Suzan-Lori Parks ist eine gefeierte amerikanische Dramatikerin und Drehbuchautorin, deren Werk in die tiefen Schichten menschlicher Erfahrung eintaucht. Ihre Stücke sind bekannt für ihre innovativen Strukturen und ihre poetische Sprache, die zum Kern komplexer Themen vordringt. Parks reflektiert häufig über die amerikanische Geschichte und ihre gegenwärtigen Auswirkungen, wobei ihre Werke von Dringlichkeit und künstlerischer Meisterschaft durchdrungen sind. Ihr Schreibansatz ist unverwechselbar und bereichert die Landschaft der dramatischen Kunst.
An unflinching look at race in the twenty-first century.Thirty-somethings Leo, Misha, Ralph and Dawn have been inseparable since college. Their connection with each other is stronger than anything else - until Leo is assaulted by the police in a racially motivated incident, and he brings to the group an extreme proposition...
On November 13, 2002, the incomparable Suzan-Lori Parks got an idea to write a play every day for a year. She began that very day, finishing one year later. The result is an extraordinary testament to artistic commitment. This collection of 365 impeccably crafted pieces, each with its own distinctive characters and dramatic power, is a complete work by an artist responding to her world, each and every day. Parks is one of the American theater's most wily and innovative writers, and her "stark but poetic language and fiercely idiosyncratic images transform her work into something haunting and marvelous." (Time Magazine) Note: Theatre makers are welcome to present an assortment of selected plays from 365 Days/365 Plays. A presentation of 31 or more plays is considered "Full-Length," while a presentation of 30 or fewer plays is considered "One Act." All presentations must include the three plays known collectively as "The 3 Constants."
The debut novel from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks is a gutsy, funny, tragic and completely original work for fans of William Faulkner and Alice Walker.In the 1950s, in a small southern town in the US, the Beedes are the lowest of the low. Always struggling, they remain shackled by poverty and their own lack of ambition. Everyone, but sixteen-year-old Billie Beede.Billy Beede has big ideas about her life. She's had the Beede misfortune to get pregnant by an itinerant coffin salesman. And when he proves to have a wife and seven kids in another town, she determines to try her luck elsewhere. The answer seems to be in the hem of her mother's dress, her mother who died ten years ago. The rumour is that Willa Mae a Billie Holiday look-alike was the only Beede who made good, and was buried with a pearl necklace and a diamond ring sewn into the hem of her dress.Billie and all her relatives aim to get their hands on this treasure and make something of themselves. What follows is a mad road trip that evokes shades of Faulkner in its potent earthiness but also has the approachability and warmth of novels like The Colour Purple. This is a fantastic debut novel from an accomplished and well-loved American playwright.
Fucking A is an otherworldly tale involving a noble mother, her wayward son and others. Hester Smith, the revered and reviled local abortionist, hatches a plan to buy her jailed son's freedom-and nothing will deter Hester from her quest. In this violent and wild-eyed blend of story and song, which harkens to Brechtian and Jacobean structure, Hester's branded letter A becomes a provocative emblem of vengeance, violence and sacrifice."Critics' Pick! Timeless and enduringly relevant. As harrowing as it is witty!" - Ben Brantley, The New York Times"Four stars! Like Hester's bloodily branded A, the play leaves an indelible mark." - Raven Snook, Time Out New York"A fiery, raw-throated shout in the face of hypocrisy, privilege and injustice." - Sara Holdren, New York Magazine"An expressionistic and politically charged exploration of class, family and violence, studded with jarring bursts of humor and song." - Raven Snook, Time Out New York