I found a terrific website for anyone who has ever had the urge to gather up all of her artistic friends and shout, "Hey everybody! Let's put on a show!"

In response, the friends might shuffle their dancing feet and downheartedly say, "But we don't have enough money to put on a play." Fortunately, director Laurie Swigart has assembled a useful collection of information, based on her years of created high-quality shows (with a low-quality budget).

Since 1996, Swigart's Upstage Review (AKA "Theatre on a Shoestring") has provided hundreds of links, resources, production photos and friendly advice; all of which are essential for any theater troupe with only prop-money in their wallets. Visit Laurie's site and learn more about producing low-budget plays.

Theater began in the earliest civilizations as a form of worship that involved music, dance and storytelling. Yet, over the centuries, those religious ceremonies turned into creative expressions and individual, and often upsetting, opinions.

And once playwrights began expressing opinions, certain audiences have sought to censor those views. Just as many wonderful books have been banned by various societies, so too have plays.

About's Guide to Classic Literature, Esther Lombardi has compiled a list of history's highly controversial plays. I was surprised to learn that even some of the most esteemed and ancient plays have been prohibited from time to time. Find out which dramatic masterpieces were banned.

Farmer John Wright has been murdered. While he lay asleep in the middle of the night, someone strung a rope around his neck. And that someone might have been his wife, the quiet and forlorn Minnie Wright.

Written in 1916, Susan Glaspell’s "Trifles" is loosely based on true events. As a young reporter, Glaspell covered a murder case a small town in Iowa. Years later, she crafted a short play inspired by her experiences and observations.

Learn more about this fascinating one-act play.

The book, The Experts Speak: The Definitive Compendium of Authoritative Misinformation, is a collection of quotes from celebrities, historical figures, and critics. Christopher Cerf and Victor Navasky have compiled a barrage of terribly embarrassing and terribly wrong predictions from the so-called experts.

I recently received the book as a gift and was delighted to find an entire section on the Theatre. Here's a summary of some of my favorite miscalls:

• Broadway producer Michael Todd said that Rogers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! had, "No legs, no jokes, no chance!" (Then the show went on to run for 2,248 performances).
• In 1662, British author Samuel Pepys wrote this diary entry after watching the play Romeo and Juliet; he said, "a play of itself the worst I ever heard in my life." Ouch!
• And in 1930, one of my idols, George Bernard Shaw announced the demise of the dramatic arts after motion pictures began to speak. He stated, "The poor old theater is done for! ... There will be nothing but 'talkies' soon."