Far from the glittering lights of Broadway, in a city known more for its horse racing than its artistic endeavors, an annual festival in Louisville, Kentucky, has transformed the landscape of the American theater. The Actors Theatre of Louisville—the Tony Award–winning state theater of Kentucky—in 1976 successfully created what became the nation's most respected new-play festival, the Humana Festival of New American Plays. The Humana Festival: The History of New Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville examines the success of the festival and theater’s Pulitzer Prize–winning productions that for decades have reflected new-play trends in regional theaters and on Broadway—the result of the calculated decisions, dogged determination, and good luck of its producing director, Jon Jory. The volume details how Actors Theatre of Louisville was established, why the Humana Festival became successful in a short time, and how the event’s success has been maintained by the Louisville venue that has drawn theater critics from around the world for more than thirty years. Author Jeffrey Ullom charts the theater’s early struggles to survive, the battles between troupe leaders, and the desperate measures to secure financial support from the Louisville community. He examines how Jory established and expanded the festival to garner extraordinary local support, attract international attention, and entice preeminent American playwrights to premier their works in the Kentucky city. In The Humana Festival, Ullom provides a broad view of new-play development within artistic, administrative, and financial contexts. He analyzes the relationship between Broadway and regional theaters, outlining how the Humana Festival has changed the process of new-play development and even Broadway’s approach to discovering new work, and also highlights the struggles facing regional theaters across the country as they strive to balance artistic ingenuity and economic viability. Offering a rare look at the annual event, The Humana Festival provides the first insider’s view of the extraordinary efforts that produced the nation’s most successful new-play festival.

This collection includes every play performed at the 2007 Humana Festival of New American Plays.

L.A. WeeklyAct One: A Festival of One Act Plays...is well-acted, captivating moments in disparate lives. Drama-LogueCritic's Choice.. L.A. Village ViewThere is something very impressive about Act One.. Book DescriptionAct One is a festival comprised of three evening of one-act plays in Hollywood presented by Showtime Networks. Most of these plays received their world premieres at this festival. About the AuthorMarisa Smith is the Owner and Publisher of Smith and Kraus, a leading publisher of theater books since 1990. She has edited many books for Smith and Kraus and is the author/playwright of "Book Group" and "The Devine Comedy", recently presented at Eclipse Grange theater by Signal and Noise Productions.

"This new and updated Guide, with over 2,700 cross-referenced entries, covers all aspects of the American theatre from its earliest history to the present. Entries include people, venues and companies scattered through the U.S., plays and musicals, and theatrical phenomena. Additionally, there are some 100 topical entries covering theatre in major U.S. cities and such disparate subjects as Asian American theatre, Chicano theatre, censorship, Filipino American theatre, one-person performances, performance art, and puppetry. Highly illustrated, the Guide is supplemented with a historical survey as introduction, a bibliography of major sources published since the first edition, and a biographical index covering over 3,200 individuals mentioned in the text."--BOOK JACKET.

Both a historical reference and a browser's delight, the newest addition to the Information Please family is a one-stop entertainment reference library. Here are the answers to the most often asked questions about movies, television, music, video, performing arts, games, books, and much more. No other single volume provides such comprehensive, reliable, and informative coverage of our popular culture. Includes: full listings of Oscar, Grammy, and Emmy winners, year by year, award by award, including nominees.; A comprehensive yearbook covering the major film, television, and music releases of 1995 .; Specially commissioned essays by leading feature writers and columnists.; Historic timelines documenting the evolution of movies, broadcasting, and popular music.; Film and music festival calendars.; Special feature sidebars: 1995's memorable film dialogue; the essential music, video, and CD-ROM library.; Thumb tabs for easy access to the information you need.; More than 300 photographs ca

Features a comprehensive guide to American dramatic literature, from its origins in the early days of the nation to the groundbreaking works of today's best writers.

Unrivalled in its coverage of recent work and writers, The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary American Playwrights surveys and analyses the breadth, vitality and development of theatrical work to emerge from America over the last fifty years. This authoritative guide leads you through the work of 25 major contemporary American playwrights, discussing more than 140 plays in detail. Written by a team of 25 eminent international scholars, each chapter provides: · a biographical introduction to the playwright's work; · a survey and concise analysis of the writer's most important plays; · a discussion of their style, dramaturgical concerns and critical reception; · a bibliography of published plays and a select list of critical works. Among the many Tony, Obie and Pulitzer prize-winning playwrights included are Sam Shepard, Tony Kushner, Suzan-Lori Parks, August Wilson, Paula Vogel and Neil LaBute. The abundance of work analysed enables fresh, illuminating conclusions to be drawn about the development of contemporary American playwriting.