←Recommendations of at the very bottom of a body of water

you won't find someone who writes better plays about how making food is like making love is like living life is like finding joy is like grieving is like being -- there's an Elysian magic to every little shimmer and gleam of language (in several tongues) on each page, as the audience is sweetly shepherded into the warm, ebbing and flowing waters of Marina's journey and the characters around her. there are so many fish in the vast ocean, but I'd spend my time with these sublime swimmers all day and beyond.

While specific moments of transcendence are sprinkled throughout the play in pivotal moments of connection, the experience of swimming through this "play about fish" is nothing short of transformational as a whole. Folding innumerable cranes, turning to face the things we fear may hurt us, returning to water. To see these characters live after loss. I feel held.

Benjamin Benne, you are a magical playwright. I feel that I can speak to you directly because your characters are aloud on the page. And also... orgasmic.

An incredibly moving and meaningful play, Marina's exploration of the world and her connection to others is just marvelous. The metaphors are magical, a truly exquisite piece of work!

Just a really gorgeous play. The poetry in the piece and the way that meaning and love and connection is created from the simple, every day acts presented in the play, is—to steal a repeated phrase from the play, orgasmic. I would love to see a production of this play, and if I feel so much sitting here after reading it, I can’t imagine what I’d feel post watching it in a theatre. I’d probably be crying happysad tears, that, I know, for sure.

The deliberate and thoughtful pacing on this piece allows for the poetry and strength of the images to unfold organically and surprisingly. I was absolutely delighted by this play's central characters and the ways in which their nuanced relationship built throughout. All of the pieces I've read of Benne also read as amazingly theatrical and as if they would be aural and visual feasts, and this one is no exception! I would love to see a production of this someday very soon!

With AT THE VERY BOTTOM, Mr. Benne reveals himself to be a stunningly gifted poet and a true romantic. The play is both powerful and ethereal, grounded in the recognizable but touched by magic. A beautiful and emotionally moving expressionistic piece. Lovely.

I had the fortune of reading this play years ago when I ran the Austin Latinx Theatre Festival with Teatro Vivo and I've been advocating for it ever since. Benne's world-building is incredible and the characters are compelling. This gorgeous piece that brings asian and latinx characters together needs to be produced.

One of the most beautiful plays I have ever read. I was held by Benne's masterful writing from the first line. Exquisite. Great roles for Latinx and Asian actors. The way this play breathes is pure magic.

Benjamin Benne has such an amazing flow to his writing that mystifies with each breath. AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF A BODY OF WATER utilizes its rhythm, vulnerability, magic, and spectacle to create a world that feels so much like our own and yet divinely supernatural at the same time. #PlaywrightPlug