NOVELS

Blue -- Novel. 2021, Words, Words, Words. 13 and up. Originally Published 2001, HarperCollins Publishing, NY. 

A Winsome Murder -- Adult mystery. Spring 2015. UW-Press, WI.

The Silenced -- YA Novel. Spring 2015. Milkweed Editions, MN. (First printed HarperCollins 2007.)

 

ADULT PLAYS

Am Improbable Fiction -- 3m,3F.  Six Shakespearean characters stuck in a bar during plague time.

Christmas in Babylon -- 4w, 1m. Comedy, mostly. Set on Long Island. Family crisis during the holidays.

Learning to Stay – 3f, 3m. Drama. Adapted from the novel. A wife struggling with her soldier husband’s PTSD.

Gift of the Magi -- 1m,1f, 3 musicians. Musical, book and lyrics. Josh Schmidt, composer.

In Acting Shakespeare --1m. One-person play, adapted from the play by Sir Ian McKellen 

The Desert Queen -- 1f. One-person play on the life of Gertrude Bell.  American Players Theater 

Dickens in America-- 1 person play on the life of Charles Dickens.  Milwaukee Chamber Theater  

Lakeview -- 2f, 2m. Full length comedy/drama.   

Artis Generis --  If, 2m. act.     

Waiting for Vern -- 1 actor, 1 chair. Ode to Waiting for Godot. Collision Theater Ensemble   

 

CLASSIC TITLES FOR YOUTH AND FAMILY 

A Little House Christmas -- First Stage Milwaukee.  Available through the Estate of Roger McBride.

Wonderland! -- Musical. Pioneer Drama Service (Non-musical version also available.)

Treasure Island -- Full Length.  8-person, 60-minute version available.) Meriwether Publishing

The Three Musketeers -- Madison Repertory Theater. Baker's Plays

Looking Glass Land -- First Stage Milwaukee.  Pioneer Drama Service

Bambi, A Life in the Woods -- First Stage Milwaukee, Dramatic Publishing.  (AATE Distinguished Play Award)

The Christmas Play -- Based on the woman who discovered ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Arthur:  The Boy Who Would Be King -- First Stage Milwaukee. Available through Author

Swiss Family Robinson -- Milwaukee First Stage, Eldridge Publishing Co.

The Christmas Angel -- Original play. First Stage Milwaukee.   Dramatic Publishing

Tom Sawyer -- Stage One, Louisville, KY. Available through Author

Huckleberry Finn -- Stage One, Louisville, KY.  Available through Author

The Prince and the Pauper -- Pioneer Drama Service

 

MATURE PLAYS FOR YOUTH

A Midnight Cry -- The story of the Underground Railroad.  First Stage Milwaukee   Dramatic Publishing

Rose of Treason -- Sophie Scholl and The White Rose.  Dramatic Publishing, Intellectual Freedom Award

Ten x Ten -- Ten playwrights write ten ten-minute plays dealing with positive human values.  Dramatic Publishing

Trials: the story of Joan of Arc, and Beth.   -- Stage One, Louisville, KY   Available through Author

Zero Tolerance -- Original play. Youth violence. Magical Theater Company.  

Excavating Mom -- Original play. First Stage Milwaukee, '95. Dramatic Publishing  

The Thief Lord -- From the novel by Cornelia Funke, First Stage Children’s Theater

 

AWARDS

National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship for Fiction

2007 Chorpenning Award (Body of work) The American Alliance of Theater and Education*

Distinguished Play Award The American Alliance of Theater and Education

Intellectual Freedom Award  Kentucky Council of Teachers of English/Language Arts

Shubert Fendrich Memorial Playwriting Contest  Looking Glass Land

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EDUCATION

First Mate, JIB VII, Charter Boat, Captree Boat Basin, NY; five seasons; 

Suffolk County Community College Theater Program, AS;  

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Professional Theater Training Program, BFA.  

Madison Area Technical College, Emergency Medical Technician.  

Currently a member of the acting company and literary manager at American Players Theater, 

a classical repertory theater, in WI.

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*James DeVita's body of work for was awarded the  Charlotte B. Chorpenning Playwright Award by the American Alliance for theater and education. This award honors a nationally known writer of outstanding plays for children, recognizing a body of work as opposed to a single play. 

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For licensing information or perusal copies of unpublished scripts, please contact the author.

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