What plays from the last 50-odd years should I read? Satire, black comedy, or scathing political criticism a plus. Also plays challenging the bounds of normal theater. [more inside]
posted by beerbajay on Dec 14, 2009 - 47 answers

I'm looking for a cake pan/mold in the shape of the traditional theater comedy/drama masks. [more inside]
posted by He Is Only The Imposter on Oct 1, 2009 - 4 answers

Do security camera DVR's record all video channels simultaneously, or do they only record one channel at a time or the multiplex all on one screen? I ask because I'm looking to set up an ultra cheap multi-cam recording setup in a small theater. [more inside]
posted by tropikal on Aug 28, 2009 - 4 answers

I'm looking for plays about precocious children. [more inside]
posted by stray on Jun 26, 2009 - 16 answers

I need to find talented people who are into both theatre writing and web technologies. They should live in Britain or Ireland. I have two weeks. Where should I look?
posted by the latin mouse on Jun 17, 2009 - 6 answers

Help me develop the skills needed to carry an (essentially) one-man stage show despite never having even vaguely considering acting. If I get the part, I assume we'll start rehearsals in late autumn. [more inside]
posted by 2or3whiskeysodas on May 18, 2009 - 1 answer

I'm going to be auditioning for a musical theater role in a month, and could use some advice on how to prepare. [more inside]
posted by ocherdraco on Apr 28, 2009 - 10 answers

What's the difference between directing a play and stage-directing an opera? [more inside]
posted by roll truck roll on Apr 21, 2009 - 3 answers

Tips on theatrical haze machines. [more inside]
posted by Navelgazer on Feb 8, 2009 - 11 answers

Has there ever been video game characters in a theatre play ? [more inside]
posted by Baud on Feb 4, 2009 - 8 answers

HighSchoolDramaTeacherFilter: Any tips for doing documentary theater with students? [more inside]
posted by HeroZero on Jan 23, 2009 - 3 answers

Help me find free age appropriate plays/skits/acting exercises for my 6 year old. [more inside]
posted by dejah420 on Jan 19, 2009 - 8 answers

HighSchoolTwelfthNightProductionFilter: Help me set some Shakespearean songs to 1920's dixieland jazz melodies. [more inside]
posted by HeroZero on Jan 5, 2009 - 10 answers

Which translation/adaptation/version of Carlo Goldoni's The Servant of Two Masters should my high school students perform? [more inside]
posted by HeroZero on Aug 27, 2008 - 1 answer

SetPaintingFilter. When I was in college theatre, our sets were never finished until our company technical director walked the set, paint brush in hand, adding texture to the platforms with what seemed to be a very ordered splatter pattern. He'd do this alone, the night before we opened. The textures didn't take away from the set, but added depth. So what was he doing? I've seen the phrase "splatter wash," but can see no details on the method, the mix for the paint, anything. [more inside]
posted by grabbingsand on Jun 16, 2008 - 7 answers

Looking for plays with courtroom/trial scenes. [more inside]
posted by jrb223 on Jun 10, 2008 - 24 answers

What can you tell me about working in theatrical costume in NYC? [more inside]
posted by doift on Apr 4, 2008 - 1 answer

Looking for examples of diplomats who were/are also involved in the performing arts. [more inside]
posted by jrb223 on Jan 12, 2008 - 35 answers

What well-known (or lesser-known) plays are written intentionally so as to be unperformable -- only readable as scripts? I'm thinking stage directions along the lines of pulls out a handgun and fires at random into the audience, or that instruct the actors to walk on the ceiling, or specification in the dramatis personae that goats are to be cast in speaking parts. Who's employed this device to the greatest artistic effect?
posted by electric water kettle on Dec 25, 2007 - 24 answers

Can you recommend a good, cheap and/or free tool for storyboarding a stage production I'm about to direct? [more inside]
posted by bovious on Dec 17, 2007 - 4 answers

Looking for posters of Grand Guignol shows for an upcoming film set.... any ideas? [more inside]
posted by MeetCleaverTheatre on Oct 31, 2007 - 3 answers

what fun, performance-related activities would you teach in a high-security prison? [more inside]
posted by twistofrhyme on Oct 22, 2007 - 12 answers

Have there been any other plays/performances that became the center of an activist movement, similar to The Vagina Monologues and V-Day? Was TVM the first performance to bring activist theater to the mainstream?
posted by divabat on Oct 2, 2007 - 16 answers

Where can I find a copy of the play by René Fauchois that Jean Renoir's film Boudou Saved From Drowning (Boudu sauvé des eaux) is based on? Does an English translation exist? [more inside]
posted by StopMakingSense on Sep 22, 2007 - 3 answers

What plays did you love performing when you were in your high school drama club? [more inside]
posted by HeroZero on Aug 4, 2007 - 41 answers

NYC Film & Theater Makers' filter: please suggest online resources for finding out what's going on in NYC! [more inside]
posted by twistofrhyme on Apr 27, 2007 - 5 answers

Question regarding strategy for which TKTS location to try next Tuesday to get Broadway tickets... [more inside]
posted by rorycberger on Nov 16, 2006 - 11 answers

How do I get a job with a theatre company in New York City? [more inside]
posted by idledebonair on Nov 1, 2006 - 6 answers

Based on my job skills, what should I go back to school and study, in order to have one of those "career" thingys? [more inside]
posted by weirdoactor on Oct 24, 2006 - 8 answers

Can you think of a good monologue or short story that would translate well to being told/described using only body language, without words? [more inside]
posted by stray on Sep 30, 2006 - 12 answers

Theatrical types: could you supply advice on transplanting a small musical from New York to London? Any perspective welcome, particularly suggested theatres and people who "run the scene." [more inside]
posted by godawful on Aug 24, 2006 - 9 answers

Is there a theater underground in Chicago? [more inside]
posted by elr on Jul 31, 2006 - 6 answers

Is there anyway to get commercial exhibition rights for scheduled public performances for movie prints you own? Of course, there's... [more inside]
posted by baylink on Jul 19, 2006 - 10 answers

Why do all movie advertisements and trailers state that the movie will be shown "Only In Theaters"? [more inside]
posted by dmd on Jul 9, 2006 - 16 answers

I've written a play. What should I do with it? [more inside]
posted by scarylarry on Jun 27, 2006 - 12 answers

Scheduling meetings: I need software (or a good human-based procedure) to help me juggle complicated schedules for a group of people. [more inside]
posted by grumblebee on Jun 20, 2006 - 17 answers

What is the origin of the phrase/quote/saying "Dying is easy, comedy is hard?"
posted by YoungAmerican on Mar 7, 2006 - 8 answers

Gay/lesbian theater recommendations? [more inside]
posted by Astro Zombie on Mar 3, 2006 - 10 answers

Looking for an agent for my playwrighting. [more inside]
posted by Astro Zombie on Feb 23, 2006 - 9 answers

I'm having trouble remembering a playwright I read about long ago. IIRC, this playwright is considered an heir to the Brechtian tradition, and he accordingly hated using professional actors with practiced mannerisms. In order to achieve verfremdungseffekt when directing, he would sometimes cast high schoolers with no previous acting expreience. I think it might be Edward Bond, but I'm not sure. Any ideas? I'm pretty sure that he's British.
posted by painquale on Dec 12, 2005 - 3 answers

Theatre/er question: Traditionally, when an actor played several parts on the stage - from Elizabethan times up to C20, I believe - the minor roles would be credited to a particular name in the cast. Anyone know what the usual pseudonym was?
posted by magpie68 on Nov 4, 2005 - 3 answers

Is there a good resource (online or not) to find out if a given theatrical production is running, anytime in the near future, anywhere in the country (USA/Canada)? [more inside]
posted by mto on Oct 16, 2005 - 7 answers

My theatre company is trying to pick our next play. We only produce "classics," but we have a broad definition of the term: basically, the play must be written prior to the 20th Century. [more inside]
posted by grumblebee on Nov 30, 2004 - 24 answers

I run a not-for-profit theatre company. It's a 501(c)(3) corporation. We would like to take our own ticket orders online via credit card. We're currently using Smarttix.com, but they take a big chunk out of each ticket sale -- plus they charge us a $75 "setup fee" per show.

I'm wondering if there are other services I could switch to that would be more cost-effective.
posted by grumblebee on Nov 8, 2004 - 15 answers

I'm about to head off to London and I want to see some good, serious theatre. I'm VERY careful about what I see (theatre being expensive), and I like to read many reviews first. Instead of buying 30 newspapers and magazines, is there a site somewhere that collects or links to multiple reviews of each current show?

PS. I'm really looking for reviews, but if you want to recommend a specific show, please note that I prefer classics to modern plays. And I really like classics when they're done withOUT any obvious conceptual twist (i.e. I DON'T want to see "Hamlet" set on the moon.)
posted by grumblebee on Apr 30, 2004 - 8 answers

In the 1980s, pbs aired an off broadway performance (at least I think it was off broadway) that featured a one man show.

The show was about a character trying to write a work report, from his apartment. Unfortunately, the character's low attention span kept distracting him in various entertaining ways, which created many laughs for the audience, but infuriated his boss, who would call him on the phone in between bits.

After so many years, I could be wrong on every single detail, but the show's vibe was fairly unique (for tv at that time), so I'm hoping some one might recognize what I'm talking about, in spite of my poor description.
posted by Beholder on Apr 29, 2004 - 9 answers