(Best American Short Plays). Applause is proud to continue the series
that for over 70 years has been the standard of excellence for one-act
plays in America. As previous series editor Ramon Delgado wrote in his
introduction to The Best American Short Plays of 1989, the choice of
entries for each edition has been based on the same goal: "to include a
balance among three categories of playwrights: 1) established
playwrights who continue to practice the art and craft of the short
play, 2) emerging playwrights whose record of productions indicate both
initial achievement and continuing artistic productivity, and 3)
talented new playwrights whose work may not have had much exposure but
evidences promise for the future." From its inception, The Best American
Short Plays has identified new, cutting-edge playwrights who have gone
on to establish award-winning careers, including Tennessee Williams ( A
Streetcar Named Desire ), Edward Albee ( Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
), Wendy Wasserstein ( The Heidi Chronicles ), David Mamet ( Glengarry
Glen Ross ), and Horton Foote ( The Trip to Bountiful ). This volume is
Barbara Parisi's fifth edition as series editor. The volumes of the new
millennium include the work of playwrights Murray Schisgal, Adam Kraar,
Theodore Mann, David Ives, and Mark Medoff, among others, and tackle
complex human issues through diverse theatrical styles and a wide range
of character perspectives.
