The Groves of Academe

In a series of scenes which span the school year, Bill Groves, an assistant professor of English, is visited in his office by Paul Morris, a quirky undergraduate in Groves’ honors seminar on comedy. Paul has an off-the-wall attitude that first startles, then amuses, and ultimately impresses the young professor, while Paul's opinions and behavior are gradually influenced by Groves’ personal qualities and intellect. The play conveys the academic “treadmill,” amid which (or despite which) learning and growth can nevertheless be nurtured.