Plays, playscripts, drama

Book SynopsisThe Humana Festival of New American Plays has been a leading home for extraordinary playwrights and their imaginations for more than four decades, making Actors Theatre of Louisville one of the nation’s preeminent powerhouses for new play development. For six weeks every spring, Louisville exerts a gravitational pull on producers and theatre lovers from around the country, who travel from far and wide for the adventure of seeing a diverse slate of fully-produced new plays. Many Humana Festival plays have gone on to garner awards and subsequent productions, making a sustained impact on the international dramatic repertoire. Humana Festival 2018: The Complete Plays brings together all six scripts from the 42nd annual cycle of world premieres, featuring a remarkable array of work by some of the most exciting voices in the American theatre. This anthology makes the Humana Festival plays available to an even wider audience, allowing readers to experience the collision of perspectives, styles and stories that makes the festival such an invigorating celebration of the art form. This compilation features the full-length plays Do You Feel Anger? by Mara Nelson-Greenberg, Evocation to Visible Appearance by Mark Schultz, we, the invisibles by Susan Soon He Stanton, Marginal Loss by Deborah Stein, and God Said This by Leah Nanako Winkler, as well as You Across from Me, a collaboratively-written play by four writers—Jaclyn Backhaus, Dipika Guha, Brian Otaño, and Jason Gray Platt.Trade ReviewThis year’s Humana Festival of New American Plays was groundbreaking. Inclusion was big this year, with virtually all the plays representing refreshingly nontraditional perspectives. -- Rick Pender, Cincinnati CityBeatIn its 42nd season, the Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville featured an exceptional lineup of nine playwrights with six pieces in rep.... Actors Theatre programmed a stellar lineup of probing, formally unique, disparate, extraordinary new plays for its audiences. -- Kate Bergstrom, Santa Barbara IndependentThis Festival has accomplished what theater does better than any other medium: It has offered a constant stream of epiphanies about authentic lived experiences that don’t merely tell us stories. If we’re receptive, they open us up to see the world through the minds of the writers. -- Marty Rosen, Louisville Eccentric ObserverThis year’s lineup of world premieres, with women being six of the festival’s nine writers...pointed the way to the female future, happening now. -- Allison Considine, American TheatreTable of ContentsDo You Feel Anger? by Mara Nelson-Greenberg Evocation to Visible Appearance by Mark Schultz we, the invisibles by Susan Soon He Stanton Marginal Loss by Deborah Stein God Said This by Leah Nanako Winkler You Across from Me by Jaclyn Backhaus, Dipika Guha, Brian Otaño, and Jason Gray Platt

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Book SynopsisSet in a landscape stripped bare by civil war, two independents forge an alliance of convenience in order to buy their way into the land of the free, the one safe haven in an otherwise lawless landscape. Hiding from marauding armies, they travel the country, gathering great art treasures from crumbling museums. But with the border to freedom in sight, they''re captured by forces from the new coalition government. They can still buy their freedom if they agree to do one little job for the new government.

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Book SynopsisMolière's beloved comedy features a rising member of the middle class who lusts for social status and higher learning. The strength of the play lies in its rich comic invention and its sure delineation of character. Its underlying themes of social striving, financial greed, and love's ingenuity still resonate. Bernard Sahlins's new adaptation is wonderfully playable.

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Book SynopsisNicholas Rudall, whose acclaimed translations of Ibsen and the Greek classic playwrights have brought a fresh perspective to the American theater, turns his talents to one of the Norwegian dramatist's most provocative plays. In a rebuke to the Victorian notion of community as well as to the blessings of democracy, Ibsen creates a situation in which one man must stand alone to face the forces allied against him. In a coastal town, a community-minded physician has promoted the development of public baths in order to attract tourists. When he discovers that the water supply for the baths is contaminated and attempts to publicize the failing and correct it, he and his family are all but driven out of the town he was trying to save.Trade ReviewA new translation by Nicholas Rudall brings fresh perspective to Ibsen's drama. * Publishers Weekly *

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Book Synopsis"Do you have any notes for me?" Actors always ask for notes on their performance, and they will take them from just about anyone. Ron Marasco's Notes to an Actor grew out of the actor's profession. In his years as an actor, scholar, and teacher of acting, Mr. Marasco found that most acting books were either outdated classics that were rarely read, or quasi-textbooks that actors only "skimmed." So he developed Notes to an Actor, a compact, user-friendly book geared specifically to the way actors work. The book is based on the innovative idea that notes, given one on one, are the essential tool of creative learning.Trade ReviewIt is, hands down, the best book I have ever read on the art of acting...the writing is direct, smart, brief, and practical. -- Kelly Younger * Kellyyounger.net *I think this is the best book on acting I've ever read. -- Kirk DouglasRon's advice and tools on acting are incredibly astute, thought provoking, refreshing, and inspiring. I wish I'd had this book in my back pocket before many an audition. -- Neve Campbell, star of The CompanyNotes to an Actor is inspiring, transforming and absolutely fun. This brilliant book will be a cherished favorite of actors and artists until the last star falls from the sky. -- Beth Henley, Pullitzer Prize-winning playwrightFinally, the definitive book on acting. Ron Marasco will make you a better actor! -- Patricia Clarkson, two-time Emmy Award Winner and Academy Award NomineeNotes to an Actor is a conversation with an actor about his art, filled with insight and great stories. It is the best summary of notes for someone looking to be a truly 'complete' actor. -- Colin Hanks, star of Orange County and King KongHands down, the best book I have ever read on the art of acting and actually gave me a lot to think about as a playwright. The writing is direct, smart, brief, and practical. Even better, there are no long stories about the author's acting career or personal anecdotes that read like an autobiography rather than a guidebook. It's organized by topics actors (and writers) really want to understand. Can't recommend it highly enough. -- Kelly Younger, award-winning playwright, author of I Think You Think I Love You, and member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre and DramatistsThis is a helpful book for both actors and directors at every skill level. It tells them where to go and, most importantly, how to get there. -- Bernard Sahlins, author of Days and Nights at The Second CityRon Marasco is everything a young actor could want in a coach, a director, or a guru. His advice is practical and broad-ranging, his experience is extensive, and his stories about the business are often very funny. Notes to an Actor is a smart, useful, and even wise guide for living the actor's life. -- Curt Columbus, Artistic director of the Trinity Repertory CompanyTruly unique among acting resources...an insightful, invaluable, and definitive work....Essential. * CHOICE *There certainly is no shortage of books on acting, but Ron Marasco's Notes to an Actor takes a different approach than most. Notes to an Actor reads like a conversation between a director and actor, making it a more enjoyable read than most acting books. Highly recommended. * Stage-Direction.Com *The most practical book about acting that I have ever read....while it looks to be very useful to an actor, it is also fascinating for anyone who attends the theater...a great, simple read. -- Maria Knapp * About.Com *Useful both to those seeking to further their development as actors and to those for whom acting has long been a profession, this is an insightful, invaluable, and definitive work. * CHOICE *A witty, easy-to-read compilation of all the essential acting tips and tools that every actor should carry in his or her back pocket. * Instantcast Blog *

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