Collected Short Plays — (1986)

By James Schevill

“At a time when we hear all too much of a nonverbal (that is, mindless) theatre, it is a joy to hear the poet’s voice; and when it is James Schevill’s, it is no voice from the stratosphere it is down on earth, not just a lyric but also a satiric voice, the voice of a theatre both poetic and political.”

Eric Bentley

In a time that emphasizes media spectaculars, the short play offers an exploration of minimal possibilities yet has the power to fix history in a moment's structure, a flash of revelation. The short play is a powerful and innovative theatrical medium, relying upon compression and clarity rather than amplification, and reducing character and action to a spare, dramatic core.

Schevill uses the short play to explore the power of the American environment and its expression in singularly American idioms and rhythms.

This collection inclues work produced between the late 1940s and the early 1980s, ranging in theme from politics to marriage and sexuality to work and identity. Many of the plays in this collection were originally performed at La Mama (New York), The Actor’s Workshop (San Francisco), Magic Theatre (San Francisco), The Guthrie Theatre (Minneapolis), and the Wastepaper Theatre (for short plays) in Providence of which Schevill is a co–founder.