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WILLIAM FOWKES |
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Nationality: USA Email: Click here to contact Website: Click here to visit |
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Literary Agent: n/a |
William Fowkes is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, Inc., the Turtle Shell Productions Playwrights' Platform (New York City) and the River Writers Group of Manhattan. His full-length plays include Couple of the Century (Downtown Urban Theater Festival 2008; semifinalist in the Open Book's 8th National Readers Theatre Playwriting Competition), The Best Place We've Ever Lived (the Penobscot Theatre Company's Northern Writes New Play Festival 2009), The German Lesson (runner-up for the 2008 Robert J. Pickering Award for Playwrighting Excellence), All in the Faculty (presented in a reading at the Turtle Shell Theater, New York, September 2009) and others. Three of his one-act plays have been presented in New York: "The Dakota" (Best Short Play Award-Downtown Urban Theater Festival 2005, the Cherry Lane Theatre; presented at the Ensemble Studio Theatre's Octoberfest 2005), "The Session" (finalist-Strawberry One-Act Festival Winter 2005; published in The Distillery; nominated for The Pushcart Prize), "The Next Move" (staged reading-EST's Octoberfest 2006). His fiction has appeared in numerous journals, including Eureka Literary Magazine, Lullwater Review, Limestone, The Nassau Review, Soundings East, Wisconsin Review, The Dirty Goat, The Chariton Review, Buffalo Carp, Argestes and others. A graduate of Yale University (BA, magna cum laude) and Northwestern University (MA, PhD), he is the author of the book, A Hegelian Account of Contemporary Art, and a former philosophy professor, having taught at Hobart & William Smith Colleges and Northwestern University. He has twice been the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Brown University (Semiotics) and New York University (Business). Since leaving academia, he has held a variety of positions at Time Magazine, HBO, CBS, and Showtime Networks. He is currently VP of Trade Marketing at Showtime. A resident of the Upper West Side of Manhattan, he is also a pianist, singer, photographer, urban gardener, meditator, and the proud father of two daughters.
Plays by William Fowkes
All in the Faculty | ||
| 1st Produced: | The Turtle Shell Theater, New York City (reading) | Sep 2009 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, Inc (2010) | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | 978-0-8222-2461-7 | doollee no | #103460 | |||
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: | Drama - 2 acts | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 6 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | doubling | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | In his 30s, junior philosophy professor Ned Jenkins still seems to be waiting for life to start. Having roamed all over the Midwest from one temporary teaching job to another, he arrives at bucolic Humbert College in upstate New York hoping finally to settle into a tenured faculty position. Quickly embraced by faculty and students alike, he nevertheless soon makes romantic and political missteps that threaten to sidetrack him from his goal, dividing the whole campus in the process. Through it all, he discovers that he may be an expert in philosophy and aesthetics, but he's a rank amateur when it comes to self-knowledge. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Best Place We've Ever Lived, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Penobscot Theatre Company, Bangor Maine (reading) | 26 Jun 2009 | ||||
Company: | Northern Writes New Play Festival | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #103461 | |||
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: | Fantasy - 2 acts | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | In a violent world, it takes special skills to survive-and thrive. In this fantasy play, the world of Ozzie and Harriet and Father Knows Best meets The Carousel of Progress when one family and their clan evolve through the centuries, negotiating their way through changing family and marital relationships. From ancient Mexico and eighteenth century Europe to present-day Scarsdale, NY and an unnamed future time and place, they learn that there has to be more to family life than conquests and migrations. But can this more enlightened future last? | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Couple of the Century | ||
| 1st Produced: | 25 Jun 2008 | |||||
Company: | Downtown Urban Theater Festival (DUTF) | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #48006 | |||
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: | Comedy/Drama - in 2 acts | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Semi-finalist in the Open Book's 8th National Readers Playwrighting Competition. DUTF production directed by Nic Tyler and Wendy Peace with cast members Wendy Peace, Jerry Ferris, Janice Mann, and John Blaylock. Featuring the song, "Our Love is Beautiful" by Jack Woodbridge and remixes by Andy Chimicles. Couple of the Century is an expanded, full-length version of the one-act play, The Session. | |||||
Synopsis: | Nick Turner and Diane London are a mismatched couple looking for love, marriage, and therapy on Central Park West. After an opening scene in which we discover them at a point of crisis, the play moves backwards to explore the evolution of their fumbling relationship. Along the way we see what happens when people can't even discuss what's wrong, when old friends don't help matters any, and when achieving sexual intimacy seems to require advanced acting skills. In the final scene, we're back in the present, wondering if things can possibly work out. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Dakota, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Cherry Lane Theatre, New York | Jun 2005 | ||||
Company: | The Downtown Urban Theater Festival | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #47873 | |||
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: | Drama, two scenes | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Winner of a Best Short Play Award at the Downtown Urban Theater Festival 2005. Also produced at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York (Octoberfest 2005). Featured the song, "Quite Like You," by Jack Woodbridge. | |||||
Synopsis: | Two worlds collide when a 71-year-old resident of New York's most fabled apartment building entertains his first visitor in years. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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German Lesson, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | The Dramatists Guild, New York City (reading) | Apr 2008 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #103462 | |||
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: | Comedy - 2 acts | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Runner-up for the 2008 Robert J. Pickering Award for Playwrighting Excellence, Coldwater, Michigan. | |||||
Synopsis: | Why worry when life is spectacular? Trevor Hudson is a public relations man with a special talent for putting the best face on things. At the moment, all he wants from life is to be left in peace to study his German lesson, but he keeps being interrupted by people who pour their heart out to him and become infuriated when he minimizes their problems. Despite his calm exterior, it soon becomes clear that his life is spinning out of control and that his German lesson is part of a plan to free him from his past. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Last Nights of the Sunshine SAGE Club, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #103463 | |||
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: | Comedy - 2 acts | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 4 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Set in the lounge of a Fort Lauderdale social club for retired gay men, this play examines the difficulty of establishing meaningful relationships, whatever your age or sexual orientation. Al Getz, a local real estate broker-and former closeted movie star-deals with his attraction to the club's homophobic assistant manager. Retired company man, John Strathmore-openly gay but mourning the recent death of his wife-gingerly re-enters the social scene. Newly-retired agent, Robby Smirnoff, juggles his need for companionship and love with his inability to control his sharp tongue. Ballroom dance instructor, Mary King, seeks love but keeps settling for the comfort of friendships with gay men. For most members, Sunshine Sage is a bit of heaven on earth. Unfortunately, not everyone shares that sentiment. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Marriages of Inconvenience | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #48007 | |||
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: | Drama, two acts | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 5 | Female | 4 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Best friends and lovers since college, Graham Walker and Dan Carlsen set off to get married and start families, embarking on a double life that ends abruptly when Dan dies prematurely. After Graham's protracted mourning leads to the collapse of his marriage, he falls in love with a promiscuous closeted man whose marriage has also just ended. Set in New York City and Bronxville, one of its affluent suburbs, and spanning 30 years of changing attitudes about homosexuality, this play addresses themes of fidelity, social convention, and, ultimately, self-acceptance and authenticity. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Meditation | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #48011 | |||
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: | Comedy One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | A newly-initiated member of a meditation society is distracted while struggling to learn how to meditate | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Museum Piece | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #103464 | |||
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: | comedy One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | 3 parts - gender unspecified | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | A disruptive incident at the Museum of Modern Art brings three strangers together one Saturday afternoon. In this comedic tale, our three visitors are drawn to the museum for very different reasons and have oddly different experiences once they get there, leading to the unavoidable conclusion that the people who go to museums are often more compelling than the works on display. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Next Move, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York City (staged reading) | Oct 2006 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #48010 | |||
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: | Drama One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Presented at the Ensemble Studio Theatre's Octoberfest 2006 | |||||
Synopsis: | An 80-year-old couple contends with painful memories and memory loss while preparing for the arrival of company | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Not Here Yet | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #48008 | |||
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: | Drama One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | A woman seeks her place in the world at the entrance to a subway station in midtown Manhattan | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Scenes from the Dakota | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #103465 | |||
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: | Drama (fantasy play) - 2 acts | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | This play is an expanded, full-length version of the one-act play, The Dakota. | |||||
Synopsis: | A closeted married man from Stamford, Connecticut thinks he's hit the jackpot online when a man who calls himself "BuffMan" invites him over to his apartment in the city for an afternoon rendezvous. When he finds that his potential sex partner is a 71-year-old recluse, the meeting turns ugly. The Dakota, Manhattan's fabled apartment building, provides the setting for a fantasy play that considers what life might have been like for these men if events had unfolded differently, discovering in the process the price men pay for living lives in denial and exploring possibilities for inter-generational relationships. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Seeker, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #103466 | |||
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: | Drama - 2 acts | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 6 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Tommy Hamilton is looking for God, love, and sex, but not necessarily in that order. His spiritual journey spans almost thirty years, starting in a philosophy class at Columbia University in 1972 and moving on to an evangelical Christian retreat in Maine, an ashram in India, the decaying piers at the foot of Christopher Street in New York City, and, finally, a hospital room in 2000 where he confronts his own death while surrounded by visitors that seem to transcend space and time. His lifelong obsession with a man struggling with his faith's homophobia forces him to question the relationship between gay men and organized religion and spells out the terms of a debate that continues to confront gay people in the 21st century who seek a congenial community in which to explore their spirituality. But in the end, he has to confront the most troubling spiritual question of all: "Is that all there is?" | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Session, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | Bernie West Theatre, New York City | Feb 2005 | ||||
Company: | The Strawberry One-Act Festival | |||||
| 1st Published: | The Distillery (literary journal) Jan 2008 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #48005 | |||
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: | Comedy One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Nominated for the Pushcart Prize 2008. Finalist at the Strawberry One-Act Festival, Winter 2005, Bernie West Theatre, New York City. Starred Maria Volker and Jerry Ferris. Featured the song, "Our Love Is Beautiful," by Jack Woodbridge. | |||||
Synopsis: | A man finally tells his therapist what's really on his mind. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Unintended Lives | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #48009 | |||
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: | Dark Comedy One Act | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | A man wreaks havoc on several lives when he leaves his wife and young son to go live an openly gay life back in the city | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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