author
Rita Benton
b. 1881
Best known for writing short plays for children and church performance, this early 20th-century dramatist turned Bible stories and fairy tales into lively, stage-ready pieces. Her surviving books suggest a writer focused on simple dialogue, group performance, and stories meant to be shared aloud.
1 Audiobook
Shorter Bible Plays
by Rita Benton
About the author
Rita Benton was an American playwright born in 1881. Reliable catalog and archive records connect her with a number of drama collections from the 1920s, including The Star-Child, and Other Plays (1921), Bible Plays (1922), Shorter Bible Plays (1922), and The Elf of Discontent and Other Plays (1927).
Her work appears to have been aimed especially at young performers, schools, and church groups. The titles and surviving editions point to two clear sides of her writing: retellings of fairy-tale material for the stage, and short dramatic versions of biblical stories designed for performance.
Very little biographical detail about her life is easy to confirm from widely available sources beyond her birth year and authorship of these books. Even so, the books themselves leave a clear impression of a practical, audience-minded writer who created plays to be spoken, staged, and enjoyed in community settings.