[sic]; A Play

by Melissa James Gibson

• ISBN13: 9780571211678
• ISBN10: 0571211674
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2002-10-02
• Publisher: Faber & Faber

Summary

In adjacent apartments that resemble nothing so much as broom closets with windows, the three young, ambitious neighbors of Melissa James Gibson's [sic] come together to discuss, flirt, argue, share their dreams, and plan their futures with unequal degrees of deep hopefulness and abject despair, all the while pushing the limits of their friendship to the max and demonstrating that language can be both an instrument of intimacy and a weapon of defense. Theo is a composer trying to create a heroic theme for an amusement park ride called the Thrill-o-Rama; Babette is a writer who is trying to finish--or even start--a book theorizing that temper tantrums are the major motivating force behind historical events; and Frank is a would-be auctioneer, preparing for his future career by constantly practicing such tongue twisters as "Sally sought some seeds to sow but sadly soon it snowed." By exploring these questing lives in language that alternates between exhilarating structural inventiveness and loony comedy, poignant soul-searching and incisive analysis of the life that may actually exist beyond one's four walls, Melissa James Gibson has created a unique play that is as witty and wise as it is stylistically groundbreaking and unexpected.

Author Biography

Melissa James Gibson has been awarded a National Endowment for the Arts/Theatre Communications Group Playwriting Residency; grants from the New York State Council on the Arts and the Greenwall Foundation; fellowships from the Jerome Foundation and the MacDowell Colony; and commissions from the Steppenwolf Theatre Company and The Children's Theatre Company—where her play Brooklyn Bridge will receive its world premiere during the 2003-2004 season. She has also written and codirected a twenty-minute black-and-white film, Given Fish, which is contained within a play of the same name. Her work, including [sic] and SUITCASE or those that resemble flies from a distance, has been developed and/or produced at Soho Rep, as well as at PlayLabs, A.S.K. Theatre Projects, and Roadworks Productions, among other venues. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, she earned her B.A. at Columbia University. Melissa James Gibson teaches playwriting at Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn, New York, and is a member of New Dramatists.