Play Reading SIG |
Do you love reading plays? Our SIG gives participants a chance to read aloud and analyze scenes and characters from prize-winning plays. We meet once or twice per month for two hours, usually on a Friday afternoon, so as not to conflict with other OLLI courses. During the year we are open to suggestions as to which plays to read, while in the summer we choose plays that we can both read and view. We encourage our members to prepare and lead discussions on plays that interest them. Thriving on group participation, we allow two sessions to cover each one. Particular editions are selected that can be obtained online or through your local public library. We meet on Zoom, except in summer when we meet in-person or in a hybrid format (both in-person and Zoom). Please contact Alice Roth, Barbara Waldinger or Karel Fisher for more details or additional information about the Play Reading SIG. |
Schedule of Forthcoming Play Reading Events All meetings are on Zoom on Fridays from 3-5 pm. Jan. 16 & Jan. 23: Desire Under the Elms by Eugene O'Neill. (Facilitator: Rachel Brier.) Inspired by Greek tragedy, this 1924 play is about a family living on a New England farm. A tragic love triangle develops between a domineering father, his much younger new bride, and his son. Feb. 13 & Feb. 27: Marjorie Prime by Jordan Harrison. (Facilitator: Andrea Leigh.) This 2014 play opens on Broadway in December 2025 and is about an 85-year-old woman whose memory is fading from dementia. To help her remember her life, she turns to an AI-powered "companion" that is built to resemble her deceased husband. The play explores themes of aging, identity, technology, and the nature of memory. Mar. 13 & 27: Le Cid by Pierre Corneille (in English translation). (Facilitator: Don Roth.) Corneille is considered the founder of French classical tragedy. First performed in 1637, Le Cid is a tragicomedy about a Spanish nobleman who is forced to choose between the woman he loves and his duty to avenge his father. It explores the tension between love and duty, personal feelings and social obligations. April 10 & 24: Arms and the Man by Bernard Shaw. (Facilitator: Alice Roth.) First produced in 1894, this was Shaw's first commercially successful play. It is a comedy satirizing romantic notions concerning war. A young Bulgarian woman initially idealizes her fiancé, a seemingly heroic military officer, but her illusions are shattered when she encounters a pragmatic Swiss mercenary soldier. Getting the Scripts These scripts may be available at your local public library or through interlibrary loan. Desire Under the Elms by Eugene O'Neill. A paperback edition is available on Amazon here for $10.99. Marjorie Prime by Jordan Harrison (TCG Edition). Paperback and Kindle editions are available on Amazon here. |
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