A revealing look at campus organization as students try to start politically focused groups in times of upheaval. Explosive and powerful, well done.

It is the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's pleasure to recommend Jeff Talbott and their play Civics and Humanities for Non-Majors as a finalist for our 2018 National Playwrights Conference. The play rose through a competitive, anonymous, multileveled selection process that took nearly nine months to execute. As one of 53 finalists out of more than 1,4200 submissions, the strength of its writing has allowed this work to prosper in such a competitive selection process.

This large-cast ensemble play set in two different periods (1976 and 2016) charts the messy business of college students trying to form politically-minded student organizations in times of social turbulence. How the stories are linked is beautifully teased out in the course of the highly theatrical intermissionless play, which is laced with humor, heartache, hurt and passion. The American Experiment is in potent capsule form here, and its effect is powerful. Brimming with intelligence and youthful energy (hormones! anxiety! anger!), it's a perfect play for colleges but deserves a canvas at a major regional theater.