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C Denby Swanson

C DENBY SWANSON

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

Literary Agent:    n/a

C. Denby Swanson is a 2007/2008 NEA/TCG Playwright in Residence with Zachary Scott Theater Center. She graduated from Smith College, the National Theatre Institute, and the University of Texas Michener Center for Writers, and has been a William Inge Playwright in Residence, a Jerome Fellow and a McKnight Advancement Grant recipient. Her work has been commissioned by the Guthrie Theater, 15 Head a Theatre Lab, Macalester College, St. Stephen's High School, and the Drilling Company and featured in the Southern Playwrights Festival, the Women Playwrights Project, the Estro-Genius Festival, and PlayLabs 2002. She is published by Smith & Kraus, Heinemann, Accompany Publishing, and Playscripts, Inc. In 2006, she was in residence at New York Stage & Film (through P73) to develop her play A Brief Narrative Of An Extraordinary Birth Of Rabbits, which was also included in the Writer/Director Lab at the Playwrights Center, and workshopped at Cornell College in Iowa as part of New Plays on Campus grant. Her play the Death Of A Catreceived its world premiere at Salvage Vanguard Theater and was subsequently a finalist for the PEN Center Literary Award for Drama. Most recently, her full length adaptation, Atomic Farmgirl, was workshopped at the Culture Projects Impact Festival. She is a Core member of the Playwrights Center in Minneapolis, an alumna of the Lark Theaters Playwrights Week 2005, a former Artistic Director of Austin Script Works, and on the faculty at Southwestern University.

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below is a list of C Denby Swanson's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Age of Feedback, The         Atomic Adventures of Nikolai Nikolaevich, The         Atomic Farmgirl         Death of a Cat         Everything So Far         Faith         Freedom         Governing Alice         Greeks, The         Honour         Natural Causes         Norwegians, The         Relative

Age of Feedback, The

Synopsis:
An individual gives feedback to a ball point pen company after he has found a use for the pen we would all prefer not to contemplate. An ode to Shakespeare 's Scottish play in 10 minutes with one writing implement.
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
part of "Happiness". the Drilling Company commissioned eight playwrights to write short works on the subject of the search for happiness

1st Produced:
Drilling Company theatre
107 West 82nd Street, #1A, New York, NY 10024     12 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:
short play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Atomic Adventures of Nikolai Nikolaevich, The

Synopsis:
In this modern Russian fairy tale, a young man must decide whether or not to sell his wild forest mushrooms to a beautiful young woman in the Moscow marketplace. Only five things stand in the way: One, his mushrooms are radioactive. Two, three, four, and five are his twin brothers, who were born on the fingers of his right hand, a result of the accident at Chernobyl. And then there are the market's inspectors, who are hot on his trail and closing in fast. . .

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Children's Theatre Company (Workshop) (Minneapolis, Mn, United States)     2003

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:
30-35 min Dramedy

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  1 male, 2 females, 7 either (10 actors possible: 1-8 males, 2-9 females)

Further Reference:
-

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Atomic Farmgirl

Synopsis:
Atomic Farmgirl explores the impact of the nuclear industry, the mythology of the American West, and the story of a family farm and the generations of people who have lived there. Hein's memoir-and Swanson's play-conjure up the echoes of the past-both evil and benign-that dwell in the land, leavened by a healthy dose of laughter at the absurdity of fate

Notes:
by C Denby Swanson, conceived And directed with Brooke Brod, based on A memoir by Teri Hein

1st Produced:

Organisations:
the Drilling Company

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:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Death of a Cat

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Everything So Far

Synopsis:
Loosely adapted from a 9th grade biology textbook, Everything So Far is a whimsical interweaving of several impossible stories -- a Dinosaur looking for her lost egg, a Biologist with dark intentions, a Fly with 24 hours to live, the three Fates, the All Chimp Runaway Lab Monkey Band, and a narrator, Peter, who has recently died but finds his way back in time to the moment of his most perfect peace.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
St. Stephen's Academy (Austin, Tx, United States)     2003

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:
60-80 min Comedy/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  8            Other:  2 males, 8 females (8-30 actors possible: 2-24 males, 6-28 females)

Further Reference:
-

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Faith

Synopsis:
Declaring "We all believe in something. . .don't we?," the Drilling Company has set a short play project on the subject of faith. the nine short plays cover a range of ideas and writing styles. the program includes plays by Brian Dykstra, Kate McCamy, Richard Mover, C. Denby Swanson, Scott Baker, and Stephen Bittrich, all regular contributors to past Drilling Company projects, plus newcomers Jennifer Fawcett, Misha Shulman, and Christine Whitley.
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
theDrillingCompaNY

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 play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Freedom

Synopsis:
Now in its tenth year, theDrillingCompaNY is well known for its collections of new plays around common themes. the theme this year is FREEDOM. "We chose it because of all of the attention our FREE -market economy has gotten lately and because we're still fighting wars for the same cause," says artistic director Hamilton Clancy. "Franklin Roosevelt outlined four freedoms America was responsible for defending-that was the kick-off point for playwrights." With grants from the New York State Council on the Arts and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, theDrillingCompaNY commissions writers to write around the chosen theme. the directors of this year's plays are: Hamilton Clancy, Robert A. Wilson, Tom Demenkoff, Jude Domski, David Marantz, Richard Mover, and Rebecca Hengstenberg.
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
authors Brian Dykstra, Andrea Moon, C. Denby Swanson, Trish Harnetiaux, Richard Mover, Sean Lewis, Eric Henry Sanders, Kate McCamy

1st Produced:

Organisations:
theDrillingCompaNY

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 play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Governing Alice

Synopsis:
In this modern adaptation of the Greek classic Antigone, a rebellious high school student named Alice must respond to the sudden and shattering death of her older brother, the class valedictorian -- who was shot while robbing a convenience store. Up against an unyielding principal and accompanied by a bookish Geek Chorus, Alice must find her own way through personal and classical tragedy. In honoring her brother, she'll probably break some rules. Which is more important?

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Spring Grove High School (Lanesboro, Mn, United States)     2003

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:
25-35 min Dramedy

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  4 males, 3 females, 6 either (10-13 actors possible: 2-11 males, 2-11 females)

Further Reference:
-

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Greeks, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
part DEBT - 10 short plays About something we All have, the hot potato of America! Who's DEBT is it Anyway?

1st Produced:
Drilling Company theatre
107 West 82nd Street, #1A, New York, NY 10024     15 Apr 2012

Organisations:
theDrillingCompaNY

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 play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Honour

Synopsis:
A young woman named Honour hangs out behind the local big-box store and does nothing with her two best friends, Fib and Tryla -- until one day Fib decides to play a joke on the local military recruiter and fake-enlist. This flippant act draws their small group into a whirlwind of intimate betrayals, but Honour has more than that on her mind -- she's been having visions of Joan of Arc since she was twelve, and now Joan's urging Honour into battle. Meanwhile, a chorus of Cardinals is putting Joan on trial for heresy. (And because they're in St. Louis, they also play baseball.) What is honor? And how do you fight for it?

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Zach Scott Theater Performing Arts School - Staged Reading (Austin, Tx, United States)     2005

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:
40-50 min Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  2 males, 3 females, 5 either (8-16 actors possible: 2-13 males, 3-14 females)

Further Reference:
-

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Natural Causes

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
theDrillingCompaNY presents Justice, A themed evening of original short plays

1st Produced:

Organisations:
theDrillingCompaNY

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:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Norwegians, The

Synopsis:
A strong, bitter comedy about women scorned in Minnesota and the really, really nice gangstersNorwegian hit menthey hire to whack their ex-boyfriends. Olive is a transplant from Texas and Betty is a transplant from Kentucky, but neither of them was prepared for the Norwegian men they would fall in love with there: the practical, warm, thoughtful, destructive, evil, jilting kind. If you're a hit man in Minnesota, 83% of your clients want to take out their ex (oofda!). Betty has referred Olive to Gus and Tor, a partnership in the whacking business. What Tor doesn't know is that Gus has been sleeping with the clients. What Olive doesn't know is that Gus is Betty's own ex, and she has already put out a hit on him with a Swiss firm. Can Betty call off the job in time to let Gus do his? Should she?

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Scena Theatre at Anacostia Playhouse, 2020 Shannon Place SE, Washington, DC     19 Mar 2015

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, Inc   978-0822229506

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:
comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Relative

Synopsis:
When Alberta, the daughter of a mathematician, struggles to comprehend her parents' impending divorce, she invokes her father's hero and her own namesake: Albert Einstein. the unlikely pair visits the past to study the early strains of her parents' marriage via an incident involving an ambiguous traffic light, a cantankerous judge, and a few amiable Texas Rangers. By examining the incident step by step, Einstein helps Alberta accept the uncertainty that lies in all things, whether it be time and space, or the bond between a husband and wife.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Waller High School, Waller Tx     07 Mar 2012

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playscripts, Inc   -

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:
30 min dramedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  5 either

Further Reference:
-

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