Plays for Actresses (Paperback)

~ (Editor), (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Playwrights Lane and Shengold (Moving Parts: Monologues from Contemporary Plays, Viking, 1992) edited this anthology of seven full-length plays and ten one-acts for actresses selected in response to queries to playwrights, theaters, and agents. It includes works by the well known?Edward Albee, Lee Blessing, and Wendy Wasserstein?and by emerging playwrights, such as Velina Hasu Houston, Tina Howe, Casey Kurtti, Adam LeFevre, and Craig Lucas. Likewise, some of these plays are not well known or widely produced. Their varied themes, styles, and dramatic forms offer rich, diverse, all-female roles for audition or production by high school dramatic clubs, college acting classes, or professional and civic theater groups. Casts range from one to six actresses. Most of the plays were written in the 1980s and 1990s and have been produced in Off-Broadway and regional theaters. Recommended for high school, public, and academic libraries.?Ming-ming Shen Kuo, Ball State Univ., Muncie, Ind.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

The seven full-length and ten one-act selections in "Plays for Actresses" range in tone from the unabashed theatricality of Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize-winning "Three Tall Women" to the blistering black comedy of Laura Cunningham's "Beautiful Bodies".

Product Details

• Paperback: 640 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; 1st edition (March 25, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679772812
• ISBN-13: 978-0679772811
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #210,224 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a GREAT tool for all actresses!, August 10, 2001

By	Katherine Hamill "katastic" (Ithaca, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As an actress, I've spent many hours thumbing through monologue books that featured what seemed to be exactly three plays, repeated over and over again. These were, in general, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Miss Firecracker Contest, and Agnes of God. Now, all of these are good plays, but trust me, EVERYONE DOES THEM at auditions. That's why this book is so great! First of all, instead of merely giving you excerpts of plays, this book gives you each play in entirety. This is important because good acting requires that one reads the entire play, not merely a few paragraphs. Also, the range of characters is liberating, ranging from very old to pre-teen parts. Anyway, the long and the short of it is that using two monologues from this book got me into a B.F.A. Acting program. Obviously, it's not a magic book that will cause casting directors to gasp with delight and fall into your arms, but it is a useful tool, and far superior to many other books out there.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Casting Call! Here are your star parts!, December 4, 2000

By A Customer

Could there be better plays for actresses? I don't think so. The Beautiful Bodies play is so wild and hysterically funny with six great parts, ditto Last of the Great Waitresses. I like David's Red Death too...and Catholic Schoolgirls. This is an all female festival. Wow! I wish I could see them all and act in most of them. They know how to pick'em. The editors have really chosen well and given actresses all over the world a shot at appearing at their best. Pure theatre! This is the perfect launch for women starting their own production companies or all girl groups finding fresh material. Bravo!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious, heartbreaking winners, September 8, 2000

By	"lshaine" (Stone Ridge, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This collection will keep actresses working and happy for decades. All the plays are winners and provide magnificent roles for talented women. The book is also fun to read! The editors are theatrical genuises and should be producing for Broadway and off Broadway --they have brilliant taste, an eye for tragedy, comedy and just plain all out exciting theatre. I want to see, read, devour these plays..and I'm not even an actress.