Three Sisters

Literature & Fiction

WILSON, Lanford

Anton Chekhov, translated by Lanford Wilson

Classics

Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

Skirmishes

Catherine Hayes

Book by Marian Winters, Winters, Marian

A is for All.

Marian Winters

Winters, Marian

Dramas & Plays

Paperback fiction;a professor who plays the cello has problems with the establishment.

The Absence of a Cello - Acting Edition Script

Wallach, Ira

Ira Wallach

Line ~ One by one a group of unacquainted people come together to form a line for some unnamed, upcoming event. The first to arrive is a burly, beer-drinking, sweat-shirted "middle American," then an alienated, voluble, Mozart-loving youth; a taciturn type who brings his own folding stool; and, finally, a shapely, promiscuous girl and her spineless, older husband. Gradually inexorably, the struggle for first place begins, and as they lie, cheat, wrestle and push to gain the lead spot an extraordinary panorama of human frailty is made explosively and hilariously real. As, in the end, are the deviousness, the competitiveness, and the pettiness of the small, wasting battles with which we litter our lives. Hailed as a masterpiece of the new theater in its successful Off-Broadway production (in tandem with Acrobats) this strikingly original and perceptive allegory brilliantly evokes the humor, pathos, mistrust and vulnerability of the human condition in the casual circumstance of a group of disparate people waiting in line for some unspecified event. Acrobats ~ Two acrobats go valiantly through the complexities of their routine, smiling toothily, bowing on cue, and, all the while, conducting a sotto voce but lacerating marital spat. He threatens to drop her, she vows to leave him - but then the lights come up, the final bows are taken, and, subtly but surely, we are aware that their mutual dependency is still stronger than the tensions which have been so wittily and amusingly exposed. A perfect curtain-raiser, this clever, whimsical playlet, which was presented Off-Broadway on a double bill with Line, depicts two "acrobats" engaged in a running marital feud while, at the same time, going through the intricacies of their routine.

Acrobats and Line.

Horovitz, Israël

israel-horovitz

THE STORY: Beginning with rudimentary exercises in self-expression, the Teacher has his three students (two actors, one actress) become plants opening forth to the sun, and then various trees with their characteristic natures. From this they go on to depict children playing with imaginary toys-and falling into the pouts and tantrums to which such activity so often leads. And then comes a more complex situation. Both actors are to be young lovers proposing marriage to the actress, and each is to follow the same script-with the final lines left blank. They are free to vary their style of delivery to fit their feelings, putting as much as possible of their own personalities into their playing, with the final decision as to who will be accepted left to the actress to improvise. The last lesson is for the actors to play the most difficult roles of all-themselves. One of them reaches a point of true self-understanding. The others flounder-but in their failure is a greater lesson, and one which infuses the play with a significance and dramatic tension sure to affect actors and audience alike.

The Acting Lesson. (Acting Edition for Theater Productions)

Willard Simms

Simms, Willard

THE STORY: Sal, a writer, and Jenny, an aspiring actress, dream and work for the day when their talents will be recognized and rewarded. Sharing a cold water flat, they have devised an agreement by which their love and their careers remain separate. But then, one day, Jenny comes home during Sal's writing time, and he senses that a change has come over her-a change which threatens to challenge and disrupt their carefully arranged understanding. She seems strangely elated-yet quarrelsome too-as she announces that she is quitting her acting class. With growing apprehension Sal draws out the reason for her behavior: she is pregnant, and wants them to marry. At first it appears that he will do as she wishes, but gradually he makes his feelings all too clear to her. He cannot accept the life that marriage and parenthood would entail. It would mean the destruction of the comfortable cocoon he has escaped into, and the loss is one that Sal cannot face. But for Jenny life is something that must go on, and she will find the courage to move with it-alone if this must be. Sadly she packs her few things and leaves, while Sal turns to the solace of his typewriter and to the hollow comfort of a life that he can only write about but never truly know.

The Agreement.

TAYLOR, DOUGLAS

Douglas Taylor

Divided into eight scenes, which span their years at Martin Van Buren High School, the play chronicles the coming of age of two teenaged couples during the turbulent sixties. The language is frank, but unfailingly funny, as the four struggle with impending adulthood and their awakening sexuality. The action ranges from summer camp, to dormitory bedrooms, to senior prom, with the popular music of the period-Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Beach Boys-ever present as a telling counterpoint to, and emotional anchor for, the lives of its young foursome. As the years spin deftly by it is also apparent that maturity will bring differing perils and problems for each of them, although all will continue to recall the special excitement-and poignancy-of these last few carefree years together.

Album. (Acting Edition for Theater Productions)

David Rimmer

Rimmer, David

A comedy for a cast of 4 men and 6 women. Being a cartoonist, Duff O'Hara can live where he chooses and, at the urging of his young bride, Joan, this turns out to be historic Salem, Massachusetts. They are both taken by the charming old house that is shown to them; although Duff evinces misgivings when the real estate man reluctantly admits that the house has one rather bizarre feature which has discouraged previous tenants from staying on-it is visited each year by a slightly destructive witch named Agatha Forbes. But Joan wants the house, witch and all, so they settle in. Things go so well that by the time Agatha's annual visitation is due Duff and Joan decide to make a party of it, and hopefully a farewell one for Agatha. Joan's Aunt Thelma comes to visit in time for the festivities for which the next door neighbors, Dr. Randolph and his mother (a medium who calls herself Madame La Solda), are also invited. Agatha is a local legend the newspaper sends its star reporter, Flip Cannon, along to cover the affair, but the atmosphere of gaiety soon vanishes when the witch herself arrives in a cloud of smoke and bad temper. Agatha makes no bones about the fact that she wants everyone out of the house, although she does mellow to the extent of admitting that if she had a choice she would rather forego her enforced yearly visits and stay wherever it is witches live out eternity. She even goes along with Madame La Solda's occult attempts to dissolve the commitment that binds her, but when this fails Agatha loses patience and repeats her evacuation order. As no one will cooperate, she then exercises her special powers and casts a spell which, to every one's dismay, makes them actually become, temporarily, as they secretly wish themselves to be. The results are uproarious. But Joan, fortunately, keeps her wits about her and solves the riddle of how to free Agatha from her house-haunting obligation-which she does in the nick of time and to the relief of all.

All Because of Agatha

Jonathan Troy

Troy, Jonathan

Note: This is a play Version (Acting Edition). His version of the widely known work, which, as a novel, was the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, had a highly successful Off-Broadway run during the 1959 season. s told by Atkinson: "Eliminate the story of Huey Long, which Mr. Warren says is not what he is trying to interpret. He is anatomizing the career with nothing but purity in his heart. Discovering that he is being used by a cynical machine, [Willie] adopts their methods, and presently, he is in control of the state. By resorting to corrupt methods he accomplishes things for the people that were only abstract ideals when he was campaigning honestly. As a portrait of politics, this is effective and provocative."

All the King's Men (Warren) - Acting Edition

Robert Penn Warren

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