Leading Women
Plays for Actresses 2
INTRODUCTION
One of the first things you learn in drama school is that there are more roles for men than for women. This is a wonderful thing to learn because it is true of the real world as well.
—from Medea by Christopher Durang and Wendy Wasserstein
Actresses deserve better roles. This was our premise four years ago when we edited the Vintage anthology Plays for Actresses, a collection of seventeen plays with all-female casts. The response was overwhelming. The book became an instant bestseller among actresses. Teachers ordered it as an acting class text and monologue sourcebook. Most gratifying of all were the letters from playwrights, who told us about the new productions the anthology sparked—many mounted by groups of actresses who had banded together to produce plays that showcased their talents.
We’re thrilled to be publishing this brand-new collection. You’ll find an abundance of plays with all-female casts, along with a few that have one or more male roles but center on strong female leads. We selected the plays with an eye to variety, including works by award-winning authors and cutting-edge newer voices, with challenging roles for women of various ages and ethnic backgrounds. There ar ...
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