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Overview
Synopsis
Neil LaBute is no stranger to the darker side of human nature. In The Shape of Things, that darkness is undeniably there, but it’s simmering just underneath the surface until it boils over in a gut-punch ending. The four-character play explores how far someone is willing to go and how much they change for who (or what) they love. Two intertwined couples make up the story: the dating Evelyn and Adam and the engaged Phillip and Jenny. Evelyn is a graduate art student and Adam is an undergraduate English student at the same college who also works at a nearby museum as a security guard. Adam is a stereotypical nerdy guy--he’s an English literature major who has an appreciation for art and hasn’t had luck with women. He falls in love with Evelyn and willingly begins changing his physical appearance at her insistence. At first, it’s little things like losing some weight and letting his hair grow out. Then it becomes plastic surgery and cutting out his closest friends, all for what he thinks is the perfect relationship. But in life, like in art, appearances can be deceiving, and the truth is finally revealed in a gut-wrenching ending. Sometimes darkly funny and always gripping, The Shape of Things is a fascinating character study into the nature of love and art, and what happens when the two collide.
Show Information
- Book
- Neil LaBute
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Thirteen Plus (PG-13)
- Number of Acts
- 1
- First Produced
- 2001
- Genres
- Drama
- Settings
- Contemporary, Multiple Settings
- Time & Place
- An unnamed conservative college town in the Midwestern United States
- Cast Size
- small
- Orchestra Size
- None
- Dancing
- None
- Licensor
- Broadway Play Publishing, Inc
- Ideal For
- College/University, Community Theatre, Ensemble Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Small Cast, Includes Young Adult Characters
Context
Neil LaBute is known for plays that ask questions about the dark side of humanity and just what we’re capable of under the right circumstances. In some of his works, the moral and ethical landscape is more ambiguous. In The Shape of Things, LaBute has described it as “black and white”. The play is essentially a modern-day retelling of the biblical story of Adam and Eve, albeit on a smaller scale (here, betrayal doesn’t lead to the fall of all of mankind, but it does cause some falls). The
to read the context for The Shape of Things and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
ACT ONE
–Scene 1-
While working his shift as a security guard at a college campus art museum, undergraduate English major Adam notices graduate art student Evelyn crossing over a velvet rope with a can of spray paint. She cheekily rebuffs his requests to step back and says that she’s going to spray paint a phallus on one of the nude statues in the gallery. She’s unhappy with the fact that a fig leaf has been placed over the statue, because art should be real and not subject to censorship.
to read the plot for The Shape of Things and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
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|
Lead |
Female |
Non-singer |
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|
Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
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|
Lead |
Female |
Non-singer |
Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
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Videos
Quizzes
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Guide Written By:
Kevan Dunkelberg
Oklahoma-based drama teacher, actor and playwright