THEA 221
Sammie Choy
Here are some playwrights you can research when looking for a scene for your final project. You are not limited to these writers, however.
Alani Apio – Hawai`iLee Blessing
Eric Bogosian
Lee Cataluna – Hawai`i
Anton Chekov - Russia
Caryl Churchill – UK
Steven Dietz
Christopher Durang
Philip Kan Gotanda
John Guare
Beth Henley
Israel Horovitz
Velina Hasu Houston
Tina Howe
David Henry Hwang
Henrik Ibsen - Norway
David Ives
Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl – Hawai`i
Howard Korder
Tony Kushner
Craig Lucas
Darrell Lum – Hawai`i / David Mamet
Terrence McNally
Mark Medoff
Arthur Miller
Marsha Norman
Eric Overmeyer
Suzan-Lori Parks
José Rivera
Ed Sakamoto – Hawai`i
John Patrick Shanley
Wallace Shawn
Sam Shepard
Nicky Silver
Neil Simon
Paula Vogel
Wendy Wasserstein
Tennessee Williams
August Wilson
Lanford Wilson
Chay Yew – Singapore/US
Paul Zindel
(You might research Kumu Kahua plays for other local plays)
Most of these are contemporary playwrights, and the UH library (UH/KCC) should have at least some of their works. You may also want to try the Hawai`i State Library system to find plays by these writers. Some of Chekov’s and Ibsen’s plays will be available online, for instance, via Project Gutenberg. Most, however, are still under copyright and will rarely be online.
Research suggestions:
• Do a search on the internet using the playwright’s name to find out what kind of things they write and names of their plays. You might want to skim reviews to see what the plays are about.
• Do a search on the library database using either a play’s or a playwright’s name.
• Skim at least a few of the plays you find (for characters that interest you and for playable scenes), and READ those that look promising.
• Look at one-act plays as well as the full-length ones.