My Top Five Plays of Quarantine, Plus Resources to Help You Find Yours!
Before this quarantine, I lived a very fast-paced life and I honestly really wished I had the time to just sit and read some plays. And then, the time came when I did and still do!
Besides watching Tiger King, I have read about 20 plays during my time spent at home, and I thought I would chronicle my top five favorites. The very idea of picking a top five was hard for me because every play has some sort of saving grace. Maybe the characters had underdeveloped backstories, but the plot was incredible. Or maybe the setting could have used some more consideration, but the character arcs were realistic and surprising. Whatever the combination may be, I always find something intriguing about a play. But, alas, here I am writing my top five. These plays had multiple facets that I found interesting, and I think you might too.
1) Chapter Two by Neil Simon
Looking for something to help you explore human nature regarding failed and new relationships? This is it! Chapter Two gives and gives. George, a recently widowed man, comes back to his NYC apartment after spending three weeks in Europe mourning his wife’s death from cancer. Jennie, a recently divorced woman, comes back to NYC city after recently spending time in Jamaica to heal her heart. What these two don’t know is that their mutual friends are going to set them up and soon they will rely on each other to overcome hesitations and emotional neediness of their past. Oh, it’s also funny too. To purchase your copy, click here.
2) Constellations by Nick Payne
This one’s for the nerds and the romantics. What would the world be like if there were multiple universes? What would it be like if there were none? Constellations explores the theory of a multiverse and everything that happens in our universe is a response or precursor to what happens in the many-verses influencing us. Marianne, a physicist, and Roland, a beekeeper, explore these ideas with humor and grace. There are so many possible choices; is it really in our control which choice we make or has the universe already decided for us? Marianne and Roland find out in this heartbreaking story of two people that find a relationship by chance. To purchase your copy, click here.
3) Consent by Nina Raine
The title explains it all. Consent focuses on the heavy, but all too real scenario of rape cases in court. The fine line between the truth and a lie and what a court believes in called into question here. Consent follows the lives of two couples and their friends in the midst of an assault case. Who has the upper hand? What is just? Who can they trust amongst themselves and will relationships be tested to the breaking point? Consent will make you question the lines of injustice and truth. A true connection to self happens in this play. Plus, it’s British. To purchase your copy, click here.
4) Nora: A Doll’s House by Stef Smith
The classic A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen reimagined with three different time periods and three different Nora’s. When Ibsen’s play originally premiered in 1879, it shocked audiences. Smith’s version reframes the conversation into three different time periods: the late 1910’s, 1960’s and modern day. These three conversations happen simultaneously with the Nora’s communicating to each other offering up a major question: How far have we really come? With this preface the question becomes: Where do we go next? Plus, it gives a nice perspective on the original work, making you want to read Ibsen’s again and who doesn’t want to do that? To purchase your copy, click here.
5) Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang
Is this Anton Chekhov or not? Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike is a masterpiece of a play using themes and distinct characteristics of a Chekhov play in a completely new story. If you are even a remote fan of Three Sisters, The Cherry Orchard or Uncle Vanya, Durang’s play is sure to hit home and even make you laugh. Who knew Chekhov themes and humor could work together, right? This play is by far one of the most entertaining reads of the past decade and is sure to leave you questioning the future lives of these three siblings, as all Chekhov plays brilliantly do. To purchase your copy, click here.
Whether you have time to read these now, or need to save them to read later, do not put it off! These are not classics, but they offer some really great insight into the human experience and provide some nice context and extension to otherwise famously known plays.
RESOURCES FOR YOU!
There are obviously many more resources than these ones, but I thought I would point out the most obvious one and then move to more obscure sites to look at!
1) Dramatist Play Service offers many, many plays on their site for $10 each! Search by playwright, genre, cast, or specific plays and a multitude of. options appear! Now, not everything is on here and you might walk away disappointed, but not to worry! There are other options! You can visit DPS’s website by clicking here. Happy reading!
2) Can't find something on DPS? Go to stageplays.com! Stage Plays offers a variety of options that might not be anywhere else! It is also the only online site for plays (that I know of) that allows you to purchase a downloadable copy (of most) instead of a full paperback shipped to you! This site not only has plays, it also has great “business” books as I like to call them, acting resources, gifts and includes the behind the scenes work in their library as well! It is a beyond-play site and some great resources for learning as well! Click here to visit stageplays.com.
3) Playscripts.com offers a breadth of plays separated out into community theatre, college/university and others with the option to read many for free or buy the play script for $10. They also offer a blog that lists new updates and everything you can read for free at that time. MY favorite part? They list challenging dramas for students and who doesn’t want to be challenged by a good play?! Check it out!
4) newplayexchange.org. This is a crazy list of so many new plays (as the URL suggests). Subscribe to this web of resources for $10-12 a year and you won’t regret it! This source prides itself on being the “world’s largest digital library of scripts by living writers” and boy does it show. Pro tip: because it has so many new plays, many have not been published yet! For audition purposes, make sure to find published plays!
5) To find lists of previous broadway plays, check out ibdb.com: The Official Source For Broadway Information presented by The Broadway League. This is a great resource to find gigantic lists of plays and even separate them out by character type for you to then go search for the script on one of the other sites listed above! With this resource, you are bound to find something that fits your type and speaks to you!
