Ensemble Studio Theatre Marathon 2000: One-Act Plays - Softcover

Ensemble Studio Theatre

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0571199933 ISBN 13: 9780571199938

Publisher: Faber & Faber, 2001

"Good news . . . EST's prestigious annual festival of new one-acts is back, featuring new works by Warren Leight, David Ives, Romulus Linney and others."For well over two decades, the Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York has nurtured the plays of emerging talents and established authors alike, especially in their annual marathon of short plays, which as noted by TimeOut New York has come to be regarded as "the standard-[bearer] for new-play showcases," and one of the perennial highlights of the Off-Broadway season. Included in this latest collection of original one-acts from EST are Billy Aronson's Light Years, the first act of a full-length play in progress, which explores with humor and poignancy the search for self -- and sex -- that is the freshman year of college; David Ives's The Lives of the Saints, an uproarious nod to the lost days of the radio play which eavesdrops on two women preparing a funeral breakfast in the basement of a Polish church; and Leslie Caputo's Birthmarks, a skillful examination of cross-generational and cross-cultural conflicts in working-class New York City, wherein a young Irish woman, disowned by her family over her mixed marriage, struggles with the decision to keep her newborn baby when it becomes clear that the father is gone for good. Taken as a whole, the thirteen plays contained in the Marathon 2000 anthology are an insightful barometer for anyone concerned with the state of theater today and a priceless resource for anyone in search of fresh theater material."

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From the Inside Flap:

Praise for EST's MARATHON 2000

Light Years by Billy Aronson "The first act of a full-length play in progress, it all works perfectly, and the stunning end leaves you wondering what could possibly happen in the rest of the play." -D.J.R. Bruckner, The New York Times

Twenty Four Years by Leslie Ayvazian "Ayvazian has come into her own as a writer in "Twenty Four Years," a 12-minute play encapsulating two lifetimes. It is polished down to the last period." -D.J.R. Bruckner, The New York Times

Birth Marks by Leslie Caputo "Has enough situational complexity to make you want a second act . . . . the pungency of this small play is in its rendering of the cross-cultural and cross-generational conflicts in a working-class pocket of the city." -Bruce Weber, The New York Times

Cannibals by Heather Dundas "A comic reverie." -Bruce Weber, The New York Times

Little Airplanes of the Heart by Steve Feffer "A gossamer yet melancholy tale [that] lovingly captures a young boy's fancy." -Nick Brandi, Show Business

Lives of the Saints by David Ives "Improbably funny." -D.J.R. Bruckner, The New York Times

The Final Interrogation of Ceausescu's Dog by Warren Leight "Marvelously original . . . . rife with social and political satire." -Sam Whitehead, TimeOut New York

Madmen by Romulus Linney "A somber meditation on ignorance, difference and intolerance set in late 15th-century Spain, when Torquemada was the Grand Inquisitor." -D.J.R. Bruckner, The New York Times

Proof by Jeff Reich "Hilariously, farcically bitter." -Bruce Weber, The New York Times

Alien Boy by Will Scheffer "Dynamic and thrilling . . . . Scheffer writes as if he's the dark side of Paul Rudnik." -Barbara Siegel, Theatermania

The Rothko Room by Stuart Spencer "Clever." -D.J.R. Bruckner, The New York Times

About the Author:

The recipient of numerous awards and honors, The Ensemble Studio Theatre received a Special Citation from the Obies in 1993 for its annual marathon of one-act plays.

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