Janet Allard is the recipient of two Jerome Fellowships at The Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis. Recent works include: Vrooommm! A NASComedy (with Michael Dixon), currently being developed with Signature Theatre Company in Virginia, and staged at Theaterworks and Playlabs in 2005; Salmon Boy, commissioned by Perseverance Theatre; Incognito (Guthrie Theater commission) and Loyal (Guthrie Theater/Children's Theatre Company commission), published by Playscripts, Inc.; The Unknown: a silent musical, which won an award from the Jonathan Larson Foundation with P73 productions in 2002, and appeared at Joe's Pub as part of The Public Theater's New Work Now Festival 2004, and in the New York Musical Theater festival in 2005; Untold Crimes of Insomniacs (Guthrie Theater commission), staged at Playlabs 2003, premiered at the Guthrie Lab in 2004, and published by Playscripts, Inc.; Privates at Mixed Blood Theater as part of the Bill of (W)Rights project, published by Playscripts, Inc.; TGIF or Who is Monster Mom, (written with Lisa D'Amour) at Gray Space in Minneapolis; and The Swim at Red Eye Theater in Minneapolis. Ms. Allard's work has been seen at The Guthrie Lab, The Kennedy Center, Mixed Blood, Playwrights Horizons, Yale Rep, The Yale Cabaret, The Women's Project and Productions, Perseverance Theatre, The House Of Candles, and Access Theater in New York City, as well as internationally in Ireland, England, Greece, and New Zealand.
Ms. Allard is a MacDowell Colony Fellow and a Fulbright Fellow (1998, New Zealand and the South Pacific). She is a core member of The Playwrights' Center and has an M.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama. |
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$14.95 per book
Looking for the perfect monologue? Actor's Choice: Monologues for Teens is here to help. From hilarious comedy to cutting-edge drama and everything in between, an exciting selection of monologues is at your fingertips. Unlike other monologue books, the source of every monologue is easily accessible -- each play is available through one website (www.playscripts.com), where you can read nearly the entire published script online for free. From classwork to competitions to auditions, this book has you covered!
Also in this series:
Actor's Choice: Scenes for Teens
Actor's Choice: Monologues for Women
Actor's Choice: Monologues for Men
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| "This is an excellent monologue book for middle and high school students with applications for competition as well as use in drama, speech, or English classes." |
| --Terrilyn Fleming, The Midwest Book Review |
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$14.95 per book
Actor's Choice: Monologues for Teens, Volume 2 continues the Actor's Choice series with a brand-new selection of unique contemporary monologues. From hilarious comedies to moving dramas and everything in-between, this book has you covered. Unlike other monologue books, the source of every monologue is easily accessible -- each play is available through one website (www.playscripts.com), where you can read nearly the entire published script online for free. Whether you're looking for a monologue for classwork, competitions, or auditions, you'll be sure to find a perfect fit in this collection.
Also in this series:
Actor's Choice: Monologues for Teens
Actor's Choice: Scenes for Teens
Actor's Choice: Monologues for Women
Actor's Choice: Monologues for Men
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| "For the theater teacher who wants to challenge their students, Actor's Choice: Monologues for Teens, Volume 2 is a strong addition to drama education reference collections, highly recommended." |
| --The Midwest Book Review |
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Actor's Choice: Scenes for Teens
by Liz Duffy Adams, Janet Allard, Yuri Baranovsky, et al.
Edited by Jason Pizzarello
With "Tips for Student Actors" by director Jon Jory |
 
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$14.95 per book
Looking for the perfect scene? Actor's Choice: Scenes for Teens is just what you need. From hilarious comedy to cutting-edge drama, this collection offers 40 exciting 2-person scenes with plenty of fascinating characters for young actors. Unlike other scene books, the source of every scene is easily accessible -- each play is available through one website (www.playscripts.com), where you can read nearly the entire published script online for free. From classwork to competitions to auditions, this book has you covered!
Also in this series:
Actor's Choice: Monologues for Teens
Actor's Choice: Monologues for Women
Actor's Choice: Monologues for Men
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| "The acting bug doesn't care what age you are. Actor's Choice: Scenes for Teens is a collection of simple yet fun scenes aimed at younger teen actors who want to embrace drama as a hobby or even a potential career. Designed for two actors with themes and times easily doable for any would be teen thespian, Actor's Choice: Scenes for Teens is a resource no drama teacher should miss." |
| --The Midwest Book Review |
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Bill of (W)Rights
by Janet Allard, Rebecca Gilman, Jeffrey Hatcher, Syl Jones, et al. |
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Comedy/Drama
Full-length, 80-90 minutes
10 females, 13 males (10-24 actors possible)
$75.00 per performance; $9.99 per book
Bill of (W)Rights is a political funhouse growing from a moment in history when self-censorship abounds and the populace is increasingly governed by fear. Nine playwrights offer ten plays, each based on one of the U.S. Constitution's first ten amendments. These pieces focus less on government interference and more on the interpersonal, from a father and daughter facing a criminal trial to the silence of an unfaithful husband "pleading the fifth" to his family -- not to mention a company of actors yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater. The creation of the script, encompassing a diversity of voices and opinions, was itself an act of democracy, demonstrating that theatre can be a voice of revelation and revolution.
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| "Mixed Blood's prescient, potent blend of zeitgeist and bold vision makes Bill of (W)Rights feel like the CNN of theater... The theatrical meditation on the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution is extraordinary in almost every respect." |
| --Dominic Papatola, St. Paul Pioneer Press |
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A Christmas Carol
adapted by Janet Allard and Michael Bigelow Dixon
with Commonweal Theatre Company, from the novella by Charles Dickens |
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Holiday Classic
Full-length, 70-75 minutes
3 females, 5 males (8-35 actors possible: 3-17 females, 5-23 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
This timeless holiday classic is creatively retold with a unique twist by having every actor -- both male and female, young and old -- take turns playing Scrooge. Jacob Marley's ghost and three other spirits take Scrooge on a journey through time and space, as Scrooge confronts his misdeeds and awakens to a deeper purpose in life. All of the dialogue is taken directly from Charles Dickens' novella in this interpretation of Ebenezer Scrooge's transformation from a cruel and miserly curmudgeon to a joyous and generous soul.
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| "...intelligent, creative and unique. It draws inspiration directly from Dickens' words, rather than from rehashed sentimentality, and confronts the audience with an uncomfortable truth: We are all Scrooge." |
| --Tom Weber, Post-Bulletin (Minnesota) |
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Comedy/Drama
Short, 45-60 minutes
4 females, 3 males, 1 either (8-14 actors possible: 4-11 females, 3-10 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
The House of Narcissus is gearing up for the fashion show of the season, but life on the runway can be treacherous. An activist plots to destroy the show, the supermodels can't find their shoes, Echo is in love with Narcissus, and Narcissus is consumed by the one thing he can never obtain: himself. In this world of unrequited love, insatiable desire, and fabulous clothes, what is the cost of falling in love with illusion? A high-fashion adaptation of the classic story of Echo and Narcissus.
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Drama
Short, 25-35 minutes
5 females, 5 males (2-10 actors possible: 1-5 females, 1-5 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
In a car, in an abandoned lot, two teenagers meet up in the middle of the night. Tilly spies on the object of her love through binoculars, while Jim intervenes to save her from this unrequited love obsession. Although the two strive to connect and reveal themselves, their perceptions of one another are constantly shifted by jealousy, secrets, lies, and unfulfilled desires. Are they best friends, or acquaintances on their way to becoming strangers?
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Drama
Short, 30-35 minutes
5 females
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
The night of a big party, members of an all-girl singing group gather in a backroom. Accusations and rumors lead to shifting alliances and a shocking revelation. As pressures of the pack mentality escalate, one of the girls must decide where her loyalties lie -- with her sister or the group.
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Drama/Comedy
Short, 40-50 minutes
1 female, 2 males (3 actors possible: 0-3 females, 0-3 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
Painted Rain explores the relationship between two boys in an orphanage, on the verge of being separated by adoption. The younger boy, an energetic non-conformist, tries desperately to draw out his older roommate, who is an aspiring painter confined to a wheelchair that he refuses to relinquish for leg braces. Both boys strive to live life the way they want to live it and make their own choices, despite the external pressures and expectations of a well-meaning social worker. As the impending separation nears, these two "almost brothers" struggle to break through their alienation and isolation to find companionship and connection.
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| "This is a sweet, sad vignette about two lonely boys growing up in an orphanage, one of whom dreams about being a painter. There is a gentle poetic quality in the writing and the imagery." |
| --Mel Gussow, The New York Times |
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Comedy
Short, 25-35 minutes
4 females, 4 males (4-17 actors possible: 2-9 females, 2-9 males)
$45.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
It's Valentine's Day and the pressure is on. Seventeen crazy characters search for love in a round-robin game of speed dating. Everyone's in on the action: a hopeless people-pleaser, a Frenchman, a guy hung up on his previous girlfriends, an art therapist, a clown, and more. They're desperate, chatty, needy, strange -- and the clock is ticking. Will they find love before time runs out?
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Drama/Comedy
Full-length, 70-80 minutes
3 females, 4 males
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
In this dark and offbeat comedy with music, seven people embark on interconnected quests one night for excitement, connection, and a purpose for being alive. In a dreamlike state, they criss-cross the concrete jungle -- meeting up on the Internet and in cars, planning strange crimes and daring escapes, and craving experience in darkness to lend their daylight lives more meaning. When the sun rises, the feelings of these disquieted hearts have been radically rearranged...for those who are still alive, that is.
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