The List

Here they are, the 105 plays you Need to Read to begin a life in the theatre. This is only a partial list of the Canon, but it's the foundation. Ask me and I can provide you with a more complete catalogue on paper.

Aeschylus - AGAMEMNON
Albee, Edward - WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF; THE ZOO STORY
Anouilh, Jean - ANTIGONE; RING ROUND THE MOON
Aristophanes - LYSISTRATA
Ayckbourne, Alan - THE NORMAN CONQUESTS (TRILOGY)
Beckett, Samuel - HAPPY DAYS; WAITING FOR GODOT
Brecht, Bertolt - THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE; THE THREEPENNY OPERA
Chekhov, Anton - THE CHERRY ORCHARD; THE THREE SISTERS
Churchill, Caryl - TOP GIRLS
Coward, Noel - PRIVATE LIVES, BLITHE SPIRIT
Durrenmatt, Freiedrich - THE VISIT; THE PHYSICISTS
Durang, Christopher - SISTER MARY IGNATIOUS EXPLAINS IT ALL
Euripides - MEDEA, THE TROJAN WOMEN
Fo, Dario - ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF AN ANARCHIST
Frayn, Michael - NOISES OFF, COPENHAGEN
Friel, Brian - DANCING AT LUGHNASA
Fry, Christopher - THE LADY'S NOT FOR BURNING
Fugard, Athol - MASTER HAROLD AND THE BOYS
Genet, Jean - THE MAIDS
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang - FAUST
Goldman, James - THE LION IN WINTER
Grimm, David - KIT MARLOWE
Guare, John - SIX DEGREES OF SEPERATION
Hampton, Christopher - LES LIAISONS DENGEREUSES
Hansberry, Lorraine - A RAISIN IN THE SUN
Hare, David - A MAP OF THE WORLD
Hellman, Lillian - THE CHILDREN'S HOUR
Henley, Beth - CRIMES OF THE HEART
Ibsen, Henrik - A DOLL'S HOUSE; HEDDA GABBLER; JOHN GABRIEL BORKMAN
Inge, WIlliam - PICNIC
Kaufman, Moises - THE LARAMIE PROJECT
Kushner, Tony - ANGELS IN AMERICA (PARTS I & II)
Ionesco, Eugene - THE CHAIRS; RHINOCEROS
Lorca, Federico Garcia - THE HOUSE OF BERNADA ALBA
Mamet, David - GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS; THE WATER ENGINE
Mann, Emily - EXECUTION OF JUSTICE
Marlowe, Christopher - DOCTOR FAUSTUS
Medoff, Mark - CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD
McNally, Terrence - MASTER CLASS
Miller, Arthur - THE CRUCIBLE; DEATH OF A SALESMAN
Moliere - THE MISANTHROPE; TARTUFFE
Norman, Marsha - 'NIGHT, MOTHER
O'Casy, Sean - JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK
O'Neil, Eugene - LONG DAYS JOURNEY INTO NIGHT; THE ICEMAN COMETH
Odets, Clifford - WAITING FOR LEFTY
Pinter, Harold - BETRAYAL; THE DUMBWAITER; THE HOMECOMING
Pirandello, Luigi - SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR
Rabe, David - HURLEY BURLEY
Sartre, Jean Paul - NO EXIT
Schnitzler, Arthur - LA RONDE
Shaffer, Peter - EQUUS; AMADEUS
Shakespeare, William - HENRY V; JULIUS CAESAR; TWELFTH NIGHT; HAMLET; RICHARD III; MACBETH; MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING; THE MERCHANT OF VENICE; OTHELLO; KING LEAR; MEASURE FOR MEASURE; A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM; ROMEO & JULIET; THE TEMPEST
Shanley, John Patrick - DANNY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA
Shawn, Wallace - AUNT DAN AND LEMON
Shaw, George Bernard - MAJOR BARBARA, PYGMALION; SAINT JOAN
Shepard, Sam - BURIED CHILD; FOOL FOR LOVE; TRUE WEST
Sheridan; Richard Brinsely - SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL
Simon, Niel - BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS; LOST IN YONKERS; PLAZA SUITE
Sophocles - ANTIGONE; OEDIPUS REX
Stoppard, Tom - ARCADIA; ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD
Strindberg, August - MISS JULIE; A DREAM PLAY
Synge, J.M. - THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD
Wasserstein, Wendy - THE HEIDI CHRONICLES
Weiss, Peter - MARAT/SADE
Wilde, Oscar - AN IDEAL HUSBAND; THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
Wilder, Thornton - OUR TOWN; THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH
Williams, Tennessee - CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF; THE GLASS MENAGERIE; A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
Wilson, August - FENCES
Wilson, Lanford - BURN THIS

Post...

Since I'm not going to be at STC today, :'( I'm going to post before I leave for the weekend.

Something that we do in STC that I always find very useful is the viewpoints thing. It helps you to figure out how your character would hold him or herself and gestures they may make. You can try all different kinds of ideas, some may work, some may not, but you will almost always find SOMETHING that you can use for your character. You might also find something that would be of use for future characters. (Though you wouldn't know it at the time...) Maube you had a solid thought in your mind of how you think your character would walk or so on. Then we do viewpoints and you find that it doesn't really work with your character at all! So then you can find something that does. Yay!

Erin

Welcome!

Welcome to the STC2005 blog! I hear you thinking now, "Yeah, but what's it FOR?" Well, it's for reflection and discussion of the craft of acting. Only half of an actor's training occurs in the rehearsal room, the other half comes from examining and internalizing the discoveries you make and lessons you learn, so you can apply them later on. For that purpose I'm asking everyone to make quick journal postings here on a daily basis (or as close to that as possible) about what you're learning, what's working for you and what isn't. Of course you're not being graded on any of this, it's not legal requirement, but if you're really interested in becoming the best performer you can, I promise, journaling is an incredibly useful tool.

The other purpose of the blog is to facilitate communication between members of the STC ensemble. Do you have a show coming up? A concert that you think everyone should see? Amazing research you've discovered on Titus? A really great joke? Post it here. Think of this blog as a continuation of the conversations you have in class, and a way to continue those discussions outside the rehearsal space.

That's all for now, I look forward to your postings!

Ian