Ben Deane Proof Written by David Auburn Cast: 4 total named characters; 2 men, and 2 women.

Special Considerations: none. Synopsis: The play takes place in the home of Catherine and her late father Robert, a well-known and respected mathematician, who suffered from mental health disorders and went crazy later in life. Though Catherine gave up everything and stayed to look after him when he grew sick, her sister Claire moved to NYC with a husband, and now worries that Catherine may be showing signs of the same mental instability as their father. Catherine has been spending time with Harold Dobbs, a previous student of her fathers, who is now a mathematician of his own, going through her late fathers research. Claire is worried that her sister is also suffering from mental degeneration, and the two have a big argument about her health and their father, before Harold enters again. With a key that Catherine gave him earlier, he has found a magnificent mathematical proof in her fathers desk, and Catherine tells both him and Claire that she was the author, not her father. This is heavily debated throughout the play, due to her lack of proper schooling. However, it has also been shown that she has a natural talent for mathematics, obviously inherited from her father. The second act of the play features flashbacks showcasing Roberts mental decline, potentially proving that Catherine truly is the author of the proof, while also showing some sparks of hope for her life moving past caring for her father. By the end of the play, she has agreed to move to NYC with Claire, and Harold (after examining the proof for some time) states that he believes that Catherine truly did author the proof; he thus requests she stay in Chicago with him and work together on more mathematics. The Essential Beauty: Leaving a legacy through hard work, and the decaying effect that the degeneration of mental health can have on a legacy.

Metaphor for the Production: Rotting Magnificence