one working couple falls prey to two
outsiderscrusaders with a vengeful cause. This provocative
drama pits Christian ethics against the Juggernaut of parental fear,
as fate and justice waver between vigilance and vigilantes. 3m,
4f. Published by Samuel French, Inc. and by Smith and Kraus in Humana
Festival '98, The Complete Plays.
RESIDENT
ALIEN by Stuart Spencer: 2 acts. Michael has landedin
the biggest mess of his life, that is. His ex-wife and her doltish
husband are furious with him. The sheriff has an arrest warrant
handy. And nobody but nobody believes his story that 12-year-old
son Billy was beamed up by aliens. The only proof is the elusive
visitor left behind, the one with the vaguely green complexion and
an affection for beer. The National Enquirer smacks head-on
into Kierkegaard in this charmingly offbeat romantic comedy. 5m,
1f. Published by Broadway Play Publishing and by Smith and Kraus
in Humana Festival '98, The Complete Plays.
More About the Play
TI
JEAN BLUES adapted from the works of Jack Kerouac by
JoAnne Akalaitis: In his writing, Jack Kerouac poured forth memory,
passion, the wonder of turbulent cities, a restless search for spirituality
and the wild freedom of travel, drugs and sex. Adaptor/director
JoAnne Akalaitis weaves the life and writing of Kerouac into an
exuberantly brilliant dramatic fabric. Using stylized movement and
both individual and choral expressions of Kerouacs dynamic
language, Ti Jean Blues captures the sizzle of the Beat Poets
life journey. Published by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival
'98, The Complete Plays.
More About the Play
THE
TRESTLE AT POPE LICK CREEK by Naomi Wallace: 2 acts.
High atop a railroad trestle that spans a bone dry creek, two teenagers
plan to race across the bridge against an oncoming locomotive. At
first their scheme adds excitement to life in a small factory town
during the Great Depression, then sensual experience awakens dangerous
passions in an era of stifled ambitions. With theatrical flourish
and lyrical finesse, Naomi Wallace delves into a world where people
struggle to change lives that bear down upon them. 3m, 2f. Published
by TheatreForum and by Smith and Kraus in Humana Festival
'98, The Complete Plays.
(1997) 21ST HUMANA FESTIVAL
GUN-SHY
by Richard Dresser: 2 acts. What do you do when your divorce isnt
working? Evie and Duncan are forced to face this question when they
find themselves snowbound in New England with their new partners.
Marriage gets a second look in Richard Dressers no-holds-barred
comedy for the nineties. 2m, 2f, extras. Published by Dramatic Publishing
and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '97, The Complete
Plays.
ICARUS
by Edwin Sanchez: 2 acts. An empty beachhouse settled between dunes
and the roar of the sea...a perfect spot for swimmingthough
its the middle of March! A woman, her brother and an eccentric
dream catcher set up camp, but a masked strangers arrival
complicates their fantastic plan to swim out to touch the sun. This
poignant comedy of loneliness and escape reevaluates notions of
beauty as five outcasts discover just how much theyll giveand
give upfor love. 3m, 2f. Published by Broadway Play Publishing
and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '97, The Complete
Plays.
More About the Play
IN
HER SIGHT by Carol K. Mack: A beautiful blind pianist
who stunned audiences of 18th century Europe, Maria Theresa Paradies
is suddenly cured by Dr. Franz Mesmer in a grand medical "coup".
But now that she can see, the famed prodigy can apparently no longer
play. Stunned but bound by her love for Mesmer, she bravely struggles
on, as Vienna darkens with intrigue and betrayal within the medical
establishment. In this tragic and elegant romance, the web of scandal
grows into an international incident, and Paradies is forced to
choose between music and sight. 4m, 3f. Published by Smith &
Kraus in Humana Festival '97, The Complete Plays.
LIGHTING
UPTHE TWO-YEAR OLD by Benjie Aerenson: 2 acts. On a horse
farm in north Florida, three men conspire to beat the odds when
a racehorse doesnt meet their expectations. Criminal deeds
are generously rewarded, until panic rends their uneasy alliance.
This foray into the dark side of "the sport of kings"
reveals what it takes for one racehorse owner to get into the winners
circle. But is the glory worth doing the time? 3m. Published by
Dramatists Play Service and Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival
'97, The Complete Plays.
MISREADINGS
by Neena Beber: 10-minute play. On the eve of her exam, a hip college
student visits her professor to try to insure herself a passing
grade. Her Professor wants her to drop the classand the differences
dont end there. As student and teacher struggle to bridge
their worlds, they discover a gap wider than their generations.
2f. Published by Applause in The Best American Short Plays 1996-1997;
by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '97: The Complete Plays;
and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 4 from
Actors Theatre of Louisville.
POLAROID
STORIES by Naomi Iizuka: 2 acts. To the sounds of transistor
radios, video arcades and a thousand collect phone calls in the
night, Naomi Iizuka transforms the chaotic life of a group of street
kids into a fierce elegy of emptiness, sensation, desire and fear.
By an abandoned pier at the edge of an old city, young "speed-racers"
scan for "pharmaceutical treasure" while "neon girls"
drink from the river of forgetfulness, echoing in their words and
deeds ancient stories of gods and humans. This haunting evocation
of Ovid's Metamorphoses reimagined for the 1990s lends mythic power
and social immediacy to Americas lower depths. 5m, 5f. Published
by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '97, The Complete Plays.
More About the Play
PRIVATE
EYES by Steven Dietz: 2 acts. In Steven Dietzs
new comedy of suspicion, honesty is only the last resort. Matthews
wife Lisa is having an affair with their director... but oh, if
it were only that simple! From their rehearsal room to a restaurant
to a therapists office, deception becomes a matter of perception
until this play within a play within a play (within a play...) gives
over to the true realitythe simple fact of two people alone,
eye to eye, with nowhere left to hide. 3m, 2f. Published by Dramatists
Play Service and Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '97, The
Complete Plays.
STARS
by Romulus Linney: 10-minute play. At a soiree in Manhattan, on
a beautiful penthouse terrace, two strangers strike up a conversation.
Inspired by the summer stars, they confide shocking truthsor
delectable lies, take your pick. Either way, their road to love
is paved with strange intentions. 1m, 1f. Published by Smith &
Kraus in Humana Festival '97, The Complete Plays; by Samuel
French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 4 from Actors Theatre
of Louisville; and by Vintage Books in Take Ten: New 10-Minute
Plays.
WATERBABIES
by Adam LeFevre: 10-minute play. An overprotective young mother
tries to enroll her infant in a YMCA swim class. The instructor
has a knack with waterbabiesapparently. But as peculiar answers
lead to unfathomable questions, this strange encounter of the aquatic
kind plumbs the depths of maternal instinct. 2f. Published by Smith
& Kraus in Humana Festival '97, The Complete Plays and
by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 4 from Actors
Theatre of Louisville.
(1996) 20TH HUMANA FESTIVAL
THE
BATTING CAGE by Joan Ackermann: 2 acts. The last wishes
of an extraordinary young woman have a secret design. At a Florida
Holiday Inn, two estranged sisters struggle to carry them out, each
marooned in a deep state of despair. A sip from the Fountain of
Youth, speeding hardballs and bicycle couriers, a semi-gallant conquistador
and a bouquet of roses all conspire to lead a brilliant engineer
and her recently divorced sister to a new sense of themselves. And
to each other. In this charming offbeat comedy, a family that has
lost its bearings is restored. 2m, 2f. Published by Dramatists Play
Service and Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '96, The Complete
Plays.
CHILEAN
HOLIDAY by Guillermo Reyes: As Santiago celebrates the
second anniversary of Pinochets coup detat in 1973,
one Chilean family marches to its own Latin rhythms. Romance, a
birthday and plenty of homemade brew make theirs a festive backyard
soireeuntil plans to emigrate are revealed and collaborators
are confronted. At a time when the darkest secrets are known only
to secret police, this political-romantic comedy pries into the
future of two cynics who are hatefully in love. 2m, 3f, female voice.
Published by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '96, The Complete
Plays.
CONTRACT
WITH JACKIE by Jimmy Breslin: 10-minute play. What would
happen in America if politicians first tested their schemes for
our nation at home? Turns out some have, according to playwright/journalist
Jimmy Breslin, in this high-spirited send-up of politics brought
down to their most personal and revealing level. 1m, 1f. Published
by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '96, The Complete Plays
and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 4 from
Actors Theatre of Louisville.
FLESH
AND BLOOD by Elizabeth Dewberry: 2 acts. When Crystal
commits the social indiscretion of the year, her astounded Southern
clan cant figure out whyor can they? Unanswered questions
abound in this comedy macabre, as sibling passions get channeled
into culinary misadventure. Rattling the closet skeletons of "The
New South," playwright Elizabeth Dewberry pushes her gothic
rivalry to a shattering conclusion. 1m, 3f. Published by Dramatic
Publishing and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '96, The
Complete Plays.
GOING,
GOING, GONE by Anne Bogart & the Saratoga International
Theater Company: Erratic quantum physics mix with torrid sexual
gambits at the ultimate cocktail party of the century. As the social
occasion unravels over too many martinis, so too do the absolute
truths of Newtonian physics, leaving two couples to play out their
dangerous games in a world of uncertainty, relativity and parallel
universes. Inspired by recent scientific writings, this expressionist
peformance explores our perilous balancing act between salvation
and destruction. 2m, 2f. Contact The SITI Company, 172 E. 7th St.,
6D, New York, NY 10009.
JACK
AND JILL by Jane Martin: 2 acts. In her newest work,
Jane Martin mines the subtle and often treacherous depths of modern
wedlock. To love, honor and cherishthose are the easy parts
of the union. Its where one person leaves off and the other
begins that proves the stumbling block. By turns funny, sensual
and fierce, this poignant drama captures the essential humanity
of relationshipfor better or worse. 1m, 1f. Published by Samuel
French, Inc. and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '96,
The Complete Plays.
MISSING/KISSING by John Patrick Shanley:
Two one-acts.
KISSING
CHRISTINE By turns romantic, fiercely introspective,
and very, very funny, John Patrick Shanley zooms in on a very unusual
first date. Two extremely individual people battle their way from
hilarious self-disclosure to startling self-discovery. Valiantly
working through "the strangest conversation of their lives,"
Christine and Larry manage to transform a chance encounter into
a fateful affair. 1m, 1f. Published by Dramatists Play Service,
Inc. in Missing/Kissing and by Smith & Kraus in Humana
Festival '96, The Complete Plays. More
About the Play
MISSING
MARISA Two men engage in a madcap wrangle over a woman
who has left them both. Funny and scary and downright mysterious,
Terry and Eli are rivals and friends. They speak in the raunchy
shorthand of people who have too much history and no inhibitions.
An outrageous play about men alone together, their bizarre transactions
and their chaotic humor. 2m. Published by Dramatists Play Service,
Inc. in Missing/Kissing and by Smith & Kraus in Humana
Festival '96, The Complete Plays. More
About the Play
ONE
FLEA SPARE by Naomi Wallace: 2 acts. Fleeing plague in
the streets of 1665 London, a poor sailor and a waif steal indoors,
only to discover themselves quarantined for a month with the Master
and Mistress of the house. As fears of the outside world turn inwardly
to jealousy and suspicion, the gentry and underclass boarded in
together wait for either freedom or death. This searing and lyrical
drama explores the politics of compassion within the shadow of the
grave. 3m, 2f. Published by Broadway Play Publishing and by Smith
& Kraus in Humana Festival '96, The Complete Plays. More
About the Play
REVERSE
TRANSCRIPTION: Six Playwrights Bury a Seventh by Tony
Kushner: 10-minute play. At midnight in a cemetary on Marthas
Vineyard, six moderately inebriated playwrights prepare to bury
the remains of a seventhillegally. Countering despair with
wit, these bandit dramatists revel in their mad adventure and muse
against the dying of the light. Published by Smith & Kraus in
Humana Festival '96, The Complete Plays and by Samuel French,
Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 4 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.
TRYING
TO FIND CHINATOWN by David Henry Hwang: 10-minute play.
Ronnie is a rock n roll violinist, street-smart hipster
and (only incidentally) Chinese-American. Benjamin is blonde, square,
wide-eyed, Midwestern and (only incidentally) Caucasian. Their confrontation
on the Lower East Side of Manhattan sparks a riff on race that swings
to the very heart of identity. 2m. Published by Dramatists Play
Service, Inc. in Trying To Find Chinatown and Bondage
and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '96, The Complete
Plays.
WHAT
I MEANT WAS by Craig Lucas: 10-minute play. An American
family sits down to dinner, and out pours more pain and comfort,
admissions and understanding than most families experience in a
lifetimeall in ten minutes! This comic yet rueful remembrance
of the way things werent offers at least a ray of hope for
the way things still might be. 2m, 2f. Published by Applause in
The Best American Short Plays 1996-1997; by Smith & Kraus
in Humana Festival '96, The Complete Plays; and by Samuel
French, Inc. in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 4 from Actors Theatre
of Louisville.
(1995) 19TH HUMANA FESTIVAL
BELOW
THE BELT by Richard Dresser: 2 acts. Is there more to
happiness than misery? Thats the paradox in this labor of
laughs, when three men grab for all the gusto their meaningless
jobs can brew. Stationed in a remote industrial outpost, these pixilated
fellows are rewarded for teamwork with loneliness, boredom, ennui,
back-stabbing, jealousy and revenge. Yes, many are the benefits
of working for a faceless corporation that sucks life from all it
touches including a front row seat when Mother Nature vents
her towering rage! 3m. Published by Samuel French, Inc; by Smith
& Kraus in Humana Festival '95, The Complete Plays; and
by Heinemann in A Decade of New Comedy: Plays From the Humana
Festival.
BEAST
ON THE MOON by Richard Kalinoski: 2 acts. In 1921, an
Armenian mail-order bride is shipped to Milwaukee to begin a new
life with her photographer husband. Both yearn to emerge from the
dark shadows of the Armenian holocaust. As they struggle to redefine
family amidst grief and displacement, these kindred strangers realize
a love deeper than ever imagined. 2m, 1f, 1 boy. Published in Dramatics
Magazine and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '95,
The Complete Plays.
BETWEEN
THE LINES by Regina Taylor: 1 act. After graduating from
college, Becca and Nina set off on an unpredictable journey. While
Nina stays home to pursue a career, Becca empties her trust fund
to travel the globe. Soon Beccas adventures fuel Ninas
discomfort with a life devoid of real passion, intimacy and romance.
So when Becca returns, Ninas already primed to make a few
radicaland violentchanges. 3m, 5w, 2 extras. Published
by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '95, The Complete Plays.
CLOUD
TECTONICS by José Rivera: 1 act. On a stormy night
in Los Angeles, a lonely man picks up a pregnant hitchhiker and
welcomes her into his home. Clocks stop, visitors materialize and
love ticks toward its inevitable climax. In a magical world where
two years can pass in a night, Cloud Tectonics asks if there
ever exists a "right time" for love. 2m, 1f. Published
by Broadway Play Publishing and by Smith & Kraus in Humana
Festival '95, The Complete Plays.
HEAD
ON by Elizabeth Dewberry: 10-minute play. Only minutes
before an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, a therapist specializing
in multi-orgasmic sex must find common ground with a woman whos
witnessed a head-on collision. In this age of sensational media
disclosures, its surprising to watch what can happen off-camera
when real intimacy is given a chance. 2w. Published by The University
Press of Kentucky in By Southern Playwrights: Plays from Actors
Theatre of Louisville; by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival
'95, The Complete Plays; and by Samuel French, Inc. in Ten-Minute
Plays: Volume 4 from Actors Theatre of Louisville.
HELEN
AT RISK by Dana Yeaton: 10-minute play. Helen takes her
ideals to prison along with her workshop in creative mask-making.
When a wise-guy inmate starts acting up, however, self-expression
takes a nasty turn, and art provides the imprimatur for deadly craft.
1w, 2m. Published by Samuel French in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume
3 from Actors Theatre of Louisville; by Smith & Kraus in
Humana Festival '95, The Complete Plays; by Vintage Books
in Take Ten: New 10-Minute Plays; and in the journal Art
Teatral: Cuadernos de Minipiezas Ilustrades.
JULY
7, 1994 by Donald Margulies: 1 act. Capturing a recent
day of disturbance and fear, Donald Margulies play, set in
an inner-city clinic, charts the vital signs of our society. As
a woman physician struggles to reconcile the extremes of hope and
despair that define a typical day in her life, we are given a unique
window on the way we live now. 4f, 2m. Published by Dramatists Play
Service, Inc.; by Smith & Kraus in 20/20: Twenty One-Act
Plays from the Twenty Year History of the Humana Festival of New
American Plays; and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival
'95, The Complete Plays.
More About the Play
MIDDLE-AGED
WHITE GUYS by Jane Martin: 1 act. Meeting in one of this
countrys finer landfills, three middle-aged white guys discover
theyve got one last chance to salvage their slice of American
culture. But salvation can be painfully funny when God gets really
angry. By airing Americas dirty laundry, this hilarious satire
probes the most sensitive placewhat it means to be a member
in the white guy club. 4m, 3w. Published by Samuel French, Inc.;
by Smith & Kraus in Jane Martin Collected Works: Vol I;
and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '95, The Complete
Plays.
TOUGH
CHOICES FOR THE NEW CENTURY: A Seminar for Responsible Living
by Jane Anderson: 1 act. If natural disaster struck your homestead,
would you know what to do? Sign up for a seminar with Bob and Helen
Dooley who, with a nationally recognized authority on personal defenseArden
Shinglestake the idea of "preparedness" to its funniest
and darkest conclusion. 1m, 1w. Published by Smith & Kraus in
20/20: Twenty One-Act Plays from the Twenty Year History of the
Humana Festival of New American Plays and by Smith & Kraus
in Humana Festival '95, The Complete Plays.
TRUDY
BLUE by Marsha Norman: 1 act. Determined not to submit
to mid-life malaise, a successful writer named Ginger embarks on
a wildly irreverent spiritual journey. Her traveling companion and
guide is Trudy Blue, the main character from her new novel. This
comic, sexy, revisionist Dolls House for the 90s investigates
what happens after "happily ever after." Published by
Heinemann in A Decade of New Comedy: Plays From the Humana Festival;
by Smith & Kraus in Marsha Norman Volume I: Collected Plays;
and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '95, The Complete
Plays.
More About the Play
YOUR
OBITUARY IS A DANCE by Benard Cummings: 10-minute play.
Returning to his Texas hometown, a young man dying of AIDS attempts
to say goodbye. Unable to overcome his own and his familys
prejudices, his pain goes unresolved until hes reunited with
another outsider who was his childhood friend. 1m, 1f. Published
by Samuel French in Ten-Minute Plays: Volume 3 from Actors Theatre
of Louisville and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival
'95, The Complete Plays.
(1994) 18TH HUMANA FESTIVAL
1969
by Tina Landau: 1 act. 1969 captures the horror of high school and
the chaos of the late 1960s. In a swirl of images, events and music
of that year, a lonely high school senior takes a psychedelic journey
towards sexual and political identity. Unable to conform and needing
to escape, he travels along a Yellow Brick Road of the mind, encountering
such personalities as Dr. Timothy Leary, Janis Joplin and Neil Armstronghe
is propelled headlong into the terrifying, hot center of the counterculture.
Here, in the collective hallucination of the revolution, he embraces
the possibility of reinventing himself and discovers the quirky
spirit which will lead him into the gay Greenwich Village of the
early 1970s. 1969 captures a generations yearning to expand
outwardinto psychedelia, over the rainbow, to the moon. 5m,
2f. Published by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '94, The
Complete Plays.
BETTY
THE YETI by Jon Klein: 2 acts. In this comic Call of
the Wild, a disgruntled logger heads for the woods after losing
his job and his wife. Hounded by environmentalists, treed by his
family, and baited by the lumber industry, it takes a lonely yeti
to finally touch this loggers heart. But whats a mister
to do with his myth when everyone wants heralive or dead?
With an acid wit that could strip the bark from a yew tree, Jon
Klein weaves this woolly new fable about the ferocious tug of war
taking place in Northwest forests. 2m, 3f, 1 yeti. Published by
Dramatists Play Service Inc. and Smith & Kraus in Humana
Festival '94, The Complete Plays.
JULIE
JOHNSON by Wendy Hammond: 2 acts. Julie Johnson has had
enough. Filled with passions that sometimes terrify her, she embarks
on a journey to the ends of the universewithout ever leaving
Hoboken, New Jersey. In this fiercely comic tale of extraordinary
courage, one woman explores love and physics in her overwhelming
need to expand inward. 2m, 3f. Published by Dramatists Play Service,
Inc. and by Smith & Kraus in Humana Festival '94, The Complete
Plays. A film version of Julie Johnson, produced by Shooting
Gallery, premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.
THE
LAST TIME WE SAW HER by Jane Anderson: 10-minute play.
Does personal prerogative end when company policy begins? Thats
the delicate question at hand when a valued employee seeks her supervisors
approval to share a long-kept secret with her staff. The ensuing
discussion illuminates the value |