These are professional-level comedy monologues, but they can be easily performed by talented high-school actors. Most of the characterizations can be effectively performed by either sex. The emphasis in this monologue book is on comedy and social satire. Nothing is sacred, yet all monologues are within the boundaries of good taste. In most instances, the monologist is making fun of his/her own dilemmas of everyday living. Good contest material. Excellent for classroom use. Each monologue is three to five minutes long. View More...
Looking for a great piece to work on in your scene study class? For an audition? You want something fresh, juicy, well-written -- something you haven't seen in every scene book. Give Chekov a rest and turn to memorable characters and scenes from the silver screen.This remarkable anthology offers an incredible range of contemporary dialogues from the pens of the industry's finest talents -- scenes that pulsate with emotional life, scenes that live on their own, out of context. Blistering drama and caustic comedy are excerpted from the classic screenplays of James L. Brooks and Oliver Stone, and... View More...
Looking for a great piece to work on in your scene study class? For an audition? You want something fresh, juicy, well-written -- something you haven't seen in every scene book. Give Chekov a rest and turn to memorable characters and scenes from the silver screen.This remarkable anthology offers an incredible range of contemporary dialogues from the pens of the industry's finest talents -- scenes that pulsate with emotional life, scenes that live on their own, out of context. Blistering drama and caustic comedy are excerpted from the classic screenplays of James L. Brooks and Oliver Stone, and... View More...
One of the best-known, most frequently performed of modern plays, A Doll's House richly displays the genius with which Henrik Ibsen pioneered modern, realistic prose drama. In the central character of Nora, Ibsen epitomized the human struggle against the humiliating constraints of social conformity. Nora's ultimate rejection of a smothering marriage and life in "a doll's house" shocked theatergoers of the late 1800s and opened new horizons for playwrights and their audiences.But daring social themes are only one aspect of Ibsen's power as a dramatist. A Doll's House shows as well his gifts for... View More...
One of the best-known, most frequently performed of modern plays, A Doll's House richly displays the genius with which Henrik Ibsen pioneered modern, realistic prose drama. In the central character of Nora, Ibsen epitomized the human struggle against the humiliating constraints of social conformity. Nora's ultimate rejection of a smothering marriage and life in "a doll's house" shocked theatergoers of the late 1800s and opened new horizons for playwrights and their audiences.But daring social themes are only one aspect of Ibsen's power as a dramatist. A Doll's House shows as well his gifts for... View More...
Nora Helmer, wife to Torvald and mother of three children, appears to enjoy living the life of a pampered, indulged child. But as her economic dependence becomes brutally clear, Nora's acceptance of the status quo undergoes a profound change. To the horror of the bewildered Torvald, himself caught in the tight web of a conservative society which demands that he exert strict control, Nora comes to see that only possible true course of action is to leave the family home.Frank McGuinness's version of A Doll's House received its London premiere in October 1996 and opened on Broadway in 1997, where... View More...
Delivering three distinct and powerful visions of characters who choose to defy convention in the pursuit of happiness, Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House and Other Plays is translated with an introduction by Peter Watts in Penguin Classics. The League of Youth was Ibsen's first venture into realistic social drama and marks a turning-point in his style. By 1879 Ibsen was convinced that women suffer an inevitable violation of their personalities within the context of marriage. In A Doll's House, Ibsen caused a sensation with the his portrayal of Nora Helmer, a woman who, gradually arriving at an un... View More...
Who better than America's elder statesman of the theater, Williams' contemporary Arthur Miller, to write as a witness to the lightning that struck American culture in the form of A Streetcar Named Desire? Miller's rich perspective on Williams' singular style of poetic dialogue, sensitive characters, and dramatic violence makes this a unique and valuable new edition of A Streetcar Named Desire. This definitive new edition will also include Williams' essay "The World I Live In," and a brief chronology of the author's life. View More...
Who better than America's elder statesman of the theater, Williams' contemporary Arthur Miller, to write as a witness to the lightning that struck American culture in the form of A Streetcar Named Desire? Miller's rich perspective on Williams' singular style of poetic dialogue, sensitive characters, and dramatic violence makes this a unique and valuable new edition of A Streetcar Named Desire. This definitive new edition will also include Williams' essay "The World I Live In," and a brief chronology of the author's life. View More...
Finally Here is a stirring book of original scenes and monologs that is gender specific This is not just another book of scenes but a wide variety of topics and situations fine-tuned to recreate the day-to-day experiences of young women. This wonderfully diversified collection of monologues, dialogues, trios, and quartets deals with subjects of self-discovery, survival in the real world, and daunting decisions from tragic to trivial. These sixty characterizations will make both performers and audiences laugh, cry, and know themselves better. The material is excellent for speech contests, act... View More...
From the writer/director of Jerry Maguire and author of Conversations with Billy Wilder, this is a coming-of-age tale that owes its tangible authenticity to Crowe's real-life experiences as a teenage reporter who toured with the legendary Led Zeppelin. View More...
Widely regarded as one of the foremost dramatists of the nineteenth century, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) brought the social problems and ideas of his day to center stage. Creating realistic plays of psychological conflict that emphasized character over cunning plots, he frequently inspired critical objections because his dramas deemed the individual more important than the group.In this powerful work, Ibsen places his main characters, Dr. Thomas Stockman, in the role of an enlightened and persecuted minority of one confronting an ignorant, powerful majority. When the physicia... View More...
Widely regarded as one of the foremost dramatists of the nineteenth century, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) brought the social problems and ideas of his day to center stage. Creating realistic plays of psychological conflict that emphasized character over cunning plots, he frequently inspired critical objections because his dramas deemed the individual more important than the group.In this powerful work, Ibsen places his main characters, Dr. Thomas Stockman, in the role of an enlightened and persecuted minority of one confronting an ignorant, powerful majority. When the physicia... View More...
In his long life, Sophocles (born ca. 496 B.C., died after 413) wrote more than one hundred plays. Of these, seven complete tragedies remain, among them the famed Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus. In Antigone, he reveals the fate that befalls the children of Oedipus. With its passionate speeches and sensitive probing of moral and philosophical issues, this powerful drama enthralled its first Athenian audiences and won great honors for Sophocles.The setting of the play is Thebes. Polynices, son of Oedipus, has led a rebellious army against his brother, Eteocles, ruler of Thebes. Both have die... View More...
In his long life, Sophocles (born ca. 496 B.C., died after 413) wrote more than one hundred plays. Of these, seven complete tragedies remain, among them the famed Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus. In Antigone, he reveals the fate that befalls the children of Oedipus. With its passionate speeches and sensitive probing of moral and philosophical issues, this powerful drama enthralled its first Athenian audiences and won great honors for Sophocles.The setting of the play is Thebes. Polynices, son of Oedipus, has led a rebellious army against his brother, Eteocles, ruler of Thebes. Both have die... View More...
One of the most startling and reliable measures of vitality in the contemporary American theatre is the staggering volume and high quality of new plays that it continues to produce. This anthology is offered as a partial reflection of some of the best new work that has been written since 1980. Not found in other published texts, the 57 monologues in this book are all from recently produced plays from both established and emerging new writers and are specifically suited for auditioning. Selected both because of how well they represent American theatre over the past few decades and because of th... View More...
One of the most startling and reliable measures of vitality in the contemporary American theatre is the staggering volume and high quality of new plays that it continues to produce. This anthology is offered as a partial reflection of some of the best new work that has been written since 1980. Not found in other published texts, the 57 monologues in this book are all from recently produced plays from both established and emerging new writers and are specifically suited for auditioning. Selected both because of how well they represent American theatre over the past few decades and because of th... View More...
(Applause Books). Covering the full scope of Western drama, from the ancient Greeks to the 20th century, these two volumes of Classical Monologues for Women together contain 136 monologues from sources other than Shakespeare's plays. The series now presents the monologues chronologically rather than dividing them up into younger and older roles, with this volume covering the period from the 1680s to the 1940s. The men's volumes will be revised in a similar way. Monologues from the full scope of Western drama are included: Greek, Roman, Italian Renaissance, Elizabethan, Jacobean, Restoration, S... View More...
This collection of contemporary scenes provides the student actor, as well as professional and untrained performers, with material from some of the best plays ever written. Each selection contains critical information on characters, setting, and background to give a clear sense of what the play is about. Contemporary Scenes for Student Actors accommodates a wide variety of acting styles, from naturalistic to poetic to highly stylized, spanning a range of ages and a variety of locales, and incorporating excerpts of various lengths. Includes scenes from plays by - Woody Allen - Maxwell Anderson... View More...
This collection of contemporary scenes provides the student actor, as well as professional and untrained performers, with material from some of the best plays ever written. Each selection contains critical information on characters, setting, and background to give a clear sense of what the play is about. Contemporary Scenes for Student Actors accommodates a wide variety of acting styles, from naturalistic to poetic to highly stylized, spanning a range of ages and a variety of locales, and incorporating excerpts of various lengths. Includes scenes from plays by - Woody Allen - Maxwell Anderson... View More...
"Edgar's main theme is how precisely the US got where it is today . . . in the big, bold Daughters of the Revolution, he uses a political thriller to show how the 1960's radical baby-boomers turned into today's conformists. Its companion piece, Mothers Against, dealing with the Republican side, is a total triumph. The action takes place before a crucial televised debate. Together, the two plays are a tremendous achievement."--Michael Billington, Guardian
What happens when you've lived only for pleasure, and you finally run out of time? When you've broken every promise, outraged every decency and slept your way through half of Europe - where do you turn as the clock starts to tick towards midnight? Neil Bartlett's new translation brings out all the dark undercurrents of Moli re's wickedly black comedy. View More...
One of the most durable myths in Western culture, the story of Faust tells of a learned German doctor who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power. Early enactments of Faust's damnation were often the raffish fare of clowns and low comedians. But the young Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) recognized in the story of Faust's temptation and fall the elements of tragedy.In his epic treatment of the Faust legend, Marlowe retains much of the rich phantasmagoria of its origins. There are florid visions of an enraged Lucifer, dueling angels, the Seven Deadl... View More...
"A remarkably rich and stimulating volume...A unique blending of emotional and intellectual experience."--Los Angeles Times Here in one volume are the complete texts of eight of the world's greatest plays, masterful examples of the comic view of life in drama. This outstanding treasury of great reading includes the bawdy humor of Machiavelli's Mandragola; the poignant, searching wit of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya; the ironic social comment of Shaw's Arms and the Man; and five other influential works, including a new translation of Moli re's satire The Miser, which the editors have prepared especiall... View More...
This collection represents a complete range of Western drama since the beginning of recorded dramatic history. This anthology and the anthology above offer a choice to those instructors who prefer complete works to excerpts. View More...
Ben Elton's plays in one volume for the first time Gasping: ". . . an often hilarious satire on yuppiedom, advertising and corporate greed" (Daily Telegraph); ". . . the sharpest futuristic comedy since Henceforward, and the best Green comedy since The Good Life was young."(Financial Times). Silly Cow: "It has an ingenious plot. . . another perfect occasion for a Ben Elton satire on the modern world. . ." (Financial Times). Popcorn: "An enjoyable, intelligent, thought-provoking play" (Independent); "It thrills on stage precisely because it adopts the sick humour, sickening violence and downrig... View More...
