For over 60 years, the standard record of excellence for one act plays in America

A collection of one-act plays from American playwrights, which cover such themes as love, fantasy, politics, grief, marriage, crime, and deceit.

A collection of one-act plays from American playwrights, which cover such themes as love, fantasy, politics, grief, marriage, crime, and deceit.

From its inception, the Best American Short Plays annual has identified new, cutting edge playwrights who have gone on to establish their pre-eminence across America's stages. The collection proves year after year that the short play is not short on anything. It may be more brief than a "full-length" play, but it is no less complete, and no less gratifying to the audience and the reader. Among the dramatists who have appeared in our collections: Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, CliVord Odets, William Inge, Arthur Miller, David Mamet, Wendy Wasserstein, Lanford Wilson, Terrence McNally and Thornton Wilder. In this latest volume, readers will find plays by: David Ives, Murray Schisgal, Christopher Durang, Cherie Vogelstein, Rich Orloff, Lavonne Mueller, David Mamet, David Auburn, John Ford Noonan and Paul Zindel.

(Best American Short Plays). This second volume of the best monologues from the Best American Short Plays series features a diverse selection drawn from the outstanding works from many of today's best American playwrights. In these monologues, the playwrights capture much of the flavors, feelings, and thoughts of American culture over the past several decades. The result is a collection of taught, engaging monologues offering fascinating perspectives. They are written with an eye toward the stage that makes them excellent source material for actors young and old alike. And they offer a freshness and directness that make them excellent companions for readers attracted to good, often quirky, and always engaging contemporary literature.

A collection of one-act plays from American playwrights, which cover such themes as love, fantasy, politics, grief, marriage, crime, and deceit.

(Best American Short Plays). "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Really? Words can break spirits, destroy confidence. They can also build hope and incite great acts of heroism. Playwrights know this, and so do theater audiences. Otherwise, why go? Words matter and carry clout every bit as dangerous as a hammer or crowbar. This, too, playwrights know. The monologues in this volume are full of such blows, striking at our imaginations and our memories, generating responses such as joyful laughter or chilling surprise. Others squeeze us into worlds we've never experienced, or perhaps experienced at the furthest edges of memory and recollection. Still others may help us alter the way we see certain things, people, or beliefs. Best Monologues from The Best American Short Plays, Volume Three is a collection of monologues drawn from the popular Best American Short Plays series, an archive of works from many of the best playwrights active today. Long or short, serious or not, excerpts or entireties, this collection abounds in speech acts that may trigger physical reactions and almost certainly will transform an attitude or two, drawing out lost memories, creating new ones, and definitely entertaining, engaging, amusing us all along the way.