The Books
Monologues and Duologues from the Plays of Ruth Wolff
Monologues and Duologues from the Plays of Ruth Wolff is a collection of scenes and speeches excerpted from the nineteen plays by Ruth Wolff published in NOTABLE WOMEN – AND A FEW EQUALLY NOTABLE MEN and FROM FAUSTIANA TO THE FALL OF ATHENS published by Broadway Play Publishing. The plays include: THE ABDICATION, THE PERFECT MARRIAGE, HALLIE, EMPRESS OF CHINA, SARAH IN AMERICA, ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE, GEORGE AND FREDERIC, JOSHUA SLOCUM SAILING ALONE AROUND THE WORLD, THE SECOND MRS WILSON, FAUSTIANA, ARABIC TWO, AVIATORS, THE SHAKESPEARE ROAD, HOTEL VICTORY, BUFFALOES, THE SKY POOL, THE ARDENT PHILANTHROPIST, STILL LIFE WITH APPLES, THE FALL OF ATHENS. (For further information and performance rights go to BroadwayPlayPub.com)
Designed to be used for auditions, studio work, acting classes, and private study, the scenes are of many lengths and in many moods. There are solo speeches for men and for women, scenes between two men, between two women, and between one man and one woman. There are scenes for characters young and old, weak and strong, tragic and humorous, some people who lived in the past and others drawn from contemporary life.
It is a generous compendium of special moments from special plays.
Wild Nights
This is an extraordinary love story, shocking in its day, shocking now. It is about the true story of the scandal that rocks a college town when its most prominent citizen, the married brother of Emily Dickinson, finds himself overwhelmed with desire for the college astronomy professor’s wife. And she insists on her right to openly satisfy both husband and lover in what becomes a torrid, tumultuous, dangerous, long-term, and ultimately transcendent love triangle. This engrossing first novel by acclaimed playwright Ruth Wolff sensitively portrays the complexity of a shocking and scandalous ménage à trois, which begins as a sexual adventure and evolves into abiding love.
Accommodating Life: An Architect’s View
From Accommodating Life ( With Illustrations )
“The accommodation of human beings within created space is the true concern of any well-conceived built environment.
“In architecture, the term ‘modern’ means an architecture that is acutely responsive to the demands of current accommodation while utilizing the most advanced techniques available in order to achieve an apt expression of its particular ‘now.’ In other words, modern architecture, in each era, means an architecture devoted to accommodating life.
“In recent decades, an architecture of true relevance to life concerns has been conspicuously absent as a cultural force. In its stead, a succession of design initiatives divorced from their social moorings, dedicated primarily to image and motivated as much by subjective whim or the dictates of fashion as by any direct response to human need, has long been dominating the determination of the human habitat.
“It is vitally important that we consider where we are and how we got here and make an attempt to point the way toward a new ‘modern’ architecture, an architecture that enhances existence, an architecture that, encompassing both use and beauty, accommodates and enhances life.” (Martin Bloom)
Accommodating the Lively Arts: An Architect’s View
Accommodating the Lively Arts: An Architect’s View insightfully analyzes the needs of those who design theatres, work in theatre, or attend theatre. Illustrating his points with many sketches, Bloom shows how, over time, the elements of Focus, Platform and Frame have determined – and still determine – the success of the theatrical performance.
Essential reading for anyone involved in making decisions about the design or renovation of performance facilities – architects, designers, students, theatre professionals and all those who decide on the location, financing, and shape such facilities may take.
The Sea Dragon
Richard Halliburton was the world famous adventurer who, in the 1920s and 1930s, thrilled his millions of adoring fans with tales of his daring exploits on his worldwide travels. He was one of the most popular and romantic figures of his time. The Sea Dragon is a novel about his last adventure – his attempt to cross the wild Pacific in a Chinese junk. Known for his daring adventures, Richard Halliburton had to hide the fact that he was gay.
What drove Halliburton to his adventurous extremes is something which drives us all: the need to experience life to the fullest, to escape the bounds of the ordinary. Looking out over Hong Kong Harbor from Victoria Peak at sunset, Halliburton describes the force which drives him this way: “There’s a feeling – do you know it? – when your pulse races and you can hardly catch your breath. All the slights and frustrations of your life are forgotten – and the world seems so full you could burst with pleasure and excitement. … That’s the feeling that I’m after. That’s what keeps me going, time after time.” He paused, looking out over the harbor, then continued: “Life closes in – so swiftly – and so often. We want to breathe free – but most of the time we can’t.”