About the Play:

Sophistry has long been a favourite of acting teachers for Female Monologues and Male Monologues.

Sophistry is a full-length drama by Jonathan Marc Sherman. An elite liberal arts college in New England reels when a beloved, eccentric professor is charged with sexually harassing a disturbed male student. Conflicting memories leave everyone in doubt as to what actually transpired, but the self-absorbed students soon move on to sorting out their own romantic longings and sexual obsessions in this contemporary, shocking and funny coming-of-age tale.

Sophistry is a riveting and provocative play that explores the subjective nature of truth within sexual relationships. Set at a small New England college during the mid-1990's, the self-absorbed lives of a group of students are disrupted when they're suddenly forced to deal with a crisis: beloved Philosophy professor Whitey McCoy is accused of seducing a male student, Jack Kahn. Both Whitey and Jack tell the story, each from their conflicting memories, leaving everybody in doubt as to what actually transpired. This alleged sexual harassment story is mixed with slices of student life as everybody gossips, takes sides, and eventually forgets all about Whitey and Jack. The students are too busy drinking, smoking pot, and trying to sort out their romantic longings and sexual obsessions as they try to come of age within the intimate hotbed setting of a contemporary college campus, with all of its confused trials, anxious tribulations, pressures, compromises and politically incorrect dangers.

Sophistry premiered in 1993 at off-Broadway's Playwrights Horizons. Ethan Hawke, Calista Flockhart, Anthony Rapp, and Steve Zahn were all in the production, and all have since gone on to considerable success on stage and screen.

Cast: 3 female, 5 male

What people say:

"…a light comedy with dark undertones about everyday college life in the 1990s… Mr. Sherman's voice is too fresh to be caged into standard, hand-me-down dramaturgy." — The New York Times

"…an authentic flavor of life on campus in the 90s… with superbly realistic dialogue and believable characters brought to vivid life…." — UPI

"…talent and promise are apparent in [Sherman's] Sophistry. The perceptiveness, the sharp ear for the comedy in everyday speech, the willingness to tackle rough subjects are all present in this play… Sherman's talent and intelligence inspire hope." — New York Daily News

About the Playwright:

Jonathan Marc Sherman is an American playwright who graduated from Bennington College, and lives in New York City. He is a co-founder with actors Josh Hamilton and Ethan Hawke of the Malaparte theatre company. His plays have been performed at The New Group, Playwrights Horizons, WPA Theater, Los Angeles Theatre Center, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival, as well as in England, Australia, Israel, and Japan.