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By: Aristophanes (446-389 BCE)

Book cover Clouds

Strepsiades is an Athenian burdened with debt from a bad marriage and a spendthrift son. He resolves to go to the Thinking Shop, where he can purchase lessons from the famous Socrates in ways to manipulate language in order to outwit his creditors in court. Socrates, represented as a cunning, manipulative, irreverent sophist, has little success with the dull-witted Strepsiades, but is able to teach the old man's son Phidippides a few tricks. In the end, the play is a cynical, clever commentary on Old Ways vs. New Ways, to the disparagement of the former.

By: Charlotte M Brame (1836-1884)

Book cover Shadow of a Sin

A story of a young woman in love and the sacrifices she makes in order to save a man's life when he is accused of murder. Has she gone too far and risked too much? Will she ever find happiness again, or is she destined to live a life of secrecy?

By: Euripides (484 BC - 406 BC)

Book cover Orestes

In accordance with the advice of the god Apollo, Orestes has killed his mother Clytemnestra to avenge the death of his father Agamemnon at her hands. Despite Apollo’s earlier prophecy, Orestes finds himself tormented by Erinyes or Furies to the blood guilt stemming from his matricide. The only person capable of calming Orestes down from his madness is his sister Electra. To complicate matters further, a leading political faction of Argos wants to put Orestes to death for the murder. Orestes’ only hope to save his life lies in his uncle Menelaus, who has returned with Helen after spending ten years in Troy and several more years amassing wealth in Egypt...

By: John Bunyan (1628-1688)

Book cover Pilgrim's Progress (version 3)

Probably the most famous allegory ever written of the Christian life, The Pilgrim's Progress follows the journey of Christian from his first encounter with the Evangelist, through his trials and doubts and as he meets various people who help and hinder him in his journey towards the Celestial City to meet his King. Part 2 follows the journey of Christian's wife and sons as they follow him along the same path past the Slough of Despond, the Castle Despair and Vanity Fair. This version was edited in 1909 by the Rev...

By: John Ford (1586-1639)

Book cover 'Tis Pity She's a Whore

One of the most shocking plays produced in England during the reign of Charles I, 'Tis Pity She's A Whore chronicles the disastrous results of an incestuous affair between fatalistic Italian siblings, Giovanni and Annabella. As suitors vie for Annabella's hand, various webs of deception and revenge intertwine, culminating in a bloody finale. CAST LISTBonaventura, a Friar/ Bergetto, Nephew to Donado: alanmapstoneA Cardinal, Nuncio to the Pope AND Banditti: Algy PugSoranzo, a Nobleman: tovarischFlorio,...

By: Maria Thompson Daviess (1872-1924)

Book cover Heart's Kingdom

Nickols Powers is in love with the beautiful Charlotte and desperate to marry her. Charlotte however, is independent and reluctant to accept his religious views as a good wife should. However, she may still be convinced by the charismatic preacher building a new church in her own backyard.

By: Mary Ella Lyng

Book cover History Plays for the Grammar Grades

A charming collection of 14 short American history plays for the very young - ranging from Christopher Columbus to George Washington to Susan B Anthony.

By: Robert G. Ingersoll (1833-1899)

Book cover Selected Interviews with Robert G. Ingersoll, Volume 1

A controversial lecturer, brilliant lawyer, and arguably the most famous orator of the mid to late 1800's, Ingersoll railed against the absurdities of the Bible and cruelties of Christianity, particularly the horrific notion of "eternal damnation". He tirelessly supported the arts, education, science, women’s rights, abolition, home, family, children, and human liberty. As a leader of the Freethought movement, his creed was: “Happiness is the only good, Reason the only torch, Justice the only worship, Humanity the only religion, and Love the only priest...

By: Various

Book cover One-Act Play Collection 005

This collection of ten one-act dramas features plays by James M. Barrie, Hereward Carrington, Marjorie Benton Cooke, Alice Gerstenberg, Susan Glaspell and George Cram Cook, St. John Hankin, George Middleton, David Pinski, Frederik Pohl, and an unknown Japanese author. The plays were coordinated by Arielle Lipshaw, Availle, Chuck Williamson, Todd, Peter Yearsley, Caprisha Page, Charlotte Duckett, and Amanda Friday.

Book cover Dramatic Reading Scene and Story Collection, Volume 001

readers present a collection of their favorite chapters and short stories, with the original author’s words all brought to life with different reader voices for each character in our popular Dramatic Reading style. This volume includes Anne's Confession from Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, Coming Home from Mates of Billabong by Mary Grant Bruce [not PD in Australia or Europe], Scandal in Bohemia from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Tunnel Under the...

By: Aeschylus (525/524 BC - c. 455/456 BC)

The Oresteia by Aeschylus The Oresteia

The Oresteia is a trilogy by Aeschylus, one of the foremost playwrights of ancient Greece. It encompasses three plays: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Furies. It tells the tragic tale of the House of Atreus, whose inhabitants have been cursed and are doomed to play out their bloody, vengeful destinies. At the beginning of the first part, the Trojan War has ended and the Greek general, Agamemnon, is returning victorious to his wife Clytemnestra. Yet she finds it difficult to forgive his sacrifice of their daughter, Iphigenia, who was killed to ensure the Greek fleet fair winds in their voyage to Troy...

Seven Against Thebes by Aeschylus Seven Against Thebes

In this, the only extant tragedy from Aeschylus' trilogy about the House of Oedipus, Thebes is under siege from Polynices, a former prince of Thebes. After King Oedipus left his city and cursed the princes, Polynices and his brother, Eteocles, decided to rule alternately, switching at the end of every year. However, at the end of his year as king, Eteocles refused to turn power over to his brother and exiled him, fulfilling his father's curse that the two brothers could not rule peacefully. In the action of the play, Polynices and a group of Argive soldiers are attacking Thebes so that he can take his place as ruler...

By: Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870)

Book cover Catherine Howard (Dramatic Reading)

Subtitled "The Throne, The Tomb, and The Scaffold - An Historical Play in 3 Acts From the Celebrated Play of that Name by Alexandre Dumas" - How can you resist a play about English history - the doomed fifth wife of Henry the 8th - by the celebrated French author of The Musketeers?? - Summary by ToddHW Cast list: Henry VIII, King of England: Larry Wilson Athelwold, Duke of Northumberland: Paul Simonin Archbishop Cranmer: alanmapstone Duke of Sussex: KHand Duke of Norfolk: tovarisch Grand Chamberlain:...

By: Alfred Noyes (1880-1958)

Book cover Rada; A Belgian Christmas Eve

This is not heart warming holiday fare. It is a short (one-act) unsubtle antiwar play by the English poet Alfred Noyes (1880-1958), published in 1915 while World War I is in progress. Part of the work is in verse. Music sung by Duane Steadman.

By: Amelia E. Barr (1831-1919)

Book cover Maid of Maiden Lane

The Maid of Maiden lane is a wonderful love story in which Mrs. Barr intertwines the hot political and social issues that were occurring in America during the last decade of the 18th century with an excellent love story plot. Some of those issues include: the moral dilemma and debate over the French Revolution, and how that event touched the lives of the immigrants in America; the prejudices between the immigrants from England, and those from France or Holland, and how those animosities affected the ordinary lives of the people; and the political debate over titles, foreign policy, and such things(for example)as where the capital of the nation was to reside, New York or Philadelphia...

By: Amice MacDonell

Book cover Saxon and Norman

Edward the Confessor is very weak and will die soon. But with no son to succeed him, who will gain the throne? The common folk and loyal Saxon barons in England want Harold, while the Norman barons and the people in Normandy, France want Duke William. They claim Edward gave William the throne. Who is right? Will Britain be Normanized? - Summary by Esther ben Simonides Cast List King Edward the Confessor: Beth ThomasHarold, Earl of Wessex: Adele de PignerollesGyrth, brother to Harold; Cecilia, daughter...

By: Anna Cora Mowatt Ritchie (1819-1870)

Book cover Armand; or The Peer and The Peasant

Although almost completely obscure today, this romantic melodrama was arguably a bigger hit for actress/playwright Anna Cora Mowatt than her theatre history-making comedy “Fashion” Wisely cashing in on the craze for settings and characters made popular by Alexander Dumas’ “Musketeer” novels still being published in serial form when the play debuted, this drama focuses on the adventures of sweet, beautiful, peasant maiden Blanche, who discovers she may be the illegitimate daughter of the scheming Duke de Richelieu...

By: Anna Sewell

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell Black Beauty

This unique tale is narrated by a lovely, gentle horse named Black Beauty and has remained a children's classic since it was first published in 1877. It earned eternal name and fame for its author Anna Sewell, an invalid who died within a few months of publication. According to current estimates, it has sold more than fifty million copies world wide, been translated into many languages and delighted generations of children. The original title page reads: Black Beauty: Translated from the original Equine by Anna Sewell and this gives the reader an instant glimpse into what the book will be about...

By: Anthony Munday (1560? -1633)

Book cover Sir Thomas More

Sir Thomas More is a collaborative Elizabethan play by Anthony Munday and others depicting the life and death of Thomas More. It survives only in a single manuscript, now owned by the British Library. The manuscript is notable because three pages of it are considered to be in the hand of William Shakespeare and for the light it sheds on the collaborative nature of Elizabethan drama and the theatrical censorship of the era. The play dramatizes events in More's life, both real and legendary, in an episodic manner in 17 scenes, unified only by the rise and fall of More's fortunes.

By: Anton Chekhov (1860-1904)

The Seagull by Anton Chekhov The Seagull

The Seagull (Russian: Чайка, Chayka) is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The play was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. It dramatises the romantic and artistic conflicts between four characters: the ingenue Nina, the fading leading lady Irina Arkadina, her son the experimental playwright Konstantin Treplyov, and the famous middlebrow story writer Trigorin.

The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov The Cherry Orchard

The Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on directing the play as a tragedy. Since this initial production, directors have had to contend with the dual nature of this play. The play concerns an aristocratic Russian woman and her family as they return to the family's estate (which includes a large and well-known cherry orchard) just before it is auctioned to pay the mortgage...

Book cover Uncle Vanya

Uncle Vanya (subtitled “Scenes From Country Life”) is a tragicomedy by Anton Chekhov. It is set on the failing country estate of a retired professor, Serebrakoff, who returns after a long absence with his beautiful young wife, and throws the household into confusion. Rivalry, unrequited love, illicit romance, and attempted suicide are the result, punctuated throughout by Chekhov’s sad, wistful humor.

Swan Song by Anton Chekhov Swan Song

In 'The Swan Song' an aging actor reminisces about his life and the parts he's played. The piece takes a tragic look at ambition and the sacrifices that must be made in order to succeed. Chekhov’s ability to capture and explore human nature and experience is showcased here.

Book cover Ivanov

Nicolai (anglicised Nicholas in this translation) Ivanov, a middle-aged public servant, is unhappy. His wife Anna, disinherited by her family after converting from Judaism, is dying of tuberculosis. He is deeply in debt. And his best friend’s daughter is infatuated with him. Comedy and tragedy ensue in truly Chekhovian fashion. An example of the young Chekhov’s maturing style, Ivanov is an early harbinger of themes that would recur throughout his work.

By: Aristophanes (446BC - 385BC)

Lysistrata by Aristophanes Lysistrata

Lysistrata read by the Classics Drama Company at DePaul. The Classics Drama Company at DePaul is a new gathering of Thespians and Classicists dedicated to performing and understanding ancient literature. If you live in Chicago and attend DePaul University, we welcome new additions to our group. Contact Dr. Kirk Shellko (kshellko@depaul.edu), if interested.First performed in classical Athens c. 411 B.C.E., Aristophanes’ Lysistrata is the original battle of the sexes. One woman, Lysistrata, brings together the women of all Greece, exhorting them to withhold sexual contact from all men in order that they negotiate a treaty...

By: Arthur Wing Pinero (1855-1934)

The Amazons: A Farcical Romance by Arthur Wing Pinero The Amazons: A Farcical Romance

This 1895 farce inspired by the outlandish idea of women wearing pants, centers around the predicament of the three daughters of the eccentric Marchioness of Castlejordan, who determined to have sons, raised them like boys. She encouraged them to dress and act like boys at home, yet dress like ladies when out. As the girls come of age, they are conflicted. They want to please mother by acting as her sons, but, suddenly smitten with three gentlemen, they are compelled to grow up and be ladies. When their suitors secretly come to woo, they aren’t sure what to do……and what will mother do if she finds out?

Book cover Letty

Letty is another one of Pinero's Social Plays, exposing the double standard of woman's reputations suffering for actions that in men were not only allowed, but even expected. Letty is a romantic shop assistant who considers bettering her station in life with a marriage to her employer. This play was filmed as a silent movie in 1919 as The Loves of Letty. - Summary by ToddHW Cast list: Nevill Letchmere: Tomas Peter Ivor Crosbie: Andrew Gaunce Coppinger Drake: artvo88 Bernard Mandeville: Alan Mapstone Richard Perry: ToddHW Neale, a Commercial Traveller: JoeBer Ordish, Agent for an Insurance Company: Greg Giordano Rugg, Mr...

Book cover Iris

Left a widow 5 years ago at age 21, Iris Bellamy is shackled by terms of her husband's will that would leave her penniless if she remarries. Of course, "if she married a rich man, her interest in her late husband's estate would be no longer indispensible to her." But "rich men generally have some odious quality to counterbalance their wealth. The men one would marry are as poor as mice." So what do you think is likely to happen? - Summary by ToddHW Cast list: Frederick Maldonado: Adrian Stephens Laurence Trenwith: Tomas Peter Croker Harrington: ToddHW Archibald Kane: Alan Mapstone Colonel Wynning: Algy Pug Servant at Mrs...

By: August Strindberg (1849-1912)

Countess Julie by August Strindberg Countess Julie

August Strindberg’s naturalistic one-act drama has only three characters: Julie, a passionate young noblewoman; Jean, her father’s ambitious valet; and Kristin, the cook, who is also Jean’s fiancee. The play is set on Midsummer Eve, when everyone is reveling, and Julie and Jean get a bit too intimate – with tragic results.

Book cover Creditors

Creditors is an 1889 tragicomedy by August Strindberg that plumbs the depths of the twisted triangular relationship between Tekla, her husband Adolph, and her ex-husband Gustav.

The Ghost Sonata by August Strindberg The Ghost Sonata

The Ghost Sonata (Spoksonaten) is a play in three acts by Swedish playwright August Strindberg. Written in 1907, it was first produced at Strindberg's Intimate Theatre in Stockholm on 21 January 1908... The Ghost Sonata is a key text in the development of modernist drama and a vivid example of a chamber play. In it, Strindberg creates a world in which ghosts walk in bright daylight, a beautiful woman is transformed into a mummy and lives in the closet, and the household cook sucks all the nourishment out of the food before she serves it to her masters...

Book cover There are Crimes and Crimes

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