Schechner Plays

Schechner Plays Synopsis

A collection of performance texts ranging from orthodox plays to group-devised texts. The book traces from most recent to earliest Schechner's work as a "writer" and a "wrighter" -- the author of plays and the conceptualizer and leader of teams of artists. The book includes several never before published early texts as well as updated versions of well-known productions such as "Dionysus in 69," "YokastaS," "Makbeth," and "Imagining O." The earliest texts are from the 1950s the most recent from 2014. This book brings together for the first time Richard's original plays and adaptations: YokastaS Redux, Dionysus 69, Commune, Oresteia, Prometheus Project, Makbeth, Richard's Leer, Imagining O, Faust/gastronome, Blessing of the Fleet, Briseis and the Sergeant, Lot's Daughters, and The Last Day of FK. The scripts engage with perennial canonic themes, such as Oedipus and Faust, and topical issues of our times. They embody Richard's world-famous performance approach. The introduction sets the scripts in intellectual and production context. The book complements Schechner's other works, Performance Studies (now in its 3rd ed.), Performance Theory, The Grotowski Sourcebook, The Future of Ritual, and his new A New Third World of Performance.