How to Produce Amateur Plays: A Practical Manual - A Comprehensive Guide to Amateur Dramatic Productions

Barrett H. Clark

Summary

In "How to Produce Amateur Plays: A Practical Manual," Barrett H. Clark delivers a comprehensive guide for aspiring playwrights and amateur theatre producers, blending practical advice with a keen understanding of theatrical aesthetics. Written in an accessible and engaging tone, the book covers essential aspects of production, from selecting plays and casting actors to staging and marketing performances. Clark's insights are grounded in his extensive experience in the theatre community, making this manual a vital resource for those looking to navigate the challenges of amateur productions. His approach encourages creativity while acknowledging the practical limitations often faced by amateur groups, situating the work within the broader context of American theatre of the early 20th century, when community-based theatre began gaining prominence. Barrett H. Clark, a noted theatre professional and educational advocate, had a profound impact on the development of community theatre during a transformative era for the performing arts. His dedication to making theatre accessible to all has motivated him to compile this essential resource. Clark's background as a director and actor, along with his passion for nurturing talent in less formal settings, informs his pragmatic approach to the art of play production. "How to Produce Amateur Plays" is an indispensable guide for anyone interested in the world of amateur theatre. Whether you are a novice director, an enthusiastic actor, or a determined playwright, Clark's manual not only offers practical tips but also inspires a love for the theatrical arts. Engage with this work to cultivate your skills and contribute meaningfully to the vibrant tapestry of local theatre.

Available since: 09/18/2023.

Print length: 91 pages.

Poetry & Theatre

Other books that might interest you

A Midsummer Night's Dream

William Shakespeare

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy written by William Shakespeare. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta, the former queen of the Amazons. These include the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of six amateur actors (the mechanicals) who are controlled and manipulated by the fairies who inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set. The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular works for the stage and is widely performed across the world. The play consists of four interconnecting plots, connected by a celebration of the wedding of Duke Theseus of Athens and the Amazon queen, Hippolyta, which is set simultaneously in the woodland and in the realm of Fairyland, under the light of the moon. The play opens with Hermia, who is in love with Lysander, resistant to her father Egeus' demand that she wed Demetrius, whom he has arranged for her to marry. Helena meanwhile pines unrequitedly for Demetrius. Enraged, Egeus invokes an ancient Athenian law before Duke Theseus, whereby a daughter must marry the suitor chosen by her father, or else face death. Theseus offers her another choice: lifelong chastity while worshipping the goddess Artemis as a nun. Peter Quince and his fellow players Nick Bottom, Francis Flute, Robin Starveling, Tom Snout, and Snug plan to put on a play for the wedding of the Duke and the Queen, "the most lamentable comedy and most cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe". Quince reads the names of characters and bestows them to the players. Nick Bottom, who is playing the main role of Pyramus, is over-enthusiastic and wants to dominate others by suggesting himself for the characters of Thisbe, the Lion, and Pyramus at the same time. He would also rather be a tyrant and recites some lines of Ercles. Bottom is told by Quince that he would do the Lion so terribly as to frighten the duchess and ladies enough for the Duke and Lords to have the players hanged. Quince ends the meeting with "at the Duke's oak we meet."

Show book

And I Will Make of You a Vowel...

Morag Anderson

Winner of the 2023 Aryamati Pamphlet Competition. In her second chapbook, And I Will Make of You a Vowel Sound, Morag Anderson places centre stage an unlikely cast of neglected, exploited, and unsung characters. These poems uncover many of the contradictions of life lived in the female body and bear witness to largely forgotten yet highly-personal stories, woman by woman, girl by girl. Confident and assured of voice, she navigates womanhood and its attendant desires and abuses, permitting the reader to embrace the power and vulnerability encased in the female form. Anderson's delicate choice of words \'unlace restraint' and take us to the limits of the female body's potential.

Show book

The Legend of Stone Mountain -...

Joshua David Ling, Alexander...

Hidden beneath Stone Mountain's imposing facade lies a dark and intriguing secret. Drawn together by an irresistible force, a disparate group of individuals with unique powers, embark on a quest to uncover its legend. Unbeknownst to them, they are thrust into an ancient battle between good and evil.
Amidst the peculiar happenings surrounding Cyrus Jones's family farm, her unique ability to command the weather unveils its true purpose. Determined to unearth the truth behind the relentless loss of everything she holds dear, Cyrus's investigation leads her to two captivating figures—Mr. H, the leader of an underground resistance, and Bobby Carter, a mesmerizing carnival performer.
Meanwhile, former knights William Avery and Quinton Fenris break free from their allegiance to The Knights of Adonai, a modern order of knights connected with Alethea Church. Now fugitives, and questioning their once-loyal motives, they must elude pursuers while grappling with their own profound destinies.
As these lives intertwine, more extraordinary individuals emerge from the shadows. Amira Kadru, a young prodigy with the power of mirroring, and the enigmatic warlock Marlynn, a guiding presence for the amnesic Amy; All join the growing alliance. Together with Cyrus, Bobby, William, and Quinton, they unite as the Guardians of Atlanta, a formidable force against the malevolent darkness seeking to resurrect Stone Mountain's ancient legend.
With fate converging upon Stone Mountain, an inevitable final showdown looms. The dormant power within the sacred rock remains a tantalizing mystery. Who will triumph in the battle to unravel the legend, and what otherworldly forces will be unleashed? Brace yourself for an epic tale of superheroes—a poetic masterpiece where super powers clash in a timeless struggle for Georgia's own Stone Mountain.

Show book

Fierce Elegy

Peter Gizzi

Peter Gizzi has said that "the elegy is a mode that can transform a broken heart in a fierce world into a fierce heart in a broken world." For Gizzi, ferocity can be reimagined as vulnerability, bravery and discovery, a braiding of emotional and otherworldly depth, "a holding open." In Gizzi's voice joy and sorrow make a complex ecosystem. In their quest for a lyric reality, these poems remind us that elegy is lament but also—as it has been for centuries—a work of love. "This new poetry," Kamau Brathwaite has written about Gizzi, "taking such care of temperature—the time & details of the world—meaning the space(s) in which we live—defining love in this way. Writing along the edge. A way of writing about hope."[sample poem] Creely Songall that is lovely in words, even if gone to pieces all that is lovely gone, all of it for love and autobiography as if I were writing thishello, listen the plan is the body and all of it for love now in pieces all that is lovely echoes still in life & death still memory gardens open onto windows lovely, the charm that mirrors all that was, all that is, lovely in a song

Show book

Rhyme A Dozen A - Trains - 12...

Damon Runyon, Walt Whitman,...

‘A dime a dozen’ as known in America, is perhaps equal to the English ‘cheap as chips’ but whatever the lingua franca of your choice in this series we hereby submit ‘A Rhyme a Dozen’ as 12 poems on many given subjects that are a well-rounded gathering, maybe even an essential guide, from the knowing pens of classic poets and their beautifully spoken verse to the comfort of your ears. 
 
01 - A Rhyme A Dozen - 12 Poems, 12 Poets, 1 Topic - Trains - An Introduction 
02 - A Song of the Rails by Damon Runyon 
03 - Song of a Train by John Davidson 
04 - Song of the Rail by Ella Wheeler Wilcox 
05 - To a Locomotive in Winter by Walt Whitman 
06 - Faintheart in a Railway Train by Thomas Hardy 
07 - From a Railway Carriage by Robert Louis Stevenson 
08 - An Incident in a Railroad Car by James Russell Lowell 
09 - What's the Railroad to Me by Henry David Thoreau 
10 - On the Engine by Night by Alexander Anderson 
11 - Adlestrop by Edward Thomas 
12 - In the Train and At Versailles by Dante Gabriel Rossetti 
13 - The Railway Train by Emily Dickinson

Show book

The Top 10 Poets – The...

Langston Hughes, Phillis...

The language of Poetry is an art that most of us attempt at some point in our lives.  Although its commonplace exposure has been somewhat marginalised in today’s often fast-paced lives we all recognise good verse that can empathise with our thoughts or open us up to experience new things in new ways, to better understand and to enjoy the many strands of our lives. 
But finding a starting point can be overwhelming, even off-putting, so in this series we offer up our Top 10 classic poets, who brim with talent and verse, on a range of subjects and themes that we can all enjoy. 
In this volume we collect together poets who, by the mere colour of their skin, were treated with such disdain and racism that it is difficult to believe that poetry of such tenderness, beauty and authority could exist.

Show book