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Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE BY CHRISTOPHER DURANG DRAMATISTS PLAY SERVICE INC. VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE Copyright © 2014, Christopher Durang All Rights Reserved CAUTION: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that performance of VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE is subject to payment of a royalty. It is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, and of all countries covered by the International Copyright Union (including the Dominion of Canada and the rest of the British Commonwealth), and of all countries covered by the Pan-American Copyright Convention, the Universal Copyright Convention, the Berne Convention, and of all countries with which the United States has reciprocal copyright relations. All rights, including without limitation professional/amateur stage rights, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio broadcasting, television, video or sound recording, all other forms of mechanical, electronic and digital reproduction, transmission and distribution, such as CD, DVD, the Internet, private and file-sharing networks, information storage and retrieval systems, photocopying, and the rights of translation into foreign languages are strictly reserved. Particular emphasis is placed upon the matter of readings, permission for which must be secured from the Author’s agent in writing. The English language stock and amateur stage performance rights in the United States, its territories, possessions and Canada for VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE are controlled exclusively by DRAMATISTS PLAY SERVICE, INC., 440 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016. No professional or nonprofessional performance of the Play may be given without obtaining in advance the written permission of DRAMATISTS PLAY SERVICE, INC., and paying the requisite fee. -
2013-14Season Therapy Beyond
Scott Alan Evans, Cynthia Harris & Jenn Thompson Co-Artistic Directors VOLUME 21 No. 1 SUMMER 2013 the actors company theatre By COMPANY NEWS William Inge Directed By NEW SEASON ∙NEW LOOK ∙NEW SITE Jenn Thompson A violent love triangle that tests ACT’s 20th Anniversary season was the ties that bind. Ta benchmark in every way. The com- pany said “Happy Birthday” to itself with a special production of Happy Birthday by Anita Loos; it said “Goodbye” to Cathy By Bencivenga, its long-time and much be- Christopher loved General Manager; “Hello” to Christy Durang Ming-Trent its new General Manager; and Directed By Scott Alan Evans many many “Thank Yous” to the support- ers and contributors who helped make its Anniversary Spring Gala at the University BEYOND Club such an unmitigated success. It’s natural to use such a milestone year THERAPY as a pivot point to launch into the future. Life can be crazy. Therapy can help. The first revival of a long-lost classic. That is just what TACT is doing. We have a new logo and a new look – and will soon have a brand new website (coming late in the fall of 2014). And, of course, most important of all is the new season. Read all about it here, renew or become a new member, and check out what our compa- 2013-14 SEASON ny of actors has been up to. TACT welcomes Hilary Rainey to the staff Natural Affection, Beyond Therapy as our new Development Manager and Kathleen DeSilva, Danelle Feder, Andre Gonzalez, Caroline Kettig, Katherine Mc- Lennan, and Emma Thomasch, as mem- pposites attract, so they say. -
Miss Witherspoon
Otterbein University Digital Commons @ Otterbein 2007-2008 Season Productions 2001-2010 5-1-2008 Miss Witherspoon Otterbein University Theatre and Dance Department Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/production_2007-2008 Part of the Acting Commons, Dance Commons, and the Theatre History Commons Recommended Citation Otterbein University Theatre and Dance Department, "Miss Witherspoon" (2008). 2007-2008 Season. 4. https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/production_2007-2008/4 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Productions 2001-2010 at Digital Commons @ Otterbein. It has been accepted for inclusion in 2007-2008 Season by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Otterbein. For more information, please contact [email protected]. OTTERBEIN COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE AND DANCE Presents Christopher Durang’s Miss Wither spoon Directed by Ed Vaughan Scenic and Lighting Design Rob Johnson Costume Design Sound Design Wes Jenkins Peter Sichko May 1-3, 9&10, 2008 Campus Center Theatre cast Veronica.......................................................................................Caitlin Morris Maryamma............................................................................. Selina Verastigui Mother 1& Mother 2................................................................ Clare Schmidt Father 1& Father 2, Sleazy Man, Dog Owner, Wise Man.....Lucas Dixon Teacher, Woman in Hat............................................................Ayaunna Bibb production team -
Anton Chekhov
PLAY GUIDE About ATC 1 Introduction to the Play 2 Meet the Characters 2 Meet the Playwright 3 Anton Chekhov 4 Chekhov: A Brief Overview 5 References and Glossary 8 Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Play Guide written and compiled by Katherine Monberg, ATC Literary Associate, with assistance from April Jackson, Learning & Education Manager; Bryanna Patrick and Luke Young, Learning & Education Associates SUPPORT FOR ATC’S EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY: APS Rosemont Copper Arizona Commission on the Arts Stonewall Foundation Bank of America Foundation Target Blue Cross Blue Shield Arizona The Boeing Company City Of Glendale The Donald Pitt Family Foundation Community Foundation for Southern Arizona The Johnson Family Foundation, Inc Cox Charities The Lovell Foundation Downtown Tucson Partnership The Marshall Foundation Enterprise Holdings Foundation The Maurice and Meta Gross Foundation Ford Motor Company Fund The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Foundation The Stocker Foundation JPMorgan Chase The William L and Ruth T Pendleton Memorial Fund John and Helen Murphy Foundation Tucson Medical Center National Endowment for the Arts Tucson Pima Arts Council Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture Wells Fargo PICOR Charitable Foundation ABOUT ATC Arizona Theatre Company is a professional, not-for-profit theatre company This means all of our artists, administrators and production staff are paid professionals, and the income we receive from ticket sales and contributions goes right back into -
FINDING HUMOUR in the PAIN Directing Christopher Durang and Albert Innaurato’S the Idiots Karamazov
FINDING HUMOUR IN THE PAIN Directing Christopher Durang and Albert Innaurato’s The Idiots Karamazov by Chris McGregor B.A. Drama, Bishop’s University, Lennoxville, Quebec 1987 A THESIS SUBMITTED N PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF FiNE ARTS in The Faculty of Graduate Studies (Theatre) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August, 2009 © Chris McGregor, 2009 Abstract Finding Humour in the Pain-Directing Christopher Durang and Albert limaurato’s Play, The Idiots Karamazov examines the preparation, research, pre-production and rehearsal processes that went into staging The Idiots Karamazov at the University of British Columbia’s Frederic Wood Theatre from March l9to 28, 2009. This paper is broken down into 4 chapters detailing my goals to achieve a successful and relevant production for today’s audience. My rehearsal process was to inspire and guide all artists involved to act upon their creative impulses and to make this production a collaborative effort. Chapter 1 includes a biography of both playwrights, outlining their influences and a brief historical account ofhow The Idiots Karamazov evolved from an 8mm student film to a full-length professional production at Yale Repertory Theater. Chapter 2 provides a directorial analysis of the text and detailed methods and philosophies in directing from several well-known academics and theatre artists. Chapter 3 is a detailed journal chronicling the pre-production process including several e-mail correspondences with playwright, Christopher Durang. Also included in this chapter are several entries detailing early meetings with designers, daily accounts of the rehearsal process, production meetings, and fmally a description of three performances I attended during the run. -
American Playwrights on Beckett
AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHTS ON BECKETT Jonathan Kalb he following remarks by American playwrights on the subject of Samuel Beckett were gathered during January and February, 2006, in the course of researching a New York Times article on Beckett’s influence, published on TMarch 26, 2006, in anticipation of Beckett’s centenary on April 13. Most of the writers quoted here are prominent enough not to need lengthy introductions, but I have appended lists of their major works at the end. For me, the chief surprise of these exchanges was that nearly every playwright I contacted—even those whose work suggested little obvious affinity with Beckett—had thought about him a great deal and had much of value to say. Their comments deserved preservation beyond the brief excerpts that could be quoted in the Times. The playwrights were initially contacted via e-mail and asked to respond to the fol- lowing questions. Some chose to answer in recorded interviews, others by e-mail or fax. (1) What is Beckett’s importance to you? (What do you feel you learned from him?); (2) What can an aspiring young playwright learn from Beckett today? (What part should he play in a playwriting curriculum?); (3) Is Beckett’s value as a model for playwrights possibly limited by time or place? (Does the disparity matter, for instance, between Beckett’s stripped-down aesthetic, born of postwar desolation—his “art of impoverishment”—and expectations of plenty in the media age?) CHRISTOPHER DURANG My play The Actor’s Nightmare has semi-nightmare, semi-parody versions of Noel Coward, then Shakespeare, then Beckett. -
Synopsis Tone
THE MARRIAGE OF BETTE AND BOO | SYNOPSIS AND TONE SYNOPSIS Bette and Boo is the work of Christopher Durang (Beyond Therapy, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All for You, Laughing Wild, Baby with the Bathwater...), a master of comedy with a mordant, absurd and often heartbreaking edge. This is a memory play—a child’s coming to terms with his parents’ life story. It’s effectively Durang’sGlass Menagerie. And it deals with many of his pet issues: the seeming impossibility of relationships, the contradictions of the Catholic Church, the search for order and meaning in a chaotic and often cruel existence. Matt, a young graduate student, narrates and participates in the story of the marital life of his parents, Bette and Boo, who begin as two young people with a bright and picture-perfect future in front of them. Over 33 quick scenes, we go through three decades in the lives of the Brennan family (Bette, her parents, Paul and Margaret, and her two sisters, Joanie and Emily) and the Hudlocke family (Boo and his parents, Karl and Soot)—ever guided by the family priest, Father Donnally—as they experience marriage, divorce, alcoholism, nervous breakdowns and death. The Marriage of Bette and Boo is a hilarious tragedy to be played by an ensemble cast with expert comic timing and complete dramatic honesty. TONE Christopher Durang’s writing can be hard to pin down in terms of tone. His comic dialogue may read as outrageous and over-the-top, but he is in fact writing about very human, often tragic events. -
Vanya and Sonya and Mash and Spike: the Study Guide
Vanya and Sonya and Mash and Spike: The Study Guide Meet the Playwright Christopher Durang, a playwright and actor, is a published writer who typically crafts comedies – satire, dark comedy, parody, or absurdist. The Idiots of Karamazov, co-authored with Yale classmate Albert Innaurato, was his first professional production at the Yale Repertory Theatre and featured then student Meryl Streep. Next, in 1975, his play The Nature and Purpose of the Universe was presented off-off Broadway at the Direct Theatre. A History of the American Film was a play that was produced by the Eugene O’Neill National Playwriting Conference in 1976, and then had three back-to-back productions at the Hartford Stage Company, Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, and Arena Stage in Washington D.C. Following this “triple premiere” it moved to Broadway and earned Durang a Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical. In 1979, Durang and Sigourney Weaver rewrote Das Lusitania Songspiel, which became a cult success that satirized the work of Brecht and Weill with mishmashes of current shows. The musical garnered both Durang and Weaver Drama Desk nominations for Best Performer in a Musical. Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You was another success. Despite a rough start in raising money to move it to a commercial production, Andre Bishop re-presented the play and garnered favor from critics, moving the play to Off-Broadway for a run lasting over two years. He soon had several more plays published and performed, including Beyond Therapy (1981), Baby With The Bathwater (1983), The Marriage of Bette and Boo (1985). -
Christopher Durang
The Deadly Seriousness of America’s Funniest Playwright: Christopher Durang by Dr. Susan C. W. Abbotson Presented at the William Inge Theatre Festival. 26 April 2008 Abbotson 1 The Deadly Seriousness of America’s Funniest Playwright: Christopher Durang By Dr. Susan C.W. Abbotson, Rhode Island College, 26 April 2008 While describing Christopher Durang as a “social satirist, a malicious caricaturist, who carries everyday scenes—a family around a breakfast table—to the most cataclysmic, even perverse, conclusion,” Mel Gussow also acknowledges Durang’s “heightened social consciousness” and “sense of moral dismay” (“Daring Visions” D9), a combination that evokes a playwright not afraid to offend, but only out of a need to communicate something important. It is this aspect of his work that makes Durang deadly serious, despite the comic veneer that has had audiences splitting their sides across America. There is a dark side to Durang that many critics have found upsetting, but that is partly the point. Durang acknowledges that his sense of humor “asks for a complicated response. I ask people to laugh at things, “ he explains,” that I know are also serious and tragic. And some people hate that” (“Suspending” 38). Ben Brantley’s response to 1994s Durang Durang suggests something of this: “Durang Durang is both endearing and exasperating,” he declared, with wise-cracks that suddenly blossom “into moments of coruscating comic insight” (“Plays that Cast” C11). Brantley recognizes that Durang is no “conventional storyteller,” and with even greater insight, also realizes that it is maybe better that way (“Plays that Cast” C11). Durang may have written his first play at the tender age of eight, but the wit and erudition behind much of his drama evidences his solid educational background. -
Miss Witherspoon by Christopher Durang
Miss Witherspoon by Christopher Durang Director Karen M. Jam bon Stage Manager Jonathan Urso Scenic Design Laura Sandberg Light Design Bill Peeler Sound Design Jeff Miller Costume Design MarannFaget and Paula Gilbert CAST Veronica (Miss Witherspoon) Jennifer Underwood Maryamma Suzanne Balling Mother 1 & 2, Chicken Camille Latour Father 1 & 2, Sleazy Man, Gandalf, Dog Owner Derek Jones Teacher, Woman in a Hat Patricia Robinson Time: Recent Past, Forseeable Future (1998, 2005, and beyond) Place: Earth, and not Earth PRODUCTION STAFF Running Crew Martina Olhauser, Tiffany James, ..................................................... Amy Lewis and Carol Ginn Web MasterjEmail Administration Martina Olhauser Graphic Design Sarah Seaton Photographer Bret Brookshire Program Design Emily Erington ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND SPECIAL THANKS Binita Lamsa! Bonnie Cullum & The Vortex Cedar Stevens NOTE: There will be brief use of a strobe light and cigarette smoking during the performance. ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT he co-authored with Wendy Wasserstein), and The Adventures of Christopher Durang Lola. Bio provided by Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. He received Obie Awards for Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You, The Marriage of Bette and Boo and Betty's Summer Vacation. He Durang was born in Montclair, NewJersey, the son of Patricia Eliza- received a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical beth, a secretary, and architect Francis Ferdinand Durang, Jr. He for A History of the American Film. grew up in Berkeley Heights. He attended Catholic schools as a child, Durang has been awarded numerous fellowships and high profile including the Our Lady of Peace School in New Providence, New Jer- grants including a Guggenheim, a Rockefeller, the CBS Playwriting sey. -
A Study of the Life and Work of Christopher Durang: Laughing Wild Amidst Severest Woe
Rowan University Rowan Digital Works Theses and Dissertations 5-15-2008 A study of the life and work of Christopher Durang: laughing wild amidst severest woe Jeannine M. James Rowan University Follow this and additional works at: https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd Part of the Theatre and Performance Studies Commons Recommended Citation James, Jeannine M., "A study of the life and work of Christopher Durang: laughing wild amidst severest woe" (2008). Theses and Dissertations. 768. https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/768 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Rowan Digital Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Rowan Digital Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A STUDY OF THE LIFE AND WORK OF CHRISTOPHER DURANG; LAUGHING WILD AMIDST SEVEREST WOE By Jeannine M. James A Thesis Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts Degree Of The Graduate School At Rowan University May 15, 2008 Approved by. Professor Date Approved Y' ~ ) c. 2007 Jeanni. M. James ABSTRACT Jeannine M. James A STUDY OF THE LIFE AND WORK OF CHRISTOPHER DURANG; LAUGHING WILD AMIDST SEVEREST WOE 2007/08 Dr. Elisabeth Hostetter Master of Arts in Theatre This thesis maps Durang's struggle with faith and demonstrates how his personal journey to discover and document his pain acts as a catalyst for his creative work. It will explore his style of masking and unmasking himself in his characters revealing his innermost pain and suffering. I also surmise that his work serves as a kind of therapy by allowing him to constantly unravel and unveil his investigation of self. -
Durang, Christopher (B
Durang, Christopher (b. 1949) by Brandon Hayes Encyclopedia Copyright © 2015, glbtq, Inc. Entry Copyright © 2005, glbtq, inc. Reprinted from http://www.glbtq.com Christopher Durang is an openly gay playwright, screenwriter, and actor whose works have been produced on and off-Broadway and regionally since the late 1970s. A fiercely satirical comic dramatist, Durang often incorporates gay themes and gay characters in his plays. Durang was born on January 2, 1949 in Montclair, New Jersey. He attended Harvard, where he earned a B.A. in English in 1971, and the Yale School of Drama, from which he received an M.F.A in Playwriting in 1974. At Yale he collaborated on several projects with fellow students Albert Innaurato, Wendy Wasserstein, Meryl Streep, and Sigourney Weaver. In 1976, Durang's musical revue A History of the American Film, for which he wrote both lyrics and music, won a spot at the national Eugene O'Neill Playwriting Conference and was presented in Hartford, Los Angeles, and Washington. The next year it was produced on Broadway, earning Durang a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. In 1979, Durang and Sigourney Weaver presented Das Lusitania Songspiel, a parody of contemporary Broadway musicals performed in the style of a Brecht-Weill cabaret. Durang and Weaver both received Drama Desk nominations for their performances. Durang's breakthrough in achieving critical and financial success came in 1981 with the Off-Broadway production of his scathing one-act play, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You (written in 1979), which has over the years become a popular vehicle for actresses as diverse as Nancy Marchand, Cloris Leachman, Lynn Redgrave, and many others.