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Zap book cover
Zap
A Play
2003
First Published
3.45
Average Rating
96
Number of Pages

Aimed at a generation of short attention spans and a taste for razor-sharp comedy, the rapid-fire Zap is a smart, farcical play for high-school students that's ready to bring the house down. When they're not dusting off the old classics—over and over—high-school drama departments are constantly in search of new material. But what play could possibly suit the point-and-click attention spans of kids born with remote controls in their cribs? Cue the lights for Zap, a nonstop farce that juxtaposes seven different plays—performed simultaneously—with a comic genius reminiscent of masters from Monty Python to the Marx Brothers. Combining spot-on parodies of Anton Chekhov, Agatha Christie, Tennessee Williams, Samuel Beckett, Neil Simon and performance art and throwing in scenes from Richard III for good measure, Zap flicks rapidly back and forth from play to play, with hilarious results. As characters from one play end up on the set of another, their befuddlement, exasperation, and brave attempts at improvisation are truly priceless. A hoot to read, Zap is a dream to perform—as high schools in California, New York, and Florida have already discovered.

Avg Rating
3.45
Number of Ratings
200
5 STARS
19%
4 STARS
32%
3 STARS
29%
2 STARS
17%
1 STARS
4%
goodreads

Author

Paul Fleischman
Paul Fleischman
Author · 38 books

Paul Fleischman grew up in Santa Monica, California. The son of well-known children's novelist Sid Fleischman, Paul was in the unique position of having his famous father's books read out loud to him by the author as they were being written. This experience continued throughout his childhood. Paul followed in his father's footsteps as an author of books for young readers, and in 1982 he released the book "Graven Images", which was awarded a Newbery Honor citation. In 1988, Paul Fleischman came out with "Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices", an unusually unique collection of poetry from the perspective of insects. This book was awarded the 1989 John Newbery Medal. Factoring in Sid Fleischman's win of the John Newbery Medal in 1987 for his book "The Whipping Boy", Paul and Sid Fleischman became to this day the only father and son authors to both win the John Newbery Medal.

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