←Recommendations of One is the Road

A knockout of a solo piece and a devastatingly effective piece of writing. Loewenstern’s construction here is cunning, using repetition to build and sustain tension, and focusing tightly on a series of micro-moments that understatedly reveal huge depths of feeling and yield enormous emotional payoff. An insightful, powerful gut punch.

This script’s counting structure adds tension that builds all the way to the end.

I had the pleasure of hearing ONE IS THE ROAD read at the 2018 Midwest Dramatists Conference. I was captivated listening to the very talented actor reading this monologue about the last few minutes of a car trip told as a series of thoughts. Reading it now, reminded me what a creative piece this is.

A tremendous and lyrical achievement: "One is the Road" is the ideal and transcendent marriage of poetry and playwriting that most of us can only aspire to. The work pulses with feeling, with fear, with anticipation. This is one you long to see produced and feel the energy in the room.

I love the form Mark Loewenstern's short drama takes: A very analytical, self-aware character monologue that incorporates and plays with rhythm and pattern, and speeds and slows time. There are strong emotions in "One is the Road," but it feels they're examined from a distance rather than fully experienced. I'd love to see this on stage or hear it through the radio.

An excellent example of a stream of consciousness monologue that is cogent, forceful, beautifully written, and unforgettable. What an opportunity for an actor to use these words to take us along with them on this realistic, engaging, and ultimately heartbreaking road trip.

Poetic and rhythmic, "One is the Road" builds in its tension. Highly relatable for audience members stuck in a car with someone whom they love but who is just having an annoying moment and for those audience members who are hard on themselves.

This is a perfect monologue. It's poetic in so many ways, the rhythm, the language, the repetition, the music, the emotion, the story. With every count, I am seeing the car, the tires, Valerie's face, their relationship, his brain repeating those moments over and over, and the anguish in his heart.

The unusual structure of this piece is so incredibly well-used, it feels part play, part monologue, part free verse. Loewenstern’s words will fill your head with far more than seven thoughts about this play. Unique, dramatic, impactful, and visual. The drama builds and builds well, and although you know the final destination you still feel the tension rising until the climax. Just excellent.

The structure and poetry of ONE IS THE ROAD is both beautiful and haunting. Mark Loewenstern has written two characters so vividly and provides a world of experiences in the Driver's monologue. This script can be cast and directed in many different ways with age and gender that makes it even more dynamic and exciting to produce.