ALL ARTICLES

Featured image for “Spirituality in GEM OF THE OCEAN”
February 25, 2016

Spirituality in GEM OF THE OCEAN

Marin Theatre Company recently produced August Wilson’s GEM OF THE OCEAN, and we are proud to share their dramaturg’s pieces on the impact and influence of Wilson’s work.
  • Productions
    /
Featured image for “Top 30 Roles for Strong Leading Females (Part 2)”
February 25, 2016

Top 30 Roles for Strong Leading Females (Part 2)

We’ve compiled a list of over 30 plays with some of the strongest leading female characters. Grab a copy and join these women as they explore themselves, the world around them, and the many challenges that women have faced throughout history. (Part 2)
  • Titles
    /
Featured image for “Top 30 Roles for Strong Leading Females (Part 1)”
February 25, 2016

Top 30 Roles for Strong Leading Females (Part 1)

We’ve compiled a list of over 30 plays with some of the strongest leading female characters. Join these women as they explore themselves, the world around them, and the many challenges that women have faced throughout history. (Part 1)
  • Titles
    /
Featured image for “GEM OF THE OCEAN, Theatrical Jazz, and an Expansive Blackness”
February 24, 2016

GEM OF THE OCEAN, Theatrical Jazz, and an Expansive Blackness

Marin Theatre Company recently produced August Wilson’s GEM OF THE OCEAN, and we are proud to share their dramaturg’s pieces on the impact and influence of Wilson’s work.
  • Productions
    /
Featured image for “When You’re Here, You’re Family: Samuel D. Hunter’s POCATELLO”
February 23, 2016

When You’re Here, You’re Family: Samuel D. Hunter’s POCATELLO

Check out Contributor Garrett Anderson’s take on Samuel D. Hunter’s Pocatello.
  • Titles
    /
Featured image for “Writing About “It”: The Mystery of Love and Sex”
February 10, 2016

Writing About “It”: The Mystery of Love and Sex

It only takes one small moment to make a large impact. In this beautiful and telling piece, Bathsheba Doran discusses how her journey as a woman, a lesbian and a writer led to her play.
  • Authors
    /
Featured image for “Adrienne Kennedy and Her Disavowal of Time and Space”
February 4, 2016

Adrienne Kennedy and Her Disavowal of Time and Space

Writers often play with the constraints of time by creating warped worlds. Playwright Adrienne Kennedy does so by taking you into a character’s mind. Learn how.
  • Productions
    /
Featured image for “Not Just Another War Story: Romantic Comedy According to Qui Nguyen”
February 3, 2016

Not Just Another War Story: Romantic Comedy According to Qui Nguyen

Dramaturg Andy Knight’s take on Qui Nguyen’s Vietgone.
  • Titles
    /
Featured image for “Smitten & Sweet: The Top 10 Love Plays To Read This Month”
February 2, 2016

Smitten & Sweet: The Top 10 Love Plays To Read This Month

This February, make time to choose a script from below, pour yourself a drink, curl up on the couch, and get ready to escape into a (sexy, hilarious, bittersweet) love story. And unlike all those bad dates, we promise you won’t be disappointed.
  • Titles
    /
Featured image for “Openhearted Deadpan: Director George Toles on Will Eno’s MIDDLETOWN”
January 29, 2016

Openhearted Deadpan: Director George Toles on Will Eno’s MIDDLETOWN

Director George Toles describe Will Eno’s writing as “openhearted deadpan.” Read more to learn why.
  • Productions
    /
Featured image for “The Power of Storytelling: Sarah Ruhl’s PASSION PLAY”
January 28, 2016

The Power of Storytelling: Sarah Ruhl’s PASSION PLAY

Playwright Julia Izumi gives her take on Sarah Ruhl’s Passion Play.
  • Titles
    /
Featured image for “What’s So Good About Good: Looking for Answers in Stoppard’s THE HARD PROBLEM”
January 28, 2016

What’s So Good About Good: Looking for Answers in Stoppard’s THE HARD PROBLEM

In Tom Stoppard’s 1972 play Jumpers, a character asks, “What’s so good about Good?” Mentioning this line in a note on his new play, The Hard Problem, Stoppard writes “I haven’t gotten any further.”
  • Productions
    /
Featured image for “Re-Imagining The Musical: The Story of BIG NATE”
January 26, 2016

Re-Imagining The Musical: The Story of BIG NATE

It’s no secret that there is a trend in musical theatre these days. Audiences love to see well-known movies, books, and stories re-imagined as musicals – and comic strips are no exception.
  • Titles
    /
Featured image for “From The Other Side Of The Casting Table: A Directorial Debut With August Wilson’s SEVEN GUITARS”
January 21, 2016

From The Other Side Of The Casting Table: A Directorial Debut With August Wilson’s SEVEN GUITARS

What’s the view like from the other side of the casting table? Especially when it’s your directorial debut, and your wife and brother are in the cast? Two River Theater Company’s Brandon J. Dirden tells all.
  • Authors
    /
  • Productions
    /
Featured image for “An Epic Testament to Theatre: The Premiere of Sarah Ruhl’s PASSION PLAY”
January 19, 2016

An Epic Testament to Theatre: The Premiere of Sarah Ruhl’s PASSION PLAY

Passion Play is an ambitious piece of theatre. We witness three passion plays (which are religious events that reenact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ) in three vastly different eras: Elizabethan England, Hitler’s Germany, and America at the height of the Vietnam War.
  • Titles
    /
Featured image for “Spectacle, Imagination & Vikings: The Making of an Adventure Musical”
January 15, 2016

Spectacle, Imagination & Vikings: The Making of an Adventure Musical

Emma Katz is a fifth grader searching for her calling. When her teacher assigns her a project about Viking Erik the Red, Emma is gung-ho for an adventure.
  • Titles
    /
Featured image for “Life Isn’t The Things We Do, It’s Who We’re Doing Them With”
January 12, 2016

Life Isn’t The Things We Do, It’s Who We’re Doing Them With

How often is it we take for the stars for granted? The vast, cosmic expanse of beauty that hangs above us in the night sky humming a symphonic soundscape of ideas, love, and above all, connection.
  • Titles
    /
Featured image for “Imagination, Desire & Getting Personal: Clare Barron, Jennifer Haley and Anne Kauffman in Conversation”
January 11, 2016

Imagination, Desire & Getting Personal: Clare Barron, Jennifer Haley and Anne Kauffman in Conversation

Clare Barron’s YOU GOT OLDER. Jennifer Haley’s THE NETHER. How do these contrasting plays connect? Three must-know women of the theatre sit down to discuss.
  • Authors
    /
Featured image for “To Read Or Not To Read:  Top 10 Plays About Shakespeare”
January 4, 2016

To Read Or Not To Read: Top 10 Plays About Shakespeare

For a fresh start on the new year, we’re taking a new look at the Bard. From parodies to Shakespearean characters changing up their stories, the below list of Shakespeare-inspired shows will provide endless entertainment during the cold winter months. Go forth and enjoy!
  • Titles
    /
Featured image for “Silence is Golden: The Electric Properties of Subtext in Playwriting”
November 20, 2015

Silence is Golden: The Electric Properties of Subtext in Playwriting

The importance of silence in playwriting is often overlooked by noise.By all means, fill the page with words, but the real work begins in the removal process.
  • Authors
    /
Featured image for “Living on Avenue X”
June 3, 2015

Living on Avenue X

John Jiler and Ray Leslee, co-creators of Avenue X, an a cappella musical addressing racism through the lens of Black and Italian neighbors in Brooklyn in 1963, discuss the show’s enduring relevance.
  • Titles
    /
Featured image for “Forgiveness and Self-Acceptance: A GREAT WILDERNESS”
March 16, 2015

Forgiveness and Self-Acceptance: A GREAT WILDERNESS

Concord Theatricals playwright and former employee of Samuel French, Julia Izumi, breaks down Samuel D. Hunter’s A Great Wilderness.
  • Playwrights
    /
  • Titles
    /
Featured image for “A BRIGHT NEW BOISE: Questions of Ambition and Faith”
February 10, 2015

A BRIGHT NEW BOISE: Questions of Ambition and Faith

Concord Theatricals’ Vice President of Literary, Amy Rose Marsh, spotlights Samuel D. Hunter’s A Bright New Boise, unpacking the quiet beauty of the quintessentially American play.
  • Authors
    /
  • Titles
    /
Featured image for “THE FEW: A Gritty, Moving Homecoming”
January 22, 2015

THE FEW: A Gritty, Moving Homecoming

This 2015 article from the Samuel French archives breaks down Samuel D. Hunter’s The Few, diving into what’s compelling about the play, and why you might want to produce it in this moment. Read on for a quick overview on the touching piece.
  • Playwrights
    /
  • Titles
    /
Featured image for “Mammoth and Moving: The Elephant Man on Broadway”
January 5, 2015

Mammoth and Moving: The Elephant Man on Broadway

Bradley Cooper takes on the title role in the Broadway revival of Bernard Pomerance’s Tony-winning play.
  • Productions
    /
Featured image for “Murder with Grace: A Jane Austen Inspiration”
November 2, 2014

Murder with Grace: A Jane Austen Inspiration

Playwright Leon Kaye explains the genesis of his dark comedy, in which two women plot to murder an insufferable girl who hopes to marry into their family.
  • Playwrights
    /
Featured image for “Backing Into a Premiere”
October 16, 2014

Backing Into a Premiere

College theatremaker Michael Williams Jr. describes the experience of premiering Murder With Grace, Leon Kaye’s delightful dark comedy inspired by the work of Jane Austen.
  • Titles
    /
Featured image for “Notes from The Structuralist: How Structure Helps Your Work”
July 24, 2012

Notes from The Structuralist: How Structure Helps Your Work

Playwright Diana Amsterdam gives insight on the importance of structure in playwriting.
  • Authors
    /