All in the Timing : Fourteen Plays

Rating:
Summary: A must have for all theater people
Review: Actors, directors and playwrights alike must all read this book. This is possibly the wittiest and greatest examples of modern comedic theater in a long, long time.

Ives is a must-have. I mean, *everyone* needs to read or see this collection performed. "Words, words, words", "Sure thing" and "Variations on the death of Trotsky" are clever but at the same time contain a valuable bit of truth to them all. But not too much truth, just enough to make the play fun and interesting and never preachy.

Ives is a treasure of American theater- if you haven't seen or read any of these plays, you simply don't know what you're missing.

Rating:
Summary: It's All In The Timing
Review: David Ives is to America Theatre what William Shakespeare was to British Theatre. The only difference is, David Ives is funny. Obviously underrated, Ives knows how to write plays in a a way that is (although I've seen it done) hard to screw up. All you really need to have is a basic sense of rhythm and his plays are a breeze. Just know that he is a master of the English language and will have you studying the basic underlying rhythm of speech (English Made Simple, Phillip Glass), studying relationships (Sure Thing, ForePlay, Seven Menu's) as well as death and Mamet (Speed the Play, Variations on the Death of Trotsky). Ives knows creativity, and works hard at his craft... if you have any other questions about his book just read the Introduction to it and see what you think. Absolute Genius!

Rating:
Summary: Taking the English Language to an Art Form
Review: In these days of cookie-cutter plays, where an intellectual evening is watching David Copperfield making his career disappear, it is refreshing to read anything that challenges one to think. All In The Timing succeeds, with Ives mastery of the English language and timing being the key to the cleverness of the play. These series of plays are not slap-stick, nor are they Checkov, but an intellectual medium for one who has apparently a bit ahead of his time. While some will find the read of some of the plays difficult (The Universal Language and Phillip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread). These plays, in particular, are for enjoying on stage, rather than read. But for the most part, this collection is an enjoyable evening of intellectual theater.

Rating:
Summary: Hilarious
Review: My current favorite playwright primarily because of his humor. It's outlandish, but not so you don't understand the underlying meaning to the plays as a whole. "Sure Thing" is one that I expect I will perform in soon. I held off directing it because I wanted to be in it so badly. I did, however, direct "Seven Menus" and it was a lot of fun. His plays are great for college productions, as well as, community plays. Anyone would have fun reading them! Not much of monologues...lots of fast paced, back-n-forth dialogue.

Rating:
Summary: this is a wonderful collection of quirky plays
Review: So what if Christopher Durang, Dorothy Parker and David Sedaris combined DNA? You just might get David Ives.

Witty and cerebral, Ives comments on relationships, language and mortality in some of the cleverest one-acts to ever find their way into print. All the works have a Tom Stoppardian-esque command of the English language. Especially in "Foreplay, Or The Art of the Fugue" and "Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread" is his impeccable command of ordering words into almost symphonic patterns best displayed.(Hey, it also helps to know a little about Philip Glass, who was a postmodern musical innovator and it is his musical phrasing Ives mimics in "...Buys A Loaf...")

Some of these plays deal with modern relationships. "Sure Thing" continually backtracks the forming of its 2 characters' relationship with each other by allowing them unlimited "re-dos" when they make a social or relational faux pas, until the "perfect" pattern for falling in love is found.

"Ancient History" is perhaps my favorite out of all the plays. It has two very real, very funny, very sympathetic romantic characters that will constantly remind you of yourself. Jack and Ruth argue, banter and raise issues we're all familiar with in a way that makes you laugh until you realize how sad it really is.

Ives has no trouble taking fellow playwrights down a peg or two as well. "Speed-The-Play" requires an elementary knowledge of David Mamet to really appreciate how hilarious (and accurate) it is.

All of the other pieces are wonderful and hilarious. "English Made Simple" and "Variations on the Death of Trotsky" were probably meant to be read anyway. "Mere Mortals" is a witty commentary on man's ego and inner thought life. "Words, Words, Words" is an exestential little work where Ives explores the actual possiblity of chimps, left alone with typewriters long enough, cranking out 'Hamlet'.

Think of it as excersize for your mind. Do a few yoga stretches and enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: The New Shakespeare
Review: The plays in this book keep me laughing even when I'm not reading
them. I have to say my two favorites are "Words, Words, Words" and "The Philadelphia." They are great for if a group wants to do
quick, funny plays.

Rating:
Summary: David Ives is a comical genius!
Review: This collection of plays has opened my mind to different ways of writing and reading. As a high-schooler, I was looking for a one-act play to direct, and I was certainly given a wonderful choice by Ives. He is especially innovative, considering that he manages to connect music to his writing : "Foreplay, or the Art of the Fugue" was written in the style of a fugue, and "Variations on the Death of Trotsky" is written similarly to variations on a theme of music. "Phillip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread" has incredible rhythmic qualities, and overall, I think that "All in the Timing" is a first-rate set of plays, worth anybody's time.

Rating:
Summary: Comic Genious
Review: This excellent collection of one act plays shows Ives' great sense of rhythm, randomly interesting observations about life, and excellent sensitivity towards relationships. I highly recommend it, particularly for the plays English Made Simple and Ancient History.

Rating:
Summary: It's All In The Timing
Review: This is one of the funniest plays I've ever had the experience of getting to know. I just finished a run of it at my high school last week (I was Mrs. Trotsky), and I don't think I've ever laughed so hard! I highly, HIGHLY reccommend this play to anyone and everyone.