←Recommendations of APEX PREDATOR

RACHAEL CARNES’ “Apex Predator” dramatically heightens the suspense in which Margaret is comforted with an very uncomfortable situation. This short play is well-written.

This is a beautifully terse play that drips with menace and a sinking feeling of inevitability as two boorish fishermen harass another camper at a secluded campsite. Rachael Carnes exactingly captures the blithe ignorance that seems to characterize so much of new American discourse, where science and conservation is meaningless against brute force and bullheadedness. Chilling work, and excellently stated.

"Apex Predator" is a tense, frightening horror play that kept me in suspense from the beginning. Though nothing overt goes on in the course of the play, the audience will have a pit in their stomachs the entire time, knowing the worst possible outcome for Margaret could well be the most likely. A great, suspenseful play that I would love to see live. Bravo!

The stakes are high. The air is tense. I barely breathed while reading it. The poignancy of the piece comes from what isn't said. An honest review of toxic masculinity. It's sobering and intense. This piece should be done everywhere!

Such a harrowing situation captured by the playwright. Two men who see nothing wrong with what they're doing put a woman in a very dangerous position. A sobering reminder of what toxic masculinity does.

Horror runs the spectrum of possible to fantastical, and Carnes reinforces the notion that the worst, most frightening things that can happen are the things that CAN happen. Probably have happened. Many times. Bob and Dan say they're just having fun, but they know what they're really doing. We all do. The simple fact of the matter is, men don't have to worry about ever being in this situation. We don't go through life keeping an exit strategy in the backs of our heads. A commanding, sobering, terrifying piece of writing. I wish it didn't have to exist.

Oh. F%^*.
This got ugly early. But slowly. And steadily. Goosebumps.
Oh.
F%^*.

You cannot be a woman in this world and not feel the hairs on the back of your neck raise from the opening moments of this 10 min play. The tension is masterfully paced, becoming more ominous with each page, and the recognition of isolation and danger is so palpable. I would LOVE to see this piece performed and used as a jumping off point for discussions on college campuses- specifically the exploration of the power dynamics of the two male characters. How can we change society so we can count owls in peace? That's the goal, folks.

Ms. Carnes creates such a compelling narrative in just 11 pages. The characters and the entire situation feels so real that I found myself frantically turning the pages to see what happened next. The way the tension, and by extension, the suspense builds is very natural and gripping. I was hooked! Great job!

A chilling reminder that no matter how smart and educated people can be, they can still be victims. Even if this character is “spared,” she will be changed for life. As will the audience.