Best American Short PlaysApplause 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, Edward Albee, Wendy Wasserstein, David Mamet, and
Horton Foote. This volume, Bill Demastes' first edition as series editor, illustrates how well the short story play can grapple with the many dimensions of love. The selected plays present
unique perspectives on the wide range of love's impact on our lives, each giving a thoroughly modern twist to the idea that life would be so much easier (but also much less interesting) if we
could only avoid love's mercurial influence.
