30 Ten-Minute Plays from the Actors Theatre of Louisville for 2 Actors [Paperback]

Michael Bigelow Dixon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2001 | ISBN-10: 1575252775 | ISBN-13: 978-1575252773 | Edition: 1st

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 National Ten-Minute Play Contest. This collection illustrates the dramatic power of the ten-minute play format. It provides to teachers, directors, and actors a cornucopia of characters, themes and styles organized by gender and cast-size.

See also 30 Ten-Minute Plays for 3 Actors and 30 Ten-Minute Plays for 4, 5 and 6 Actors.

MICHAEL BIGELOW DIXON has served as literary manager at Actors Theatre of Louisville throughout the second decade of the Humana Festival of New American Plays. He's also held positions as literary manager at the Alley Theatre and literary associate at South Coast Repertory. He has been a Theatre Management Fellow at the National Endowment for the Arts, and has taught at North Carolina Central University, UC-Riverside, Rice University, and Action Theatre in Singapore. He has co-edited ten volumes of plays and criticism, and co-written more then twenty plays, fifteen of which are published. He is now the associate artistic director at the Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Smith and Kraus, the drama student's best friend in the publishing world, once again mines the indefatigably rich and protean dramatic vein of the Actors Theatre of Louisville Humana Festival. The latest jewel in the "Contemporary Playwrights and Collections" series is this three-volume collection of 90 exemplary ten-minute plays, derived from Humana's 20-year-old National Ten-Minute Play Contest and selected by lead editor Dixon, who was an associate artistic director and literary manager at ATL for 16 years. What began as a quirky exercise in Polaroid playwrighting has evolved into a meaningful format, no less dramatically complete or serious for its time constraint. Nor is this form relegated only to unknown innovators, as attested by the contributions of such noted playwrights as Jane Martin, David Henry Hwang, Tina Howe, William Mastrosimone, Jon Jory, David Ives, and Craig Lucas. Arranged by gender groupings (plays for women, plays for men, plays for combinations, etc.), these volumes are particularly suited to acting students whose needs for relevant, contemporary, and age-appropriate scenic material is insatiable. This entire moderately priced series should be scarfed up by all libraries devoting collection attention to the needs of actors. Barry X. Miller, Austin P.L., TX
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 247 pages
• Publisher: Smith & Kraus; 1st edition (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575252775
• ISBN-13: 978-1575252773
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,442 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Drama > Anthologies

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short is beautiful!, June 20, 2002

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 30 Ten-Minute Plays from the Actors Theatre of Louisville for 2 Actors (Paperback)

"30 Ten-Minute Plays for 2 Actors, from Actors Theatre of Louisville's National Ten-Minute Play Contest," edited by Michael Bigelow Dixon, Amy Wegener, and Karen C. Petruska, is an outstanding anthology dedicated to a very specific theatrical genre. It is part of a set of three volumes of 10-minute plays. One of the other volumes contains plays for 3 actors, and the other has pieces for 4, 5, or 6 actors.

The introduction to this book notes, "Over the past two decades, the ten-minute play has established itself as a potent and durable form in American theater." The editors further compare this genre to other short literary forms such as the editorial. They also note that the plays in this volume are all by American playwrights.

The thirty plays are a very diverse group. In this book can be found comedy, tragedy, fantasy, and surrealism. Here are brief descriptions of some of my favorites.

"Misreadings," by Neena Beber: an encounter between a college literature teacher and a rebellious student. "Off the Rack," by Robert D. Kemnitz and Jennifer McMaster: a dialogue between a woman and a professional closet organizer. "Guys," by Robert Badlam: a comic dialogue between a girl-hungry guy and his pal at a fast-food restaurant. "Precipice," by William Mastrosimone: the suspenseful story of two climbers in trouble on Mount Rainier. "Tape," by Jose Rivera: a "Twilight Zone"-ish dialogue between a seemingly imprisoned individual and an attendant; early on this play contains the ominous line, "We don't want to cause you an undue suffering."

But my favorite in the whole collection is "Trying to Find Chinatown," by David Henry Hwang. A hilarious and thought-provoking satire on Asian-American identity, it contains some terrific dialogue.

The only thing that disappointed me about this collection was the lack of any author bios. I would have liked to have had some information on these playwrights and on any other pieces they may have written. Still, this is a fine collection which I would enthusiastically recommend both for classroom use and personal reading.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wide range of plays, November 6, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 30 Ten-Minute Plays from the Actors Theatre of Louisville for 2 Actors (Paperback)

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.