The Methuen Drama Anthology of American Women Playwrights: 1970 - 2020

Gun, Spell #7, The Jacksonian, The Baltimore Waltz, In the Blood, Intimate Apparel

Russell & Volkening Inc., Wesley Brown, Aimée K. Michel, Wesley Brown, Aimée K. Michel

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781350068728
• eBook ISBN: 9781350068766
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Drama
• Index: Literature

"In this exciting new anthology, Wesley Brown and Aimée K. Michel bring together six wonderfully teachable plays by some of the greatest American women dramatists of the past fifty years-- Ntozake Shange, Suzan-Lori Parks, Paula Vogel, Lynn Nottage, Beth Henley, and Susan Yankowitz. The editors provide a helpful Introduction to the last 100 years of theatrical activity, from suffrage and anti-lynching plays, through the explosive 1960s, to recent Broadway triumphs, highlighting women's struggle-a struggle that continues--to put their vision and voices on the American stage." Elin Diamond, Rutgers University, USA This volume celebrates the iconoclastic power of six American women playwrights who pushed the boundaries of the form outside the box of conventional drama. Each play is accompanied by a short introduction providing the biographical background of the playwright as well as discussing the dramatic style of her writing, the extent to which her work is informed by major playwrights of the period, and how the specific work illustrates the overarching themes of her body of work. The plays included are:
Gun by Susan Yankowitz
Spell #7: geechee jibara quik magic trance manual for
technologically stressed third world people by Ntozake Shange
The Jacksonian by Beth Henley
The Baltimore Waltz by Paula Vogel
In the Blood by Suzan-Lori Parks
Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage

In the Blood

Suzan-Lori Parks

Production History

In the Blood premiered at The Joseph Papp Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival (George C. Wolfe, Producer; Rosemarie Tichler, Artistic Producer; Mark Litvin, Managing Director) in New York City in November 1999. It was directed by David Esbjornson; the set design was by Narelle Sissons; the lighting design was by Jane Cox; the sound design was by Don DiNicola; the costume design was by Elizabeth Hope Clancy; the production dramaturg was John Dias; and the production stage manager was Kristen Harris. The cast was as follows:

Hester, La Negrita	Charlayne Woodard
Chilli/Jabber	Rob Campbell
Reverend D./Baby	Reggie Montgomery
Welfare Lady/Bully	Gail Grate
Doctor/Trouble	Bruce MacVittie
Amiga Gringa/Beauty	Deirdre O’Connell

Author’s Elements of Style

I’m continuing the use of my slightly unconventional theatrical elements. Here’s a road map:

•(Rest)
Take a little time, a pause, a breather; make a transition.

•A Spell
An elongated and heightened (Rest). Denoted by repetition of figures’ names with no dialogue. Has sort of an architectural look:

Reverend D.

Hester

Reverend D.

Hester

This is a place where the figures experience their pure true simple state. While no action or stage business is necessary, directors should fill this moment as they best see fit.

•[Brackets in the text indicate optional cuts for production.]

•(Parentheses around dialogue indicate softly spoken passages (asides; sotto voce)).

Characters

Hester, La Negrita

Chilli/Jabber, her oldest son

Reverend D./Baby, her youngest son

Welfare Lady/Bully, her oldest daughter

Doctor/Trouble, her middle son

Amiga Gringa/Beauty, her youngest daughter

Place

Here

Time

Now

Author’s Note

This play requires a cast of six adult actors, five of whom double as adults and children. The setting should be spare, to reflect the poverty of the world of the play.

Prologue

All clustered together.

All THERE SHE IS!

WHO DOES SHE THINK

SHE IS

THE NERVE SOME PEOPLE HAVE

SHOULDNT HAVE IT IF YOU CANT AFFORD IT

AND YOU KNOW SHE CANT

SHE DONT GOT NO SKILLS

CEPT ONE

CANT READ CANT WRITE

SHE MARRIED?

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

SHE OUGHTA BE MARRIED

THATS WHY THINGS ARE BAD LIKE THEY ARE

CAUSE OF

GIRLS LIKE THAT

THAT EVER HAPPEN TO ME YOU WOULDNT SEE ME HAVING IT

YOU WOULDNT SEE THAT HAPPENING TO ME

WHO THE HELL SHE THINK SHE IS

AND NOW WE GOT TO PAY FOR IT

THE NERVE

SOME PEOPLE HAVE

BAD LUCK

SHE OUGHTA GET MARRIED

TO WHO?

THIS AINT THE FIRST TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED TO HER

NO?

THIS IS HER FIFTH

FIFTH?

SHE GOT FIVE OF THEM

FIVE BRATS

AND NOT ONE OF THEM GOT A DADDY

PAH!

They spit.

WHOS THE DADDY?

SHE WONT TELL

SHE WONT TELL CAUSE SHE DONT KNOW

SHE KNOWS

NO SHE DONT

HOW COULD A GIRL NOT KNOW

WHEN YOU HAD SO MUCH ACTION YOU LOSE A FRACTION

OF YR GOOD SENSE

THE PART OF MEN SHE SEES ALL LOOK THE SAME ANYWAY

WATCH YR MOUTH

I DIDNT SAY NOTHING

YOU TALKING ALL NASTY AND THAT AINT RIGHT

THERES CHILDREN HERE

WHERES THE CHILDREN I DONT SEE NO CHILDREN

SHE MARRIED?

SHE AINT MARRIED

SHE DONT GOT NO SKILLS

CEPT ONE

CANT READ CANT WRITE

SHE MARRIED?

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

All

All

All

SHE KNOWS SHES A NO COUNT

SHIFTLESS

HOPELESS

BAD NEWS

BURDEN TO SOCIETY

HUSSY

SLUT

PAH!

They spit.

JUST PLAIN STUPID IF YOU ASK ME AINT NO SMART WOMAN GOT 5 BASTARDS

AND...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction Wesley Brown and Aimée K. Michel
• Introduction to Susan Yankowitz Wesley Brown
• Gun Susan Yankowitz
• Introduction to Ntozake Shange Wesley Brown
• Spell #7 Ntozake Shange
• Introduction to Beth Henley Aimée K. Michel
• The Jacksonian Beth Henley
• Introduction to Paula Vogel Aimée K. Michel
• The Baltimore Waltz Paula Vogel
• Introduction to Suzan-Lori Parks Wesley Brown
• In the Blood Suzan-Lori Parks
• Introduction to Lynn Nottage Aimée K. Michel
• Intimate Apparel Lynn Nottage
• Selected Bibliography
• Copyright