Bøker av Andrew Biss

The six one-person plays included in this collection are ideal for actors looking to showcase their talents at solo performance theatre festivals, whose popularity has grown exponentially in recent years. Poignant, sometimes heart-wrenching, sometimes heart-warming and frequently witty, each piece allows the actor to explore a multifaceted, well-rounded character that will demonstrate their skills at their finest and fullest.They say never judge a book by its cover but it's something many of us are apt to do at some point. Judging a person by their appearance is equally unwise, as none of us can know the personal turmoil behind the public façade of a perfect stranger. But what if we could? Juxtaposing the public face with the private, conflicted person behind it, these solo plays present an actor with the opportunity to truly immerse themselves in the mind of the character they're portraying."Haunting...intense...totally engaging" - The Concordian"A masterly collection by an excellent writer." - Author A. J. Moreton

Dr. Pecksniff, a most singular psychiatrist, is relishing the prospect of fleecing yet another unsuspecting troubled soul - on this occasion a gullible housewife with a crumbling self-image and a sizable nest egg. Seizing on her admittance of a penchant for romance novels, Pecksniff convinces his patient, Mrs. Flagg, of her imminent slide into moral turpitude, offering salvation through his own unique, very expensive (and battery-assisted) approach to mental health.But, just as in psychiatry, things aren't always quite what they appear to be on the surface, and when dark deeds and a dead cat make an appearance, Dr. Pecksniff's unorthodox therapy session is soon sent hurtling towards its shocking conclusion!"Clever, witty, funny - made me laugh out loud." Playwrights' Center of San Francisco"An engaging comedy...Demonstrates a real talent for absurdist, comic dialogue." - Stageplays.com"Revels in the language of its characters...Captures their tone and cadence extremely well." - Soho Theatre, London"Very funny, well-written. I want to see it on the stage!" Playwrights' Center of San Francisco"Exploits the potential of farce well...Well-constructed and often funny." - Soho Theatre, London

A Constructive and Straightforward Guide to Writing for the Theatre for Aspiring Playwrights You won't find a lot of pontificating over Aristotelian theory in this book. What you will find is straightforward, practical guidance to help aspiring and early-career playwrights hone their craft and steer their plays toward successful productions. While many playwriting books focus solely on stagecraft, this one also examines the nuts and bolts of getting your plays produced. After all, writing a play is one thing, but it won't have fulfilled its purpose until it's been brought to life on a stage. Examining everything from structure, dialogue, subtext, and creating well-rounded characters, to formatting, writing synopses and preparing your plays for submission, A Practical Guide to Becoming a Playwright offers a comprehensive explanation of the often challenging process of writing plays and getting them into the hands of producers. Using knowledge and insight gained from more than two decades of writing for the stage and garnering successful productions, award-winning playwright Andrew Biss shares with you everything that he's learned - not from teaching or hypothesizing, but from actually doing. A Practical Guide to Becoming a Playwright is your go-to guide for navigating the frequently nebulous world of playwriting and production.

After a young student is brutally raped and murdered, her parents, Tom and Christine, are confronted with the daunting task of processing their grief and attempting to come to terms with the horror that befell their child. The paths they take in doing so, however, couldn't be starker in contrast. Christine has withdrawn into a deadened world of suppressed rage and bitterness that has left her incapable of seeing beyond the terrible tragedy that has visited her. Her husband, Tom, on the other hand, has taken the unusual step of publicly announcing his forgiveness of their daughter's killer.At the most difficult moment in their lives, a wedge has been driven between them, threatening to destroy the only thing they have left - each other. On this explosive evening of final reckoning, as home truths and simmering resentments are laid bare, each will learn painful, often brutal lessons on love, hate, and the elliptical nature of forgiveness.The world premiere of The Treachery of Images was presented by Heiress Productions at Simple Studios in New York in 2011.

The multi-award winning, critically acclaimed "Indigenous Peoples", (Winner "Best Play"- New York's Wonderland One-Act Festival, 2007) is paired with three other cheeky, uproarious comedies in what is guaranteed to be an unforgettable, side-splitting evening's entertainment. Also included are "The Man Who Liked Dick", "Kitchen Sink Drama" and "Carbon-Based Life Form Seeks Similar" - all outrageously funny British comedies that have received lauded productions in London, New York and beyond.Cast size: 4M / 5F (Roles can be doubled for a 2M/2F cast configuration)Reviews: "My favourite [play of the evening] is Andrew Biss' 'Indigenous Peoples'...Hilarious" --The Stage"Andrew Biss proves that simplicity can be far more engaging with 'Indigenous Peoples'...Biss' writing is warm and funny...Amusing and likeably daft" --Time Out, London"An extremely funny masterpiece of Cowardesque dialogue...A hilarious play" --Theatreworld Internet Magazine"There is one charming exception in Andrew Biss' Indigenous Peoples...The dialogue is so chirpily surreal...Succeeds on its own daft level...Brings a moment of erotic comedy which almost justifies the cost of a ticket." --What's On, London"Amusingly clever and eruditely absurd" --Extra! Extra!

Accustomed to a life of cosseted seclusion at home with his parents, Valentine is suddenly faced with making his own way in the world. His new life is quickly upended, however, when he's mugged at gunpoint. Finding shelter at a mysterious inn run by the dour Mrs. Anna, he soon encounters a Bosnian woman with a hole where her stomach used to be, an American entrepreneur with a scheme to implant televisions into people's foreheads, and a Catholic priest who attempts to lure him down inside a kitchen sink. Then things start getting strange... An odd, yet oddly touching tale of life, death, and the space in-between.

Finding the right monologue can often be a frustrating task. Too frequently, monologue books rely on time-worn staples that have been heard a million times before, or are padded out with aimless, insipid pieces that often aren't even taken from actual plays. In Monologues They'll Remember You By you'll find 80 (40 male, 40 female) fresh, engaging monologues from award-winning playwright Andrew Biss that allow you to create memorable character portraits of depth and vitality for that all-important moment in the spotlight. Divided into male and female comedic, dramatic, and seriocomic categories, this book also provides a useful guide on how to look beyond age and gender in many of these monologues in order to broaden your performance options. Additionally, each monologue is preceded by a concise summary of the plot, setting, and character profile. The starting age ranges of almost all of the women's and men's monologues included in the book are in their 20s and 30s, with the vast majority of them starting in their 20s. The age ranges are often very broad for these monologues and the author does an exemplary job in explaining why, both in the informative and illuminating foreword and in each monologue's introductory text. All of the monologues included in this collection are from published plays that are widely available, almost all having received successful and critically acclaimed productions in New York, London, Los Angeles and beyond. Whether a professional or student actor, you'll find this book an invaluable resource for landing that coveted role or winning that competition.

As a boy, Horatio Higgins was ignored by the other children, but that didn't stop him having lots of friends...friends only he could see and whom he'd regale with tales of his fantastical exploits. Eventually, though, his parents became concerned at the inordinate amount of time their son appeared to spend talking to himself and took him for treatment, which, in time, proved successful...almost. One friend remained. Unfortunately it was the spiteful one.Years later, living alone in his tiny London flat, Horatio's loneliness is mitigated only by his acid-tongued friend and the company of what he affectionately refers to as "my wife". After losing his job, however, his life begins a rapid downward spiral...that is, until he meets a sweet, impressionable young woman named Nore. As their relationship lurches unsteadily forward, Horatio finds himself struggling against a riptide of conflicting realities he's ill-equipped to cope with. Can Nore save him from himself or will she, too, be dragged into a world where the line between fantasy and reality becomes increasingly and perilously blurred?Weaving together dark humour with shocking, unsettling twists, Schism is sure to stay with you long after you've turned the last page.Warning: This book contains Adult Subject Matter.

A collection of short comedic plays that take theatrical conventions on a metaphysical joyrideThis unique compilation of wittily inventive short comedies can be performed by as few as 4 actors or as many as 18, all with minimal set and prop requirements. Many of these plays have gone on to receive highly successful productions around the world, garnering glowing reviews along the way.The plays included in the collection are: The Craft1M/1F Approx. 10 minutesIt's Act 2, Scene 3 in another night's performance of a less-than-riveting romantic drama. As the two young leads navigate their turgid love scene, employing all their dramatic skills in an attempt to breathe life into their two-dimensional characters, another, far more gripping story is unfolding just beneath the surface. Despite a mutual loathing of each other, a devotion to the craft ensures that the show will go on; but the inner dialogues that play out inside each of them reveal a far different narrative than the one being played out on the stage.A Flawed Character2 Any Age/Race/Gender Combination Approx. 10 minutesThe playwright creates the first character of his new play, but soon after the entire process grinds to a halt. As time marches on and the play continues to stagnate, the character's patience begins to wear thin. As frustration turns into animosity and antagonism, the playwright begins to realize that perhaps this is one relationship that was never meant to be. But what's a writer to do?The Skewed Picture1M/1F Approx. 10 minutesBob and Betty have settled in for a quiet night at home. That is, until Bob makes a startling discovery that has the potential to reshape their entire existence...or at least their living room.Filler1M/1F Approx. 10 minutesTwo characters come to realize that the extended scene written for them in the middle of the play has no intrinsic value, does nothing to propel the story forward, and to all intents and purposes is completely extraneous. Their raison d'être pulled from under them, can they still maintain their credibility and sanity through several pages of what's little more than filler?The Curious Art of Critique2M/1F Approx. 15 minutesWhen reaction to his work on a new drama appears tepid at best, the director decides he must tackle the problem head-on and root out whatever it is that's leaving the audience unmoved. One way or another, the evening seems destined to end in tears.What's the Meta?2 Any Age/Race/Gender Combination Approx. 10 minutesTwo written parts wait to be brought to life on a stage. One of them, however, is found to be mired in a crisis of self-worth due to the size and quality of their role. The larger, more developed part must then attempt to convince its smaller counterpart of just how necessary they both are to the production that is soon to begin, and of the true and indisputable collaborative nature of theatre.A Rebel Among the Wretched1M/2F Approx. 10 minutesA celebrated, multi-award winning dysfunctional family drama continues to enthrall audiences night after night. But what happens when one of the characters finally decides they've had enough doom and despair and resolves to leave the play to join...a musical?Tacked-on Ending2M Approx. 10 minutesIt's the end of the evening and two actors pack up their belongings and prepare to leave the theatre. While one of them felt the show went great, the other is left with the uneasy feeling that the final scene didn't quite deliver. Was his performance to blame, or was it the play's deus ex machina, which is not only highly implausible but also oddly familiar?

A brand new collection of award-winning and critically acclaimed ten-minute comedies!Comedy is king in this hilarious new collection of ten-minute plays that are guaranteed to have audiences rolling in the aisles. From the sublimely funny to the ridiculously inane, this unique compilation from the puckish pen of multi-award winning playwright Andrew Biss runs the comedy gamut. Some of the plays have their roots in realism, while others willfully and wantonly upend theatrical customs and conventions. Some are playful and lighthearted, while others hew closer to the realm of dark comedy. But whatever their milieu, they all share one common goal: to entertain and amuse. In Ten-Minute Plays: The Comedy Collection you'll find the critically acclaimed "The Craft" and the Heideman Award finalist "A Rebel Among the Wretched" along with thirteen other wry and uproarious comedy gems guaranteed to elicit laughter and levity. With minimal staging requirements and a broad range of characters, these plays offer a wealth of production opportunities and are an invaluable resource of scenes for acting class. And on top of all that, they're a jolly fun read to boot!

This witty satire set in England centers around a bored housewife, her presumed gay son, and supporting characters with secrets of their own! Award-winning playwright Andrew Biss turns the average coming out of the closet story on its head in a hilarious and poignant script about truth, love and acceptance.Raising Cuthbert in the hope that he was homosexual, Mrs. Pennington-South is at long last forced to confront her son's deep, dark secret: his heterosexuality. Heartbroken but accepting, she soon finds solace in the company of Tristram, a shy, awkward young man more than half her age. When their friendship begins to take on more amorous overtones, Mrs. Pennington-South is plunged into a state of emotional turmoil. But when Cuthbert returns with his new female companion, the reality of having to face her son's new lifestyle sends her reeling. Nothing, however, could have prepared her for what would come next.Suburban Redux is the full-length play version of the award-winning, critically acclaimed one-act comedy Cuthbert's Last Stand. Note: This play can also be performed with a cast of 2 Male, 2 Female.Suburban Redux premiered at the Théâtre Ste-Catherine in Montréal.