The Rules of Charity is a 2005 play by the American playwright John Belluso. The play premiered on April 23, 2005, at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco, California. It has since had an Off-Broadway run. The play focuses on a man named Monty with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair, and whose adult daughter takes care of him. John Belluso - whose contemporaries included the playwright Tony Kushner - used a wheelchair himself. His wheelchair use was a result of a bone disease called Camurati–Engelmann disease. The Rules of Charity, like most of Belluso's work, explores what it means to be disabled or marginalized in modern American society. He was an advocate for writers, playwrights, and artists with disabilities and used his own personal experience to deepen and drive his own work. As a young playwright, Belluso worked with the New Dramatists, connecting with his fellow playwrights of the time and making an impression during his unfortunately short career that impacted many. The Dramatists Play Service version of the published script contains, next to the character descriptions and play setting, a poem by Wallace Stevens entitled A Postcard from the Volcano. The poem speaks to the leaving behind of the experience of an older generation, a generation that suffered and that the younger generation will know nothing about. This speaks to the themes of the play as a whole, as it focuses heavily on familial relationships, and the younger generation being so preoccupied with their own problems that they cannot see the long-suffering of the older generation. Plot summary The Rules of Charity focuses on a middle-aged man named Monty, and his daughter Loretta. Monty has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, and Loretta, a grown woman, cares for him. The play focuses around their relationship, the anger and resentment that lives within their connection, as well as the love between them. The play also focuses on how one navigates our world when one is an outsider, whether that is because of one's ability or disability, sexuality, religion, or social class. Structurally, The Rules of Charity is in a standard two-act dramatic structure with Act I taking place in the present day, and Act II taking place one year later. The play is also split up by named sections that divide up the action further, framed by a prologue and an epilogue. Prologue: The Introduction of Cruelty The play