←Recommendations of JAM

I have never been more invested in the fixing of a printer/copier. It's invigoratingly break-neck pace conveys within the shows read/runtime. The dynamics between the characters depending on the situation that surrounds them got me existential in the best way possible. An epic one-act play!

Man, I do not miss corporate.

[I can't tell you how tempted I was to leave that as my entire recommendation.]

We've all dealt with this machine, regardless of what this machine might actually be. We've needed it. It spurned us. And the day just snowballs... not just for all but for all who need The Machine. And WE ALL... NEED... THE MACHINE!!!

Fortunately, Gatton's characters are no mere office archetypes. Each has their own personality and different stakes in the outcome. The tension escalates steadily and hilariously functioning as a comic reflection and a stirring warning!

A jawdropper...

To me, a good script is one that says, "C'mon! You know you'd love to be in this thing in front of a live audience." A good script begs to be performed. If this were to be produced in a one-act festival near me, I'd happily brush up my acting resume and head off to audition.

This copier is weird. If it's a copier. It's never quite clear what it is or what it does, only that it is not working as intended, and ruining everyone's day in some manner. Quite surreally, as a matter of fact. Gatton's dark wit and charm are on full display in this workplace slice-of-life from hell, culminating in an ending that rebalances everything. The absurdity of the piece wonderfully mirrors our capitalist hellscape, and reminds us any moment we can find resolve in each other, even at the behest of something unimaginably horrific, it can mean everything.

Vince Gatton’s writing is sharp – sharp dialogue, sharply defined characters, and a mundane premise (a jammed piece of office equipment) sharpened to a razor’s edge. It is said that the end of every play, the end of every scene, is the beginning of another. This short play illustrates that truth beautifully. Highly recommended.

There are plays where the writing is so solid that’ll just work anywhere, whether performed live in black box or recorded in a stop motion film using Barbie Dolls. JAM is one of those plays. Absurdly funny, genuinely relatable, (and sadly relevant), Gatton has written an absolute gem of a short play that would be a highlight of any festival.

Full of humor, relatable situations, and familiar characters, JAM rolls along until the real drama hits. Powerful and ultimately uplifting, propelling the reader to root for this band of mismatched cohorts, despite their previously annoying behaviors. Unexpected.

The day-to-day annoyances of office life come in for quite the shaking up in JAM, another intense short play in Vince Gatton's ...BONUS STARS universe. This piece of the puzzle – like the others in the series – has a life of its own, but as the action is happening concurrently with the inciting incident in YOU HAVE EARNED BONUS STARS, it serves to deepen characters and actions we've heard about but haven't experienced first hand, and fits in perfectly with the full-length ...BONUS STARS. A terrific addition/complement to this heartbreaking saga.

Gatton shows that what a person does in a crisis reflects their true character. In "JAM," a short comedy that abruptly shifts into a tragedy, a presumed monster shows kindness, perceived antagonists transform into allies, and the tiny drama of a paper jam in office equipment is put in proper context in the drama of the larger world.

"JAM" is one of Gatton's anthology plays with ties to a tragic central event, whose effects ripple for years. Wonderful breadth of writing.

Hilarious and jarring. Great character dynamics.