Mieko Ouchi: Two Plays

By (author): Mieko Ouchi

Introduction by: Vanessa Porteous

The Blue Light: Leni Riefenstahl, one hundred years old, is in the office of a young female Hollywood studio executive. Leni’s reason to be there is clear: to make one last desperate pitch to direct her first feature film in fifty years. A thought-provoking contemplation on art, politics, and the seduction of fascism, and a theatrical examination of a woman who danced one perfect dance with the devil and forever changed the way films are made. Leni Riefenstahl was one of the most remarkable and controversial women of the twentieth century. Dancer, actor, photographer, and filmmaker, Riefenstahl caught the eye of Adolf Hitler with her prodigious first film: The Blue Light. A cinematic innovator, her decision to direct Triumph of the Will, got her blacklisted as a filmmaker until her death in 2003 at 101, unrepentant and mostly forgotten.

The Red Priest (Eight Ways To Say Goodbye): Trapped in a loveless and abusive marriage, a young unnamed woman is forced by her husband, a rich courtier of Louis XV, to take violin lessons from the aging and desperate Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, and within six weeks play a concerto for the court in Paris in 1741. All for a bet. The delicate, complex, and combative journey they embark on will not only decide their futures, but also change them both in ways they never imagined. A story about the healing power of music and the journey to become an artist. Finalist for the 2004 Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama. Winner of the 2005 CAA Carol Bolt Award

AUTHOR

Mieko Ouchi

Mieko is a playwright, actor, and director working in theatre, film, and television. Her plays, which include The Red Priest (Eight Ways To Say Goodbye), The Blue Light, The Dada Play, and Nisei Blue, have been nominated for several awards, including the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama and the City of Edmonton Book Prize. Mieko has also been the recipient of both the Carol Bolt Award and the Enbridge playRites Award for an Established Canadian Playwright. Her plays have been produced across Canada and the US and are translated into French, Russian, Czech, and Japanese. Mieko is co-founder and current Artistic Director of Concrete Theatre, a nationally recognized twenty-six-year-old TYA touring company. She is currently working on four new projects: Makepeace, Burning Mom, Consent, and Mariam with Amena Shehab. She lives and works in Edmonton.

Reviews

“This dazzling orchestration of theatrical virtuosity… is destined to blaze a trail across the Canadian theatre scene as vivid and bright as Antonio Vivaldi’s shock of flaming red hair.” —Alexandra Gill, The Globe and Mail

Awards

  • Betty Mitchell Award for Best New Play 2007, Winner
  • Carol Bolt Award 2005, Winner
  • Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama 2004, Short-listed
  • Excerpts & Samples ×
    There are no other resources for this book.

    Reader Reviews

    Details

    Dimensions:

    156 Pages
    8.37in * 5.37in * .36in
    180.00gr

    Published:

    May 01, 2007

    ISBN:

    9780887545207

    9781770911017 – EPUB

    9781770911000 – PDF

    Book Subjects:

    DRAMA / Canadian

    Featured In:

    All Books

    Language:

    eng

    No author posts found.

    Related Blog Posts

    There are no posts with this book.