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Erin Courtney

ERIN COURTNEY

  
Nationality:    USA
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    Antje Oegel International  

Erin Courtney. Ms. Courtney's plays have been produced or developed by Clubbed Thumb (Demon Baby, Pricked, Summer Play, Downwinders), the Public Theater (Demon Baby), the Vineyard and BRIC (Alice the Magnet), the Flea (Mother's Couch), the actors Theater of Louisville (Owls), and Soho Rep (Quiver and Twitch). She has been a fellow at the MacDowell colony, a recipient of a NYSCa grant and a MaP Fund grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, and a member of the Soho Rep Writer/Director lab. She is published by Playscripts, Inc. and her play Owls is published by Smith and Kraus inHumana Festival 2001: the Complete Plays. as an undergraduate, Ms. Courtney studied with Paula Vogel at Brown University and as a graduate student she studied with Mac Wellman at Brooklyn College. She currently teaches playwriting at Brooklyn College and is an affiliated artist with Clubbed Thumb. She is also a member of 13P, as well as the co-founder of the Brooklyn Writer's Space.

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

         Alice the Magnet         Argue the Ocean         Black Cat Lost         Catskill Moutain House, The         Demon Baby         Funny, Strange, Provocative: Seven Plays From Clubbed Thumb         Honey Drop         I Will Be Gone         Kaspar Hauser         Leakey's Ladies         Map Of Virtue, A         Nomad, The         Owls         Plan, The         Pricked         Quiver And Twitch         Service Road, The         Severed         Summer Play

Alice the Magnet

Synopsis:
Louise, a wayward twenty something, quits her teaching job and becomes a temp at alice's self-help organization. after Alice is attacked by her adoring fans, Louise and office manager,John, take over the self-help business. all goes well until Louise's ex-student and current office intern, arthur, decides that he must be heard. a dark comedy about magnetism and the desire we all have to follow someone who is passionate.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Ohio Theater,Ny     2006

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 hour and Twenty Minutes

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Argue the Ocean

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Inspired by the plays "Shore Acres" (1892) by James A Herne And "Stage-Struck Yankee" (1840) by Oliver Durivage

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
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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 minute play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Black Cat Lost

Synopsis:
Black Cat Lost is a grief cabaret that features three performers attempting to experience the emotional strangeness of sudden death and mortality, but who keep spiraling off on tangents in order to avoid the unsettling, sensation of loss

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Midway Rock Club, New York     2007

Organisations:
Paper Beats Rock

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Catskill Moutain House, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

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:
Monologue play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Demon Baby

Synopsis:
an American couple, Wren and arthur, are relocated to London. as arthur becomes immersed in his new corporate lifestyle, the previously outgoing Wren retreats into an agoraphobic state, frozen by her fear until she is visited by a demon baby in the form of a garden gnome. This impish gnome inspires Wren to try to connect in her new surroundings, even if her attempts -- a seduction, a dinner party, and a near-fatal game of pinata -- are bizarre and deeply misguided.Demon Baby is a comic and surreal exploration of alienation, culture shock, and the meaning of identity.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Ohio Theater,Ny     2001

Organisations:
-

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:
70-80 min Comedy/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  3 males, 3 females, 1 either (7 actors possible: 3-4 males, 3-4 females)

Further Reference:
-

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Funny, Strange, Provocative: Seven Plays From Clubbed Thumb

Synopsis:
This anthology includes seven plays produced by Clubbed Thumb, the Obie award-winning downtown New York City theater company that burst onto the new play scene in 1996. edgy and thought-provoking, each play is funny, strange, and provocative in surprising, widely varying ways -- including an apartment that both adores and despises its inhabitants in Crumble (Lay Me Down, Justin Timberlake), a metropolitan housewife who senses that something is watching her in 16 Spells to Charm the Beast, and a group of traveling freak show performers who reveal a deep humanity underneath their crowd-drawing deformities in Freakshow,among other uniquely inventive stories. For over a decade, Clubbed Thumb has had its finger firmly planted on the Pulse of new work, and these plays prove it. To purchase this book of 7 plays, click "add to Shopping Cart" above. To perform an individual play, click on its title below:

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
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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:
Various Drama/Comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  Various

Further Reference:
-

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Honey Drop

Synopsis:
William pushed his daughter away some years. He regrets this so much he goes in search of her

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    

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:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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I Will Be Gone

Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Penelope goes to live with her Aunt Josephine in a small town in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains after her mom dies. Everyone in this small townbuilt right next door to a ghost townis haunted by something or someone, and no one knows how to behave. Filled with apparitions, earthquakes, and strange attempts to mourn, this play explores the beauty and awkwardness of living with the knowledge that everything ends.

Notes:
Nominated for The Kilroys 2015. The Kilroys is a group of playwrights and producers in LA who publish an annual industry survey of excellent new plays by female and trans playwrights. It is a tool for producers committed to ending the systemic underrepresentation of female and trans playwrights in the American theater.

1st Produced:
Actors Theater of Louisville, Humana Festival of New American Plays     2015

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:
dark comedy

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Kaspar Hauser

Synopsis:
Kaspar Hauser: a foundling's opera is a true tale about a wild child found on the streets of Nuremburg in 1828. With a story much like a Dickens novel, the piece explores all the good and evil that happens when an innocent is introduced into society. Kaspar Hauser is a fairy tale, a fable, and a Brechtian gaze at our addiction to stars (and the tabloids) and the society that lifts them up only to slam them down. Says co-creator Elizabeth Swados, 'Kaspar Hauser is a musical theatre piece, you might call it an opera, somewhere between Beethoven and Queen'.
- press release

Notes:
written by Elizabeth Swados And erin Courtney

1st Produced:

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:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  large cast

Further Reference:
-

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Leakey's Ladies

Synopsis:
Dixon Place and Drama of Works is pleased to announce the premiere of Leakey's Ladies, a multidisciplinary production exploring the work of three revered primatologists and their work of studying and saving great apes. Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birute Galdikas were all guided and inspired by British scientist Louis Leakey who inspired and mentored them throughout their achievements, struggles, and research. the three short plays, woven together with innovative puppet design, original music and tiered staging, will create a striking theater experience crafted by over 10 professional theater women.
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
written by erin Courtney, Rachel Hoeffel, Crystal Skillman

1st Produced:
Dixon Place
161 Chrystie Street, New York, NY 10002     13 Jan 2012

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:
multidisciplinary production

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  7            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Map Of Virtue, A

Map Of Virtue, A
a Map of Virtue is a symmetrical play in which a bird statue guides us through a story of coincidence, tragedy and friendship. Part interview, part comedy, part strange middle of the night horror, a group of friends encounter evil and dissect their own responses to it.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-     2012

Organisations:
13P

1st Published:
Contained in: "Downtown Anthology" published by Playscripts Inc 2015   978-1623840037

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. - - Gay/Lesbian, of interest

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Nomad, The

Synopsis:
Follow the young rebellious iconoclast Isabelle Eberhardt into the Sahara in Elizabeth Swados and Erin Courtney's desert musical. Join holy men, kief smokers, spies, soldiers and tribes of nomads on this legendary journey. Embracing the unknown, Isabelle finds utter beauty and terrifying madness in her quest to live and die by her own rules.

Notes:
Book and Lyrics by Elizabeth Swados and Erin Courtney

1st Produced:

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:
musical

Parts:
Male:  10            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Owls

Synopsis:
audience members enter one of several phone booths, pick up the receiver and listen to a three-minute play unfold in conversation

Notes:
Directed by Pam MacKinnon

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Humana Festival 2001: the Complete Plays, ed Tanya Palmer & amy Wegener, Smith & Kraus, 2001   -

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:
Phone Play

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Plan, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Summerworks Short Play Event     2005

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Pricked

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Summerworks     1997

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Quiver And Twitch

Synopsis:
What if Dick Cheney lived in your basement? What if your super had been a prisoner of war? What if you keep dreaming that your apartment has extra rooms? This play follows a family through a terrain of dreams, political anxieties, and parenting manuals.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  1            Other:  1 puppet

Further Reference:
-

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Service Road, The

Synopsis:
A violent storm of mythic proportions hits Prospect Park. the once peaceful service road turns strange as a nature guide attempts to find a lost child. On her quest she meets the denizens of one of the few natural places left in a large city. the nature guide is a modern day Hercules trying to do penance for a very bad thing she had done when she was out of her mind. Obie award winning playwright (Map of Virtue) erin Courtney examines what it means to be of service and the true nature of forgiveness. Meghan Finn seamlessly blends erin's sparse poetic language with the highly visual multi-media spectacle that you've come to expect from Adhesive theater Project. With the introduction of a video puppet and Michael Riccio's gravity defying set, Adhesive theater Project once again proves why our work is described as Nothing short of extraordinary!

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
New York City College Of Technology, Voorhees Theatre, 186 Jay St, Brooklyn 11201, NY     11 Jan 2013

Organisations:
Adhesive Theater Project

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:
multi-media

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Severed

Synopsis:
an unlikely romance springs up between a cynical artist and a straightforward businessman, while a cross-section of young New Yorkers are interviewed for a documentary on the recession.

Notes:
the Flea theater has commissioned six playwrights to create ten-minute plays that explore the impact of the current economic crisis on the younger generation. Presented under the title the GReaT ReCeSSION, the evening features new work by Thomas Bradshaw, Sheila Callaghan, erin Courtney, Will eno, Itamar Moses And Adam Rapp - All writers recently nurtured by the Flea. the plays will be performed by the Bats, the resident Acting company of the Flea

1st Produced:
Flea Theater, NY, USA >>>     20 Nov 2009

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:
Ten Min

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Summer Play

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Summerworks     1998

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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