A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

The Duck Variations

Short Play, Comedy  /  2m

"The most acute ear for dialogue of any American writer since J.D. Salinger." - The Village Voice

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2m
  • Duration
    Duration
    40 minutes
  • Suggested Use
    • Cutting Approved for Competition
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
Accolades
  • Winner! 1976 Obie Award for Best New American Play

Details

Summary

This play dramatizes the old adage that people who talk the most with authority about something are the ones most likely to know the least about it. Two old men discuss the ways of ducks and life, making observations that are profoundly hilarious.

Published with Sexual Perversity in Chicago.

History
Premiered at the Saint Nicholas Theatre in 1972 under the direction of David Mamet.
EMIL VARE
GEORGE S. ARONOVITZ
  • Setting A park on the edge of a big city on a lake.
    An afternoon around Easter.
  • Duration 40 minutes
  • Cautions
    • Intense Adult Themes

Media

REVIEWS

"The most acute ear for dialogue of any American writer since J.D. Salinger." - Village Voice

"Mamet's exchanges show an awesome fidelity to the visceral way a conversation can chase its tail, overlap, fade out, or double back on itself." - The Chicago Reader

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $75 per performance
    $125 with other plays in collection

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Authors

David Mamet

David Mamet is the author of the plays: Race, Keep Your Pantheon, School, November, Romance, Boston Marriage, Faustus, Oleanna, Glengarry Glen Ross (1984 Pulitzer Prize and New York Drama Critics Circle Award), American Buffalo, The Old Neighborhood, A Life in the Theatre, Sp ...
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