Steven Dietz

"The four plays contained in this anthology verify the importance Steven Dietz holds for youth theatre. His Still Life With Iris, in particular, has had a major impact, and in many ways has influenced other playwrights writing for young people... This book will make a substantive addition to our knowledge of Dietz and his plays." -- Dorothy L. Webb, Professor Emerita of Theatre, Indiana University, and founder and former artistic director of the Bonderman/IUPUI/IRT National Playwriting Workshop and Symposium for scripts for young audiences

This anthology gathers four plays for youth and families, including Still Life with Iris, by Steven Dietz, one of America’s most widely produced and published contemporary playwrights.

Steven Dietz is one of America’s most widely produced and published contemporary playwrights. Since 1983, his forty-plus plays have been seen at over one hundred regional theatres in the United States, as well as Off-Broadway, and in eighteen foreign countries and ten languages. He is a two-time winner of the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award, as well as a two-time finalist for the Steinberg New Play Award. He has received the PEN USA West Award in Drama, the Edgar Award for Drama, and the Yomuiri Shimbun Award (the Japanese “Tony.”)

While Dietz is best-known for his adult plays, he has also written important plays for younger audiences. This anthology gathers four of them—The Rememberer, Still Life with Iris, Honus & Me, and Jackie & Me. Though diverse in subject matter, the plays share several hallmarks of Dietz’s writing, including realistic dialogue, strong protagonists, an emphasis on memory and magic, a blue-collar sensibility filled with often loopy humor, and a witty and intelligent playing with the boundaries of reality. Setting the plays in context are essays about Dietz and his creative process, his success in working with other theatre professionals, and the profession of theatre for youth. This introduction to Steven Dietz’s work and anthology of plays will be a valuable resource for teachers, directors, writers, and students.