The Playwrights Database
ROBERT COLE
(1983 - )Nationality: USA
email: n/a Website: n/a
Literary Agent: n/a
Robert Cole is a Dramatic writer, essayist, and educator from Walker County, AlabamA. He is the author of the Walstone/Walbridge County plays, including "Wars and Rumors of Wars," "To Wander in the Dust, or Fire Nights," 'the Summer Bobby(ie) Lee Turner Loved Me," "Miss Merleen," and "Songs of the Valley" as well as the short play cycles "the Brotherhood Cycle" and "Walstone" and the short plays "Resolutions elsewhere," "Stilldeath," "Minding the Storm" and "the Way She Lost Her Smile." He also wrote "Cry of the Native Children," an adaptation of George Washington Parke Custis' "Pocahontas, or the Settlers of Virginia," and "Love Suicide," an adaptation of Chikamatsu Monzaemon's "the Love Suicides at Sonezaki" as well as a translation of Henrik Ibsen's "a Doll's House." His translation of "a Doll's House" is available from eldridge Plays and Musicals, "Songs of the Valley: Selected Plays of Robert Cole" is available from Holly Grove Press (www.lulu.com/walstonecounty), and several of his pieces of non-fiction are published on his website-- www.walstonecounty.com. His plays have been performed at the Martha Moore Sykes Studio at the Virginia Samford Theatre, the actor's Studio at the alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center, the Bell Theatre at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UaB), and the Library Theatre at the Hoover Public Library, among others. He won the 1999 Ruby Lloyd apsey award in Playwriting and his plays have been honored as finalists or honorable mentions in prize contests awarded by the University of arkansas, Northern Michigan University, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, the Alabama Writers' Forum, and the Horizon Theatre. after training as an actor, he studied playwriting with David Henry Hwang (Tony award, "M. Butterfly;" Obie awards, "FOB," "Golden Child," and "Yellow Face"), Gladden Schrock (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist, "Letters from alf;" first Playwright-in-Residence, Yale School of Drama), and Lee eric Shackleford (Ruby Lloyd apsey award, "Holmes and Watson;" Playwright-in-Residence, UaB). He is a graduate of athens State University (B. A., English; Kappa Delta Pi and cum Laude honors), Bennington College (B. A., Drama/Theatre) and the Alabama School of Fine Arts. He serves as the Dramatic Arts teacher at Pinson Valley High School and lives in Sumiton, AlabamA.
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below is a list of Robert Cole's plays - click on a Play Title for more information
Above the Mountains Doll's House, A Love Suicide Miss Merleen Songs Of the Valley Summer Bobby(Ie) Lee Turner Loved Me To Wander In the Dust Or Fire Nights Way She Lost Her Smile, TheAbove the Mountains
Synopsis:
a young couple on a hiking trip are in the first flush of love. But, Randall has neglected to make Kay aware he is afraid of heights. the vibrant young woman challenges Randall in a way that opens their relationship to a new, more truthful, beginning.
Notes:
Part of the short play cycle "Walstone."
1st Produced:
Margot Tenney Theater; Bennington, Vt
2003
Organisations:
Drama @ Bennington
1st Published:
Holly Grove Press (Lulu, Inc.), "Songs of the Valley: Selected Plays of Robert Cole" (2008)
Music:
-
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Comedy One act
Parts:
Male: 1 Female: 1 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of PageDoll's House, A
Synopsis:
This version breathes new life into the supreme classic by Henrik Ibsen. Of course no one can improve Ibsen's original story of Nora Helmer, living an unexamined life of domestic comfort but being ruled by her husband, Torvald. the foundation of everything she has believed in is put to the test when she is unable to pay back a loan she made in secret to save her husband's life. She has to contrive ways to pay back the money, for if a solicitor reveals her secrets, the household will be torn apart. Rather than stiff and stodgy dialogue from other translations of the 19th century Norwegian original, the vernacular here fits today's audiences. Nora is more carefree, Torvald more sweetly condescending. We identify with them quickly, and that helps us accept the antiquated mores Nora must strive to live under.
Notes:
Original Playwright - Henrik Ibsen
1st Produced:
Pinson Valley High School Fine Arts Center Auditorium; Pinson, Al
2010
Organisations:
PVHS Theatre
1st Published:
Eldridge Plays and Musicals, 2011
Music:
-
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
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Genre:
translation
Parts:
Male: 3 Female: 4 Other: 4
Further Reference:
-
Top of PageLove Suicide
Synopsis:
adapted from Chikamatsu Monzaemon's classic bunraku play "the Love Suicides at Sonezaki" (1703), "Love Suicide" combines elements of eastern and Western theatre to tell the story of two doomed lovers in eighteenth century Japan. Tokubei, an oil merchant, has un-payable debts and suffers without his love Ohatsu, a prostitute in the town of Osaka. their social statuses prevent them from marrying and without his love or a home, Tokubei has decided to kill himself. On the run from a henchman sent to collect his debts, Tokubei visits Ohatsu one last time. But, she refuses to let him flee alone. Knowing they will never be together in this present life, they vow to commit a double suicide at the Ikudama shrine, where they can at least be together in the afterlife. Utilizing puppetry, song, the terse poetry of the Noh theatre, Kabuki splendor, narration, and Kurogo stagehands, this adaptation is a truly theatrical and spellbinding version of a true story that has captivated audiences for hundreds of years.
Notes:
Based upon Chikamatsu Monzaemon's play "the Love Suicides At Sonezaki"
1st Produced:
Margot Tenney Theater; Bennington, Vt
2004
Organisations:
Drama @ Bennington
1st Published:
excerpt, Silo: a Journal of Arts, Letters, and Music, 2004
Music:
-
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: 3 Female: 2 Other: 2
Further Reference:
-
Top of PageMiss Merleen
Synopsis:
1863 just after the Battle of Fredericksburg. a young widow - her husband fell in the battle waits for his body to be returned. She is wracked with self-shame because of an affair she had with another soldier in revenge for her husband's infidelities
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Rehearsed Reading At The Visual And Performing Arts Center, Bennington, Vermont
11 May 2005
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
-
Music:
-
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Historical Drama
Parts:
Male: 3 Female: 6 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of PageSongs Of the Valley
Synopsis:
the townsfolk of Walstone, alabama prepare to welcome back Larry Roundtree, home from the War. a young woman is spotted singing whilst swimming naked in the lake. Later when she arrives in town plainly dressed and not a beauty she is shunned. She has secretly loved Larry and now plans to let him know. But Larry has a reason that he cannot return her love
Notes:
Part of the Shallop Lake Plays series
1st Produced:
Rehearsed Reading At The Visual And Performing Arts Center, Bennington, Vermont
12 Mar 2005
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Contained in: "Songs of the Valley: Selected Plays of Robert Cole" published by Holly Grove Press
Music:
-
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Drama
Parts:
Male: 6 Female: 4 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of PageSummer Bobby(Ie) Lee Turner Loved Me
Synopsis:
Bobby Lee Turner and Bobbie Lee Turner (no relation) are sweethearts. But after six years together Bobby Lee is growing tired of the relationship. He gets involved with new girl in town Malia. He tells his best friend Larry Roundtree about it. Larry urges him to go back to Bobbie Lee. they fight and Bobbie Lee breaks it up but finds out what has been going on. Bobby Lee makes love to Malia and she gets pregnant
Notes:
Part of the Shallop Lake Plays series. Original "and they Heard the Thunder Of Angels"
1st Produced:
Rehearsed Reading At Martha Moore Sykes Studio, Birmingham, Alabama
15 Mar 2007
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
-
Music:
-
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Drama
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: 2 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of PageTo Wander In the Dust Or Fire Nights
Synopsis:
every Friday night a group of friends have met on the banks of the river, built a fire and spent the evening. Larry Roundtree is now married and juggling his and a mistress. Manelle Hines has a falling out with his friend Skinner Brownlow. His girl friend tries to comfort him but he is inconsolable. then Skinner's body washes up on the shore
Notes:
Part of the Shallop Lake Plays series
1st Produced:
Rehearsed Reading At The Childrens Dance Foundation, Birmingham, Alabama
35/2009
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
-
Music:
-
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Drama
Parts:
Male: 4 Female: 4 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of PageWay She Lost Her Smile, The
Synopsis:
Best buddies Manelle Fox and "Skinner" Brownlow are on a european senior year trip. In the Musee du Louvre, they see the world-famous Mona Lisa and. . .are unimpressed. Back home, their friends mourn not being able to be with them across the Atlantic. Soon, though, Mona Lisa's smile starts to have the same magnetic power over "Skinner" as it has for various other on-lookers, but in a different way. . .
Notes:
Written for the festival, "24 Hour Plays" At the University of Alabama At Birmingham
1st Produced:
Actor's Studio At The Alys Stephens Center For The Performing Arts; Birmingham, Al
2008
Organisations:
Theatre UaB (University of alabama at Birmingham)
1st Published:
-
Music:
-
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Comedy
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: 2 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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