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Selected for 2024-25 Salon Reading Series - Angels Theatre Co.
Vacillating between the slapstick and the uncomfortable, Lubischer provides an exploration of the van Acren family at a time of expected and unexpected upheaval. He expertly switches between modes while maintaining believability. Lubischer’s skill lies in keeping his characters on the edge of absurdity; leading to a truthful and often poignant exploration of grief, identity, and what it means to hold on too long, or not long enough.

Selected for 2023-24 Salon Reading Series - Angels Theatre Co.
In 1000 Miles, Vanessa Garcia sets her story of immigration and refugees in a fictional and fantastical land. This saves Garcia from allusions or direct commentary of a specific refugee crisis (or crises) in our world. It also allows the human story to resonate powerfully. It’s a clever strategy, and effective in opening our hearts to characters bound together in a world that tries to separate them. Highly recommended.

*Selected for 2023-24 Salon Reading Series - Angels Theatre Co.
The starting point for Emma Goldman-Sherman’s play is the top of a wedding cake. We begin full of hope, unconcerned about the road ahead. But, too quickly, the rough patches heat up and the allegory of Man & Wife starts to resemble something larger and more tenuous - The story of a marriage or a country? Goldman-Sherman is known for packing her plays with an unabashed spotlight on controversy. But their humane approach to their characters ensures that we digest the controversy humanely, with a deepened understanding.

Selected for the 2023-24 Salon Reading Series.
The Gentle Life-Changing Magic of Burning it All Down to the Ground is both an exploration and an example of complex human relationships. Near the beginning of the play, D proposes that this is a cooperative game–no one has to lose. And, while that does not mean that the game is easy, or without consequences, it does mean that both D and M can win; even if winning looks a whole lot like survival in a valued and treasured relationship. Highly recommended for development and production.

Selected for the 2023-24 Salon Reading Series at Angels Theatre Company:
Old Bat is at heart, one of those myths that draw our attention to the characters that are usually left out. It is the contemporary odyssey that Struve skillfully renders as a “tale of an ordinary woman”, that is one that may be forgotten in any other story, but not this one. Old Bat is a skillfully spun old myth that refocuses the hero’s journey and ultimately creates a modern and enjoyable tale. Highly recommended for reading and production.

Produced by Angels Theatre Company -- February 2024
I Carry Your Heart With Me is a one-person tour de force. This is not an easy story, but it is profoundly and unabashedly human. This is a grown-up, real life story of laughter, pain, choice, loss, and realization. It is a story that bridges two wars, but it is not about war. It’s a story about family, honor, and duty, and the choices we make when we don’t have all the answers. Beautiful, Compelling and Real. This is a must read / must produce.

*Selected for 2023-24 Salon Reading Series - Angels Theatre Co.

Romeo & Her Sister is an achievement. Well-crafted and internally complex, the play provides an intimate portrait of three women struggling to connect with one another amidst a society bent on challenging their position. And, while each succeeds in some manner, the story does not feel forced–and it remains both imaginative and historically accurate. It is a rare example of a work that uses its history to provide an accurate and necessary lens, bringing our modern condition into focus. Highly Recommended.

Selected for the 2023-24 Salon Reading Series
Eminent Domain is an old school family drama. It’s an historical and effective formula that gives the play an intimate feel while imbibing it with the grand scope of a classic American family tragedy. These plays are always more than the sum of their parts. Eminent Domain is focused and intimate while simultaneously revealing a larger scope and truth in our world. The family drama speaks to a contemporary issue that is at the same time, personal and universal. Highly Recommended.

2023-24 Salon Reading Series selection (October)

Bernsten's "We Are Blood" delivers what we want to see in a well-wrought drama–a play that is more than the sum of its parts and provides insight into this condition of being human. This is a family struggling to move forward while they also struggle to (re)connect with one another outside of their differences. Reunions are not always welcome, nor mutual. But they can bring insight and provide us with a new perspective that leads to a new choice to be made. Well-paced and well made, this play will frighten and delight.

2022-23 Salon Reading Series Selection
In Seeking Nietzsche, Marcia Eppich-Harris adeptly weaves history, philosophy, and emotional life into a complex and often misunderstood philosopher. Using a handful of supporting characters, Eppic-Harris tackles the misinterpretation of Nietzsche’s work while providing us a glimpse of the flesh and blood human behind the literary and philosophical reputation. Highly recommended. Our audience responded positively to this play.