A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Elephant's Graveyard (Full-Length Version)

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  3w, 10m

George Brant

The true tale of the tragic 1916 collision of a struggling circus and a tiny town in Tennessee, Elephant's Graveyard combines historical fact and legend, exploring the deep-seated American craving for spectacle, violence and revenge.

Elephant's Graveyard (Full-Length Version)

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 10m
  • Duration
    Duration
    75 Minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Period, Docudrama/History
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Senior, Teen (Age 14-18)
Accolades
Accolades
  • Winner! 2008 Keene Prize for Literature
Also Available
Elephant's Graveyard (One-Act Version)

Details

Summary
Elephant's Graveyard is the true tale of the tragic collision of a struggling circus and a tiny town in Tennessee, which resulted in the only known lynching of an elephant. Set in September of 1916, the play combines historical fact and legend, exploring the deep-seated American craving for spectacle, violence and revenge.
History
Elephant's Graveyard was first produced by the University of Texas at Austin at the Oscar Brockett Theatre in Austin, Texas on 16 November 2007. The director was Laura Kepley.
Keywords
Performing Groups
RINGMASTER – obsessed with the bottom line
TRAINER – loves his work
BALLET GIRL – a showgirl in control
TOUR MANAGER – bit of a bully
STRONGMAN – a proud muscleman from Europe’s far-off shores
CLOWN – a comedian with an inferiority complex
DRUMMER – keeps the beat
HUNGRY TOWNSPERSON – African-American, a steel-trap memory
MARSHAL – keeps the peace
MUDDY TOWNSPERSON – a haunted widow
PREACHER – doggedly hopeful
STEAM SHOVEL OPERATOR – looking for escape
YOUNG TOWNSPERSON – excitable dreamer
GUITARIST/HARMONICA PLAYER – sets the rhythm
ENGINEER – confident Time is on his side

Non-speaking musicians may be added to the production, particularly a Drummer and Guitarist. Roles may be played by any race or gender except when specified.

  • Time Period 1910s/WWI
  • Setting 1916. An empty stage or an abstract collision of the worlds of the circus, town and railroad.
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Additional Features No Intermission, Physical Comedy, Play with Music
  • Duration 75 Minutes
  • Cautions
    • Alcohol
    • Strong Language
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

“Buzzes with truth about the consequences of misunderstanding, the invisible but enormous gap between artists and their audiences, and the infernal beauty of vaudeville.” – The Stranger, Seattle

“The script—based on a true story about a traveling circus that, in 1916, stumbled into gory disaster in a muddy Tennessee town—is, like the best art, microscopically specific with echoes that radiate outward across time. It conjures a world with its own atmosphere and terrible internal logic. It's mesmerizing... symphonic in its emotional variations on a tragic theme. Elephant's Graveyard buzzes with truth about the consequences of misunderstanding, the invisible but enormous gap between artists and their audiences, and the infernal beauty of vaudeville.” – The Stranger, Seattle

“A theatrical masterpiece.” – Columbia City Paper

“The most striking production in the (NSDF) festival.” – Times of London

“Deeply moving...has the audience in stitches at the open and tears at the close.” – The Sun Coast

Music

  • Musical Style N/A (Not a musical)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

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Authors

George Brant

George Brant

George Brant’s plays include Grounded, Marie and Rosetta, Into the Breeches!, The Prince of Providence, Elephant’s Graveyard, The Land of Oz, Tender Age, The Mourners’ Bench, Any Other Name, Salvage and Grizzly Mama. An Affiliate Writer at the Playwrights’ Center, his scripts ...

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