No Script: The Podcast

In the final episode of the season, Jackson and Jacob discuss one of the greatest Western playwrights of all time: Henrik Ibsen. His play "Hedda Gabler" is a gripping character study, full of hard decisions and wry humor. Listen in! ------------------------------ This is the final episode of Season 4! We will take a short break and begin Season 5 in early July.  ------------------------------ Plea...

For the third time, the boys of No Script discuss a play from the robust library of Wendy Wasserstein. Her script "The Sisters Rosensweig" is a funny, poignant portrayal of three sisters whose lives are forever changed by one weekend in London.  ------------------------------ We are nearing the end of Season 4! After this episode, there will be one more episode released to round out the season, an...

Confusing, menacing... funny? "The Birthday Party" by Harold Pinter is awash in contradictions. Pinter secured his place in history as one of the great playwrights of all time with his incredible body of work. "The Birthday Party" has remained as one of his finest pieces. Though he quibbles with the category, "The Birthday Party" is often considered the primary example of a comedy of menace. Liste...

No Script is excited to welcome Dr. Patricia Relph to the show. Relph is the Arts Learning Specialist at Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She and Jacob discuss one of the all-time great dramatists: Anton Chekhov. His play "The Seagull" is a look into the hidden lives of artists.  ------------------------------ Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For as low as $1/month, you can h...

No Script is back to full length scripts this week! "Fun Home" is a delightful and poignant musical based on the autobiographical graphic novel by Alison Bechdel. Set at three different points in Alison's life, the play follows her challenging relationship with her father. Book/lyrics by Lisa Kron, music by Jeanine Tesori.  ------------------------------ Please consider supporting us on Patreon. F...

Mini Month Week 4: "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell In this final episode of Mini Month, Jackson and Jacob discuss one of the most famous one acts of all time... "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell! What happens when a small-town woman is accused of killing her husband? How does the investigation - primarily conducted by men - show the biases of the time? Glaspell's classic short play is an early example of fe...

Mini Month Week 3: "The Shawl" by David Mamet Mini Month continues into its third week with a short play by one of the most popular playwrights in American history: David Mamet. Mamet has a robust collection of short plays, many of which show off the brilliant stylistic and storytelling choices that make Mamet the titan of drama that he is. In "The Shawl," Mamet pits a psychic with a heart of gold...

Mini Month Week 2: "Far Away" by Caryl Churchill In this second week of Mini Month, Jackson and Jacob take on both the form of a "one act" and the awesome, enigmatic Caryl Churchill. Her play "Far Away" is a mysterious and sometimes baffling look at a society consumed by war. ------------------------------ Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For as low as $1/month, you can help to ensure the...

Mini Month has arrived!  During the month of April, Jackson and Jacob will look at four one acts/short plays. First up? "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All for You" by Christopher Durang. This irreverent look at the institution of Catholic education has earned Mr. Durang protests across the country. Listen in to see why! ------------------------------ Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Fo...

This week on No Script, Jackson and Jacob return to playwright Rajiv Joseph. His play "Guards at the Taj," reminiscent of "Waiting for Godot" or "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," follows two low-level imperial soldiers assigned to guard the newly completed Taj Mahal. Playing on the ancient myth about the Taj Mahal's construction, Joseph imagines these guards have to severe the hands of all...

It's controversial, it's tragic, it's... a comedy? This week on No Script, Jackson and Jacob take on Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice." Listen as the boys reflect on Shakespeare's humanizing portrayal of Shylock, his brilliant writing (especially the trial scene), and his bizarre Act 5.  ------------------------------ Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For as low as $1/month, you can help...

In their first discussion on American theatre history signpost Clifford Odets, Jackson and Jacob wrestle their way through his dense and passionate writing style. Odets' play "Awake and Sing!" follows an impoverished Jewish family living in a small apartment in the Bronx in the 1930s. "Awake and Sing!" is a strong ensemble show with complex and earnest characters. Listen in!   --------------------...

The night before his assassination, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. encounters something spectacular... or, at least, that's all we can tell you about Katori Hall's play "The Mountaintop" without spoiling it. This week on No Script, Jackson and Jacob discuss Hall's use of revelation and the way she humanizes giants of history. Listen in! ------------------------------ Please consider supporting us on P...

How do we conduct ourselves in positions of power? How does the culture we invest in change us? These questions and more are explored by Rebecca Gilman in her thought-provoking play "Spinning into Butter." This week on No Script, Jackson and Jacob try to unpack some of Gilman's complex and challenging ideas. Listen in!  ------------------------------ Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For a...

This week on No Script, Jackson and Jacob take one of theatre's greatest scripts: Brecht's striking play "Mother Courage and Her Children." In his powerful anti-war epic, Brecht imagines a woman who makes her living by selling supplies to soldiers during wartime. In the course of the play, that same war which she relies on for her business claims all three of Courage's children. Listen in as Jacks...

In their first discussion on brilliant playwright Tina Howe, Jackson and Jacob choose her Putlizer Prize-finalist play "Painting Churches." This script is just as poignant as it is funny. Listen in as J&J wrestle with the complex family relationships Howe has crafted and explore how young artists can make their parents take them seriously.  ------------------------------ Please consider supporting...

Tracy Letts is famous for his gut-churning family drama "August: Osage County." After the manic energy around that script that occupied American theatrical life for several years, Letts returned to work and wrote another fantastic, complex story about a donut shop. This week on No Script, Jackson and Jacob explore "Superior Donuts" - Letts' first play set in Chicago (his home town).  -------------...

In one of her newest works, "For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday," Sarah Ruhl imagines a group of adult siblings gathered together by the death of their father. In this loss, the siblings reflect on religion, their childhood, and what it means to grow up. This week on No Script, listen in as Jackson and Jacob discuss this delightful, enchanting script and try to uncover the mysterious Ruhl-ian magi...

The "angry young men" are an absolute force in middle 20th century literature. John Osborne is widely thought to have sparked the genre with his 1956 play "Look Back in Anger." This week on No Script, Jackson and Jacob look frankly at this piece of theatre history and discuss what its significance is in the modern world.  ------------------------------ Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For...

Paula Vogel's 2015 play "Indecent" is a real treat for theatre lovers. It follows the early productions of God of Vengeance by Sholem Asch, which premiered on Broadway in 1923. This week on No Script, Jackson and Jacob take a look at Vogel's highly theatrical take on the power of community representation on the stage.  ------------------------------ Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For as...

How does a dark secret poison the present reality for one Illinois farm family? Sam Shepard's Pulitzer Prize winning play Buried Child catapults audiences into a farmhouse filled with repressed hatred and longstanding pain. The play is thrilling and stuffed with poignant, nearly surreal images. This week on No Script, Jackson and Jacob dive in to this dark comedy and discuss (again) the brilliant...

Season 4 is here! In this first episode, Jackson and Jacob return to the deep, deep well that is Lynn Nottage's body of work. Her early play "Crumbs from the Table of Joy" is a beautiful indicator of the genius that would come later in her career. Listen in as J&J explore the memorable images Nottage employs throughout the script.  ------------------------------ Please consider supporting us on Pa...

In the last episode of Season 3, the boys of No Script return to Jeffrey Sweet's impressive body of work. Sweet's 1997 play "With and Without" is sharp, witty, and an absolute masterclass in forcing characters to make tough choices. In what Jacob calls one of his "favorite plays ever," Sweet tells the tale of a married couple who just wants to spend a relaxing weekend at the lake. Instead, they en...

This week on No Script, Jackson and Jacob visit a classic: Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey Into Night." This tragic, heartbreaking piece is considered one of America's best plays. O'Neill's VERY autobiographical play won the 1957 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It chronicles the pain and suffering endured by one American family across one day of their lives. Listen in as J&J try to grapple with the...

This week on No Script... a special guest! Dr. Dennis Brewer, a professor of Mathematics at the University of Arkansas, joins Jacob to talk about David Auburn's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Proof." Dr. Brewer provides his expertise on some of the plays more math-specific items: "new math," prime numbers, and wild mathematics conferences. Listen in!   ------------------------------ Please consider...