Sex with Strangers

Eason Laura

Description

When star sex blogger and memoirist Ethan, 24, tracks down his idol, the gifted but obscure 40ish novelist Olivia, he finds they each crave what the other possesses. As attraction turns to sex, and they inch closer to getting what they want, both must confront the dark side of ambition and the near impossibility of reinventing oneself when the past is only a click away. Sex with Strangers had its world premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre Company; it will have its New York premiere at Second Stage Theatre in June 2014, directed by David Schwimmer.

Informations

• Publié par: ABRAMS BOOKS
• Date de parution: 17 septembre 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9781468311938
• Langue: English

Extrait

PRAISE FOR Sex with Strangers
A play called Sex with Strangers better pack some erotic heat and Laura Eason s comedy/drama does that in spades this entertaining two-hander is both sexually and intellectually provocative.
-F RANK S CHECK , Hollywood Reporter
crackling Opposites attract-she gives him class, he gives her sex swift, clever dialogue.
-A DAM F ELDMAN, TimeOut NY
A twisty and timely two-character drama about lust, love and the complex nature of identity in our digital-dominated era hits a brisk, engrossing stride.
-C HARLES I SHERWOOD , The New York Times
Sex with Strangers is a juicy summer beach play. You can t savor it surfside, but just like a page-turner, this smart comedy pulls you in and keeps you wondering what s coming next well-crafted, with sly wit and perfect-pitch dialogue.
-J OE D ZIEMIANOWICZ , New York Daily News
it s hot-or should I say cool? Sex with Strangers is great summer entertainment.
-J ESSE G REEN , New York magazine
Sex with Strangers is a compelling, comic drama about letting go of the past and embracing the future-even if that future is written in pixels instead of on paper.
-C HRISTOPHER Z ARA , Newsweek
Sex with Strangers is a sometimes cutting, sometimes titillating tale with things to say about art and commerce-two sides the play itself nicely combines.
-E LISABETH V INCENTELLI , New York Post
delightful intriguing The real treat in Sex with Strangers is Laura Eason s sharp writing. The dialogue is smart, funny, and insightful without ever becoming smug.
-D AVE Q UINN , NBC New York
Laura Eason s smart and riveting Sex with Strangers is the must-see show at Steppenwolf Eason hits this one home because she s clearly writing from her gut a visceral, probing, deeply honest play.
-C HRIS J ONES , Chicago Tribune
Sex with Strangers is a thoughtful, tender drama about writers, books, love, ambition, relationships and social interaction in the Internet age.
-J O L ITSON , The Sunday Telegraph (Sydney)
Truthful in its depiction of the ambivalence that can be felt about success, notoriety, love and wi-Fi-they might drive you crazy but if they re taken away, it s a different kind of craziness. The play is charming totally beguiling.
-D IANA S IMMONDS , Stagenoise
Sex with Strangers is an uncommonly satisfying two-person dramedy about relationships in the iAge A well-told story with convincing characters and something to say terrific.
-S TEVEN O XMAN , Variety
Fascinating and fantastic, Laura Eason s Sex with Strangers is the best new piece of theater to come out of Chicago since Tracy Letts s August: Osage County Sex with Strangers is so honest, so authentic and so contemporary that one can t help but be mesmerized by it.
-B ETTY M OHR , Southtown Star
Wry, wise and wonderfully humorous crackles with erotic tension and literary smarts a multi-faceted love story.
-C ATEY S ULLIVAN , Chicago Examiner
LAURA EASON is a playwright, a musical book writer, and screenwriter. Her plays have been seen on many stages in the US including Second Stage, Rattlestick Theatre, 59E59, and the New Victory in NYC; Steppenwolf Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre, and Side Project in Chicago; as well as regionally at DC s Signature Theatre, Baltimore s Center Stage, KC Rep, Hartford Stage, People s Light, Actor s Theatre, St. Louis Rep, and the Denver Center, among others. International productions include Sydney Theatre and Brisbane Theatre in Australia and the New Vic and Royal Exchange in the UK.
Her original work includes Sex with Strangers, The Undeniable Sound of Right Now, The Vast In-Between, Remarkable Invisible, Every Reason to Hope and Believe, Plainfield Ace, Rewind , and Area of Rescue . Her adaptations include Around the World in 80 Days, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Ethan Frome , and A Tale of Two Cities . Musical books include Days Like Today , music and lyrics by Alan Schmuckler (produced by Writers Theatre, Chicago), and Summerland , music by Jenny Giering, lyrics by Sean Barry. Laura was a staff writer on season two and a story editor on season three of the Netflix drama House of Cards . She is an ensemble member of Lookingglass Theatre (2011 Regional Tony Award) and served as Artistic Director for six years. In New York City, she is a member of Rising Phoenix Rep, New Georges, and a Women s Project Playwright s Lab alumna. A longtime Chicagoan, she lives in Brooklyn with her family.
Copyright
CAUTION: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that performance of the Play SEX WITH STRANGERS is subject to payment of a royalty. The Play is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, and of all countries covered by the International Copyright Union (including the Dominion of Canada and the rest of the British Commonwealth), and of all countries covered by the Pan-American Copyright Convention, the Universal Copyright Convention, the Berne Convention, and of all countries with which the United States has reciprocal copyright relations. All rights, including without limitation professional/amateur stage rights, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio broadcasting, television, video or sound recording. all other forms of mechanical, electronic and digital reproduction, transmission and distribution, such as CD, DVD, the Internet, private and file-sharing networks, information storage and retrieval systems, photocopying, and the rights of translation into foreign languages are strictly reserved. Particular emphasis is placed upon the matter of readings, permission for which must be secured from the Author s agent in writing. Inquiries concerning rights should be addressed to William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, LLC, 1325 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019. Attn: Derek Zasky.
This edition first published in the United States and the United Kingdom in 2014 by Overlook Duckworth, Peter Mayer Publishers, Inc.
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Copyright 2014 by Laura Eason
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or broadcast.
ISBN: 978-1-4683-0874-7
ISBN: 978-1-4683-1193-8 (e-book)
Contents
Praise for Sex with Strangers
About the Author
Copyright
Dedication
Preface
Production History
Act I
Act II
To Ed Sobel and Martha Lavey for believing in me, believing in this play, and for giving it both its first and second life
Preface
Sex with Strangers grows out of the instinct to go to the source of inspiration; to see if the spark of inception and, then, the act of an inspired execution can be more fully understood.
This is why Ethan seeks out Olivia. In her own pursuit to achieve some of what Ethan has achieved as a writer, Olivia wonders about the relationship between his art and the life he s led. Should his life choices, which she doesn t respect, impact how she views his work?
I hope the play reflects the current moment we live in where the question of what is public and what is private has never been more blurred. But it starts with this age-old idea-the relationship between the artist and the art they make.
In general, I have a resistance to being pinned down. To being defined. I think that s one of the things I like best about being a dramatic writer, that I get to invent and give voice to a myriad of characters and perspectives that are then embodied by other living, breathing people. And, I think, one of the reasons I like to write in so many different forms-plays, adaptations, musicals, TV, film. I don t like fitting easily into a box, being defined as being this kind of writer. In a world seeking fast and simple identification, defying easy classification can be a problem. But it can also avoid a trap. One Ethan falls into of being so strongly identified with one piece of work that reinvention can feel impossible.
The conflict between these characters and their different levels of comfort with what should be public and what should be private is a conflict of my own. I desire to write and write and write and share my ideas with the larger world, to be known in some bigger way by more than just my circle of friends and family. But I also feel the opposite. I desire to limit my writing output and recede; to step back, to keep my thoughts private and unshared beyond a handful of people I love and trust. I yearn in equal parts to shout from the rooftops and hide under the covers.
But please know this: whoever you are, wherever you are, I m incredibly grateful to you for reading this. For having interest in this play. In plays in general. I hope the time you spend with this story will feel valuable to you. That is the one thing I want most of all.
As much as it was always the goal to connect with people through this play, I still find it strange sometimes, sharing something so intimate as this story I invented in the privacy of my own head with you, whom I ve probably never met. Strange and, yet, totally thrilling. Sex with strangers, indeed.
Laura Eason
Brooklyn, New York
Production History
Sex with Strangers was first produced in a developmental production by Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago IL (Martha Lavey, Artistic Director, David Hawkanson, Executive Director), as part of its First Look Repertory