John Shea

By Sanjeev Selvarajah

John Shea says his plays feature dozens of characters talking over and around each other because after growing up in Somerville he is used to hearing lots of voices at once.

“I find writing with a large number of characters quite easy. If I’m stuck on one plot line, I can always introduce another character and that story until I can work my way around again. It’s like having a room full of people, there’s always someone to talk to and something to do. Writing one and two character plays is far more difficult and takes a lot longer. I like crowds,” he said.

Shea’s play “Welcome to Somerville: Permit Parking Only” will be read at the First Church of Somerville on Nov. 19 and 20. The play features many subplots, each examining the tensions that lie beneath the surface – and sometimes boil over – in Somerville.

A summary of the play sums it up this way: “An elected official is accused of sexually assaulting teen-aged boys in his home while his wife is at work. Warring restaurant owners may come face to face in court as tempers flare. A young girl realizes “cutting,” is not the answer. And a mayor tries to hold it all together, as racism, teeming hatred and long buried secrets, boil beneath the surface of gentrification, threatening to erupt at any moment.”

One central dilemma seems to be a fear of immigration: there is a suggestion in the play, since it’s a common thread, that the immigration issue is a hot-button issue, one that everyone has something to say about.

Shea’s work has been staged at the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre at Boston University and  included in the National Playwrights’ Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center. He said his experiences growing up Irish in Magoun Square inform the art he creates today.

“I see the world through the eyes of the working class, its customs and beliefs and through the eyes of the Irish-Americans, with their paranoia, alcoholism and domestic abuse, and also the humor that I have seen growing up,” said Shea. “Born and bred in Somerville, have never lived outside its borders and hope I never will. I always tell my kids that Somerville is the greatest city in the world, and I believe it is.”

Tickets are $15 can be bought online at www.PlaysByShea.com