Samantha Marchant:
2 Sep. 2022
“
Past or present? Do these two characters have a future? Lots to muse on here about fate and the unknown. ”
Recommendations
Recommendations
- Taylor Wendell Lozano:30 Aug. 2022“ Carnes is clearly a writer's writer and does well with forcing us to track two conversations converging on one unknown. The bare bones, absurd experimental structure is in plain language, and yet, leaves a lot up for creative interpretation. Paired with a confusing arc, this piece is perfect for any small group looking to perform a piece that allows them to test the waters as they rehearse. ”
- Paul Donnelly:24 Aug. 2022“ A Beckettian meditation on guilt and responsibility, on the arbitrariness of fate, and on the need for connection, with a dazzling coup de theatre ending. The only thing better than reading this play would be seeing it produced. ”
- John Minigan:15 Aug. 2022“ This play blends hilarity, heartbreak, simple twists of fate, and what it feels like to be in a deep well of grief. It's got Beckett-like absurd humor between Matt and Larry and, like a yogurt parfait, manages to keep the granola separate: the stunning simplicity of its coda. ”
- Nick Malakhow:10 Aug. 2022“ Really well-conceived and well-executed short piece that eschews any "traditional" structures and tropes of the 10 minute format. Rachael explores the intersection of regret, fate, and self-determination deftly in just a few pages! I loved the theatrical overture/shift at the end of the piece. It illuminates and makes a different sense of the first nine pages without feeling gimmicky. I'd love to see this performed! ”
- Alexander Perez:21 Apr. 2022“ A borderline absurdist meditation on regret, memory, and coincidence that unpacks the myriad of ways we torture ourselves over what we have no control over. Hindsight and guilt go hand in hand. There's sadistic comfort in feeling like there was something that could have been done rather than relinquishing power to time's ceaseless inertia.
Being present is important. Easier said than done. ” - Cheryl Bear:9 Jul. 2020“ Airline travel encapsulated in this fantastic play with an existential crisis and the food court delights we grip onto. Well done. ”
- Robert Weibezahl:22 May. 2020“ Certainly one of the most intriguing and accomplished short plays I have read. Carnes creates an encompassing world—totally relatable yet tantalizingly alien—that is neither here nor there, now or then. She then conjures up an encounter that is rife with questions about fate and human existence. Questions for which, perhaps, there can be no answers. This one will keep you thinking. A small masterpiece. ”
- Emma Goldman-Sherman:15 May. 2020“ Such a brilliant play!!!! It is completely strange and completely recognizable simultaneously. The dialogue is fabulous! The characters are clear as day. This is my new favorite short play of all time! A must read! A must produce! Wow! ”
- Alina Rios:2 Sep. 2019“ Loved this surprising play! It has undertones of The Dumb Waiter and while absurdist, the relationship between two men is anything but. I can't wait to see this one on its feet. Great parts of men in this one with many potential layers. ”