Play Suggestions

Plays and other dramatic works
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alanmapstone
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Post by alanmapstone »

Dryden's version of the Tempest is already in the catalogue here:

https://librivox.org/the-tempest-by-john-dryden/
Alan
the sixth age shifts into the slippered pantaloon with spectacles on nose
ChuckW
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Post by ChuckW »

A quick announcement: Since I'm having so much fun editing Rollo's Wild Oat right now, I've decided to do another Clare Kummer comedy next. It's called Be Calm, Camilla! It's another showbiz farce about a small-town girl who moves to the big city with aspirations of being concert pianist. She scrapes by with her low-paying job as a movie house organist until she's swept up into a tumultuous affair with a married millionaire. Like Rollo, it's another light and clever romantic comedy. It looks like a lot of fun!

https://archive.org/details/becalmcamillaac00kummgoog
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ToddHW
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Post by ToddHW »

By the way, I have found a replacement for Farquhar since we have done all his plays. (Nearly - still some short roles open to finish The Twin Rivals off - hint, hint.) Same timeframe and seems somewhat similar. (I was reading a book comparing and contrasting playwrights from 1700.) Steele. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55922 I'll start with the first play - The Funeral: or Grief A-La-Mode.

Thanks, Todd
Carolin
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Post by Carolin »

i just stumbled over a bunch of plays with interesting titles on archive.

https://archive.org/details/cupidinkhakiplay00boot
Cupid in khaki, a play in two acts
by Booth, Hilliard

https://archive.org/details/dorisdinosaurpla00boot
Doris and the dinosaur, a play in two acts
by Booth, Hilliard

https://archive.org/details/inhottamaleland00morg
In hot tamale land..
by Morgan Geoffrey J. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/lizaannlawndrama00barn
Liza Ann, a lawn drama in one act (15 scenes)
by Barnard, Charles, 1838-1920

https://archive.org/details/lovesserviceflag00boot
Love's service flag, a comedy in two acts
by Booth, Hilliard
Carolin
Carolin
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Post by Carolin »

this one also sounds interesting:
https://archive.org/details/everywomansroadm00hamm
Everywoman's road; a morality of woman, creator, worker, waster, joy-giver and keeper of the flame
by Hammond, Josephine, 1876-
Carolin
Carolin
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Post by Carolin »

oh now i really fell into a bucket of plays. ill compile a little dump here of titles that sound interesting. i am not really looking at any of the texts as drama is not my domain.

https://archive.org/details/wantedmalecook00bake
Wanted, a male cook
by [Baker, George Melville], 1832-1890

https://archive.org/details/pugbabyfarcecome00unse
Pug and the baby, farce-comedy, in one act. To which is added a description of the costumes--cast of the characters ... and the whole of the stage business
Publication date 1889

https://archive.org/details/numbertwo00fria
Number two ..
by Friars, Austin. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/mrsmainwaringsma00froo
Mrs. Mainwaring's management ..
by Froome, John Redhead. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/billydirectingfa00froo
Billy and the directing fates ..
by Froome, John Redhead. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/paintingchurchre00freu
Painting the church red ..
by Freund, E. J. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/tommy00free
Tommy ..
by Freeman, Ethel Hale. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/briberyorcalifor00yapa
Bribery, or, The California senatorial election : a comedy in III acts
by YA Pamphlet Collection (Library of Congress) DLC

https://archive.org/details/coedseniorcomedy00mitc
The co-ed and the senior : a comedy in four acts
by Mitchell, John F., Jr. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/lostvillage00hill
The lost village ..
by Hill, Margaret F. [old catalog heading]

https://archive.org/details/outofhissphere00hill
Out of his sphere ..
by HIll, David. [old catalog heading]

https://archive.org/details/toomanywives00hend
Too many wives
by Henderson, Sara. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/unconsciousburgl00fran
An unconscious burglary, being a relation of the strange adventures of John Flynn, a lawyer;
by Francis, John M. (John Morgan), 1879-

https://archive.org/details/troublebymail00fran
Trouble by mail ..
by Francis, John M. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/countryromance00elyb
A country romance ..
by Ely, Blanche T. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/goosecreekline00mung
The Goose Creek line ..
by Munger, Carabel Lewis. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/thefullpenaltyap00nash
"The full penalty" (a play in three acts)
by Nash, Garrita B. [from old catalog]; Winchester, Maud Tarleton, [from old catalog] joint author

https://archive.org/details/hersonssweethear00murr
Her son's sweetheart ..
by Murray, Josepha Marie. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/womenoflowenburg00murr
The women of Lo˜wenburg ..
by Murray, E. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/greatturkeysteal00grah
The great turkey stealing case of Watermelon county
by Graham, V. O. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/texanmotherinlaw00gibs
Texan mother-in-law ..
by Gibson, Ad. H

https://archive.org/details/whatcharitycover00garr
What charity covers ..
by Garrow, David. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/pointofhonor00maye
A point of honor ..
by Mayer, Nathan, 1838-1912

https://archive.org/details/seriousflirtatio00mett
A serious flirtation ..
by Mettenheimer, H. J. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/goldenplough00meri
The golden plough ..
by Meritt, Paul

https://archive.org/details/doubtfulvictory00dumo
A doubtful victory ..
by Dumont, Frank. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/cubanspy00dumo
The Cuban spy ..
by Dumont, Frank. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/biscuitsbills00dubo
Biscuits and bills ..
by DuBois, O. B. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/revolutionarymar00donn
A revolutionary marriage ..
by Donnell, Florence T. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/everymembercanva00davi
The every-member canvass ..
by Davison, F. E. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/verasvacation00basc
Vera's vacation
by Bascom, Louise Rand. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/missnibbsnovelty00beck
Miss Nibbs' novelty shop ..
by Becker, Alta. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/coatspetticoatsc00gale
Coats and petticoats; a comedy in one act
by Gale, Rachel Baker

https://archive.org/details/chaperoncomedyin00gale
The chaperon; a comedy in two acts for female characters only
by Gale, Rachel Baker

https://archive.org/details/tomorrowattencom00barb
Tomorrow at ten, a comedy
by Barbee, Lindsey, 1876-

https://archive.org/details/daisygarlandsfor00davi
Daisy Garland's fortune ..
by Davis, Edwin A. [from old catalog]

https://archive.org/details/midnightmistake00muns
A midnight mistake ..
by Munson, A. J. [from old catalog]
Carolin
ToddHW
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Post by ToddHW »

Oh what wonderful titles! I like that some of the authors have multiple plays, so if we like them we can do several.

But my real favorite title is "The great turkey stealing case of Watermelon county".

Great finds.

Thanks, Todd
Elizabby
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Post by Elizabby »

I see there are some 1 Act plays that could even go into the current collection, if anyone wanted to try their hand at BCing a small play!

"Coats and Petticoats" would be my personal pick!
ToddHW
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Post by ToddHW »

ToddHW wrote: June 25th, 2018, 4:01 pm Oh what wonderful titles! I like that some of the authors have multiple plays, so if we like them we can do several.

But my real favorite title is "The great turkey stealing case of Watermelon county".

Great finds.

Thanks, Todd
Although this particular play itself appears to be a non-PC turkey....

Thanks, Todd
Foon
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Post by Foon »

Hi guys,
I'm considering trying my hand at BCing a (small) play, perhaps something for a one act play collection. I have a theoretical idea what BCing a play entails, but before I go and actually do this, I do want to make sure I'm not in over my head...
Would anyone be willing to give me some pointers on what I'd be getting myself into, or important things to know before I try this, etc?
Sorry if this isn't the right place to ask, but I didn't know where else! :)
Foon - Real life is getting in the way of LV, will be slow until all is back on track, please bear with me!


Readers needed:
Dramatic Reading: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Folklore/legends: Arabian Nights Vol. 11
Play: Zeus the Tragedian
ToddHW
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Post by ToddHW »

Take a look in the One Act and Best Practices forums. In general the practice is

1 prep play by identifying all the parts and which acts they appear in (easy for a one act). Note any problems or special instructions - script errors, where someone should read an ALL line, etc

2 post project and wait for an MC to set up an MW. Done for you already in the One Act Collection - you just post the info from point 1 above instead of doing all the BC setup

3 accept claims and get parts PL'd. Best to have someone else PL cuz you can't PL your final play anyway. And - make sure the PL is done right away while the reader is still around

4 edit the parts together from the submitted files. Need the stage directions to do this. I can give you advice on the editing on a separate note. I love getting to play with all the parts and hear how it all comes together

5 upload the completed master file, get it PL'd, create an HTML cast list, ask the MC to catalog

Simple! I'll be glad to help in a few weeks when I get Internet again.

Thanks, Todd
ChuckW
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Post by ChuckW »

Just a quick head's up--

I'm taking a brief hiatus before launching another play. The last one kinda took a lot out of me and I'd like to use this time to recharge my batteries. I will, however, give you guys a rough idea of what I'm planning.

So I'm thinking about doing Clare Kummer's "Be Calm, Camilla!", a light romantic comedy about a pianist who finds love after getting mowed down by a millionaire's car (ah, that old chestnut). It's the usual sort of frothy, frivolous fun you'd expect from Kummer. Unfortunately, the author's death date makes this public domain for only a small subsection of our volunteers.

I'm also thinking about a conversation I had with Todd way-back-when about Simon Landis' The Social War of 1900. This is a play adaptation of the book of the same name (which we recorded a while ago) that is universally regarded as THE WORST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL OF ALL TIME. This is not an exaggeration; it's howlingly, heart-stoppingly terrible. So how is the play version? Maybe worse. This is a relatively short project (five acts in 47 pages!), but has a ton of characters and some truly awful dialogue. I'm not sure if there's any interest in doing a play of the "so-bad-it's-good" variety, but I'm curious about possibly launching this one in the future.

I'm also still thinking about Theodore Dreiser's Plays of the Natural and Supernatural, but that book is so long and complicated it makes my head hurt.
PROJECTS
Current Solo:Septimius Felton (Hawthorne's final novel)
Help Needed: Strange Interlude (O'Neill's Freudian melodrama - roles available!)
SonOfTheExiles
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Joined: December 20th, 2013, 1:14 am
Location: Sydney, Australia

Post by SonOfTheExiles »

I don't know if anyone is looking for a new DR Project, but have you ever read Australian playwright Arthur H. Adams' "Mrs Pretty and the Premier"?

https://archive.org/stream/threeplaysforaus00adamiala#page/92

The first two plays in this book didn't interest me, but when I started on this third one, I found I couldn't put it down until I'd finished. While the first act is good, the comedy is off-the-walls in the second act. If you want to see what I mean by "off-the-walls", go to page 122, and start reading from "William Power enters, followed by Dix". Premier Power at this point needs, for political purposes, to be married within three days. So of course, he instructs his speechwriter (Dix) and secretary (Effie) to write the marriage proposal he will use. The ensuing scene over the next couple of pages is a hoot, particularly when Miss Effie is questioned on the effectiveness of the most recent of the fifteen proposals she has received.

And it has a very satisfactory denouement in the final act.

There's a synopsis here: https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/7132224

I gather this play was performed in the West End of London back in the day.

I would just love to play the Premier in this play.


Cheers,
Chris
Currently on sabbatical from Librivox
Elizabby
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Post by Elizabby »

I'd be willing to BC this one after "Mikado" is finished - but I'd need an editor. If anyone is interested please PM me and we can work out a mutually convenient launch date. It needs to be after "Mikado" and preferably after "Amulet" is also finished, so September launch, at the earliest.
mightyfelix
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Post by mightyfelix »

Elizabby wrote: August 11th, 2018, 4:19 pm I'd be willing to BC this one after "Mikado" is finished - but I'd need an editor. If anyone is interested please PM me and we can work out a mutually convenient launch date. It needs to be after "Mikado" and preferably after "Amulet" is also finished, so September launch, at the earliest.
I think I can safely say you can always call on me as your editor. I always enjoy the projects you choose. :)
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