“This Not That” tells an intimate story about ambiguity and fidelity. In finely tuned dialog, Gemma Cooper-Novack reveals the intersecting and conflicting emotions that connect Daniella, Marshall, and Jessica, a charter school principal, fantasy writer, and teacher respectively. Feelings of loyalty, fear, and desire threaten to disrupt Marshall and Daniella’s wedding plans while offering the possibility of a less-contested partnership between Daniella and Jessica. Cooper-Novack’s restraint in language and plotting produces a drama whose delicate tremors intimate the cruelties of living in a world where one must choose either this or that.

This play crackles with energy between its three characters. Beautiful, realistic dialogue combines with well-fleshed-out characters for a truly engaging play. All in all an excellent read and something I would love to see staged.

This romantic, mysterious play is beautifully written and includes a lot of good scene work options for college-age and older students. Cooper-Novack has made a couple of complex worlds and she follows characters who have diverse but strong wants and needs. Check it out!