←Recommendations of PARTNER OF —

A terribly moving piece about a dream slowly cracking and falling apart as the young Sally Hemings learns the real reason Thomas Jefferson is taking her to Paris with him. It's one thing to be born a slave with barely any hope or thought of escape, or even of being less of a slave; it's quite another -- and arguably more devastating -- to have that hope dangled before you... only to conceal a brutal reality behind it. Beautiful and haunting.

Beautiful, poetic piece. This play was read at the Midwest Dramatists Conference 2018 and the conversations about it continued long after it had ended. Carnes brings to life the history of Sally Hemings, her mother, and grandmother as past events are ushered upon the next generation. Deeply moving, we learn a disturbing truth about the history of slavery.

This a haunting and lyrical play. Carnes is masterful in how she structures the ebb and flow of the language. It's an important play that portrays an ugly moment of history and sheds light on inconvenient truths about one of the Founding Fathers of the US. While being about something so weighty, the play never collapses from the burden of that weight. The play, unlike the subject matter, nearly floats on dark wings.

In an era that too often tries to use Jefferson’s “relationship” with Sally Hemings to “prove” that our founding fathers weren’t rampant racists, Carnes’ work unflinchingly yet lyrically reminds us of the power imbalance inherent in their interactions. There is such beauty in the language of all three characters, and in their silences. Three terrific roles for performers to sink their teeth into. This play feels both timely and timeless.

With Partner Of-, Rachael Carnes writes a powerful portrait of a moment in time. Three generations-some seen and unseen-gather in a small room to prepare the youngest for a life changing moment. A glimpse into the past with a message toward the future. This is a must read, a must see, right now play.

A play of depth and power. Thought-provoking and conversation-starting. We need more plays like it.

Rachael Carnes packs a great deal into this short work. It's an historical play and yet she is really commenting on a great many topical, current events. You should really stop reading my comments and instead read this excellent little play.

This is indeed a great script for actresses. The lyrical language, the memorable metaphors and the rich and intricate subtext of this play all contribute to a theatrical experience that won't be soon forgotten. Carnes is a writer to watch.

The lyrical beauty of Carnes’ Partner Of does nothing to lesson the horror of the world of this play. It’s painfully awe-inspiring, a shattering scream into the darkness of history that illuminates one of the most well-known, and least understood, episodes of the American past. And through it all, Carnes magnifies the story with a poetic style that makes the twists and turns hit even harder. A layered, incredible, journey.

I feel so lucky to have seen a reading of this play at the 2018 Midwest Dramatists Conference. Upon the first few lines, I was excited immediately by the activeness of Carnes' language and her ability to tell stories through temporal, geographical, and architectural space. There is so much exquisite attention to detail, yet the play is also emotionally powerful and painful and deeply alive. This is a play with important stories that works beautifully in multiple layers and on multiple planes. I was personally transported to multiple places while watching.