30 Ten Minute Plays for 4,5, and 6 Actors: From Actors Theatre of Louisville

By: Michael Bigelow Dixon

Book Overview

This volume features 30 outstanding ten-minute plays written for actors in their teens, twenties, and thirties. These plays have been culled from thousands submitted to Actors Theatre of Louisville's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1575252791
• ISBN13: 9781575252797
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Smith & Kraus
• Length: 291 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A diverse and thought-provoking collection

"30 Ten-Minute Plays for 4, 5, and 6 Actors from Actors Theatre of Louisville's National Ten-Minute Play Contest," edited by Michael Bigelow Dixon, Tanya Palmer, and Brendan Healy, is a solid anthology that is focused on a specific type of play. The book is part of a set of three volumes; the other 2 contain plays for 2 actors and 3 actors. The introduction to this book briefly discusses the 10-minute play as a distinct theatrical form.This collection of plays shows diversity in both tone and subject matter. Some plays are funny, some are creepy; topics covered include romance, marriage, violence, the impact of popular culture, war, communication, betrayal, revenge, and broken dreams.This book is full of great pieces, but I'd like to mention a few that stood out for me. Richard Dresser's "The Road to Ruin": a Twilight Zone-ish tale about a couple whose car breaks down; Stephen Gregg's "A Private Moment," a touching depiction of an episode in the lives of Chang and Eng, the original "Siamese Twins"; Kim Levin's "Just One Night," which explores the issue of date rape; John Pielmeier's "Pillow Talk," an outrageous, violent satiric comedy that takes place in a marriage counseling office; "The Processional," by Robert D. Kemnitz and Jennifer McMaster, which depicts a very bizarre wedding rehearsal; Jane Martin's "Tattoo," a funny and unsettling story of justice; and Sheri Wilner's "Labor Day," which is dominated by a word game played by the characters.The only disappointing thing about this anthology was the lack of any information about the authors of each play. But that complaint aside, this is an excellent anthology which I would recommend both for literature courses or just for some entertaining independent reading.

A wide range of plays

Three fine books in the Smith & Kraus '30 10-Minutes Plays' series by Michael Dixon, et.al. present winners from the Actors Theatre of Louisville's national 'ten-minute play' contest, provide aspiring students and dramatists with a wide range of plays. These three volumes are divided into plays for 3 Actors (1-57525-278-3), 2 Actors (277-5) and 4, 5 & 6 Actors (279-1). Characters, settings, and details on obtaining performance rights accompany each sketch.