Smile and a Shoeshine
About the Play
David Boles wrote Smile and a Shoeshine to honor Joseph Baldwin, his first Playwriting instructor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
This draft-in-progress preserves both the creative process and the pedagogical relationship: the manuscript includes corrections from David and margin notes from Dr. Baldwin. These annotations offer a window into the craft of dramatic writing as taught and learned in the university workshop tradition.
The Workshop Tradition
The relationship between playwright and mentor shapes careers. Dr. Joseph Baldwin's guidance during these formative years helped establish the foundations of Boles' dramatic voice, a voice that would later develop through graduate study at Columbia University and professional work in New York theatre.
The title itself carries the optimism and grit of American theatrical tradition. A smile and a shoeshine represent the performer's essential toolkit: charm and polish, presentation and substance. These elements remain central to effective dramatic writing, where character must both engage and convince.
Manuscript as Artifact
By preserving the working draft with its annotations, this document serves multiple purposes. It stands as a creative work, a teaching tool, and a historical record of how playwrights develop through mentorship and revision. The margin notes reveal not just corrections but a methodology, an approach to dramatic structure and character that transcends any single play.