Plays and Playwrights 2010

by Martin Denton, Brian Parks, Dan Collins

An anthology of ten plays from the last season by never before published playwrights. The anthology also includes an Introduction by Martin Denton and a Foreword by Leslie Bramm. The book includes the full scripts with author notes, permission information, and author bios of the THE INVITATION by Brian Parks - A birthday dinner celebration among a group of highly successful friends takes an abrupt peculiar turn in a play that veers maniacally and sardonically through the worlds of politics, art, and revenge. FLIP SIDE by Ellen Maddow - A comedy of misperceptions and mismatches in which two sets of characters - played by the same six actors - occupy two different worlds. ANY DAY NOW by Nat Cassidy - A three act drama about a typically dysfunctional American family dealing with a rather atypical problem, the dead are coming back to life. THE SPIN CYCLE by Jerrod Bogard - Five short linked plays create a collage of contemporary America - from Lady Liberty to the Hollywood Hills to an army base in Iraq - as ordinary folks attempt to "spin" troubling aspects of their life. SUSPICIOUS RX by Gyda Arber and Aaron Baker - A Twilight Zone-esque sci-fi thriller that takes the form of an interactive adventure for audience members, who portray all the characters in this innovative play. OUR COUNTRY by Tony Asaro and Dan Collins - Outed in a public restroom, country music sensation Tommy Dautry has gone from darling to derelict overnight. But now, in this exciting and heartfelt musical, Tommy is back and ready to prove that gay or straight, left or right...it's Our Country, too.

392 pages, Paperback

Published April 19, 2010

About the author

For 20 years, from the late 1990s through the mid-2010s, I was executive director of NYTE, a nonprofit organization dedicated to NYC theater, especially the indie theater sector. I ran a popular listings and review website (nytheatre[dot]com) where I reviewed thousands of shows. Our company also published annual anthologies of new plays (the Plays and Playwrights series, which ran for eleven years), along with several other volumes of new plays.

We also created the first regularly scheduled podcast series dedicated to NYC theater. I created and edited Indie Theater Now, a digital platform for discovery of contemporary American drama.

As the initiator and host of two widely attended convocations in 2005 and 2008, I helped define and brand the indie theater movement in New York City. I served on the boards of the League of Independent Theater (of which I was a co-founder) and The Present Company (producer of the New York International Fringe Festival).

Reviews

[Rhiannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any Day Now, Nat Cassidy's very straight-faced Zombie Apocolypse/family drama, is one of the best plays I've read all year. Hands down.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nat Cassidy's play is the shining star in this collection.