←Recommendations of Hot Tragic Dead Thing

WOW. What a ride this was...unrelenting in its darkness, and kept me shocked right til the very end. Extremely thought-provoking.

Circumstances aren't simple for teenagers growing up in the world and family dynamics are extremely complicated for many. A powerful play bringing to the stage the truth behind the curtain. Well done.

Wow! This is an intense ride that doesn't let up from start to finish. Ashley Rose Wellman has created a world that both feels heightened and all too grounded in the explosive, id-like emotions that lead to violence. Bekah is an absolutely compelling lead character, and the evolution of her connection with Miles is as unsettling as it is inevitable. Wellman plumbs the insecurities, emotional violence, and disconnection that lead to hatred and Bekah and Miles' alienation. Bekah's raw and unpredictable energy in the final scenes is heartrending, and the last moments are surprising and well-earned.

This is a play that will shock and disturb but it's one that needs to be seen. Wellman goes deep into the dark places of the teenage mind. The places that parents fear to believe exist. The places that are wondered about when tragedy strikes. This play left me breathless like great theatre should.

A bold and vicious play examining the complexities and horrors of being a teenager. The way this play deals with the sensitive social issues of our times (in a dark, yet poetic and fierce way) is truly the mark of a skilled and courageous playwright with much to say. The residue left when the play is finished, is utterly honest, real, and tragic.

It is the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's pleasure to recommend Ashley Rose Wellman and their play Hot Tragic Dead Thing as a finalist for our 2018 National Playwrights Conference. The play rose through a competitive, anonymous, multileveled selection process that took nearly nine months to execute. As one of 53 finalists out of more than 1,420 submissions, the strength of its writing has allowed this work to prosper in such a competitive selection process.

Saw a developmental reading of this amazing show at EST/LA today and I was floored by the twists and turns of this f'd up family drama. Dive deep into the darkest corners of the internet and the psyche of disenfranchised youth. With the humor and horror of "Heathers" and the poetry and power that only an Ashley Rose Wellman play can provide, "Hot Tragic Dead Thing" will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

Brutal and engrossing, I haven’t read anything that’s caused such a physical response in me in a while. I can only imagine how powerful it will be to see staged. Wellman’s characters are fully formed and you can’t help pitying them on one page and being revolted by them on the next. This one will stick with me for a while.

A dark, twisted look at the apathy of modern teenagers growing up in a post- Columbine world. Wellman's mastery of language, subtext, and innate sexuality makes for a thought-provoking read. Her ability to sway the audience in different directions throughout the piece causes the reader to reflect on their own morality. 10/10