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Shirley Lauro

SHIRLEY LAURO

  
Nationality:    USA
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    The Gersh Agency  

Shirley Lauro. Shirley Lauro's all Through the Night garnered a 2006 Jefferson Nomination as Best New Play in Chicago, while Clarence Darrow's Last Trialreceived a 2005 Nea access to excEllence Grant and was a 2006 Carbonell Nomination as Best New Play in FloridA. On Broadway,Open admissions received one Tony nomination, two Drama Desk nominations, a Theatre World award, the Dramatists Guild Hull-Warriner award, and was adapted by Ms. Lauro for a CBS TV Special starring Jane Alexander. a Piece of My Heartpremiered in New York at Manhattan Theatre Club, and now has enjoyed over 1000 productions here and abroad. It has recently been named "the most enduring play on Vietnam in the nation," by the Vietnam Vets association. among her other plays,the Contest, Pearls on the Moon, Speckled Birds, and Nothing Immediatehave been produced internationally in such countries as South Africa, New Zealand, england, Germany, Scotland, Australia, as well as throughout the U.S, in such Theaters as ensemble Studio Theatre, Long Wharf, the alley, Stamford Theatre Works, and Actors Theatre of Louisville. a Guggenheim Fellow, Ms. Lauro is a Director of the Dramatists Guild Foundation, and a member of ensemble Studio Theatre, PeN, the actors Studio Playwrights Unit, Writers Guild east, and the authors Guild.

Research:    Member of the Dramatists Guild of America (as at 2015)

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below is a list of Shirley Lauro's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         All Through the Night         Back Story         Clarence Darrow's Last Trial         Coal Diamond, The         Contest, The         I Don't Know Where You're Coming From At All!         Nothing Immediate         Open Admissions         Open Admissions         Piece Of My Heart, A         Radiant, The         Railing It Uptown         Song         Speckled Birds         Sunday Go To Meetin'

All Through the Night

All Through the Night
an intense, ensemble play, inspired by interviews, centering on the lives of four German Christian women who come of age during the tumultuous years of the Third Reich. One becomes a nurse who resists, treating the enemies of the Reich; one bears the illegitimate child of a gypsy boy; one is a country woman who owns the Village Bakery and survives by "finagling" around the Regime; and one becomes a die-hard Nazi Concentration Camp Guard. the Regime impacts their lives and leaves them all changed forever.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Chicago Jewish Theatre    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Back Story

Synopsis:
When Ethan is born in the worst blizzard of the century, two-year-old sister ainsley nearly sacrifices a toe trying to clear a path for the baby's arrival. That initial gesture of devotion blossoms into a tale of sibling loyalty, rivalry and love that spans two decades. Inspired by Joan ackermann's narrative "Back Story," each of the eighteen playwrights in this collective creation puts a distinctive spin on ainsley's and Ethan?s amusing and poignant struggles with life, with each other, and with the phantom dad who abandoned them for the wilds of alaska

Notes:
by Joan Ackermann Courtney Baron Neena Beber Constance Congdon Jon Klein Shirley Lauro Craig Lucas eduardo Machado Donald Margulies Jane Martin Susan Miller John Olive Tanya Palmer David Rambo edwin Sanchez Adele edling Shank Mayo Simon Val Smith. Based

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Dramatic anthology

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Clarence Darrow's Last Trial

Clarence Darrow's Last Trial
This courtroom story, based on fact, takes place in 1932, the last time Clarence Darrow pleads in a criminal court of law. Set in various places in Chicago and Hawaii, Darrow with his wife, Ruby, travels to Honolulu to defend a white Pearl Harbor Naval Lieutenant accused of killing a Hawaiian who allegedly led a gang rape on the Lieutenant's wife. More than a courtroom Drama, however, the play is a psychological study of the great but aging Darrow as he fights to establish the plea of insanity against his rich and powerful clients'wishes. the Drama plays out against a backdrop when Hawaii was a Territory of the United States, ruled heavily by our military and by rich white pineapple and sugar plantation owners. a territory where native and other Asian peoples were subjugated by this ruling class. It is the first time Darrow has defended a white man against a man of color.

Notes:
One female part is for An Asian woman. One male part is for An Asian man.

1st Produced:
New Theatre, FL, USA >>>    21 Jan 2005

Organisations:
New Theatre

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Coal Diamond, The

Synopsis:
based on the shifting relationships of four office women working in an insurance company in a Southeastern Missouri town in 1955. It is lunchtime and the women are playing bridge, but the stakes are higher than the card game. at issue is the pecking order in the office and the power structure

Notes:
part of Power Plays

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Comedy One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Contest, The

Synopsis:
a naturalistic family comedy/Drama centering on a young adolescent, Bevvie Sue, caught in the web of her hilarious but powerful mother's fantasies of gaining fame and fortune through compusive contest entries, her beloved immigrant father's broken dreams and ambitions, and her rich judgmental relatives. Set in a small midwestern city in the middle of WWII, the story sweeps through a year in this American Jewish family's life, as Bevvie Sue struggles to disentangle herself and emerge as her own person: a young woman, eager for life, on her way to finding her own place in the sun.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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I Don't Know Where You're Coming From At All!

Synopsis:
a Holocaust Survivor teaches music in an upscale Manhattan prep school. among her pupils is a lonely poor little rich girl, who is very needy with no concept of what life is like beyond herself. Her encounter with her music teacher provides a confrontational but ultimately uplifting encounter

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Samuel French Ooba Play Festival    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Nothing Immediate

Synopsis:
a suspense story centering on two women thrown together in a rundown motel in a small Iowa town. Sandra, a young Jewish woman from New York, arrives to be near her Father who lies gravely ill in a near-by hospital. edna, the motel-keeper, is a right-wing religious fanatic of pioneer American stock whose business is failing and whose only relative has been a Viet Nam casualty. as edna registers Sandra, an uncanny tension between the two women mounts as edna begins to reveal a deep hostility toward Sandra and the world she represents.

Notes:
part of Power Plays

1st Produced:
Double Image Theatre, NYC    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
French, NY & in Best Short plays 1980, Applause,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Open Admissions

Synopsis:
an explosive play in which black, brilliant but illiterate college student confronts his white professor demanding he be taught. He is on a double-standard regarding his learning at an inner city college. He is being given "B"s when he reads and writes at a third grade level, and wants to be given an equal chance at an education

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, London,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Version One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Open Admissions

Synopsis:
explores equal opportunity in American College admissions

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Music Box Theatre, NY, Usa    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Contained in " Off-Off Broadway Festival Plays number 4" published by Samuel French Inc, New York, 1984   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  7            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Piece Of My Heart, A

Synopsis:
In this powerful and profound remembrance of Vietnam, six courageous women struggle to make sense of a war that irrevocably changed them and a nation that shunned them. Inspired by stories of valiant nurses and entertainers, this stunning Drama about heroism, ideals and sacrifice continues Actors theatre of Louisville's exploration of theatrical documentary, and offers a timely reflection on America and war

Notes:
Based On Book By Keith Walker

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1992   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Resources/Bibliographies/VN_drama_bib.php

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Radiant, The

Radiant, The
Set one hundred years ago in Paris, The Radiant centers on the true, tempestuous, and love-torn life of Madame Marie Curie. Widowed at thirty-nine, with two young children to raise and support, she becomes involved in a scandalous affair with her young married assistant, an affair which rocks Paris and nearly costs her her career - and her life. But, she survives this and the great bias against women scientists throughout Europe then and goes on to discover and isolate radium, earn two Nobel Prizes, and revolutionize the world of science forever, ushering in The Atomic Age and the first cure for cancer.

Notes:
Winner! TCG Edgerton Award: "One of 40 new American plays to watch." Winner! The Sloan Science Foundation's Awards for Commission and Production Enhancement

1st Produced:
New Theatre In Miami, Fl    25 May 2011

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Docudrama/Historic 120 min

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Railing It Uptown

Synopsis:
an intense, eerily frightening play in which two women encounter each other on an uptown subway in New York. One is an upscale woman going home from a shopping spree, the other a homeless woman who has seen better times. the play centers on class clashes, the fear of the unknown person, and the anxieties of modern day living which thrusts us all into unexpected close encounters demanding to be dealt with.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Primary Stages, NY, Usa    1995

Organisations:
the NY Project

1st Published:
Playscripts, Inc - New York   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
10-12 min Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Song

Synopsis:
a 10 minute one woman comedy/Drama in which an L.a., ameriAsian late teen. Song, arrives at a theatrical audition for something - which remains unknown - though it's essentially a type of Reality Show. Prompted by an off-stage director with questions aimed at opening up her story, Song reveals her fragmented life; an unknown American father, who's denied his paternity, her existence with an Asian drug addicted mother which she's just run away from, a heritage in the Midwest that's gone, some Jewish roots that are gone. She has only a couple of drifter friends but thinks fame and fortune will come her way if she can just pass this audition and get on a show.

Notes:
One Amer/Asian girl, late teens

1st Produced:

Organisations:
League of Professional Theatre Women/NY

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Short monoDrama Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Speckled Birds

Speckled Birds
a play about growing up in our "have and have-not" society, and discovering what "family" really is. Though angie, an adolescent, lives in a wealthy town, she is poor. Deserted at birth by her mother, her Father killed in War, she lives in a trailer with her ailing but loving Grandma. Though a gifted athlete, angie's afraid to compete at her preppie school, feeling she's "Trailer Trash". While terrified a disliked aunt will soon take her away to live with her and put Grandma in a Facility, angie meets a boy, theo, at school. Brilliant, wealthy but an awkward loner, theo's parents have no time for him and schoolmates taunt him, his only friends being his computer and his bird. Finally as angie and theo form a unique bond as soulmates, they gain the courage to begin their journeys toward adulthood. . .resolving family problems, and taking actions to utilize their talents at school.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Open Eye Theatre, Margaretville, New York    17 May 2003

Organisations:
annie Brockway

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Sunday Go To Meetin'

Synopsis:
Set at turn of 20th Century in rural mid-west. Two Christian teen-age girls set out to church one Sunday only to encounter an immigrant Jewish teen-age girl, selling apples by the road. there encounter deals with ignorance which has spawned anti-semitism ,and the groping steps toward survival and acceptance.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, London,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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