I used to joke that certain plays would stalk me.
Four years ago around this time I was beginning the biggest journey of my life thus far- my college education. I was pursuing a degree in drama and for the first time something that was once an after-school hobby was my day-in and day-out somehow all at once fueling and draining institutionally validated obsession. During my first week of classes I received my syllabi and began to gather my books. In one class we were assigned to read The Crucible (which was the first show of my conservatory's main stage season) Arthur Miller's 1953 allegorical play about the Salem Witch Trials. Funnily enough, I had also been assigned to read The Crucible in my 11th grade AP Lit class and subsequently performed the role of Rebecca Nurse in my senior year of high school. By the end of my first semester of college, I had approached The Crucible as an English student, an actor, a drama student, and an audience member. Flash forward four years: I have now received my prestigious drama degree and I just moved to New York fresh off a summer break from my beloved theatre. I chose to spend the summer working at a vocational program for young adults with special needs. One of the participants in my program, Zoey, loves musicals, so they were often a conversation topic between the two of us. One day we had a conversation that went something like this: Zoey: Stephanie, have you seen Wicked? Me: Yes. Zoey: Stephanie, have you seen Cinderella? Me: Yes. Zoey: Stephanie, have you seen Annie? Me: Yes. Zoey quickly grew frustrated with this game so she switched gears and decided to make a simple request. Zoey: I want you to make me a list of every play you've ever seen in alphabetical order! I quickly explained to Zoey that I wasn't going to do that, because I've lost track. I have a document on my laptop that was last updated in October of 2015 that has a list of every play or musical I've read, seen, or worked on and it has 194 titles. Last summer when I interned in the literary department of a regional theatre I kept a running tally in the back of my planner every time I read a play and by the end of 10 weeks I had over 60 tally marks. I'm incredibly lucky to have access to all of this, and even luckier to be so passionate about the work that I do. However, Zoey's request got me thinking- the only list longer than the list of plays I've seen or read is the infinitely expanding list of plays I haven't. While I could allow that idea to fill me with existential dread (and at times it does, such as any time I enter the Drama Bookshop), instead I decided to make a project out of it, which brings us here. With remarkably little effort I was able to throw together a list of 52 Tony or Pulitzer Prize winning plays that I, an individual with a prestigious drama degree and a life long obsession with theatre, have never seen or read. Before we move on, two quick disclaimers: Disclaimer #1: This is by no means a jab at my education. I received a first class education and was exposed to so, so, so many plays in my time at school. There are simply too many plays to fit into a four-year curriculum! Disclaimer #2: This blog is about to be very, very white man centric, which is not something I usually condone. However, that is an unfortunate reality of the award-winning plays of the Western theatrical canon AND during my amazing education I took entire, semester-long courses on African-American drama and plays by living women writers, so I've hit a lot of the major players in those two categories. My list does include a sizable handful of women and writers of colors, so don't worry too much! So, each week for the next year I will write a blog post about a play that I probably should have read by now. You can read along with me, if you feel so inclined. Next week I revisit my old friend Arty Mills, this time with his 1949, Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning classic, Death of a Salesman.
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Stephanie KaneI like reading plays, drinking lots of coffee, and holding other people's Tony Awards. Archives
August 2018
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