Washington Square Plays

Moeller, Philip, 1880-1958Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.9

Word count: 125K words
Chapters: 13

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Washington Square Plays by Beach, Gerstenberg, Goodman, and MoellerAuthor: Moeller, Philip, 1880-1958,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Feb 1, 2002

Editor's review

Washington Square Plays is a multi-act play collection co-written by Philip Moeller and three other authors, freely circulated through Project Gutenberg. Its distinctive value lies in capturing a collective creative moment of the early twentieth-century American little theatre movement: different authors experimented around the same spatial motif, with varied linguistic styles and structural arrangements, offering valuable primary texts for studying the origins of modern American drama. For readers familiar with the Washington Square circle or interested in early American one-act plays, the book offers an immersive experience—revealing both the playwrights' keen observation of urban life and the traces of drama's transition from stage text to literary reading at that time. As a public-domain e-book, this edition lacks modern annotations or an introduction, so readers must supply the historical context themselves. It suits use as supplementary material in theatre history courses, script-reading sessions, or comparative literature discussions, and works as light reading for savoring short-play structure in leisure time.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students and teachers in American theatre history or comparative literature courses
Theatre enthusiasts interested in the early twentieth-century little theatre movement
Readers seeking public-domain English scripts for reading or adaptation practice
Readers who enjoy short plays and want to understand early American urban themes

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting complete full-length plays or modern annotated editions
Those who find reading English difficult and need a translated version
Readers expecting plot-driven popular drama

Reading tips

First skim the author biographies and historical background, then read in order, noting how the same spatial motif is handled differently in each play.
Choose one play for reading practice, experiencing how dialogue rhythm works with stage directions.
Read alongside materials on the American little theatre movement to connect text and history.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a complete script or an anthology of plays?

It is a multi-act play collection featuring plays by Philip Moeller and three other authors centered on Washington Square, each play standing independently rather than forming a single long drama.

What should readers watch for in the absence of modern annotations?

As a Project Gutenberg public-domain e-book, it lacks an editor's introduction and footnotes. Readers should first learn the background of the early twentieth-century American little theatre movement, pay attention to stage directions and period language while reading, and consult theatre history sources as needed.

Is it suitable for script-reading or performance practice?

Yes. These short plays are moderate in length and dialogue-heavy, well suited to script-reading sessions. Readers can select one play for role-based reading to experience the rhythm and character development of early American one-act plays.

Comments

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About the author

Moeller, Philip, 1880-1958 Author · American · 1880–1958

Philip Moeller (1880–1958) was an American playwright and director, and one of the founding members of the Theatre Guild. Active in the American theatre world in the first half of the twentieth century, he helped promote modern theatrical production on Broadway, emphasizing the artistic presentation of contemporary works in both play selection and staging. The library holds his work Washington Square Plays, which offers a glimpse of his practice as a playwright. Because public information is limited, details of his life, the number of his works, and his specific stylistic traits are difficult to describe in full; what can be confirmed is chiefly his founding role in the Theatre Guild and his contribution to modern theatrical production. Overall, Moeller's theatre activities are linked to the development of serious drama and modern stage art in early twentieth-century America, and his works and directing practice offer a concrete window onto the Broadway theatre of the time, reflecting the interaction between his dual roles as playwright and director.