Great Scenes From Minority Playwrights

by Marsh Cassady (Editor)

Overview

These seventy-four scenes are compiled from plays by minority playwrights, each designed to teach students about cultural diversity. The book presents scenes for acting and directing practice as a stepping stone to the study of minority writing. Instead of isolated cuttings from a large number of plays, several scenes from single plays are included allowing for a more comprehensive view of the playwright's style and message. Scenes range from less than two minutes to ten or more minutes, and each is preceded by background information and discussion/analysis to help develop characterizations. Each play, playwright, and minority category are examined from a historical and cultural perspective.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781566080293
Publisher:	Meriwether Publishing, Limited
Publication date:	04/01/1997
Edition description:	1 ED
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.79(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Marsh Cassady wrote more than forty books, including novels, short story and drama collections, haiku, biography, and books on theatre and storytelling. His audio and stage plays have been widely performed (including off-Broadway), and he has written and recorded a class on storytelling.A former actor/director and university professor with a Ph.D. in theatre, Cassady has worked with over one hundred productions. He conducted an all-genre writing workshop in San Diego and taught various creative writing classes at UCSD and elsewhere. His writing won numerous regional and national awards.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 9 Up--Yet another of Cassady's textbook style drama collections. Included are selections from plays that deal with cultural issues such as race, class, gender, and prejudice written by Hispanic-, Native-, African-, Jewish-, and Asian-American playwrights. The introduction explains the history of "minority theatre" and presents both directors and student actors with general suggestions for dramatic presentations. Each chapter is introduced by a short synopsis of the theater of a particular culture. Questions for students follow each scene, providing not only direction for the performance of the plays, but also some basic tools for criticism and cultural studies for literature classes. The choice of playwrights included is indicative of similar collections for both adults and young adults, but other "multicultural" anthologies include whole plays or a wider variety of selections. Cassady's choice of scenes as well as the follow-up questions tend to lead readers to what he, the selector, thinks "the playwright meant to convey." More unbiased anthologies exist, and anyone in need of more neutral choices should look elsewhere. Therefore, this volume is for those specifically considering instructional texts or introductory YA theater titles.--Kate Foldy, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

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