The Best 10-minute Plays for Three Or More Actors, 2008

Book excerpt: The hottest collection of 10-minute plays by American playwrights for 2009, The Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2008 for 3 or More Actors is part of the essential 2-book set for producers looking for high-quality plays and professors who need relevant and engaging material for their class work. Lawrence Harbison has assembled the most compelling comedies, dramas, fantasies, and mysteries of the year a chronicle of what this year's playwrights had to say about the world around them.Plays for Two Men and One WomanThe Adventures of . . . by Kathleen WarnockAntarctica by George FreekHow to Survive in Corporate America (A Manual in Eight Steps) by Ian AugustIn the Trap by Carl L. WilliamsMoon Man by Jami BrandliOctober People by Mark LambeckThe Other Shoe by Lisa SolandThe Perfect Red by Paola Soto HornbuckleSqualor by Gina GionfriddoThree Turkeys Waiting for Corncobs by Don NigroTo Darfur by Erik Christian HansonWhatever Happened to Finger Painting, Animal Crackers, andAfternoon Naps? by Nora ChauPlays for One Man and Two WomenThe Answer by Vanessa DavidDo-Overs by Larry HammGloom, Doom, and Soul-Crushing Misery by Robin Rice LichtigThe Growth by Chris Shaw SwansonMeasuring Matthew by Patrick GabridgeNight Terrors by Wendy MacLeodZachary Zwillinger Eats People by Lauren D. YeePlays for Three WomenThe Baby War by Laura CottonSexual Perversity in Connecticut by Mike FolieSister Snell by Mark TroyPlays for Three MenCurrent Season by Vanessa DavidThe Title Fight by Ian AugustPlays for Two Men and Two WomenIntervention by Mark LambeckPlays for Three Men and One WomanGuys, Only Guys! by Jerome ParissePlays for Two Men and Three WomenThe Birthday Knife by Jerome ParissePlays for Three Men and Three WomenCabfare for the Common Man by Mark Harvey LevinePlays for Four Men and One WomanA Case of Anxiety by Mark Harvey LevineFear of Spheres by Lisa LoomerAbout the AuthorFor over thirty years Lawrence Harbison was in charge of new play acquisition for Samuel French, Inc., during which time he was responsible for the first publication of such luminaries as Jane Martin, Don Nigro, Tina Howe, Theresa Rebeck, Jose Rivera, William Mastrosimone, Charles Fuller, and Ken Ludwig, among many others; and the acquisition of musicals such as SMOKE ON THE MOUNTAIN, PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES, A...MY NAME IS ALICE, and THREE GUYS NAKED FROM THE WAIST DOWN. He is currently Senior Editor for Smith and Kraus Publishers, Inc., the nation's largest theatrical trade publisher, for whom he edits annual anthologies of best plays by new playwrights, best ten-minute plays, best monologues for men and for women and best stage scenes. For many years he wrote a column on his adventures in the theater for the Chelsea News and The Westsider and now writes this weekly column for Smith and Kraus's web site smithandkraus.com. He has also served as literary manager or literary consultant for several theaters, such as Urban Stages and American Jewish Theatre. He is a member of the NYC press corps and is an Outer Critics Circle member. He has served many times over the years as a judge and commentator for various national play contests and lectures regularly at colleges and universities.