Ernest McCarty, Jr. is a native of Chicago, who has authored and co-authored more than 27 produced plays and musicals, and has been associated with ETA in Chicago and Quaigh Theatre in New York City before becoming Artistic Director of New Horizon Theatre in 1994. His first production, I Dreamt I Dwelt In Bloomingdales was presented at the Provincetown Playhouse in New York City in 1970. Other theatrical works produced in New York City include Dinah! Queen of the Blues, presented at the Westside Arts Theatre starring Sasha Dalton and When the Spirit Moves, starring Tony Award-winner Trazana Beverly, The Exchange and The Separate Vacation. Among his plays and musicals produced in Chicago are Madame Hortense, the tone poem A Cosmic Night, Recollection Rag, Love Spirit! And Brazilian Rendezvous. Eleven of his plays and musicals have been produced in Pittsburgh, including Madame Hortense, The Exchange, A Window To Home, Closing Notice, The Hex, A Cosmic Night, Life After Coma, Give Us Another Tune, The Region (An American Opera), Outrun the Rain, Journey of the Spirits as well as his musical review Love Spirit! His play Recollection Rag aired on WQED-TV and his score The Martin Luther King Suite, which aired on NBC-TV, received an Emmy. Ernest’s directing credits include Humbug Man, Brazilian Rendezvous, A Cosmic Night, The Separate Vacation, Madame Hortense, Recollection Rag, The Exchange, Samm-Art Williams’ Home, A Window to Home, Life After Coma, The Tap Dance Kid, GIve Us Another Time, The Region, Rain and Rivers, Outrun the Rain, Kim El’s and KL’s The Poet’s Corner, Deadwood Dick and Cheryl West’s Jar The Floor. Ernest is a member of the Dramatists Guild. He was named Prolific Playwright of 1998 by In Pittsburgh. His play Recollection Rag (The Exchange) received the Hoyt W. Fuller Once-Act Play Festival Award and his play Madame Hortense received a Joseph Jefferson Award.

The Mountaintop is published here as a Methuen Drama Student Edition, featuring notes and commentary by Harvey Young, Dean of the College of Fine Arts, Boston University, USA. The introduction offers a discussion of key themes including race, identity, politics, magical realism, one-act plays, historical figures and martyrs. The night before his assassination, Martin Luther King, Jr. retires to room 306 in the now-famous Lorraine Motel after giving an acclaimed speech to a massive church congregation. When a mysterious young maid visits him to deliver a cup of coffee, King is forced to confront his past and the future of his people. Portraying rhetoric, hope and ideals of social change, The Mountaintop also explores being human in the face of inevitable death. The play is a dramatic feat of daring originality, historical narration and triumphant compassion.

The first book in the New York Times bestselling Pout-Pout Fish series from Deborah Diesen and illustrator Dan Hanna! Deep in the water, Mr. Fish swims about With his fish face stuck In a permanent pout. Can his pals cheer him up? Will his pout ever end? Is there something he can learn From an unexpected friend? Swim along with the pout-pout fish as he discovers that being glum and spreading "dreary wearies" isn't really his destiny. Bright ocean colors and playful rhyme come together in this fun fish story that's sure to turn even the poutiest of frowns upside down. The Pout-Pout Fish is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

"Brings together a diverse range of voices and perspectives, appropriately conveying the sense of scholars and artists engaged in ongoing debate about a developing form. ... It is a style of performance I ahve had little direct experience with but the book made me want to hear and see more."--Jackie Smart for Theatre Research International.

Marlene thinks the eighties are going to be stupendous. Her sister Joyce has her doubts. Her daughter Angie is just frightened. Since its premiere in 1982, Top Girls has become a seminal play of the modern theatre. Set during a period of British politics dominated by the presence of the newly elected Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Churchill's play prompts us to question our notions of women's success and solidarity. Its sharp look at the society and politics of the 1980s is combined with a timeless examination of women's choices and restrictions regarding career and family. This new Student Edition features an introduction by Sophie Bush, Senior Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, UK prepared with the contemporary student in mind. METHUEN DRAMA STUDENT EDITIONS are expertly annotated texts of a wide range of plays from the modern and classic repertoires. A well as the complete text of the play itself, this volume contains: · A chronology of the play and the playwright's life and work · an introductory discussion of the social, political, cultural and economic context in which the play was originally conceived and created · a succinct overview of the creation processes followed and subsequent performance history of the piece · an analysis of, and commentary on, some of the major themes and specific issues addressed by the text · a bibliography of suggested primary and secondary materials for further study.

A unique play anthology featuring five gripping docudramas originally commissioned by L.A. Theatre Works that each explore pivotal moments in 20th century U.S history. With ensemble casts and innovative staging potential these plays are perfect for theatre companies, schools and educational groups looking to stage familiar historical stories in new and original ways. Each play is accompanied by dramaturgical notes that help contextualize and analyze both the events themselves and the dramatic form in which they are presented. The scripts included are: The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial by Peter Goodchild The Real Dr. Strangelove by Peter Goodchild RFK: The Journey to Justice by Murray Horwitz and Jonathan Estrin The Chicago Conspiracy Trial by Peter Goodchild Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers by Geoffrey Cowan and Leroy Aarons (Winner of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Best Live Entertainment Award, 1992) As well as five scripts this anthology includes a foreword by Professor Michael Hackett, professor of directing and theatre history at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.