Ruth Gaines-Shelton

Ruth Ada Gaines-Shelton (April 8, 1872 – 1938) was an American playwright and educator. She is a playwright of the Harlem Renaissance era and is best known for her allegorical comedy,The Church Fight, written in 1925.

Biography Gaines-Shelton was born on April 8, 1872, in Glasgow, Missouri. Her father was Reverend George W. Gaines, a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and her mother was Mary Elizabeth Gaines. Gaines-Shelton was raised by her father following her mother’s early death when Gaines-Shelton was only a little girl. Throughout her life, Gaines-Shelton assisted her father with church work as he directed the building of the Old Bethel AME Church on Dearborn Street in Chicago. Gaines-Shelton died in Montgomery, Missouri, in 1938.

Works Ruth Gaines-Shelton plays were part of the Harlem Renaissance. She began writing plays in 1906 many of which were written for her own church, for children, and for women's clubs. Not all of her plays have survived with many of her manuscripts lost and unpublished. Some of the many other plays she has written include Aunt Hagar's Children, The Church Mouse, Gena, the Lost Child, Lord Earlington's Broken Vow, Mr. Church, and Parson's Dewdrop Bride. Gaines-Shelton’s work, like many other Black artists of her time, is highly important because it documents the experiences of Black Americans during a time when opportunities for this expression were closed off to them. The Church Fight has three distinctive aspects.

Characters The Brethren

Ananias: the husband to Sapphira. Ananias has only one scene in which he declare to his wife his opposition to having Parson Procrastinator at the church. Investigator: logical and levelheaded. Judas: comedic and mischievous. Judas encourages Take-it-Back behavior, and encourages the sisters to have the same fighting spirit. Parson Procrastinator: notoriously bad with money relating to church affairs. The center of the conflict and an intimidating figure.

The Sisters

Sapphira: the wife to Ananias. Sapphira is first introduced with her husband at the start of the play. Her role in the play is to represent those that do not fit into an archetype like "Meddler" and "Instigator". Instigator: a jokester and an instigator as her namesake suggests. Like Take-it-Back, Instigator is known to be quite troublesome in her own regard. Instigator adds fuel to fire when everyone is discussing whether Parson Procrastinator should leave. Meddler: as her namesake suggests, Meddler is known to find any opportunity to meddle in other's personal affairs. For example, bringing up the fact that Parson Procastinator bought an expensive home and questioning where he could have possibly acquired the money from. Experience: the most mature and responsible among the sisters. Experience wants to avoid fighting because she has already had experience being in one against a Parson Hard-head. Take-it-Back: known to start gossip and not back down from a fight. Take-it-Back is the most adamant on finding any claim to get Parson Procrastinator out of the church. Two-Face: oblivious and indifferent to the church fight. The shyest of the sisters. Two-Face does not have much dialogue, however, Two-Face is noted for being the only woman of the sisters to wear a street dress instead of a house dress like the rest of the sisters.