Theater Plays

This guide to play reading for students and practitioners of both theater and literature complements, rather than contradicts or repeats, traditional methods of literary analysis of scripts. Ball developed his method during his work as Literary Director at the Guthrie Theater, building his guide on the crafts playwrights of every period and style use. The audiobook is full of tools for students and practitioners to use as they investigate plot, character, theme, and the other crucial parts of the superstructure of a play.

Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz. The film stars Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henreid. Set during World War II, it focuses on an American expatriate who must choose between his love for a woman and helping her and her husband, a Czech resistance leader, escape from the Vichy-controlled city of Casablanca to continue his fight against the Germans. Exceeding expectations, Casablanca went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, became iconic and it consistently ranks near the top of lists of the greatest films in history. David ...

Characters search for a conflict, upset audience members disrupt the show, a spy mission goes wrong, cowboys try but can’t do a simple shootout correctly, and a considerate and mannerly thief asks permission before he robs people. These are some of the situations found in this collection of ten-minute plays. Here are delightful theatrical nuggets that range from the comical to the serious. Each one is designed to be produced with just a few actors, few props, and within a single setting. They are easy to perform or fun to just read.

Drawing on her knowledge as director, actor, and teacher, Packer traces the chronological evolution of Shakespeare's female characters and examines Shakespeare's own journey and growth as a writer from feckless misogynist in his youth to committed lover in his middle years to unrepentant feminist in his final years.

An eighth grader dares to direct the school play. Can she handle her cast of peers? Aimi Wilby loves theater and writing. With the spring play coming up, the budding author is thrilled to be assigned as an assistant director. Diligent Aimi can’t believe it when her teacher abruptly quits, and she is chosen to write and direct the entire production. Aimi refuses to be deterred even when she loses her mentor, her cast members fight, the school administrators prove apathetic, and parents are constantly overbearing. However, what the intrepid teenager fears most is that she will disappoint ...

After matching online, two strangers—played by Heléne Yorke (The Other Two) and Michael Zegen (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)—meet in real life. The vibe is off, and the conversation is a mess. Yet something is keeping them in their seats. What begins as a typical date off the apps spirals into something unexpected.

Stupid Plays includes four deliciously dumb plays. They are silly, funny, and a great way to waste an afternoon! Sugar and Spice - Ruth Stone returns to work after the death of her husband and turns to a life of crime. Grave Undertakings - Zoe pays off past debts by turning the mortuary where she interns into a necrophiliac whorehouse. Freedumb - don't worry if the country goes socialist, fascist, or communist, because we've got freedumb! Bread and Circuses - Junior and Steffie go on the ride of their lives.

To write for the theater, you need to know about theater. Ideas are easy to come by. Examine your background, interest, and beliefs. Examine the world around you. Exercises can help you come up with ideas. Choose the audience you want to reach, and write to that audience.

In his first work for the theater, James Baldwin brought all the fervor and majestic rhetoric of the storefront churches of his childhood along with an unwavering awareness of the price those churches exacted from their worshipers. For years Sister Margaret Alexander has moved her Harlem congregation with a mixture of personal charisma and ferocious piety. But when Margaret's estranged husband, a scapegrace jazz musician, comes home to die, she is in danger of losing both her standing in the church and the son she has tried to keep on the godly path.

10 minute plays for kids of all ages #2 is an additional collection of original, royalty-free, plays excellent for any audience. These scripts will work for intermediate drama students, to high school acting classes, and even multi-aged youth groups. Each play is versatile and can be staged as a reader’s theatre, a short parent recital, or even adapted into full stage productions. Most roles are gender flexible and range from 5 to 13 players, with the option to add more if needed. All plays are age-appropriate without concern about subjects or language. Kids as young as 5yrs have watched ...

In over her head this junior higher will not quit. Can she find a way to finish the production? Aimi Wilby is loyal to a fault when it comes to her friends, new and old. The administrators overload her. Her mentor abandons the project and leaves this eighth grader to ‘figure things out.' Even the lawyers try to shut her down. But, she will not let her cast members and her newest friend down. Aimi discovers that not all witches wear pointy hats and ride brooms. Her new friend asks Aimi to do the unthinkable, to go where she has never gone before. Aimi’s devotion is tested beyond what she...

"It's The End" is a comedy-monologue about a woman who is supposedly in her last moments, and therefore makes some radical decisions. "The Beast" is about an elderly woman who moves into the refrigerator in protest at the neglect of her caregivers.

Abe Vigoda worked as an actor for all of his adult life. He did theatre...He did television...But it wasn’t until he was 50-years-old that he got a role where the public even noticed him. He played Tessio in The Godfather. Michael B. Druxman’s humorous one-person play, Abe Vigoda, finds the actor with a major problem. The press has, erroneously, announced that he is dead, and his agent’s phone has stopped ringing. Now, Abe has to convince the entertainment industry that he is still with us.

Stagehands argue about their relationship between acts, a mountain climber struggles to rise above the summit of public opinion, the man once sent to kill a princess finds her working at a diner, retired superheroes lament their new life, and a villain threatens to blow up the world if he can get the Henchman Union to end contract negotiations. These are some of the situations found in this second collection of ten-minute plays. Each one is designed to be produced with just a few actors, few props, and within a single setting. They are easy to perform or fun to just read.

Michael B. Druxman’s one-person play, Ronald Reagan: Movie Star, joins the actor in 1949, when he has just lost a major film role to Errol Flynn. Indeed, not much in his life seems to be going well at this time. Divorced from actress Jane Wyman, his recent romance with Patricia Neal has also taken a wrong turn after she discovered Gary Cooper.

An undercover vampire, a prophetic park bench, an audience on stage, a mixed-up fairy tale, a bad hand, a little gibberish, some self care, a dental obsession, and the end of the world are some of the things you will encounter in this fourth collection of ten-minute plays. Most are designed to be produced with just a few actors, a few props, and within one or two simple settings. They are easy to perform or fun to just read.

Ten easy to produce and perform plays designed to be used as part of intergenerational worship services which bring to life important lessons about being together in community.

The History Plays is a series of five two-hander plays by Vent author Nigel Smith, which are imagined conversations at key moments in recent history, moments that have permanently changed the British psyche. Starting with Mick Jagger's conviction for drug possession and the surprising pro-Jagger line taken in a Times editorial through the fragmented morality of John Stonehouse, the Indian summer of patriotism over the Falklands, the death of Diana, and the end of the Blair years, The History Plays are a satirical and thoughtful exploration of huge social forces.

Are you ready to embark on a journey through the remarkable achievements of African American men and women who have left an indelible mark on America and the world? “TEAR DOWN THE WALLS" is not just a play; it's a captivating exploration of the profound contributions made by African Americans across a spectrum of fields. From science to politics, law to sports, and the arts to entertainment, this production shines a spotlight on their outstanding accomplishments. Prepare to be moved by the touching portrayal of the struggles and triumphs that have shaped African American history. From the...

Every funeral is an unplanned occasion thrown together under terrible circumstances by people in shock and mourning. No one involved in burying the dead can fail to recognize their own mortality or confront the course their life has taken to date. In this full cast audio play about the death of a philandering family patriarch in a small town, characters reveal shocking secrets and struggle to decide if, when, and how they will ever see one another again. This moment marks the end of who each character is and allows us to understand who they will become.