Dramatic Reading Suggestions

Plays and other dramatic works
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loon
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Post by loon »

mightyfelix wrote: October 25th, 2020, 7:32 pm I have one question that might whittle down the list a bit. I noticed several "Venus nationalists" on the list. What kind of role do these characters play? And is it essential to have that many of them? Or could you combine some of those lines together so that you end up with only 3 or 4 instead of the 6 or 7 I think I saw?
Probably why doing a full cast reading of a play could be easier than a book - the playwright realized the show would never turn a profit (and he would never get paid) if there were more people on the stage than in the audience. lol
Rich Brown - Minneapolis, MN
alanmapstone
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Post by alanmapstone »

Tannhäuser by Richard Wagner. This is an epic poem not the opera libretto.

https://archive.org/details/tannhuser00wagn

Someone posted this in Book Suggestions. It would make a good DR. Any takers :hmm:
Alan
the sixth age shifts into the slippered pantaloon with spectacles on nose
Tchaikovsky
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Post by Tchaikovsky »

I think Tannhauser would be wonderful as a DR. I have started preparing the text for a cast of readers should someone be willing to take this project on.
GilmoreDon
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Post by GilmoreDon »

Has anyone ever suggested the novels of Zane Gray? There don't seem to be many recorded and I think that they would make good listening.
Sue Anderson
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Post by Sue Anderson »

Hi, I happened to come across a mention of this short woman-centric comedy by British feminist Beatrice Harraden, published in 1919. I read through it and enjoyed it. It's short (16 pages of text) and looks like it would be a lot of fun to produce for LibriVox.

It's called "Lady Geraldine's Speech." There's a copy of it here:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c021051126&view=1up&seq=11

There is a contemporary review of it here, from the "Methuen Drama Book of Suffrage Plays." The review says the running time would be abut 20 minutes.
https://books.google.com/books?id=Dv7yS7hUFX0C (from intro, page xi)

And here some background on Harraden: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Harraden
mightyfelix
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Post by mightyfelix »

Sue Anderson wrote: November 25th, 2020, 6:44 pm Hi, I happened to come across a mention of this short woman-centric comedy by British feminist Beatrice Harraden, published in 1919. I read through it and enjoyed it. It's short (16 pages of text) and looks like it would be a lot of fun to produce for LibriVox.

It's called "Lady Geraldine's Speech." There's a copy of it here:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c021051126&view=1up&seq=11

There is a contemporary review of it here, from the "Methuen Drama Book of Suffrage Plays." The review says the running time would be abut 20 minutes.
https://books.google.com/books?id=Dv7yS7hUFX0C (from intro, page xi)

And here some background on Harraden: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Harraden
Excellent suggestion! I just read through it, and I think it's fabulous. The current one act collection is in need of one more play, and this is the one! Care to join in? viewtopic.php?f=27&t=81777
Sue Anderson
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Post by Sue Anderson »

Hi Devorah, I'm glad you also liked the "comedietta." It was mentioned in the current issue of the London Review of Books, in an article about a WWI military hospital staffed entirely by women MD's and nurses. The hospital library was run by Harraden and another suffagist playright Elizabeth Robins. I was not familiar with any of these women, but they sounded interesting.

I can sort of imagine myself, if it were "real life," being part of that group, but acting per se is well beyond my skill set. I most certainly will look forward to hearing the production! :D
mightyfelix
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Post by mightyfelix »

Sue Anderson wrote: November 25th, 2020, 8:04 pm I can sort of imagine myself, if it were "real life," being part of that group, but acting per se is well beyond my skill set. I most certainly will look forward to hearing the production! :D
Well, I don't know about that. :wink: I remember well that you played a role in the very first play I ever edited, for the 12th anniversary collection. Did a darn good job, too, as I recall. But, just as you like, of course.

I will try to remember to drop you a line when the final play is ready for listening. No telling how long that may be.
Pianolil
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Post by Pianolil »

Hello, is it possible to do a dramatic reading of The Prince and the Pauper, by Mark Twain?
ej400
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Post by ej400 »

Pianolil wrote: December 28th, 2020, 11:38 am Hello, is it possible to do a dramatic reading of The Prince and the Pauper, by Mark Twain?
It is possible! I remember doing a group project of it, about three or four years ago, and I always wondered why I didn't do a DR. Would be fun :D
Salvationist
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Post by Salvationist »

ej400 wrote: December 28th, 2020, 12:51 pm
Pianolil wrote: December 28th, 2020, 11:38 am Hello, is it possible to do a dramatic reading of The Prince and the Pauper, by Mark Twain?
It is possible! I remember doing a group project of it, about three or four years ago, and I always wondered why I didn't do a DR. Would be fun :D
I agree! I'd be very glad to see this project come to life and I would be excited to contribute my voice to it once I have access to my recording equipment again, which will hopefully be in a month or so. I'd also love for us to do dramatic readings of Mark Twain's other writings, especially "Tom Sawyer Abroad"; there are already dramatic readings of the first two Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn novels on LibriVox, and "Tom Sawyer Abroad" is the next in the series.
Salvationist

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benderca
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Post by benderca »

Salvationist wrote: December 29th, 2020, 12:38 pm
ej400 wrote: December 28th, 2020, 12:51 pm
Pianolil wrote: December 28th, 2020, 11:38 am Hello, is it possible to do a dramatic reading of The Prince and the Pauper, by Mark Twain?
It is possible! I remember doing a group project of it, about three or four years ago, and I always wondered why I didn't do a DR. Would be fun :D
I agree! I'd be very glad to see this project come to life and I would be excited to contribute my voice to it once I have access to my recording equipment again, which will hopefully be in a month or so. I'd also love for us to do dramatic readings of Mark Twain's other writings, especially "Tom Sawyer Abroad"; there are already dramatic readings of the first two Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn novels on LibriVox, and "Tom Sawyer Abroad" is the next in the series.
I would definitely be interested in both Mark Twain projects (and maybe Jasmin too!). I took a look at the text of The Prince and the Pauper and it has a lot of dialogue -- it would be fun!
TJ
benderca
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Post by benderca »

I have 3 projects scripted and ready to roll. With The Story Girl almost finished, I want to soon launch the sequel, The Golden Road. All of the main characters have expressed interest in reprising their roles, but there are plenty of new parts in this book.

Also I would like to do two newly PD in 2021 works as dramatic readings, The Great Gatsby, which I've had scripted for a while in anticipation, and after that a children's book to do with my daughter, The School at the Chalet by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer.

I'm planning on narrating and editing all three, but will need DPLs for my parts and finished chapters.
TJ

UPDATE: Lynette will DPL The Great Gatsby. Thanks!
Salvationist
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Post by Salvationist »

Sounds like there are many fun projects coming! I’m glad to hear that The Great Gatsby is about to come into the public domain. It is also welcome news that you are planning another Lucy Maud Montgomery novel, TJ!
Salvationist

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Salvationist
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Post by Salvationist »

I have just launched a dramatic reading of a small collection of Sherlock Holmes stories here: viewtopic.php?f=28&t=84994

Might anyone be willing to narrate this DR? For this project, I intend to read Dr. Watson. Because Dr. Watson narrates the first short story, I only need a narrator for the other three short stories. There is less narration for these stories than for many DRs, as almost half of the narration in the second and third stories is in the voice of one of the characters, and the fourth story consists almost entirely of dialogue. I plan to make this DR gender correct, and most of the characters are male, so it might be nice to have a female narrator for balance, but I'm also open to having a male narrator if someone is really interested.
Salvationist

Current focus: Acadia, The Watsons, and Pollyanna of the Orange Blossoms
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