Ten Minute Plays

Paperback Original

A collection of ten-minute plays from Creative Mechanics Theatre Company and E Merging Writers' 2005 competition, Stage This! is an exciting and diverse group of new plays ripe for reading and demanding to be staged.

This collection of 10-minute plays will delight readers and audiences alike. From the social drama of Jeanette D. Farr's "Gray Matter" to the Pinteresque tension of Walter Wykes' "The Salmon Tribunal" to the zany swashbuckling fun of Jeff Goode's "Jolly Jack Junior," each of these short plays expresses the unique vision of an emerging contemporary dramatist. Together, they make an exciting and diverse evening of theatre.

A dazzlingly diverse anthology of thirty-five short plays spanning the theatrical spectrum. A ten-minute play is a blaze of theatrical energy. In this follow-up to their groundbreaking collection Take Ten, editors Eric Lane and Nina Shengold have put together a veritable bonfire of talent. Take Ten II: More 10-Minute Plays provides a fast-track tour of the current theatrical landscape, from the slapstick ingenuity of David Ives’ Arabian Nights to the searing tension of Diana Son’s 9/11 drama The Moon, Please, to Susan Miller’s luminous fable The Grand Design. This remarkably diverse anthology includes thirty-five short plays by such major American playwrights as Christopher Durang, Warren Leight, Romulus Linney and Donald Margulies, alongside a host of exciting new voices. Actors, directors, producers and teachers will find Take Ten II an invaluable source of meaty roles for people of every age, ethnicity and gender; lovers of theatre will find it a richly satisfying read. These deceptively short plays throb with life in all its variety: harrowing, hilarious, and breathtakingly vital. Playwrights included: Taylor Mac Bowyer Laura Shaine Cunningham Anthony David Steven Dietz Christopher Durang Linda Eisenstein Simon Fill Craig Fols Sigrid Heath David Ives Caleen Sinnette Jennings Honour Kane Eric Lane Edward Bok Lee Warren Leight Romulus Linney Donald Margulies Susan Miller Chiori Miyagawa Itamar Moses Sean O'Connor Mark O'Donnell Dael Orlandersmith Rich Orloff Joe Pintauro Craig Pospisil Toni Press-Coffman Claire Reeve Elaine Romero Susan Sandler Nina Shengold Diana Son Alison Weiss Mary Louise Wilson Garth Wingfield Alexander Woo From the Trade Paperback edition.

A ten-minute play is a streak of theatrical lightning. It doesn't last long, but its power can stand your hair on end. This splendid anthology contains enough wattage to light up a small city. For in its pages, thirty-two of our finest playwrights hone their skills on a form that has been called the haiku of the American stage. The plays that Nina Shengold and Eric Lane have collected in this volume range from monologues to an eight-character farce. Eminently producible, ideally suited for the classroom and audition, Take Ten is a marvelous resource for teachers and students of drama, as well as a stimulating read for lovers of the theatre. Contributors include: John Augustine, Cathy Celesia, Laura Cunningham, Joe Pintauro, Mary Sue Price, Megan Terry, Jose Rivera, Romulus Linney, David Mamet, Jane Martin, David Ives, and many others.

Twelve short plays, each with two scenes and four monologues.

Comedy is king in this hilarious new collection of ten-minute plays that are guaranteed to have audiences rolling in the aisles. From the sublimely funny to the ridiculously inane, this unique compilation from the puckish pen of award-winning playwright Andrew Biss runs the comedy gamut. Some of the plays have their roots in realism, while others willfully and wantonly upend theatrical customs and conventions. Some are playful and lighthearted, while others hew closer to the realm of dark comedy. But whatever their milieu, they all share one common goal: to entertain and amuse. In this edition you'll find the critically acclaimed "The Craft" and the Heideman Award finalist "A Rebel Among the Wretched" along with thirteen other wry and uproarious comedy gems guaranteed to elicit laughter and levity. With minimal staging requirements and a broad range of characters, these plays offer a wealth of production opportunities as well as providing an invaluable resource of scenes for acting class. And on top of all that, they're a jolly fun read to boot! The selected plays included in the collection are: The Craft Kitchen Sink Drama The Skewed Picture A Flawed Character An Honest Mistake Filler A Slip of the Tongue The Curious Art of Critique Carbon-Based Life Form Seeks Similar What's the Meta? An Embarrassing Odour A Rebel Among the Wretched Cocktail Conversation The Joneses Tacked-On Ending