Three Plays: God's Plot, Mary Stuart, Salomania

by Mark Jackson

Drama. THREE PLAYS is the second collection of plays by Mark Jackson, bringing together three recent works--"God's Plot," "Mary Stuart," and "Salomania"--all based on incredible historic events. "God's Plot" illuminates a little known chapter of American history, a 1665 case in which three American colonists were sued for blasphemy by a fourth for having performed a political play in their local tavern. "Mary Stuart" is an adaptation of Friedrich Schiller's dramatic reimagining of the final showdown between Queen Elizabeth and Mary, Queen of Scots. "Salomania" depicts the sensational 1918 libel case of dancer Maud Allan verses British MP Noel Pemberton-Billing, in which the former sued the latter for having accused her of being a lesbian, sadist, and German sympathizer as evidenced by her having performed in a production of Oscar Wilde's Salome."Playwright/director Mark Jackson has made his name as a first-class theatrical provocateur. Gutsy showmanship, brainy literary instincts, and laser-sharp satire mark his canon."San Jose Mercury News

188 pages, Paperback

First published November 27, 2012

About the author

Mark Jackson is a playwright, director, and performer. He was Artistic Director of Art Street Theatre, San Francisco, from 1995 to 2004, during which time he wrote, directed and performed in numerous productions for the company. His plays have been developed at American Conservatory Theater, Capital Stage, EXIT Theatre, Playwrights Foundation, Magic Theatre, and Z Space. In 2010 Mark was invited to be a company member of The Shotgun Players.

Mark has been a resident playwright of English Theatre Berlin (Germany) and the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, where he was awarded the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Honorary Fellowship. He is a German Chancellor Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, which took him to Berlin, Germany, to work with Mime Centrum Berlin, a practical research center for physical theater. Mark was named “Best Director” by the East Bay Express in 2009 and 2004, “Best Theatrical Auteur” by the SF Weekly in 2007, and one of the “Top 100 Bay Area Artists” by San Francisco Magazine in 2002. Other awards and honors include the Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award, a Magic Theater / Z Space New Works Initiative commission, three Bay Area Theater Critics Circle Awards, three SFBG Upstage/Downstage Awards, and two Theater Bay Area CA$H Grants. Mark’s writing has benefited numerous times from the generosity of the Tournesol Project, a granting program for the development of new work.

Mark graduated magna cum laude from San Francisco State University, where he was awarded the Theatre Arts Department Award for Outstanding Achievement in Directing.