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The English Teachers

The English Teachers
Your Price: $18.99 CDN
Last Copy!
Author: Edward Napier
Publisher: Dramatists Play Service (cover may change)
Format: Softcover
# of Pages: 69
Pub. Date: 2000
Edition: Acting
ISBN-10: 0822217236
ISBN-13: 9780822217237
Cast Size: 5 female, 1 male

About the Play:

The English Teachers is a full-length drama by Edward Napier. Three generations of frustrated women awash in contradiction live under the same roof a small West Virginia hamlet, in the pre-feminist 1960. Ruthie is a loud, brash, husband-hungry good old girl; Victoria has ambitions to be elected to the State House of Delegates; Polly's ambition is directed toward New York; and Libby's ambitions concern Bobby, the handsome boarder.

The English Teachers is set in the twin towns of Ceredo-Kenova, West Virginia in 1960, and tells the story of three generations of women from a well-known, and for the most part respectable, family of English teachers. Polly, an eccentric community theatre celebrity, brings shame to the family after being fired as a local schoolteacher. Polly's losing her job infuriates her widowed sister, Vic, also an English teacher, as such a scandal may undermine her effort to be elected as a Democratic candidate for a seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates. Vic is also worried that Polly's outlandish ways are a bad influence on her daughter, Lib, who is madly in love with the handsome boarder, Bobby, a history student, and one of Vic's campaign aides. Miss Ruthie, Vic's campaign manager, encourages Vic to distance herself from Polly and tries to lure Lib away from Polly's influence by telling Lib she will end up with an unhappy manless life. Mary, the self-righteous matriarch of the family, tries her best to keep order and peace in her house. In a moment of desperation, Polly escapes to New York, and, after her brief, failed venture there, turns to Bobby for comfort. Ultimately, Vic wins the election by Miss Ruthie's manipulative shenanigans; Miss Ruthie marries a doctor; Lib becomes a majorette; and Polly ends up working as a check-out clerk. The English Teachers celebrates these women who defy the status quo in pursuit of their dreams, and explores the compromises each makes in their efforts to realize those dreams.

The English Teachers premiered in 1999 at the Manhattan Class Company Theater (MCC) off-Broadway in New York City.

Cast: 5 female, 1 male

What people say:

"Napier's subjects…are intriguing…Napier…knows how to develop scenes deftly, and he ends with some poignant points." — New York Newsday

"Trust the audience. Listen to the silent sound of spectators during one particular scene in Edward Napier's, The English Teachers…When…a flamboyant frustrated community theatre actress, and…a not unintelligent hunky stud stalk each other in words and movements that barely screen their sexuality, the audience rewards them with a palpable hush broken only by applause when the scene ends…The comedy…has strong…characters in search of fulfillment." — BackStage

"His seriocomic drama is an eyes wide open tribute to his many school teacher relatives…Napier knows how to evoke a strong sense of place and provides a number of poignant scenes…a play which will, like those rare teachers who occasionally cross our paths, make a lasting impression." — CurtainUp

About the Playwright:

Edward Napier is an American playwright, screenwriter, and story editor. He graduated from Columbia University with a concentration in Literature and Writing. His plays have been seen Off Broadway at MCC, the WPA, and HB Playwright's Foundation. He has also written for scripts for episodic television series.