The Adding Machine: A Play In Seven Acts (Samuel French Acting Editions) Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
Drama Characters: 14 male, 9 female 5 interior scenes and 2 exterior scenes This constantly interesting play shows in outline the life history and, in its later scenes, the death history of Mr. Zero, a cog in the vast machine of modern business.
Series: Samuel French Acting Editions
Paperback: 156 pages
Publisher: Samuel French, Inc. (January 28, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0573605084
ISBN-13: 978-0573605086
Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.3 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #153,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #85 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering > Reference > Patents & Inventions #997 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Criticism & Theory #1295 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Dramas & Plays
When properly rendered, Rice's "The Adding Machine" is a powerful, weird, surreal experience. But notice that this edition is subtitled "A Play in Seven Acts". In the original script, there were eight acts (or "scenes", really), but the original Scene V was cut to streamline the production (in 1923). When they revived the play in 1956, Rice revised and restored Scene V, and this is, in my opinion, the way it should be read. You'll find the complete 8-scene script in "Elmer Rice: Three Plays: The Adding Machine, Street Scene and Dream Girl", which is also here on (ISBN 0809007355). But, really, you need to see the play before you read the text, if you possibly can. They filmed a movie version of it in 1969 (which I haven't seen), starring the inimitable Phyllis Diller playing Mrs. Zero. Leonard Maltin described this effort as "flawed but interesting," giving it two and a half stars out of four. So keep your eyes open for a dramatic or cinematic revival. Etaoin Shrdlu will thank you!
The Adding Machine was first produced on stage in 1923 and Elmer Rice wrote the Pulitzer Prize for "Street Scene". The Adding Machine is an eye opening take on the soul of a man, who for 25 years adds up figures in the sales department, never missed a day of work and gets canned for technology, an adding machine. The play is a satirical take on corporation, the evolution of man as the slave, and the afterlife.The man and his family or acquaintances are known as numbers, and this man, Mr. Zero, named for the bottom of the work chain. He is married to Mrs. Zero, a nag who is belittling, degrading and clearly in dismay with his demeaning status or lack of ambition.It begins with Mr. Zero, who does nothing but add figures all day; and imagines his boss giving him a raise. He works across from Miss Devore, who dreams of loving him. They carry on one-sided conversations with each other. Mr. Zero degrades and disrespects her while she wishes she were dead without him.He doesn't get the raise, but gets canned, and he goes "postal" and kills the boss. From there, the scenes change from the office to the jail, where he is the subject a tour group as an animal in a cage. Executed, we next see him in the graveyard where he meets Shrdlu, who killed his mother. Together they expect the worst as sinners in hell, but are somehow transformed to a place like heaven, the Elysian Fields considered the final resting place of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous. Mr. Zero then encounters Miss Devore, his workmate, who "blew out the gas" after he died.It is the end, where we learn through insightful dialogue the evolution of man as the slave in the corporate world. Interesting!....Rizzo.NOTE:!!! The original play has 8 scenes, and what has been excluded from some performances is the Jail Scene.
The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice is regard by many as the first play to bring German expressionism to the American theatre. The story follows the emotional struggle of the characters rather than the plot (in fact most of the major events of the play occur off stage) until he wrote The Adding Machine Rice was a master of the melodrama, but The Adding Machine's distinctively modern feel and disturbing message set it apart from his other plays. It includes a erie dinner scene where six identical couples speak a hyper active version of small talk. this play exposes common place vulgarities and everyday injustice.
I cannot write a review. I thought it was a novel.. I read a book by that title decades ago, and I thought to re-read it. I assume the error is mine. I will probably try to read it in this form.
I saw this play at college and liked it, went by the book exactly pretty good for being my first ever play to see
This book was purchased for a class i am currently taking and it will be used for that purpose only.
I really enjoyed reading this play.
The Adding Machine: A Play in Seven Acts (Samuel French Acting Editions) My First Scene Book: Acting Out, Acting Up, Acting Right: 51 Scenes for Young Children (My First Acting Series) 1 Samuel: The Lives of Samuel and Saul (MacArthur Bible Studies) Michael Caine - Acting in Film: An Actor's Take on Movie Making (The Applause Acting Series) Revised Expanded Edition Acting in Film: An Actor's Take on Movie Making (Applause Acting Series) My First Acting Book: Acting Technique for Beginners 10 Bed-Time Stories in French and English with audio.: French for Kids - Learn French with Parallel English Text (Volume 2) (French Edition) Lightning-Fast French for Kids and Families: Learn French, Speak French, Teach Kids French - Quick as a Flash, Even if You Don't Speak a Word Now! Classical Sheet Music For French Horn With French Horn & Piano Duets Book 1: Ten Easy Classical Sheet Music Pieces For Solo French Horn & French Horn/Piano Duets (Volume 1) Spinning into butter: A play in two acts The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts Ultimate Drum Play-Along Led Zeppelin, Vol 1: Play Along with 8 Great-Sounding Tracks (Authentic Drum), Book & 2 CDs (Ultimate Play-Along) The Perfect Play: Play-by-Play, Book 1 Ultimate Guitar Play-Along Led Zeppelin, Vol 1: Play Along with 8 Great-Sounding Tracks (Authentic Guitar TAB), Book & 2 CDs (Ultimate Play-Along) Ultimate Easy Guitar Play-Along -- The Doors: Eight Songs with Full TAB, Play-Along Tracks, and Lesson Videos (Easy Guitar TAB), Book & DVD (Ultimate Easy Play-Along) Just Play: Book 3 Last Play Romance Series (A Bachelor Billionaire Companion) (The Last Play Series) Wabi Sabi Painting with Cold Wax: Adding Body, Texture and Transparency to Your Art Girl's Guide to DIY Fashion: Design & Sew 5 Complete Outfits • Mood Boards • Fashion Sketching • Choosing Fabric • Adding Style What's New at the Zoo? An Animal Adding Adventure Software Reuse Techniques: Adding Reuse to the System Development Process
