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Valerie Work

VALERIE WORK  (1981 - )

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

Literary Agent:    n/a


Valerie Work is a New York City based playwright. In March 2010, her newest play The Rules of Sleepaway Camp will premiere in Dixon Place's Page to Stage reading series. Her full-length A Week at the NJ Shore received a workshop production at The Bushwick Starr in October 2009 and will be featured at The Pulse Performing Arts Studio in upstate New York in February 2010. Her one-act "Rrrrr Argh Blech" was produced and published as part of manhattantheatresource's Estrogenius Festival in October 2009 and was previously produced in May 2009 by 11:11 Theatre Company at the Boston Center for the Arts as part of their An Evening of Almost. Her play "A Meditation on The Misanthrope: 10 Years Later" was produced at Classic Stage Company in July 2008 as part of the 3rd Annual Bring a Weasel and a Pint of Your Own Blood Festival. In June 2008, one-act "Pigeon Queen" received a production at the Bryant Lake Bowl Theater in Minneapolis as part of Theater Limina's Bermuda Shorts festival. In February 2009 A Week at the NJ Shore had a reading in Walkerspace directed by Sibyl Kempson. "Plays," a twelve-minute song cycle written in collaboration with composer John Belkot, has been performed at Georgetown University in Washington, DC and An die Musik in Baltimore, MD. Her other plays, which include My Book of Storms, Emily's World the Play, The Fighting Frogs vs. Victoria Vanderbilt,"Hazel and the Sun" and "Sick," and have been staged, read or fully produced at Club Midway, Freddie's, Brooklyn College, The Producers' Club II, Sidewalk Cafe, Yale University and Washington College. An excerpt from A Week at the NJ Shore was published in the 2009 edition of the Brooklyn Review literary journal. She has completed residencies at the Espy Foundation in Washington State and the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming. She holds a B.A. from Yale and an MFA from Brooklyn College. Since October 2007 she has been Editor of offoffonline.

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

 Collected Rules of Gifted Camp         Fighting Frogs Versus Victoria Vanderbilt         Hazel and the Sun         Meditation On The Misanthrope, A: 10 Years Later         My Book of Storms         Pigeon Queen         Plays         Rrrrr Argh Blech         Rules of Sleepaway Camp, The         Sick         Stratton         Time and Place         Week at the N J Shore, A

Collected Rules of Gifted Camp

Synopsis:
Since their origins in the early 1980s, academic summer programs for gifted teenagers have proliferated across the United States, and indeed around the world. Fueled by an increasingly competitive college admissions process, easy access to standardized qualifying tests, and parental anxiety over childrens future career prospects, these programs capitalize as well on teens longstanding desires to escape from adult supervision and suburban boredom. The Collected Rules of Gifted Camp explores the way these new trends collide with and transform the traditional American pastime of summer camp. Annie, Leila, and Kevin, age 15, have been counting the days until they arrive at their summer destination, a highly selective academic program for gifted teens. Dodging flying peppermints, deformed Noxema jars, kidnappers, claw-knives, aggressive squirrels, the ever-present threat of swine flu, not to mention their counselor, Rose, the campers doggedly pursue their respective Camp Goals - until the unexpected happens, at the Saturday night costume dance.
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Brick Theatre
575 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211    16 May 2012

Organisations:
Glasswork Productions

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:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Fighting Frogs Versus Victoria Vanderbilt

Synopsis:
A small-town class of eighth-graders is rocked when a sophisticated yet secretly troubled new girl arrives and takes charge of the class graduation project. Thematically, the play is concerned with stereotype, the question of what subjects are appropriate for artistic discussion, the power of memory and history to transform everyday, gritty reality into legend, and the value of human relationships in a rapidly changing world.

Notes:
80-minute play (full length, with or without intermission) Cast can be either teenagers or Adults.

1st Produced:
The Off Broadway Theater, New Haven, CT (Yale University)    Apr 2002

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:  8            Other:  1

Further Reference:
-

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Hazel and the Sun

Synopsis:
It is 5 am Saturday night. JULIA is sound asleep. PAM and TED, who have had a wildly romantic evening, do not think JULIA is in her bed and accidentally jump on her head while trying to reach the balcony, which is only accessible through a window above JULIA's bed. JULIA awakens, shrieking and highly displeased. The trio discuss coroners, JULIA's much less than perfect date and summer camp pranks, among other subjects. TED escapes to retrieve pizza. JULIA tells PAM about her dying family friend, Miss Hazel, and the golden handbag which is the only object the embittered Miss Hazel bequeaths to JULIA. The girls reflect on mortality and the nature of relationships as the sun rises and TED returns with his offering of pizza.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The Producers' Club II, NYC    Aug 2006

Organisations:
The Strawberry One-Act Festival

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:
15-minute play

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Meditation On The Misanthrope, A: 10 Years Later

Synopsis:
This adaptation of Moliere's The Misanthrope focuses its attention on the aftermath of the events in the original play and shifts the location to a contemporary New York City advertising agency. Alceste departed for his desert island long ago and is never heard from again. Celimene turns thirty and reflects on the course of her life to date. She heads to an office populated by familiar characters, including her testy boss Narissa (based on Arsinoe), the bad poet Orion (based on Oronte) and the self-satisfied Austin (based on Acaste). After work she heads to a bar to meet her best friend Imogene (based on Eliante), now married to Phillip (based on Philinte), for drinks and company. 10 Years Later further probes some of the major themes present in the original play, such as the need for social graces, the ways that people present themselves in public, and the question of how deeply it is possible to know someone, even in an intimate relationship. These themes are explored in the context of life in a densely populated city and the ubiquity of the Internet and its effect on social interactions and relationships.

Notes:
Original Playwright - Moliere

1st Produced:
Classic Stage Company, NYC    Jul 2008

Organisations:
The 3rd Annual Bring a Weasel and a Pint of Your Own Blood Festival, Classic Stage Company, the longest lunch (joint)

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:
45-minute play (long one-act)

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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My Book of Storms

Synopsis:
On a stormy Fall Saturday, four members of a family of Jehovah's Witnesses in rural Ohio struggle to communicate their deepest thoughts about faith, history, civil rights, language, and the status of their relationships with each other. Seventeen-year-old Stephanie drafts her college admissions essay while her twelve-year-old sister Rachel practices a school report about the Holocaust. Meanwhile, father and husband Bill tries to understand why his wife Olivia wants to revisit the scene of an unhappy segment of her past. By the day's end, the characters learn the importance of communicating with each other about what is most important to each of them.

Notes:
Approx. 80 min. (full length, no intermission)

1st Produced:
Midway Rock Club, New York    2008

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:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Pigeon Queen

Synopsis:
While recovering from a traumatic lay-off at a truly miserable company, Pigeon Queen tells her story while reflecting on the challenges of being a 20-something creative professional in New York.

Notes:
For one woman And A chorus of pigeons (could be Actors of either gender or puppets)

1st Produced:
Minneapolis, MN    Jun 2008

Organisations:
Theater Limina

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:
40-minute play (long one-act)

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Plays

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
lyrics by Valerie Work, music by John Belkot

1st Produced:
Georgetown University, Washington DC    Jan 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:
Song cycle 12 min

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  5

Further Reference:
-

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Rrrrr Argh Blech

Synopsis:
A couple wake up on a weekday morning and leave their apartment, dodging various threats to their relationship and respective personhoods, including their partner's failings, urban wildlife and death.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA    May 2009

Organisations:
11:11 Theatre Company

1st Published:
The Book of Estro (manhattantheatresource) 2010   -

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 Ten min

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  2

Further Reference:
-

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Rules of Sleepaway Camp, The

Synopsis:
Annie, age 15, is determined that this will be the year that she conquers her sleepaway camp of choice, a selective academic summer program for gifted middle school students. Her roommate, Leila, has never attended before, but quickly falls in love with her new environment, and also with the camp boyfriend she acquires, Kevin. In the meantime Rose, their counselor, grapples with her own identity issues, and tries to figure out what she will do with the rest of her life, after the conclusion of her rapidly approaching senior year of college. Dodging flying peppermints, deformed Noxema jars, kidnappers, claw-knives, aggressive squirrels, not to mention the ever-present threat of swine flu, the characters doggedly pursue their respective goals - until the unexpected happens, at the second weekend Saturday night costume dance. After the shocking concluding events, nothing will ever be the same.

Notes:
Approx. 75 min. (full length, no intermission)

1st Produced:

Organisations:
the longest lunch

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:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Sick

Synopsis:
Fever has pneumonia, Chills has mono, and when they meet each finds a willing audience and relates the saga of her illness and the catalogue of her symptoms in great detail. A rowdy pillow fight ensues. Chills lectures Fever on the Black Death and as Fever listens, she falls into a delirious nightmare. When she awakens, Chills abandons her.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Will Smith Auditorium, Washington College, MD    Aug 2004

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 Ten min

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Stratton

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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Time and Place

Synopsis:
A man, two women and a bartender are in a bar. The bartender disappears, and the customers try to unravel the mystery before tearing each other apart or becoming victims themselves.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Sticky

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 Ten min

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Week at the N J Shore, A

Synopsis:
A group of friends from New York City take a weeklong vacation at the New Jersey Shore. When it rains, tempers fray, and a series of strange events transpires, involving a monster sofa, invading figurines and a giant crab.

Notes:
Approx. 90 min (full length, no intermission)

1st Produced:
The Bushwick Starr, Brooklyn, NY    22 Oct 2009

Organisations:
the longest lunch

1st Published:
The Brooklyn Review (excerpt) Jun 2009   -

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:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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