FOUR REMARKABLE SHORT PLAYS FOR WOMEN by award-winning playwright Jane Shepard. Edgy, funny and sometimes harrowing, Shepard's one-act plays feature 2-women casts, strong roles for actresses, with age-flexible casting, powerful scenes and outstanding monologues. Excellent for production, scene study or auditions. Worth reading just for Shepard's lyrical hand.
I was quite disappointed by this book. I felt disconnected and unsympathetic towards all these characters. I think a kickass role comes within a substantial, mature plot, which sadly none of these have. I think shock value is mistaken for powerful moments here and there is an immature feeling to the plays. Sometimes we are even preached to through a very thin veil. I am passionate about women in theatre and women in stories, so I appreciate that these works exist and give voice to one woman, but they feel underdeveloped. Some of the concepts or settings are rich and interesting, but explored in a way that left me unsatisfied and even alienated. The language was base and repetitive and the characters unappealing. However, I am still grateful that it exists, and hope many more additions are made to the female two-hander script genre.