{"product_id":"six-plays-paperback","title":"Six Plays - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMickle Maher\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eLoren Kruger\u003c\/b\u003e (Foreword by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis anthology features six plays by celebrated Chicago playwright Mickle Maher, who has been described by the \u003ci\u003eHouston Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e as \"one of the most original voices in American theater today,\" and by the \u003ci\u003eChicago Reader\u003c\/i\u003e as \"a master at creating complex, paradoxical works that encompass their own contradictions.\" Maher's plays engage classic literature as a jumping off point for seriously unusual comedic dramas, often dealing with the absurdity, difficulties, and rewards of artistic endeavor. His work has been influenced by or compared to Eugène Ionesco, Maria Irene Fornes, Kenneth Koch, and Edward Albee, among others. This edition is designed to be useful for schools and other organizations that wish to mount productions of Maher's plays, which generally feature small casts and simple scenery and stagings, and thus can be easy to produce. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003eProduction rights for any of these six plays can be requested from the publisher.\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The anthology includes: \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAn Apology for the Course and Outcome of Certain Events Delivered by Doctor John Faustus on This His Final Evening\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e On the night Faustus concludes his bargain with Mephistopheles, he apologizes to a group of random people for his failure to keep a diary of his fabulous life. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Hunchback Variations\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Ludwig von Beethoven and Quasimodo present a panel discussion on their failure to create an impossible sound called for in a stage direction in Chekhov's \u003ci\u003eThe Cherry Orchard.\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSpirits to Enforce\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Twelve telefundraisers with secret identities work to raise money for a superheroic production of \u003ci\u003eThe Tempest\u003c\/i\u003e in a bid to save Fathomtown from Professor Cannibal and his band of evil doers. \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThere Is a Happiness That Morning Is\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Having engaged the evening before in a highly inappropriate display of public affection on the main lawn of their rural New England campus, two lecturers on the poems of William Blake must now, in class, either apologize for their behavior or effectively justify it to keep their jobs.\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSong About Himself\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In a dystopian future, a woman made extraordinary by her ability to speak relatively clearly tries to connect with others on a mysterious social media site created by a rogue artificial intelligence. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eIt Is Magic\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Deb and Sandy are auditioning Tim for the role of the Wolf in a production of The Three Little Pigs, but there's a mysterious haze in the basement of the Mortier Civic Playhouse and that, in addition to interruptions from the director of the Scottish play that's going on upstairs, is making things difficult. Then, Liz shows up and throws the whole room into (further) chaos. \u003ci\u003eIt Is Magic\u003c\/i\u003e reveals the deep, ancient evil at the heart of the community theater audition process. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMickle Maher\u003c\/b\u003e is a co-founder of Chicago's Theater Oobleck, with whom he has produced plays for more than thirty years. He lectures on playwriting at the University of Chicago, and lives with his wife and son in Evanston, IL. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eLoren Kruger\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor of Comparative and English Literature, and Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Chicago, and has been watching Mickle Maher's plays since 1988. She is the author of several books, most recently \u003ci\u003eA Century of South African Theatre\u003c\/i\u003e (Bloomsbury), \u003ci\u003eImagining the Edgy City\u003c\/i\u003e (Oxford University Press), and the award-winning \u003ci\u003ePost-Imperial Brecht\u003c\/i\u003e (Cambridge University Press), and her articles on theatre in Chicago and elsewhere have appeared in many publications, including \u003ci\u003eCritical Stages\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Drama Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTheater\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTheater der Zeit, \u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eTheatre Research International\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eTheatre Journal\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 264\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.2 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 12, 2022\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42699168383039,"sku":"9781572843103","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0105\/8226\/1823\/files\/dfc99d79e20d6333abad3a47a9f46447.webp?v=1765012678","url":"https:\/\/dhlswag.com\/products\/six-plays-paperback","provider":"BBB","version":"1.0","type":"link"}