Best American Short Plays – serie

Best Monologues from Best American Short Plays, Volume One is a must for actors of all ages – beginners as well as seasoned veterans – and belongs in the libraries of all theater teachers looking for new and exciting material for their students. The monologues in this volume are excerpted from the outstanding series Best American Short Plays, an archive of works from many of the best playwrights active today, presenting taut, engaging single-character pieces that range from zany comedy to poignant tales of love and loss. Each monologue includes a short introduction and a reference identifying where to locate the entire play, should anyone choose to pursue production beyond the monologue. Long or short, serious or not, this collection is must-have material for anyone interested in acting. The monologues also succeed as excellent companions for the casual reader.Included in this volume are monologues by Liliana Almendarez, James Armstrong, Billy Aronson, Clay McLeod Chapman, Migdalla Cruz, Laura Shaine Cunningham, Eileen Fischer, Jill Elaine Hughes, Julia Jarcho, Zilvinas Jonusas, Adam Kraar, David Kranes, Neil LaBute, Daniel Frederick Levin, Bruce Levy, Carey Lovelace, Carol K. Mack, Dano Madden, Peter Maloney, Joe Maruzzo, Mark Medoff, Susan Miller, Julie Rae (Pratt) Mollenkamp, Rick Pulos, Ronald Ribman, Murray Schisgal, Pamela Sneed, and co-writers Polly Frost and Ray Sawhill.

This second volume of the best monologues from the Best American Short Plays series features a diverse selection drawn from the outstanding works from many of today's best American playwrights. In these monologues, the playwrights capture much of the flavors, feelings, and thoughts of American culture over the past several decades. The result is a collection of taught, engaging monologues offering fascinating perspectives. They are written with an eye toward the stage that makes them excellent source material for actors young and old alike. And they offer a freshness and directness that make them excellent companions for readers attracted to good, often quirky, and always engaging contemporary literature.Included in this volume are monologues by Billy Aronson, Bruce Bonafede, Victor Bumbalo, Clay McLeod Chapman, Yussef El Guindi, Steve Feffer, Catherine Filloux, Daniel Gallant, Madeleine George, Willy Holtzman, Paul Kuritz, Neil LaBute, Dano Madden, Theodore Mann, Donald Margulies, Susan Miller, Lavonne Mueller, Joyce Carol Oates, Carey Pepper, Joe Pintauro, Michael Roderick, Murray Schisgal, Paul Selig, and Nicky Silver.

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Really? Words can break spirits, destroy confidence. They can also build hope and incite great acts of heroism. Playwrights know this, and so do theater audiences. Otherwise, why go? Words matter and carry clout every bit as dangerous as a hammer or crowbar. This, too, playwrights know.The monologues in this volume are full of such blows, striking at our imaginations and our memories, generating responses such as joyful laughter or chilling surprise. Others squeeze us into worlds we've never experienced, or perhaps experienced at the furthest edges of memory and recollection. Still others may help us alter the way we see certain things, people, or beliefs.Best Monologues from The Best American Short Plays, Volume Three is a collection of monologues drawn from the popular Best American Short Plays series, an archive of works from many of the best playwrights active today. Long or short, serious or not, excerpts or entireties, this collection abounds in speech acts that may trigger physical reactions and almost certainly will transform an attitude or two, drawing out lost memories, creating new ones, and definitely entertaining, engaging, amusing us all along the way.

Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Paula Vogel once said that theater helps us learn how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable with each other. Revolving around the theme of "this is who we are," the one-act plays in this latest edition of the Best American Short Playsseries (now in its ninth decade) explore the thoughtful ways in which playwrights are wrestling to make sense of our world today. The selected plays reflect how we perform our identities (private and public) and how we negotiate who we are with others who often have different perspectives, perspectives that make us uncomfortable. The theme of this collection is topical and apt as our country continues to shore up its borders along party lines, from pride parades to strict abortion laws, from inclusivity in education curricula to children in detention centers at the US–Mexico border. Each of the plays presents a clear reflection of who we are (and who we aspire to be) as individuals and as a nation. The styles of the plays also reflect different approaches to storytelling: two characters, four characters, a single setting, multiple settings, or a utopian "nowhere." The rich and compelling characters try to work out their differences and overcome obstacles using humor and a sense of magic that comes with simple moments of human connection. This is who we are: people who are grappling with the desire to be understood, the hope to be loved and accepted, and to allow that hope to shape a larger sense of who we could be if we continue to work and listen.

Scripts for 16 short plays complete with bios on each author. Titles include: Aryan Birth • Bondage • A Couple with a Cat • The Cowboy, the Indian and the Fervent Feminist • Dreamers • The Drowning of Manhattan • It's Our Town, Too • Jolly • Little Red Riding Hood • Night Baseball • Pitching to the Star • The Sausage Eaters • Show • The Tack Room • The Valentine Fairy • Watermelon Rinds.

Scripts for 12 short plays complete with bios on each author. Includes: Fitting Rooms (Susan Cinoman) • Scribe's Paradox, or The Mechanical Rabbit (Michael Feingold) • Home Section (Janusz Glowacki) • Degas, C'est Moi (David Ives) • The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (Allan Knee) • Old Blues (Jonathon Levy) • Dearborn Heights (Cassandra Medley) • American Dreamers (Lavonne Mueller) • When It Comes Early (John Ford Noonan) • The Original Last Wish Baby (William Seebring) • The Mystery School (Paul Selig) • The Sandalwood Box (Mac Wellman).