''The Sound of a Voice'' is a 1983 play by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

David Henry Hwang David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays '' FOB'', '' Golden Child'', and '' Yellow ...

. Hwang's fifth play, it is an original ghost story inspired by Japanese folk stories, films, and

Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

theater. The play was first produced as part of the production ''

Sound and Beauty ''Sound and Beauty'' is the omnibus title of two plays by American playwright David Henry Hwang. Hwang's fourth play, ''The House of Sleeping Beauties ''The House of Sleeping Beauties'' is a 1983 play by American playwright David Henry Hwang. Hwa ...

'' on November 6, 1983

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

at the

Joseph Papp Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...

. It was directed by and featured

John Lone John Lone (; jyutping: zyun1 lung4; born October 13, 1952) is an American actor. He starred as Pu Yi in the Academy Award-winning film ''The Last Emperor'' (1987), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. A veteran o ...

. Composer

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

and Hwang adapted it for the opera '' The Sound of a Voice'' in 2003. That same year, Susan Hoffman directed a film adaptation entitled '' Sound of a Voice'' adapted by actor-screenwriters

Lane Nishikawa Lane Nishikawa is a Japanese American actor, filmmaker, playwright and performance artist who was born in Wahiawa, Hawaii and is ''Sansei'' (third generation Japanese American).Kim, Esther. (2006). His work often deals with Asian American histo ...

and Natsuko Ohama. The film was developed through the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

's Directing Workshop for Women and premiered at the

Mill Valley Film Festival The Mill Valley Film Festival is an annual American film festival founded in 1977. History In October 1977, Mark Fishkin, Rita Cahill and Lois Cole organized a three-day film festival. It featured three film tributes, Francis Ford Coppola's ''T ...

on October 4, 2002. It is published as part of ''Trying to Find Chinatown: The Selected Plays'' and ''Between Worlds: Contemporary Asian-American Plays'' by

Theatre Communications Group Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is a non-profit service organization headquartered in New York City that promotes professional non-profit theatre in the United States. The organization also publishes ''American Theatre'' magazine and ''ARTSEA ...

and also in an acting edition published by

Dramatists Play Service Dramatists Play Service (also known as The Play Service) is a theatrical-publishing and licensing house, established in 1936 by members of the Dramatists Guild of America and the Society for Authors' Representatives. DPS publishes English-language ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sound of a Voice Plays by David Henry Hwang 1983 plays American plays adapted into films Plays adapted into operas fr:The Sound of a Voice