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James McManus

JAMES MCMANUS

  (1974 - )
Nationality:    USA
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    The Susan Gurman Agency, LLC  represented by Susan Gurman

James McManus (Playwright) is the author of six plays: Love on San Pedro, Dorothy 6, Bulldog Whiskey, Underground, Cherry Smoke and Blood Potato. His plays have been developed and performed at Cornerstone Theater Company, Labyrinth Theater Company, Roundhouse Theater Company, Apothecary Theatre Company, The Clockwork Theatre, Glass UmbrElla Creative (Sydney), Revolt Theatre (Melbourne), Gurnet Theatre Project, The Kennedy Center, The BE Company, Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, The Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Barebones Productions, Irish Repertory Theatre, Son of Semele, The Side Project Theatre Company, The Lark Play Development Center, The Inkwell, Diverse City Theater Company, and the August Wilson Center for African American Culture. James was the recipient of the 2006 Princess Grace Award in Playwriting for Cherry Smoke, which is published by Samuel French. He received an MFA in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University and is a resident playwright at New Dramatists.

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below is a list of James McManus's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Blood Potato         Bulldog Whiskey         Cherry Smoke         Dorothy 6         Love on San Pedro         Underground

Blood Potato

Synopsis:
Set In the impoverished world of ex-Steel town Donora, PA, three brothers make a blood oath to escape by any means necessary. But each brother and the girls they love are caught up in the meth world and struggling to get out. Will love and family be enough to save them?

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Theatre Row
410 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036     01 Nov 2012

Organisations:
Apothecary Theater Company

1st Published:
New Dramatists   -

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:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Bulldog Whiskey

Synopsis:
Eamon's entire family now lives under his roof. the daughter he kicked out, Candy, is now pregnant with no where else to turn and his abusive father, Buzz, is moving back in after the death of his wife. With a baby on the way, will their search for faith and forgiveness save them from the cycle of abuse?

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Reading: Diverse City Theater Company    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
New Dramatists   -

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:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Cherry Smoke

Synopsis:
In Cherry Smoke, Fish, a club fighter who has spent most of his life in and out of jail, is a ticking time bomb. Despite his constant struggle to change and lead a decent life, his violent outbursts and hair trigger temper result in countless confrontations with the law. His girlfriend, Cherry, a runaway fortune teller who has been on her own since the age of ten, longs for a more simple life like the one Fish's brother, Duffy, and Duffy's wife, Bug, lead. When Cherry becomes pregnant, Fish fears he will become the type of Father that his dad was to him. . .unavailable and violent. the all consuming love Fish and Cherry have for each other is put to the test in this poetic and visceral Drama.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Barebones Productions (Pittsburgh)

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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Dorothy 6

Synopsis:
A family of steelworkers struggles to hold on to their livelihood and their way of life as the blast furnace affectionately named Dorothy 6 is closed

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company     2004

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
New Dramatists   -

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:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Love on San Pedro

Synopsis:
Darkness got a way a makin it feel like time ain't movin. Time moves differently in Skid Row, Los Angeles, where artists rub shoulders with lawyers, pastors, social workers and b-ball players. From the benches of San Julian Park to the walls of an intimate apartment and a raucous karaoke hall, Love On San Pedro, Cornerstone's fourth play in The Hunger Cycle, weaves an unlikely love story. Shunned by her community, Marjorie's weariness drags time to a near standstill. But when she's wooed by a man whose hope and hoop-shots know no bounds, her world speeds up fast. Meet Skid Row's intricate and vibrant community, a mere one square mile of downtown streets where the moon shines brightest in the darkest corners.

Notes:
This project was commissioned and developed in partnership with Full Stage USA at New Dramatists, a program made possible by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

1st Produced:
Cornerstone Theater Company, La     01 Nov 2013

Organisations:
Cornerstone Theater Company

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:  9            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Underground

Synopsis:
In Underground, Bones, an aspiring country singer, lives in a small mining community where coal is king. When a mine collapse leaves him and his crew trapped, Bones struggles to survive his own guilt and impenetrable darkness. In this moving yet comical play, we witness the sacrifices made by coal miners and their loved ones everytime these men go underground.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The Clockwork Theatre     2009

Organisations:
Clockwork Theatre

1st Published:
New Dramatists   -

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:  5            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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