Eight of Suzan Zeder's plays, each widely produced and popular, are in this anthology, a collection of her first works for stage. Zeder is one of the most imaginative playwrights of her generation, and is best known for the depth and dimension of her child protagonists, the bold handling of contemporary themes and issues. She is theatrically exciting and surprising. Here are the titles for which she is famous - STEP ON A CRACK, WILEY AND THE HAIRY MAN, DOORS, MOTHER HICKS. Here are her well-crafted adaptations - - OZMA OF OZ, THE PLAY CALLED NOAH'S FLOOD. And here are recent works -- OTHER DOORS, IN A ROOM SOMEWHERE. They range from comedy to drama, realism to fantasy, uniquely blending styles and themes. For these reasons, among many, she early received the coveted Chorpenning Cup from the Children's Theatre Association of America. Twice her plays have been named for the Distinguished Play Award of the American Association of Theatre for Youth.

Wish in One Hand Spit in the Other: A Collection of Plays by Suzan Zeder

Literature & Fiction

Suzan Zeder

Dramas & Plays

Anchorage Pr Plays/Dramatic Pub Co

A spine-tingling tale of a boy and his worst fears in the swamp-eventually overcome by Wiley himself. Cast of 3 men, 1 woman. A chorus of 4 or more who may be either male or female. Fragmentary set which may suggest house and swamp. Costumes, "simple swamp." Set deep within the mysterious Tombigee Swamp, WILEY AND THE HAIRY MAN centers around a young fatherless boy, his conjure-woman Mother, his faithful Hounddog, and the Hairy Man who haunts Wiley's days and dreams. Through rhythm and rhyme, a Chorus creates the mystery of the swamp. The magic of this play is not fairy dust -- it is soil. The magic of the earth and mud of the swamp. The magic of survival. In an exciting duel of wits, Wiley learns to rely upon his own resources and conquers two villains; the Hairy Man and his own fear.

Wiley and the Hairy Man

Anchorage Pr

Mother Hicks

Play script. An evocative story of three outsiders, richly realized through all of the resources of theatre, including poetry, character, and story. Various locations in and around Ware, Illinois, in the late spring of 1935. (THE TASTE OF SUNRISE by Suzan L. Zeder is the prequel to this play.) CAST: 4 men, 4 women (minimum) who create 10 roles. Set in southern Illinois, during the great Depression, this play is about three outsiders - - a foundling girl known only as Girl; a deaf boy, eloquent in the language of his silence; and an eccentric recluse, Mother Hicks, who is suspected of being a witch. The tale, told with poetry and sign language, chronicles the journeys of these three to find themselves, and each other, in a troubled time. Provocative productions through North America have revealed the power and appeal of this play.

Bi-lingual play in American Sign Language and spoken English. Set in the 1920's - 1930's, in multiple locations we follow the childhood of Tuc (in the dreams of the adult Tuc) in a moving prequel to Zeder's acclaimed MOTHER HICKS. Time is memory. 10 men, 1 woman, 2 deaf actors needed. Multiple locations.The play takes place in the mind and memory of the adult Tuc as he journeys through his childhood from the fever dream that took his hearing, to the language of nature which he shares with his beloved father, to the Deaf school where his mind explodes with the discovery of sign language. Along the way Tuc meets the mysterious Nell Hicks who heals with herbs and singing spells. He also meets Rosecoe who gives Tuc his name-sign and cultural identity, and Maize, a wild child of Deaf parents, teenaged and pregnant with a head full of movie palace dreams. After the death of his father, Tuc must navigate the perilous path of loss, love, and language as he struggles to weave a family out of wishes, and explores the moral ambiguities of our times and the cultural complexities of Deafness, with humor and compassion.

The Taste Of Sunrise

Science & Math

Nature & Ecology

Wiley And The Hairy Man