Under Thirty

For the vast generation of actors in their teens and twenties, as well as for teachers, directors, and producers,Under Thirtyis an unparalleled source of diverse and challenging roles, created by some of today's finest writers. The twenty plays presented here in full or in part include insightful looks at the pressure-cooker caste system of American high schools as well as heartbreaking, edgy portrayals of twentysomethings adrift in the city. There are snappy romantic duets, large-cast ensembles, and everything in between, populated by richly dimensional, mold-breaking characters: misfit cheerleaders, nurturing drifters, rich petty thieveseven a rogue SAT tutor. The contributing playwrights span the range of contemporary talent, including award-winning dramatists such as Sam Shepard, Donald Margulies, Warren Leight, and Kenneth Lonergan, hilarious humorists such as David Ives and Douglas Carter Beane, and an impressive array of cutting-edge newer voices. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Nina Shengold is an award-winning playwright and artistic director of the theatre company Actors & Writers.<br><br>Eric Lane is a playwright and the artistic director of Orange Thoughts, a theater and film company in New York City.