American+Drama

**Introduction**:
American Drama is a collection focused on American playwrights and their works. It includes copies of plays, many of which have been produced on Broadway, off Broadway, filmed and studied in school. The collection focuses on materials suitable for grades 9 through adult. We also include books that have been made into films. We have many professional resources in our collection as well.

**Questions** for Inquiry

 * What is American Drama?


 * Who are the particular playwrights in a specific time period?
 * How do the dramatic writings reflect the socio-political times?
 * How do film adaptations differ from the books?

**Keywords:**

 * American Drama
 * United States plays
 * American authors
 * American playwrights

**Subject Headings:**

 * American Drama
 * American Theatre
 * American Playwrights

**Dewey Decimal Classifications:**

 * 782
 * 791
 * 808
 * 810
 * 812

**Key Books** Reference:

 * The Oxford Companion to American Literature, 6th ed.** (1995). //More than 5,000 entries on novelists, poets, playwrights, naturalists and literary critics.//

=**NEW ITEMS ADDED TO OUR COLLECTION** = 2010-11 School Year __**BOOKS**__
 * //Crumbs from the Table of Joy//by Lynn Nottage
 * //Drama for Students//, Vol. 19, 21 and 22
 * //International Plays for Young Audiences//by G. Ratliff
 * //Mel White’s Readers Theatre Anthology//by M. White
 * //Sea Songs: Readers Theatre//by J. Barnes
 * //Acting Cool: Using Reader’s Theatre//by C. Gustafson
 * //Classic Readers Theatre for Young Adults//byS. Barchers
 * //Introduction to Readers Theatre//by G. Ratliff
 * //Readers Theatre for Young Adults//by K. Latrobe
 * //Scary Readers Theatre//by S. Barchers
 * //Science Fiction Readers Theatre//by A. Fredericks
 * //Short and Sweet Skits for Student Actors//by M. Scriven
 * //War Stories for Readers Theatre//by S. Barchers
 * //Wings of Fancy: Using Reader’s Theatre//by J. Garner
 * //Literary Ideas and Scripts// by Lisa Cobb

Some fiction titles were added as well:
 * //Gulliver’s Travels//: Movie Novelization by S. Willson
 * //Gulliver’s Travels//by J. Greene
 * //Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows//by J. K. Rowling
 * //The Last Song// by Nicholas Sparks

**__New Movie added to our collection:__**

 * ==// The Crucible //, Twentieth Century ﻿ Fox production, produced by Robert Miller. ==

__ New sound recording added to our collection: __
=Highlights of our collection: =
 * **//Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices, a sound recording// by Walter Dean Myers **

**__PLAYS__**


 * ALBEE, EDWARD //A DELICATE BALANCE//
 * BRECHT, BERTOLT //GALILEO//
 * BREL, JACQUES //JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL//
 * CHEKHOV, ANTON //THREE SISTERS//
 * FRIEL, BRIAN PHILADELPHIA, //HERE I COME!//
 * GENET, JEAN //THE MAIDS//
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">GRAY, SIMON //BUTLEY//
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">IONESCO, EUGENE //RHINOCEROS//
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">O’NEIL, EUGENE //THE ICEMAN COMETH//
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">OSBORNE, JOHN //LUTHER//
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">PINTER, HAROLD //THE HOMECOMING//
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">SHAW, ROBERT //THE MAN IN THE GLASS BOOTH//
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">STOREY, DAVID //IN CELEBRATION//
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">WEILL, KURT //LOST IN THE STARS//

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__**MUSIC**__

> > <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__** Plays recommended for teaching with teens: **__ > //Driving Miss Daisy// by A. Uhry > //Joe Turner's Come and Gone// by A. Wilson > //A Few Good Men// by A. Sorkin > //Nothing but the Truth// by R. Smith(based on the book by Avi) > //The Mouse That Roared// by C. Sergel > //Sunrise at Campobello// by D. Schary > //The Odd Couple// by N. Simon > //The Glass Menagerie// by T. Wiliams > //Death of a Salesman// by A. Miller > //The Crucible// by A. Miller > //Miracle Worker// by W. Gibson > //Inherit the Wind// by J. Lawrence > //The Diary of Ann Frank// by F. Goodrich
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">GUTHRIE, TYRONE //CANDIDE (CD)//
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">MCCULLERS, CARSON //THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING (PLAYAWAY)//

Non-fiction
//**Drama for Students**//, //**Volume 25**//.(2008) Edited by Milney. A Gale Publication. Author biography, plot summary, character summary, themes and historical context of popular plays, Included in this volume are Pam Gems' //**Stanley**// and Stephen Sondheim's //**Into the Woods**//. We own the rest of the collection. //**Experiencing the American Civil War: Novels, Nonfiction Books, Short Stories, Poems, Plays, Films and Songs**//: by K. Hillstrom. Features twenty-five works, including **//Forty Acres and a Mule, The Red Badge of Courage,//** poems, plays and short stories. //**Masterpieces of 20th Century American Drama**// (2005) by Susan Abbotson. Criticism of plays taught in schools, such as Thornton Wilder's //**Our Town**//, Arthur Miller's //**The Crucible**// and Lorraine Hansberry's //**A Raisin in the Sun**//, amongst others.
 * //Great Scenes from Women Playwrights//** (2005) by Marsh Cassady. Scenes from classic and contemporary plays written by American women. Includes synopsis of each play and director’s notes.
 * //Notable African American Writers//**(2006) edited by Salem Press. Includes essays on 80 great novelists, poets, playwrights, short story writers, and writers of nonfiction from colonial America to today.

Magazine Articles
= = Gilhooley, Jack. "**A Play's Progress**." __Sarasota__ __Magazine__ 27.4 (2005): 124-129. __MasterFILE Select__. 29 January 2007. [|http://search.ebscohost.com.] Manuel, Carme. "**A Ghost in the Expressionist Jungle of O'Neill's "The Emperor Jones."**__African American Review__ 39.1/2 ([YEAR]): 67-85. __MasterFILE Select__. 29 January 2007. [|http://search.ebscohost.com.] Shaffer, Jason. "**Making "an Excellent Die"."** . __TOPICsearch__. 29 January 2007. [|http://search.ebscohost.com.] "**Building the Legacy**." __American Theatre__ 23.10 (2006): 15-16. __MasterFILE Select__. 29 January 2007. [|http://search.ebscohost.com.] Habtezghi, Nazenet. "**Black Women Onstage**." __Essence__ 37.7 (2006): 70-70. __MasterFILE Select__. 29 January 2007. [|http://search.ebscohost.com.] Grote, Jason. "**A Beacon for Writers**." __American Theatre__ 23.9 (2006): 72-75. __MasterFILE Select__. 29 January 2007. http://search.ebscohost.com. Edidin, Peter. "**Mrs. Lincoln, How Do You Like Your Play?.**" __New York Times__ 155.53692 (2006): B1-B7. __MasterFILE Select__. 29 January 2007. [|http://search.ebscohost.com.] Gener, Randy. "**Women of Distinction**." __American Theatre__ 23.6 ([YEAR]): 14-14. __MasterFILE Select__. 29 January 2007. [|http://search.ebscohost.com.]

= =

Web Sites:
[|Arthur Miller Society Official Web Site]: Brief Timeline of American Literature and Events: 1620-1920: contains information about Arthur Miller, his works and teaching guides.

[|teaching books.net]: Commercial database which includes author programs and k-12 book resources. Password required. Restricted to NYC Department of Education members only. [|African American Women Writers of the 19th Century] Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library. [|American Passages] Annenberg/CPB [|Arts and Literature:Selected Documents from the Library of Congress] Library of Congress. [|Carl Sandburg National Historic Site.]: National Park Service. [|eOneill.com]: An Electronic Eugene O'Neill Archive. [|Hawthorne Peabody Essex Museum]:

CDs:
All of our DVDs and Videos are cataloged on our website. The url is: http://www.jamaicahighschool.org/LIB/avlist.htm#LANGUAGE-V. The following is a partial list of some of the titles: //Alice Walker// (35m) //American Daughter. Wendy Wasserstein.// Audiotape. 1999. 125m. //Animal Farm//. (1991. 91m. Hallmark.) //Creativity: Maya Angelou// (60m) //Great Gatsby, Teaching the// (25m) //Innocents Abroad// (Mark Twain. 116m) //James Baldwin// (Black Americans of Achievement, 30m) //John Steinbeck// (Famous Authors Series. 30m.) //Lorraine// //Hansberry: Black Expererience in the Creation of Drama// //Miracle Worker// (2 copies) (98m)//Old Man and the Sea// ('95: Quinn, 97m.) //Our Town// (1989, Spalding Gray) (104m, c.1) //Toni Morrison// (29m. Includes readings from //Beloved// and //Jazz//) //Toni Morrison: A Writer's Work// (60m, Interview with Bill Moyers

Community Resources:
[|New York Theatre Experience] [|Asian American Theatre Review] [|Theatre Development Fund] [|High Five: Discount tickets for Teens]

Curriculum Standards Related to This Topic:
[|New York State Learning Standards:Language Arts] [|Common Core Standards: ELA]