Est Marathon '98: The Complete One-Act Plays (Contemporary Playwrights Series)

The curtain rises on yet another EST marathon. The plays in this volume are: Mr. Charles, Currently of Palm Beach by Paul Rudnick, Dream by Billy AronsonKilling Hand by David Zellnick, The Hundred... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1575251655
• ISBN13: 9781575251653
• Release Date: July 1999
• Publisher: Smith & Kraus Pub Inc
• Length: 135 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.3" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

A powerful collection of short plays

"EST Marathon '98: The One-Act Plays," edited by Marisa Smith, is a fine anthology of short theater pieces. The plays in here include a one-character piece as well as two- and multi-character plays. The collection shows diversity in both form and content. There are 10 plays altogether.My favorites from this collection are as follows: "Mary MacGregor," by Keith Alan Benjamin, a 2-character piece about love and loss; "How to Plant a Rose," by Elizabeth Diggs, a 1-person piece that combines family history and gardening; "Donut Holes in Orbit," by Prince Golmolvilas, about a conflict between a Chinese-American woman and her immigrant mother; "The Trio," by Shel Silverstein, an intriguing play about musicianship; "The Hundred Penny Box," by Barbara Sundstrom, about conflict within a multigenerational African-American family (this play has an unforgettable character in 100-year old Aunt Dew); and "Killing Hand," by David Zellnik, an unsettling play that deals with the aftermath of atrocities committed during the war in the former Yugoslavia.This anthology shows just how potent the genre of the one-act play is. Thanks to the Ensemble Studio Theatre (that's the "EST" of the title) for promoting this genre.

The good ones are really really good...

It's a mixed bag (so's every collection) however some of them - most notably "Killing Hand" and "Scrapple" are really really worth your time. If you've been looking for energetic new American playwriting, you should buy this collection. "Killing Hand" especially impressed me... It's a smart scary 5 person play set at a Brooklyn dinner party and is concerned with crimes that may or may not have taken place in Bosnia. It was funny but with a real moral panic underneath keeping the Hitchcock-esque plot bubbling forward. I was lucky to see the play and I am thrilled that I can purchase it now. Also "Scrapple" broke my heart - it seemed a bit old fashioned but deeply felt ( and a great part for a young woman). Both seem ideal for college scene study and one act festivals. Other plays in the bunch are nearly as good - for instance "Plan Day" and "Dream", and as with all collections, some are less exciting to me. But that's a play collection for you.

A real mixed bag -- some true standouts

If students or small theatre companies are looking for new one-acts that will be challenging fun to produce -- yet won't break the bank for sets or require a huge cast -- I'd highly encourage then to get this collection of plays! They make good reading, too -- bite-sized theatre reading for the hectic 90s. I predict that some of the lesser known names in the book will be big someday. At least they will if there's any justice in this wacky post-theatrical era...