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Calling all dramatists

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TheEllipticalDisillusion
Post subject: Calling all dramatists
Posted: Wed 16 Mar , 2005 9:54 am
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I read quite a bit. I read a lot of different books, but I really love to read plays the most. My favorite plays are from the existentialist era of playwrights (Albee, Pinter, Sartre, Stoppard, et al.), but I am open to plenty of others.

My favorite plays in particular: Travesties, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead & The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard, The Dumb Waiter & The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter, No Exit & Dirty Hands by Sartre and Zoo Story & Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Albee. Who are your favorite playwrights and which plays do you fancy?

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Posted: Wed 16 Mar , 2005 12:02 pm
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Willy Russell would certainly be a favourite of mine. Educting Rita, Blood Brothers, Stags and Hens among others are particularly good. I'm certainly not a fan of Chekov or Pinter. Tenessee Williams would be another favourite.

I love the farces of Ray Cooney.

Special mention to Stephen Briggs for his wonderful adaptations of Terry Pratchett Novels.

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Sister Magpie
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Posted: Thu 17 Mar , 2005 3:00 am
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I proudly admit to being a Tom Stoppard fan. I loved Arcadia so much, so much so that I broke down and fangirled two of the actors I saw in it years later.

Usually I don't much like to read plays, though. I don't know how good I am at reading them, though you'd think I'd be better at reading scripts from school etc. How do you read plays exactly, TED? I mean, do you read them out loud or just naturally hear the lines and picture things in your head?

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TheEllipticalDisillusion
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Posted: Thu 17 Mar , 2005 6:11 am
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I have read parts outloud, but mostly I hear the lines in my mind. I put on little performances in my head. I do the same when I write plays as well. I read the lines the way I imagine an actor would, but probably not as well as I am not an actor.

Great to have another Stoppard fan! I haven't read Arcadia yet. There are a number of Stoppards I still need to acquire, one of them being Arcadia, another is The Invention of Love which is about A.E. Houseman, one of my favorite poets. Do you plan to read any other Stoppards, Magpie?

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Meneltarma
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Posted: Thu 17 Mar , 2005 5:30 pm
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Another Stoppard fan here.:)

Other favourites would probably be Waiting for Godot (of course), Under Milk Wood...has anyone read Louis de Bernieres' Sunday Morning at the Centre of the World? It's a *tribute* to Under Milk Wood, set in London...lovely.


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Sister Magpie
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Posted: Thu 17 Mar , 2005 9:27 pm
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TheEllipticalDisillusion wrote:
Great to have another Stoppard fan! I haven't read Arcadia yet. There are a number of Stoppards I still need to acquire, one of them being Arcadia, another is The Invention of Love which is about A.E. Houseman, one of my favorite poets. Do you plan to read any other Stoppards, Magpie?
I saw Invention of Love and really enjoyed it. I've read Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead--oh, and I saw Jumpers recently as well. I'd like to read or see The Real Thing.

I tend to read out loud as well, btw, with anything I write, play or regular fiction. Sometimes with funny voices, etc. :horse:

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halplm
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Posted: Thu 17 Mar , 2005 9:33 pm
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I am a HUGE Shakespeare fan... especially his Histories...

on a side note, for those that don't know... my nic originates from Shakespeare, rather than a certain evil computer...

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TheEllipticalDisillusion
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Posted: Fri 18 Mar , 2005 7:12 pm
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Quote:
I'd like to read or see The Real Thing.
I've read it. I have it actually. It's excellent.

I don't read much Shakespeare, but I should. Which play your nick from hal?

Which type of book do you all buy when buying plays? The fancy glossy covered one or the Samuel French styled one (which is way cheaper)?

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MaidenOfTheShieldarm
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Posted: Sat 19 Mar , 2005 12:23 am
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I don't read as much drama as I should, however I absolutely adore Shakespeare. Henry V, Henry IV, The Scottish Play, all of it! (Though R&J drives me batty.) Brilliant stuff. The words are just so beautiful. And I'm going to the Globe tomorrow! yay.

I enjoy what I've read of Tom Stoppard, my favourite being Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. It's a fabulous concept, and I love Stoppard's style.

Also, I really quite like Christopher Durang's short plays, one acts, etc. I directed "The Actor's Nightmare" last year, and so ended up reading a lot of his writing. Almost all of what I read of his work is both funny and clever.

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TheEllipticalDisillusion
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Posted: Sat 19 Mar , 2005 2:56 am
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Christopher Durang is another good one. I read some of his short plays from a collection. They're quite funny. The best is the Book Of Leviticus Show.

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MaidenOfTheShieldarm
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Posted: Wed 16 Jan , 2008 7:09 am
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*bump*

I have fallen deeply, deeply in love with Tom Stoppard. I am particularly head over heels for Arcadia which I have now read about seven times in the past three years. Honestly, it's just gorgeous, almost perfect. I won't go on, but wow! Anyway, since there were quite a few Stoppard fans here apparently, I was wondering if anyone would be interested in a group read/discussion sort of thing? I'm afraid that 70 year old British/Czech playwrights aren't exactly in vogue among the people I associate with every day and I'd love to discuss it a bit more deeply than 'Oh yeah, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern was great!' I wouldn't know where to begin, but it was an idea.

I took TED's suggestion of Pinter (and just saw the revival of The Homecoming) and ended up really enjoying what I've read. There's something delightfully chilling about his work. My favourite so far is The Dumb Waiter.

Along with a nice set of three Stoppards (Inspector Hound/After Magritte, The Invention of Love, and Hapgood), I picked up a collection of JM Synge at a used book store that I'm looking forward to reading. So far I've only read Riders to the Sea thanks to Theater History (Part II) and his language is so beautiful.

And finally, I suppose this is to ask for reccomendations. I've read about half of everything that Stoppard's written, some Pinter, some Durang, the miscellaneous shows I've worked on, and of course the basic classics from the Greeks till now. I'd like to broaden my knowledge as it were, but am sort of unsure where to start.

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Posted: Wed 16 Jan , 2008 11:04 am
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I'd be interested in a group read Mossy!

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MaidenOfTheShieldarm
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Posted: Tue 22 Jan , 2008 5:58 am
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I'm glad someone is, but I wonder if it would it be worth it if there are only two of us.

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MaidenOfTheShieldarm
Post subject: Re: Calling all dramatists
Posted: Sat 27 Dec , 2008 5:35 am
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Harold Pinter died on Christmas Eve. :(

His obituary on the BBC.

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Post subject: Re: Calling all dramatists
Posted: Sat 27 Dec , 2008 12:52 pm
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Yes I saw that. I wasn't a huge fan, but more from ignorance than choice. I wonder why we wait till people die to make a point of checking out their work?

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