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Rodger D Sorensen

RODGER D SORENSEN  

 Nationality:    USA
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    n/a

Rodger Sorensen is a professor of Theatre and Media Arts and serves as Associate Dean in the College of Fine Arts and Communications at Brigham Young University. Prior to his appointment as Associate Dean he served as the Chair of the Theatre and Media Arts Department for seven years. Before coming to BYU in 1996 Sorensen taught at the College of Eastern Utah from 1974-1979 and also at Ricks College (BYU-Idaho) from 1979-1996, serving as the Theatre Department Chair at BYU-I for ten years. He completed his PhD at the University of Texas at Dallas (1999). His dissertation explored "Alchemy, Nature, and Time in 'Pericles' and 'The Winter's Tale'". Sorensen has directed over a hundred theatre productions, including premieres of original scripts, adaptations of his own devised pieces, a range of interdisciplinary projects, many operas, musicals, dramas, and comedies. He worked every summer on the Hill Cumorah Pageant near Palmyra, New York, from 1978 to 2004, where he served as Artistic Director starting in 1997. Sorensen specializes in teaching directing for the stage, and emphasizes developing new works. He presented a BYU campus devotional in 2008 entitled "Evidences of the Heart". He is the Focus Group Representative for the Playwrights and Creative Teams of the Association of Theatre in Higher Education. In 2010 he received the "Excellence in Theatre Education" Award, presented by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Region VIII. In 2011 he was recognized by SCERA with their Star Award for his significant contributions to enriching the communities and citizens of Utah Valley through the arts.

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below is a list of Rodger D Sorensen's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Christmas Carol, A         Dandelion Wine         Odyssey, The         Papa Married A Mormon         Passion of Christ: Betrayal and Crucifixion, The         Wrinkle In Time, A

Christmas Carol, A

Synopsis:
The traditional story told in the most un-traditional way! In Rodgers uniquely and dramatically narrative voice the characters will jump to life for your audiences; and the meaning of the play, with such importance for todays audiences, will not be missed or forgotten. Dickens characters were never so jolly, or important as they are in this special adaptation.

Notes:
Adapted from the Dickens classic

1st Produced:
BYU-Idaho Theatre Department    -

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:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  10            Female:  11            Other:  3 boys 2 girls

Further Reference:
-

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Dandelion Wine

Synopsis:
Dandelion Wine is a recreation of a boys childhood, based upon an intertwining of Bradburys own boyhood experiences and his unique imagination. The main character of the story is Douglas Spaulding, a 12-year-old boy loosely patterned after Bradbury. Most of the story is focused upon the routines of small-town America, and the simple joys of yesterday. In the summer of 1928 in Green Town, Illinois, 12-year-old Douglas Spaulding realizes he is alive  that is, he becomes self-aware in a manner he had never been before, and is exhilarated by the new richness it gives everyday experiences, especially at the start of summer: the harvest of fox grapes, the making of dandelion wine, the purchase of new sneakers, the setting up of the porch swing. With his brother Tom, Douglas decides to keep track of the events of this summer in a writing tablet. The dandelion wine that Douglass grandfather prepares serves as a metaphor for packing all the joys of summer into a single bottle. Douglas initial joy at realizing hes alive is dampened by the counter-revelation that he will die someday, which parallels his similar gains of knowledge and losses of companions during his magical and horrifying summer. Douglas grows wiser and more heroic as summer comes to an end, saving his imagination and his family.

Notes:
from novel by Ray Bradbury

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

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Odyssey, The

Synopsis:
Most people figure he's dead. But -- NO! Odysseus has merely been held captive by the Nymph Kalypso for seven years; the Sea God Poseidon is furious with him for killing his son, Polyphemos; Zeus is mad because he helped win the Trojan War; his ship is driven to the island of Circe, which drives the crew mad as she turns them into pigs; and then the crew also ate the sacred cattle of Helios, the Sun God. No one important is seeking vengeance. It makes you wonder if any of them will arrive, safely or otherwise, back in Ithaka; where his wife is waiting for Odysseus, along with dozens of suitors who seek her hand after her husband's long absence. Well, what would you do if you were a run of the mill Greek Hero? Well, that's what he does!

Notes:
The Homer classic adapted for the stage

1st Produced:
BYU-Idaho Theatre Department    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Leicester Bay Theatricals, 2013   -

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

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Papa Married A Mormon

Synopsis:
Papa Married a Mormon is like a family patchwork quilt worn threadbare from use. It becomes more familiar and warm each time you pick it up and wrap yourself in it. Like a quilt, Sorensen's theatrical adaptation brings us close to these characters -- who are not threadbare at all -- and wraps us in the kindness of their charitable lives. It asks questions about tolerance and brotherly love. The story is told from the viewpoint of JD Fitzgerald, who grew up in Price, Utah in a family with a Catholic papa and a Scandinavian Mormon mama. Can this house, often divided against itself, stand? Definitely! With Papa and Mama at the helm, even with their different religions, they successfully raise a wonderful family.

Notes:
Adapted from the novel by John D. Fitzgerald

1st Produced:
BYU-Idaho Theatre Department    2004

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Leicester Bay Theatricals, 2013   -

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

Parts:
Male:  9            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Passion of Christ: Betrayal and Crucifixion, The

Synopsis:
Seven scenes take us from the Conspiracy through the Betrayal and to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in poignant verse adapted from the original manuscripts of the Wakefield Cycle Plays.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
BYU-Idaho Theatre Department    1975

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Leicester Bay Theatricals, 2013   -

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

Parts:
Male:  15            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Wrinkle In Time, A

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Adapted from the Madeline LEngle novel

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:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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