Revolutionary Women: A Lauren Gunderson Play Collection - (Methuen Drama Play Collections) (Paperback)

About the Book

"The first play collection from America's most-produced playwright, Lauren Gunderson, featuring plays that center historical female protagonists"--

Book Synopsis

Discover the power, resilience, and indomitable spirit of women who have shaped history.

In her first collected works, Lauren Gunderson demonstrates why she has become one of America's most produced playwrights. Weaving together the extraordinary stories of trailblazing women from various eras, Gunderson provides a unique and necessary perspective on modern American feminism, the beautiful humanism of science, and the power of the heartful heroine.

Emilie: La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight: Passionate. Vivid. Defiant. Tonight, 18th-century scientific genius Emilie du Châtelet is back and determined to answer the question she died with: love or philosophy, head or heart?

The Revolutionists: Playwright Olympe de Gouges, assassin Charlotte Corday, former queen (and fan of ribbons) Marie-Antoinette, and Caribbean rebel Marianne Angelle hang out, murder Marat, lose their heads, and try to beat back the extremist insanity in the Paris of 1793.

Ada and the Engine: It's 1830 and fiery, brilliant, Ada Lovelace writes the first computer program for her friend and mentor Charles Babbage. They share a language of numbers, and imagine a world of computing machines. But only Ada dreams that those machines will make music.

Silent Sky: The true story of 19th-century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt plays out against a landscape of fierce sisterly love, early feminism, paradigm shifting science, romance, revelation, and a time when humans were called "computers".

Natural Shocks: "To be or not to be" - In this one-woman tour-de-force, witty and wild Angela paces alone in her basement, waiting out an imminent tornado: in such a stark situation, it is only natural that secrets come out, confessions spill over, and a reckoning is about to touch down.

Introduced and contextualized by dramaturg Julie Felise Dubiner, Revolutionary Women charts an unforgettable journey through time and place, celebrating and exploring the greatness of history's women.

Review Quotes

"A great collection of plays if you want to explore modern feminism in theatre but also look at how theatre can bring history to life ... Reading the preface with students will give them a real insight into what it is like to be a playwright and what playwrights should consider when writing a play ... It is rare to get this in-depth insight into how a playwright's mind works and what has inspired them." --Vickie Smith, Chichester High School, UK, Drama & Theatre

About the Author

Lauren Gunderson has been one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015 topping the list twice including 2019/20. She is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for I and You and The Book of Will, the winner of the Lanford Wilson Award and the Otis Guernsey New Voices Award, a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and John Gassner Award for Playwriting, and a recipient of the Mellon Foundation's Residency with Marin Theatre Company. She studied Southern Literature and Drama at Emory University, and Dramatic Writing at NYU's Tisch School where she was a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship. She co-authored the Miss Bennet plays with Margot Melcon, and her play The Half-Life of Marie Curie is available on Audible.com. Her work is published at Playscripts (I and You; Exit Pursued By A Bear; The Taming and Toil And Trouble), Dramatists Play Service (The Revolutionists; The Book of Will; Silent Sky; Bauer, Natural Shocks, The Wickhams and Miss Bennet) and Samuel French (Emilie). Her picture book Dr Wonderful: Blast Off to the Moon is available from Two Lions/Amazon. LaurenGunderson.com