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/ärt/ by Steven G. Martin

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Recommendations

  • Greg Vovos:
    29 Feb. 2024
    “ I absolutely love this play. So much joy, humor, and passion that speaks to the frustrations of the creative life in a brilliant format – judging the art of 3rd graders!! Brilliant. I would both love to direct and see this play. Great, well-drawn roles for actors to run wild with in a play with lots of escalating fun and humor. The ending, which I didn’t see coming, is the perfect cure to what ails artists of any discipline. Heartwarming perfection. ”
  • Jennifer O'Grady:
    15 Dec. 2023
    “ Martin's ten-minute play hilariously (and so aptly!) skewers the evaluation of art by those who believe they know what's "good" and what isn't. With fun roles for female actors and great for all ages, this would be a hit in any short-play festival. ”
  • Maximillian Gill:
    3 Dec. 2023
    “ I'm very late to the party for giving this play the appreciation it so richly deserves. Full of wonderful skewering satire on the pretensions of art gatekeepers. The hilarity hits a whole other level when the two finalists enter. Ripe roles for actors to go broad with their comedic chops and kill the room (as occurred at the production I saw). ”
  • Scott Sickles:
    21 Nov. 2023
    “ Mr. Martin clearly thinks he's being O, So Clever in this absurdist expose of the pretentiousness of evaluating the inherently subjective intrinsic value of art, yet he has hoisted himself on his own petard by creating this piece of art, this play, that is objectively perfect. The rhythms carry the words in perfect syncopation, the characters are perfectly drawn and individuated, the thesis and the treatise are perfectly executed in a perfect series of perfectly structured perfect setups perfectly igniting perfect payoffs. It's all perfect, perfect, perfect. So much for art being subjective! Better luck next time, Martin! ”
  • Sam Heyman:
    5 Mar. 2022
    “ Having just had the pleasure to read this play aloud with Steve over Zoom, I can say without hyperbole, that this is one of the most hilarious short plays I’ve encountered. It is both farcical and cutting, unabashed in its characterizations and utterly satisfying. I loved every minute of /ÄRT/ and you will too. ”
  • Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend:
    13 Feb. 2022
    “ I was on board with this play about art competition judges from the line, "I have stigmata on my eyes, I just know it." This short comedy about the subjectivity of art and the standards to which we ourselves feel we are constantly being held and judged for is delightful! The dialogue is hilarious and I loved the reveal of what kind of art competition this was. This is a smart, funny way to spend ten minutes. ”
  • Emily McClain:
    28 Nov. 2021
    “ This short play is an absolute skewering of competitive art and self-important artistic "evaluators." It takes big ideas and wields them for maximum satirical power. My high school theatre students had a blast performing this piece and it was a huge hit with the audience. Wonderful comedic roles for female performers! ”
  • Olive Gallmeyer:
    4 Sep. 2021
    “ A fun ten-minute play with a great blend of surrealist humor and realistic, believable characters who evoke the true pretentiousness of the art world. ”
  • Bethany Dickens Assaf:
    11 Aug. 2021
    “ The opportunity to serve as a critic of anything (the word 'serve' here being ironic) tends to bring out the worst in people, and Steven G. Martin has expertly captured this in a delightful ten minute play. The character's sad motivations, emphasized by Mrs. Notting's line: "If we didn't have this competition, we would have nothing else," gives this play a twist of empathy, enriching the grandiose humor and hilarious visual images. I would love to see this staged and watch the audience's reactions to the increasingly out-of-control 'art critics!' ”
  • Hayley St. James:
    2 Mar. 2021
    “ Adults take art far too seriously sometimes, and in this blisteringly funny ten minute play tackling pretentions amongst critics, art by literal children is on the line. Very fun and incisive, with a great ending. ”

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