The ARAN PRESS
JOE MARTIN COLLECTION
"...one of the most exciting playwrights in the country."
- FayeBordy Fears, Drama-Logue.
ANATOLE'S LOVER
by Joe Martin
Cast: An ensemble of 12: 6 men and 6 women. Full-length. Drama. Set; area staging. The central character of ANATOLE'S LOVER " is an historical figure, Anatole Deibler, the heir to a family dynasty of executioners who attempted tobreak away and start a new life.
Book: $5.00. Royalty - $30-$20.
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CONSPIRACIES
Six plays by Joe Martin
A JOE MARTIN SIX PACK! -- In one volume you can have six of award-winning Joe Martin's best. THE DUST CONSPIRACY; FORFEIT: A PLAY IN 12 ROUNDS; DECEIT (or CRIME WITH CLASS); THE RECEIVER and FREEZE. are published separately for production purposes. This collection is for the reader of good plays. "The six plays in this well-packaged paperback constitute a splendid introduction to one of the most exciting playwrights in the country." - FayeBordy Fears, Drama-Logue.
Book $14.95. (ISBN 0-9656712-0-8)
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THE DEALERS OF SAN JUAN
by Joe Martin
Cast: 5 men and 3 women. 13 scenes. Drama. Setting: a Southern country.
Lester MacLeod has run his cantina and hardware store in a secluded village in a Latin American country for many years. Though the country is run by a decrepit dictatorship threatened by both a revolution in the countryside and pressure to hold elections, he carries on his existence without ruffling feathers or drawing attention to himself. When a man claiming to be an "old friend" arrives at his door, although he can't recollect the man, he is willing to give assistance to this fellow northerner, who speaks his "own language." Despite the admonitions of his friend Tito - a local Indian shaman - MacLeod remains blind to the mercenary, political objectives of his visitor. Meanwhile, an important army officer - who once showed favor to MacLeod - has broken with the country's rulers, and Tito brings the renegade's daughter to MacLeod for protection. When the daughter is brutalized by assailants and Tito is made to "disappear," MacLeod finds it may be too late to stop the carnage which has now entered his own life - brought about by the fact that he has learned to turn a blind eye to the cycle of violence imposed on the people of the society in which he lives. THE DEALERS OF SAN JUAN was produced at The Sanctuary Theatre in Washington DC and received 3rd prize in the Source Literary Competition in 1985. Alan Twigg of The Vancouver Free Press says Joe Martin has "an excellent ear for dialogue."
Book $4.50. Royalty - $35 - $25.
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DECEIT
by Joe Martin
Cast: 4 men and 3 women. Eight scenes. Fantasy in verse. Set: Area staging.
If you have been waiting for a good contemporary urban play in verse, DECEIT is for you. The setting is a gentrifying neighborhood in the downtown core of a great city. The near future. A rising politician, Grand, has exploded while campaigning. Who is guilty of blowing him up? A chorus of street Bible hawkers takes us back in time to witness the conflicts between an overclass couple and an underclass couple, both of whom had pinned their hopes on the candidate. DECEIT is an abusive satire, borrowing elements from both Commedia dell'Arte and Kabuki.
Book $4.00. Royalty $30 - $20.
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THE DUST CONSPIRACY
by Joe Martin
Cast: 2 men and 2 women. Eight scenes. Set: living room.
Award-winning and critically acclaimed, THE DUST CONSPIRACY is about, "xenophobia-the prevalence of it in our society, and the damage it wreaksMarin has drawn interesting characterswith considerable skill." Paula Brook, The Vancouver Courier. "THE DUST CONSPIRACY isthe most attractive piece of writing and staging. This is a play that sensitively draws recognizable and memorable characters. It rides a fine edge between comic absurdity and naturalism[The central characters] are both irrational, anacronistic, racially prejudiced and entirely identifiable. The playwright exposes their natures by virtue of an excellent ear for dialogueThe intensely private landlady and the intensely public cabbie are sexual sides of the same paranoiac coin This amusing play of characterization and subtle satireboasts many charmingly human nuances on its way to Z from A." Alan Twigg, The Vancouver Free Press-Georgia Straight. "Martin's play[displays]a sardonic sense of humor as it discloses a darkly comic depiction of paranoia" Bob Allen, The Province. "a strong play, with the kind of dialogue that reveals character immediately" John Lazarus, C.B.C.
Book. $4.00. Royalty - $30 - $20.
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FORFEIT
by Joe Martin
Cast: 2 men and 1 woman. Twelve scenes. Set: area staging.
How do you handle your wife's infidelity? Sarah and Lou live South of the border. They're married with children. Alberto is having an affair with Sarah. At the beginning of the play, Alberto is in bed with Sarah while Lou is off somewhere. The two spend the first half of the play discussing their lives and life in general and whatever else. Finally, half-way through the play, Lou comes home drunk and quite literally tied up. It seems he was tied up because he lost at some game called "Forfeit." Instead of getting mad that the guy his wife's having an affair with is standing before him, Lou forces Alberto to play Forfeit with him. FORFEIT is light comedy, dramatic tension, interesting character development and a surprise ending. Book $4.00. Royalty - $30 - $20.
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FREEZE
by Joe Martin
Cast: 2 men and 1 woman. Comedy/drama. Set: back room of restaurant. Carl's owns a restaurant and is in love with his waitress Suzy, who is not interested in Carl, but is very much interested in getting a raise. Carl has a unique way of showing his affection. "You have a lovely neck," he tells Suzy, but he won't give her a raise. Enter Rafe, who has a mysterious business deal going with Carl. Rafe insists that Carl give Suzy a raise or the deal is off. Originally produced by Warner Cable TV and Pomegranate Productions, this easy to stage Martin comedy is now for the first time available for stage performance.
Book: $2.00. Royalty - $20-$10.
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THE RECEIVER
by Joe Martin
Cast: 3 women. One act drama. Set: empty room in a manor house.
Two sisters battle a reconstruction of their past lives and the interloper who has managed to come between them. Who is sane? Who is insane?
Book $3.00. Royalty $20-$10.