Play Reading SIG |
Do you love reading plays? Our SIG gives participants a chance to read aloud and analyze scenes and characters from prize-winning plays. We meet once or twice per month for two hours, usually on a Friday afternoon, so as not to conflict with other OLLI courses. During the year we are open to suggestions as to which plays to read, while in the summer we choose plays that we can both read and view. We encourage our members to prepare and lead discussions on plays that interest them. Thriving on group participation, we allow two sessions to cover each one. Particular editions are selected that can be obtained online or through your local public library. We meet on Zoom, except in summer when we meet in-person or in a hybrid format (both in-person and Zoom). Please contact Alice Roth, Barbara Waldinger or Karel Fisher for more details or additional information about the Play Reading SIG. |
Schedule of Forthcoming Play Reading Events All meetings are on Zoom on Fridays from 3-5 pm. Friday, Sept. 12 & Friday, Sept, 26: (Faciitator: Andrea Leigh) Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman. Inspired by Ovid’s poem and Greco-Roman mythology, this play opened on Broadway in 2002 and won several Tony awards. The play is showing at the Unicorn Theater from late September through October. From the theater website: "From King Midas’ golden curse to the heartbreaking journey of Orpheus and Eurydice, these iconic myths are reimagined with bold theatricality and a visually stunning set—featuring a central pool of water where gods descend, lovers vanish and mortals are forever changed. … Packed with passion, revenge, hubris and heartbreak, Metamorphoses is a gripping night of theatre that proves the ancient myths still burn with relevance today.” Friday, Oct. 17 & Friday, Oct. 24: (Facilitator: Rachel Brier). On Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson. This award-winning play opened on Broadway in 1979 and was later adapted for the 1981 film featuring Henry Fonda, Katherine Hepburn, and Jane Fonda. This play will be showing at Bridge Street Theater in Catskill, NY from Nov. 13 - Nov. 23. From the theater website: "For decades, Norman and Ethel Thayer have spent their summers in a rustic lakeside family cabin in Maine. But this year is different. While Ethel remains a warm, ever-optimistic companion, Norman has started experiencing frightening lapses of memory. Things take an unexpected turn when their estranged daughter, Chelsea, arrives with her new fiancé and his teenage son in tow. Long-standing tensions between Norman and Chelsea rise to the surface, forcing them to confront past wounds and to attempt some kind of reconciliation before it’s too late." Getting the Scripts These scripts should be available at your local public library or through interlibrary loan. Metamorphoses, A Play by Mary Zimmerman, Northwestern University Press, 2002. Available from Amazon here as a $12 paperback. On Golden Pond, by Ernest Thompson, Second Revised Edition, Acting Edition. Available from Dramatists Play Service here for $13. There are also used copies available on Amazon. |
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